Koh Samui

An island in the Gulf of Thailand whose weather has nothing to do with the Andaman coast — which is the only reason it belongs in a conversation about the same trip.

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Koh Samui

The island on the other calendar

Samui sits in the Gulf of Thailand, eighty kilometres off the eastern side of the isthmus, and its weather has almost nothing to do with the Andaman coast. That is the whole reason it appears in a plan at all. Where Phuket and Krabi run from November to April, the Gulf runs a month or two behind and takes its heaviest rain in November — precisely the month the Andaman comes good. A trip in late June or July, which is a gamble on the west coast, is usually straightforward here.

The island itself is round, about twenty-five kilometres across, with a ring road, a forested mountainous middle that hardly anyone walks into and an airport taking flights from Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore. It has been a resort island for forty years and looks it in places. Chaweng on the east coast is the busy strip; Lamai, south of it, is a smaller version of the same thing. The north coast at Bophut and Maenam is where the island is most pleasant, and the southwest is quiet, shallow and takes the sunsets.

Speedboats float near the calm shore of Maenam Beach on Koh Samui, lined with palm trees and resort roofs.

A giant golden seated Buddha statue rises against a blue sky at the Big Buddha temple in Koh Samui.

The north coast · Wat Phra Yai

Choosing a base

Which coast does what

The island is small enough to drive round in ninety minutes, so the choice of coast is about character rather than distance.

Bophut and the Fisherman’s Village for the best evening on the island, and water you can swim in through most of the year.
Maenam for quiet, a long strip of sand and the shortest hop to the Phangan ferry.
Chaweng for the widest beach and the most noise; the north end of it is markedly calmer than the middle.
Taling Ngam and the southwest for sunsets and very shallow water — restful, and poor for swimming at low tide.
The interior waterfalls and viewpoints, which need a car and are worth half a day in the week after rain.

Water cascades down a rocky cliff into a pool surrounded by jungle at Na Muang Waterfall in Koh Samui. — Inland

Neighbours

Phangan and Tao, and whether to bother

Koh Phangan is thirty minutes north by ferry and is really two islands: a full-moon party economy on one beach and, everywhere else, the quietest coastline in the Gulf, with Thong Nai Pan and the northeast worth three nights of their own. Koh Tao is ninety minutes further out and is a diving island — one of the cheapest places in the world to qualify, and busy with people doing exactly that. If you are not diving, Tao is a long way to go for a beach you already have. The best day on the water from Samui itself is Ang Thong, a marine park of forty-odd limestone islands to the west, which runs in the calm months.

A Seatran ferry boat crosses calm waters near Koh Samui with hills in the distance.

The island ferry

Seasons

The month to avoid

January to AprilDry, hot and calm, with April the hottest of them. The most reliable stretch of the Samui year.

June to SeptemberUsually good — short showers rather than days of rain — and the reason Samui takes the European summer while the Andaman is under monsoon.

October to DecemberThe Gulf monsoon. November is the heaviest month by a wide margin, with days of rain and rough crossings to Phangan.

Four nightsTwo doing nothing, one on the water, and one for Phangan or the interior. Fewer than three and the ferries eat the trip.

Onward

Getting on and off the island

Samui has its own airport, which is convenient and privately run, and a ferry route that is neither but costs a fraction as much.

Onward leg	How long	What to know
Bangkok	1 hour 10 by air from Samui airport	The airport is privately operated and fares are higher than elsewhere in Thailand.
Surat Thani and the mainland	1.5 to 2 hours by ferry, then a road transfer	The cheaper way on and off, and the one that meets the southern rail line.
Phuket or Krabi	1 hour by air, or a long day by ferry and road	Only worth doing when the season has turned; otherwise choose one coast and stay on it.
Singapore or Kuala Lumpur	About 2 hours by air in season	Useful when the trip carries on towards Indonesia rather than back through Bangkok.

Pick the coast your month suits.

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We will tell you which side of the isthmus will be dry, and how the ferries fit around your flights.

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Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Samui or the Andaman coast?

Between November and April, the Andaman — Phuket or Krabi. Between June and September, Samui, which usually stays dry while the west coast is under monsoon. In November neither is reliable, and Samui is the worse of the two.

Is November really that bad on Samui?

It is the wettest month of the Samui year by a clear margin, with several days of continuous rain and crossings to Phangan cancelled. If your dates are fixed in November, the beach nights belong on the Andaman side instead.

Is Koh Tao worth adding?

If you are diving or learning to dive, yes — it is ninety minutes beyond Phangan and one of the cheapest places anywhere to qualify. If you are not, it is a long ferry for a beach that Samui and Phangan already give you.

Journey ideas