Koh Samui
A large Gulf-of-Thailand island in Surat Thani with named beach areas, three landmark sights and Ang Thong as a day-trip park.
A Gulf-coast island with a rain calendar of its own
Koh Samui sits in the Gulf of Thailand and is a district of Surat Thani province, the same province that holds Ko Pha-ngan, Ko Tao and Ang Thong; TAT calls Surat Thani the province of a thousand islands. TAT describes Samui as the third-largest island in Thailand. Most of the interior is tropical jungle, the highest point is Khao Pom at 635 m, and a coastal road of roughly 51 km runs all the way around it. Nathon, on the west coast, is the original island capital and still holds many government offices. Samui is better read as a ring of separate coastal areas than as one beach. TAT names Chaweng, Lamai, Taling Ngam and Natien among its beaches, and points to Bo Phut, where old Chinese shophouses survive. Bo Phut lies on the north coast and Lipa Noi on the west. The island's sights are a mix of temples and a rock formation. Wat Phra Yai, the Big Buddha temple, was established in 1972; Wat Plai Laem is a modern temple whose main figure is Guanyin; and the Hin Ta Hin Yai rocks stand at the southern end of Lamai. Ang Thong Marine National Park, in the same province, is visited from Samui as a day trip. The weather also differs from the Andaman coast. At the TMD Ko Samui station the wettest months are October to December, whereas Phuket's stations record their heaviest rain from May to October.
Explore Koh Samui on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
What Koh Samui is for
Samui's sights fall into four groups: temples and landmarks, named beach areas, towns and villages, and places reached from the island.
Temples and landmarks
- Wat Phra Yai (the Big Buddha temple) stands on the small island of Ko Fan off the north-east coast, linked to Samui by a causeway. Construction was completed in 1972, and the golden main figure is about 12 m tall, seated in the Mara posture. Naga serpents line the staircase up to the images, and a smaller figure of the future Buddha, Metteyya, and a row of bells are also on the grounds.
- Wat Plai Laem is a modern temple in the north-east of the island. Its open-air main statue shows Cundi, a form of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanyin with eighteen arms), set in an ubosot on a platform pavilion surrounded by a temple lake. The design blends Chinese and Thai elements and was shaped in part by the Thai artist Jarit Phumdonming. A white Budai figure and small shrines to Hindu deities are on the grounds.
- Hin Ta Hin Yai, often called the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks, are granite formations at the southern end of Lamai Beach. Local legend says an elderly couple from Nakhon Si Thammarat were lost at sea off Lamai and turned to stone.
Beach areas by name
- Chaweng is one of the island's main commercial hubs.
- Lamai is listed by TAT among Samui's main beaches; the Hin Ta Hin Yai rocks mark its southern end.
- Bo Phut is on the north coast and is the second commercial centre alongside Chaweng.
- Taling Ngam and Natien are the other beaches TAT names; Lipa Noi is on the west side, and Bang Po has a view of Laem Yai cape.
Towns and villages
- Bophut's Fisherman's Village is the old part of Bo Phut, where TAT notes surviving Chinese shophouses. Treat it as a place to walk through rather than a single attraction.
- Nathon, on the west coast, is the island's original capital and its closest point to the mainland.
Reached from Samui
- Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park, in Surat Thani province, is a protected archipelago of limestone islands visited by day trip. TAT says its highlight is Ko Wua Ta Lap, with a viewpoint trail and an emerald lagoon, and the park headquarters is on that island.
- Ko Pha-ngan, Ko Tao and Ko Nang Yuan lie to the north; they are listed here as pointers only.
Three days that follow the island's geography
North-east: Ko Fan, Big Buddha Beach and Bophut
Start with Wat Phra Yai on Ko Fan and climb the naga staircase to the images. Wat Plai Laem is in the same north-eastern part of the island, and Bophut's Fisherman's Village is on the north coast, about 3 km from the temple.
Chaweng, Lamai and Hin Ta Hin Yai
Spend the day around the Chaweng and Lamai beach areas and finish at the southern end of Lamai Beach, where the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks stand.
Ang Thong Marine National Park
Use a day for Ang Thong, an archipelago of limestone islands in the same province. Ko Wua Ta Lap, the island with the viewpoint trail and emerald lagoon, is the one TAT highlights.
Arriving & getting around
Samui is a single island with one main road around it, so planning is mostly about which area each place is in.
How the island is laid out
- A coastal road of about 51 km (Highway 4169) circles the island. A side road, Highway 4171, branches off it towards Wat Phra Yai.
- Wat Phra Yai is roughly 3 km east of Bophut and about 7.5 km north-west of Chaweng; Big Buddha Beach (Bang Rak) lies beside it.
- Nathon, on the west coast, is the island's closest point to the mainland and has two of its five main piers.
Places that are not on the main island
- Wat Phra Yai is on Ko Fan, joined to Samui by a causeway, so no separate crossing is needed.
- Ang Thong, Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao are separate places in Surat Thani province, not parts of the Samui ring road.
Rain, heat and timing
Figures are from the TMD Ko Samui station (48550), 1991-2020 averages. The station's wettest months are October, November and December, which is a different pattern from the Andaman coast.
January 126.8, February 64.3, March 115.8, April 82.9, May 131.6, June 133.6. July 117.0, August 102.2, September 117.5, October 294.9, November 444.6, December 263.1. The annual total is 1,994.3 mm, and February has the lowest monthly figure.
October has 19.3 rainy days and November 18.7, the highest of the year; February has 5.6 and March 5.9, the lowest. The annual mean is 153.8 rainy days.
April 31.8, May 32.9 (the highest monthly figure), June 32.7, and December 29.3 and January 29.0 (the lowest). The annual mean maximum is 31.0 C.
At TMD Phuket (48564), September has 350.4 mm and October 336.0 mm, while November has 178.2 mm. Samui's November figure is 444.6 mm, so the two coasts do not peak together.
Insider tips
A few things that follow from the geography and the sources.
Practical
- Samui is on the Gulf, not the Andaman coast. Its monthly rainfall pattern is almost the reverse of Phuket's, so Phuket weather information does not transfer.
- TAT's own pages do not agree on a single season for the Surat Thani islands: the province page and the Ko Tao page name different months. The station figures above are a firmer basis for comparing months.
- Wat Phra Yai is on its own small island, Ko Fan, joined to Samui by a causeway.
- Wat Plai Laem is not a conventional Thai-style image. Its main figure is Guanyin with eighteen arms, in Chinese style, and the grounds mix Chinese and Thai design.
- Ang Thong is not part of Samui. It is a separate national marine park in the same province, with its own headquarters on Ko Wua Ta Lap.
Easy day trips
Places close to Samui
Related to Koh Samui
Journeys that include Koh Samui — each one visits the city as part of its itinerary.
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