Ko Samui

Ko Samui is Thailand’s third largest island, after Ko Phuket and Ko Chang.

Dubbed the biggest coconut plantation in the world until the first backpackers arrived in the 1970s, this island has now seen tourism become its main income earner.

Ko Samui’s beaches are world famous – its long, perfect strands attract around 500,000 visitors each year. Chaweng beach, in particular, has a reputation as something of a hang-out for an international party crowd.

An island of great natural beauty and variety, Ko Samui is home to some 50,000 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 massif, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.

Samui’s weather patterns are a little different from the rest of Thailand. In Apr-Sep, when most of the country has its monsoon, Samui stays fairly dry, but from Oct-Dec, it’s wet in Samui and drier elsewhere.

The major reason people come to Samui is to enjoy the beaches. Even though the two main beaches of Chaweng and Lamai have generally suffered due to mass development over the past decade they are still relatively impressive. Development has been thwarted slightly because of the island’s regulation governing height restriction, although it can be argued that this has caused sprawl.

Other than lying on the beach with a cold beer in hand there isn’t all that much to see on the island. Bang Rak has a large Buddha statue, and there are some waterfalls (notably Na Muang) of minor interest. The usual water sports are available, including plenty of dive shops, but most diving is done either in the nearby Ang Thong National Marine Park or Ko Tao as the visibility around Samui’s sandy beaches tends to be poor. You can book diving day trips at dive shops, most of which are based in Chaweng. The dive boats tend to leave from the pier at Bophut and Bang Rak.