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I have actually been down there a number of times and the absolute best way I have found is to take the night train down from Bangkok to Chumporn. It leaves Hua Lumpong station in Bangkok at around 7 PM. You can also pick it up at Sam Saen Nye station behind Rama VI Road at around 7:30 PM. I have started getting on trains at Sam Saen Nye as most of them pass this station on the way out of the city and I find it easier to reach than Hua Lumpong by taxi during heavy traffic hours.
A 2nd class air conditioned sleeper is 600+ Baht. The train will have you arrive in Chumporn at between 5AM and 6AM. You then book your boat transport over to the island at the train station. There people waiting there to sell you tickets. The fastest boat is the Lomprayah high speed catamaran (http://www.lomprayah.com/E/route.htm), but there are also ferries which are a little cheaper and take just a wee bit longer. Average time is between 1.5 to 2.5 hours by boat depending on which boat you take and how calm the seas are that day.
You then sit there at the train station in front of a little convenience store selling breakfast, drinks and other bits and pieces until about 8AM or 9AM when the boat company sends a bus to pick you up and take you to the pier which is about 15-20 minutes away from the train station.
In total you will spend about a little over 1,000 Baht to get there between train and boat and you will be on the island the next day no later than 9AM.
There are ways to travel down there by bus and during the day, but I found the night train is best since I can sleep and I don’t lose a day in transit. I leave at night, go to sleep, and I am on the island by about 9AM the next day.
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