Destination · Gulf of Thailand
Ko Samui
- Airport
- Samui (USM)Via Bangkok; or ferry from Surat Thani
- Best months
- Feb–AugNot the same season as Phuket — see the chart
- Temperature
- 25–33°CWarm all year
- Nights to allow
- 3 to 4Add a day if you are island-hopping
- Money
- Cards widelyCash for markets, boats and taxis
The Gulf’s most developed island, with its own airport and a ring road that makes the whole thing easy to see in a week. The important thing to know about Samui is that its season is close to the opposite of Phuket’s: it is at its best while the Andaman coast is under monsoon, and at its worst in November.
Decide first
Where to stay, and who each one suits.
Chaweng
The main beach and the busiest. Two kilometres of sand, everything you might want behind it, and a nightlife strip that runs late.
Choose it if
- A first trip to the island
- You want choice within walking distance
- Nightlife matters
Think twice if
- Busy, and hawked
- The main road behind it is noisy
Lamai
The second beach and the better one, in the view of most people who have tried both. Same facilities, fewer of them, and a nicer stretch of sand.
Choose it if
- You want Chaweng with the volume down
- Value for money
- A week rather than a weekend
Think twice if
- Some rocky sections
- Its own small red-light strip
Bophut & Fisherman’s Village
The north coast, where the island has kept some character. Old shophouses, a Friday walking street, good restaurants and a calm shallow sea.
Choose it if
- You are here to eat well
- A couple rather than a group
- You like a village over a strip
Think twice if
- Shallow at low tide — better for wading than swimming
- Fewer beach facilities
Choeng Mon & the north-east
Quiet coves and the higher-end resorts. Sheltered water and almost nothing to walk to.
Choose it if
- Travelling with young children
- A honeymoon
- You will stay put
Think twice if
- You will eat where you sleep
- A taxi for every trip out
Decide second
When to come, month by month.
Thailand does not have one season. Bar height is that month’s typical rainfall here, the symbol above it is the weather to expect, and the figures below it how busy it gets.
Pick a month to read it in full.
Drying out
January
The tail of the north-east monsoon. Drier week by week, and quiet after the new year crowd has gone home.
- Typical rain
- 140 mm
- Conditions
- Settling
- Crowds
- Moderate
Very good
February
Reliably dry and not yet punishing. One of the two best windows of the year on this coast.
- Typical rain
- 60 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Busy
Peak season
March
The driest month. Flat sea, clear water for diving, and the island at its best.
- Typical rain
- 75 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Busy
Peak season
April
Hot and dry, with Songkran mid-month. Excellent water clarity; book well ahead.
- Typical rain
- 80 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Busy
Very good
May
A little rain returns but nothing that shapes a trip. Rates ease while the weather stays good.
- Typical rain
- 150 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Moderate
Good
June
Note the difference from the Andaman coast: while Phuket and Krabi are into the monsoon, the Gulf stays largely fine.
- Typical rain
- 110 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Moderate
Peak season
July
Busy with European summer holidays, and the weather earns it. Dry, hot and calm.
- Typical rain
- 120 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Busy
Very good
August
Still busy, still good. Occasional heavy showers that clear quickly.
- Typical rain
- 110 mm
- Conditions
- Calm
- Crowds
- Busy
Shoulder
September
Rain building towards the wet season, and the quietest good-value window before it arrives properly.
- Typical rain
- 150 mm
- Conditions
- Choppy
- Crowds
- Moderate
Wet
October
The north-east monsoon arrives. Ferries still run but crossings get uncomfortable, and rain sets in for days rather than hours.
- Typical rain
- 290 mm
- Conditions
- Choppy
- Crowds
- Quiet
Wettest
November
The wettest month here by a distance, and the one to avoid. Flooding is not unusual and ferries are cancelled outright.
- Typical rain
- 420 mm
- Conditions
- Rough
- Crowds
- Quiet
Improving
December
Still wet early on and drying towards the end, but Christmas and new year fill the island regardless of the sky.
- Typical rain
- 200 mm
- Conditions
- Settling
- Crowds
- Moderate
Decide third
How long, and what shape.
Three shapes we actually sell. The nights are real and so is the pace — each one is a starting point we rebuild around who is travelling, not a fixed menu.
1 night · 2 days
Touch & Go
One night on Samui works as a hinge between the mainland and the other islands. As a holiday on its own it does not.
Day 1
Land, and stay near the airport
USM is fifteen minutes from most of the north-east. Choeng Mon or Chaweng for the afternoon, and Fisherman’s Village in the evening if it is a Friday.
Day 2
The ring road, then out
Big Buddha, the Na Muang waterfall, the Grandmother and Grandfather rocks and lunch at Lamai. The island is fifty kilometres around; you can see it and still make a flight.
Samui is one of the few Thai islands with its own airport, which is exactly why one night here works. On Phangan or Tao the ferry would eat the day.
2 nights · 3 days
Quick Getaways
Two nights, one marine park day, and the ring road. The short Gulf break that still gets you out to the islands.
Day 1
Arrive, settle
Fisherman’s Village in the evening — the one part of Samui that still looks like it did before the airport.
Day 2
Ang Thong Marine Park
Forty-two islands, the emerald lake in the crater of one of them, and the viewpoint that put Samui on the map. A full day by speedboat or catamaran.
Day 3
The ring road, then out
Anticlockwise: Big Buddha, the Secret Buddha Garden in the interior, and a long lunch on the quieter south coast before an evening flight.
Samui’s season is close to the inverse of Phuket’s. February to August is the good half of the year here, and November is the wettest month.
4 nights · 5 days
Destination Deep Dive
Two boat days, the island properly, and enough left over to spend a morning doing nothing at all.
Day 1
Arrive
Nothing scheduled. The first evening at Fisherman’s Village.
Day 2
Ang Thong Marine Park
The full day, with the climb to the emerald lake and time in the water rather than a schedule.
Day 3
Koh Tao
By catamaran — the best snorkelling in the Gulf, and a crossing that is genuinely worth making for the day.
Day 4
The island, anticlockwise
Big Buddha, Na Muang, the Secret Buddha Garden up in the interior, and Lamai for the afternoon.
Day 5
A slow morning, then USM
The beach until checkout, and a flight from an airport that is fifteen minutes away.
Koh Tao as a day trip is two hours of boat each way. If anyone in the party dives, we would move you there for two of these nights instead of sending you back and forth.
What you came for
Three things worth the day.
Ang Thong Marine Park
Forty-two islands, an emerald inland lake reached by a steep climb, and the view that put the Gulf on the map. A full day by speedboat.
- Time
- Full day
- Boat
- Speedboat
- Park fee
- ฿300 / ฿150
Koh Tao, by day or overnight
The best value diving in Thailand and where a very large share of the world’s open-water certificates are issued. An hour and a half by catamaran.
- Time
- Day trip or 2–3 nights
- Boat
- Catamaran
- Cost
- From ฿600 return
The island ring road
Fifty kilometres, and the honest way to see Samui: Na Muang waterfalls, the Big Buddha, Hin Ta and Hin Yai, and the quiet south coast almost nobody visits.
- Time
- A full day
- Getting around
- Car with driver
- Cost
- Varies
For Indians
Entry requirements
- Route
- Visa exemption
- Maximum stay
- 30 days
- Fee
- None
When this starts India was moved to this 30-day exemption by the Thai Cabinet on 16 July 2026. It commences 15 days after the Ministry of Interior announcements are published in Thailand’s Royal Gazette. We confirm in writing which rule applies to your travel dates before you fly, and we will not let you travel on the wrong one.
Every traveller must also file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within 72 hours of arrival. It is free, and airlines check it at the gate — without it you will not be allowed to board.
Applies to Indian passport holders. Last reviewed 12 August 2026. Entry rules change; we confirm the current position at the time of booking.
Packages through Ko Samui
Nothing published through here yet, which usually means the trips we run to this part of Thailand are built to order. Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will price one.
Plan my ThailandWorth knowing
What we would tell you on the phone.
The season is not Phuket’s
This is the single most useful thing to know about the Gulf. November here is what September is on the Andaman coast.
Ferries stop in bad weather
In the wet season crossings from Surat Thani are cancelled outright at times. Fly if your dates are tight.
Sandflies on the quiet beaches
The emptier the sand, the more likely. Repellent, and do not sit directly on the sand at dusk.
Taxi fares are not metered
Agree the price first. Songthaews along the ring road are a fraction of the cost.
Pairs well with
Where most people go next.
Koh Phangan
Thirty minutes by boat and a completely different temperament.
Koh Tao
An hour and a half, and worth two nights rather than one day if you dive.
Bangkok
An hour in the air, and the usual way in and out.
Ko Samui, built around you.
Tell us who is travelling and when. We will build the rest around the season.