Koh Samui
An island in the Gulf of Thailand with villas on its northern headlands, ten hotels holding MICHELIN Keys, and an open-air airport that an airline built for itself.
- Arrival
- Samui Airport · USM
- To the resort
- About 2 km to Chaweng; the northern headlands are minutes away
- Private jets
- Samui Airport, 2,100 m runway; parking and permits to arrange
- Best time
- February to April
The city
Headlands in the north, sand at Chaweng.
Samui’s best addresses sit on its northern capes. Plai Laem holds Six Senses, Samujana and Kerem on the hillside; Choeng Mon has its beach, with Kimpton Kitalay and SALA Samui on it; the Four Seasons takes the north-western tip among coconut palms. Chaweng, the long beach on the east coast, is the island’s town and lies two kilometres from the runway.
The dry season is short: February to April, with highs of 29 to 32 °C, little rain and the sea at 28 to 30 °C. The north-east monsoon brings the heaviest rain in October and November, more than 450 mm in November alone.
Arriving
An airport without walls.
Samui Airport is privately owned and run by Bangkok Airways, which opened it in 1989. The terminal is open-air, and the runway is 2,100 m long. Chaweng is about 2 km to the south.
- Bangkok 1 h 00
- Ho Chi Minh City 1 h 20
- Malé 4 h 10
- Dubai 6 h 50 long-range jet
- Paris 12 h 55 long-range jet
When to go
February to April.
The Gulf of Thailand keeps the island at 29 to 32 °C in the afternoon, and the water is bath-warm, 28 °C at its coolest. February to April is the dry season, with under 85 mm a month. The north-east monsoon hits in October and November, when 274 and then 462 mm fall.
- 29° J 122 28°
- 29° F 38 28°
- 30° M 53 29°
- 32° A 84 30°
- 32° M 173 30°
- 31° J 117 30°
- 31° J 145 29°
- 31° A 137 29°
- 31° S 142 29°
- 30° O 274 29°
- 29° N 462 28°
- 29° D 188 28°
What to see and do
Days in and around Koh Samui.
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Landmark
Choeng Mon
A beach on the north-eastern corner, with villas and two resorts on the sand.
-
Landmark
Plai Laem
The headland above Choeng Mon where the island’s hillside villas look down on the sea.
-
Landmark
Chaweng
The main beach and the main street, a few minutes south of the airport.
-
On the water
Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park
Forty two limestone islands across some 102 square kilometres of the Gulf, with a viewpoint climb on Koh Wua Talap, kayaking and the Emerald Lake on Koh Mae Koh.
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On the water
Sail Rock
Halfway to Koh Phangan, this granite pinnacle rises 30 metres from the seabed, with a swim through chimney and whale sharks in some months.
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Culture
Wat Phra Yai
Completed in 1972, the temple of the gold Big Buddha, 12 metres high, stands on Koh Phan, an islet joined to the north east coast by a causeway.
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Nature
Na Muang Waterfalls
In the southern interior, the lower fall drops about 18 metres beside the car park, while a steep 35 minute climb leads to the 80 metre upper fall.
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Golf
Santiburi Samui Country Club
Edward Thiele and Pirapon Namatra laid out this par 72 in 2003 on the hills above Maenam, using the steep fall of the ground.
Official site
Where to stay
Villas on the capes.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui Pool villas and residences among coconut palms at the island’s north-western point, with two Keys in 2026.
- Banyan Tree Samui Eighty-eight villas stepped down a hillside over a private inlet, the largest suites made of two villas joined.
- Six Senses Samui Sixty-seven split-level villas on twenty acres of headland, most with their own infinity pool.
- Samujana Villas Villas of three to eight bedrooms high on the hill, each with an infinity pool, some with a private cinema.
- Kimpton Kitalay Samui One hundred and thirty-eight rooms and villas above Choeng Mon beach, with an Olympic-size pool a few steps from the sand.
- SALA Samui Choengmon Beach Resort Fifty-three villas with private pools and two more pools on the beach.
- Anantara Lawana Resort and Spa A private beach at the northern end of Chaweng, with plunge pools to many of the rooms.
- Kerem Luxury Beachfront Villas Four three-bedroom villas by Gary Fell, two on the beach and two on the terrace above, furnished by Meridiani.
- Cape Fahn Hotel, Koh Samui One Key in the 2026 selection, the tenth hotel on the island to hold one.
- Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui A hotel named for its bay, holding one Key in 2026.
Where to dine
The best tables on the island.
The MICHELIN Guide Thailand 2026 has no starred table on Koh Samui. Two hotel restaurants are in its selection; the other three lead Trip.com’s 2026 fine-dining ranking for the island.
- Saffron MICHELIN Guide Thai ฿฿฿ Banyan Tree Samui, Maret
- FishHouse MICHELIN Guide European ฿฿฿ Kimpton Kitalay, Choeng Mon
- Dining on the Rocks Trip.com Trip.Best 2026 Asian and European Six Senses Samui, Plai Laem
- Tree Tops Trip.com Trip.Best 2026 International Anantara Lawana, Chaweng
- Namu Trip.com Trip.Best 2026 Japanese W Koh Samui, Mae Nam
Elsewhere in Thailand
More reasons to come.
- Bangkok The Grand Palace, and hotels along the Chao Phraya.
- Phuket The largest island, and the gateway to the Andaman Sea.
- Krabi Limestone cliffs over the sea, and the islands beyond.
- Chiang Mai The old walled city of the north, and the hills around it.
- Hua Hin The royal seaside town, three hours south of Bangkok.
Flying to Koh Samui?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.