Koh Samui Thailand Travel Guide - Tours & Hotels

Koh Samui Information

Ko Samui ( often called just Samui is an island in the Gulf of Thailand, some 700km south of Bangkok and about 80km from the eastern coastline of southern Thailand.

Ko Samui is Thailand's second largest island (229km. - only Phuket covers a greater area) and all in all a fairly big place. The most popular and commercialised beaches are Chaweng and Lamai, while the northern beaches and their adjacent villages of Mae Nam, Bophut, Bang Ruk (Big Buddha) and Choeng Mon are more peaceful choices, and the west coast beaches are still (comparatively) quiet.

An island of great natural beauty and variety, Samui is home to about 40,000 full-time inhabitants, 90% of whom are Buddhist. The palm fringed shoreline and coconut and fruit cultivation of the coastal lowlands rise to a central granite massive, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.

At 247km. Samui is the largest island in an archipelago of over 80 (mostly uninhabited) islands which form the Ang Thong National Marine Park, a kayaking and snorkeling paradise. At 25km long and 21km wide, Samui is big enough for serious exploration by the adventurous and fit, but can be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car.

Tourism has long since overtaken coconut farming and fishing as the main sources of income. The latter are still practiced though to a lesser extent and the pleasant aroma of charring coconuts can still be smelled on many parts of the island. Many of the fish on local restaurant and hotel dining room tables come from the surrounding Gulf of Thailand’s warm waters, although increasing amounts are imported from elsewhere as demand outstrips supply.

Clockwise from Nathon on the west coast, the main beaches are:

How to get here

By plane
Ko Samui Airport (USM) is a private airport originally built by Bangkok Airways, which is still the main operator and the only airline with services to Ko Samui from Thailand. They have near-hourly departures to/from Bangkok; tickets are expensive by Thai standards, but advance bookings can be tolerable (around 2000B), while a walk-in booking may be twice as much. There are also daily flights to/from Phuket for 2200 baht, U-Tapao, and Singapore; four direct flights a week from Chiang Mai (but no direct flights in the opposite direction); and twice weekly flights to/from Hong Kong.

In addition to Bangkok Air, Ko Samui is served by Berjaya Air from Kuala Lumpur and Firefly from Penang, both in Malaysia.

Visa-on-Arrival and Visa-Free entry is available at Samui Airport for some nationalities - see Thailand for more information.

Ground transportation from the airport is readily available. A seat in a minibus for the 20-minute ride to Chaweng costing 100 baht/person; a faster taxi will cost 150-300 baht. Be sure to negotiate the rate to your destination before you get into the taxi since many drivers refuse to use their meters.

A cheaper but less convenient option is to fly to Surat Thani or Chumpon and connect by road and then ferry.

By boat
Numerous ferry services direct from mainland Surat Thani include an express boat (3 departures daily, taking around 3 hours and costing 150 baht) and slow night boats (taking 6-7 hours). Call operator Songserm Travel (252 9654 in Bangkok) for the latest schedules, which vary according to the season.

There are also regular speedboats and ferries to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao.

Lomprayah offers a combined bus/high speed catamaran ferry service from Bangkok to Ko Samui which takes about 11 hours and costs around 850 baht (1000 baht in the opposite direction). The bus pauses in Hua Hin and then stops at Chumphon where it connects with the ferry, which calls at Ko Nang Yuan, Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan on its way to Ko Samui. The buses and ferry are air-con and very comfortable.

From Surat Thani train station, combined bus/ferry services to Ko Samui cost 200-300 baht - some entail a 60 minute bus ride followed by a 90 minute ferry crossing, others a 30 minute bus ride but longer on the ferry. Tickets are sold by numerous agents who meet each train.

Get Around

As on many islands in Thailand, small motorbikes are available for rental. Compared to other nearby islands, Samui's road systems is very developed and there are plenty of taxis cruising about, although it's a challenge to get them to use their meters.

Pickup trucks (songthaews) also serve as group taxis. Hail one on any major road with a wave or yell, negotiate a fare, and sit down on the bench in the back.