Things to Do in Koh Samui — The Complete Guide

Koh Samui gets typecast as a fly-and-flop island, and that sells it badly short. Thailand’s second-largest island packs jungle waterfalls, working fishing villages, a marine national park and some of the Gulf’s best food into a place you can drive around in ninety minutes. We’ve been placing guests in private villas across Samui for years — this is the list we actually send them.

Start on the Sand: Chaweng, Lamai and the Quiet North

Chaweng is the postcard — three kilometres of powder-white sand with every watersport going. Lamai, one headland south, is calmer and bookended by the famous Hin Ta and Hin Yai rock formations. But the connoisseur’s beaches are up north: Maenam’s casuarina-shaded calm, and Choeng Mon’s sheltered cove, ideal for small children. Many of our favourite stays, like Villa Baan seThai above Coral Cove, put you between Chaweng’s energy and Lamai’s calm.

Fisherman’s Village, Bophut

Bophut’s old teak shophouses have become Samui’s most atmospheric quarter — boutiques and beachfront restaurants by day, and on Friday evenings a walking-street market that’s the best people-watching on the island. Stay close at Villa Jasmine Bophut and you can stroll home barefoot along the sand.

Ang Thong Marine Park

The single best day trip in the Gulf of Thailand: 42 jungle-clad limestone islands rising out of emerald water, an hour west by speedboat. Kayak between the karsts, climb to the Emerald Lake viewpoint, and snorkel before the afternoon boats arrive — go early, and go on a weekday if you can.

Waterfalls and the Jungle Interior

Samui’s mountainous spine hides Na Muang’s two waterfalls — the second, reached by a twenty-minute jungle walk, has a swimmable pool that’s gloriously cold after the coast’s heat. The viewpoint cafés along the island’s ring of high roads (Jungle Club’s clifftop deck is the classic) are worth a slow afternoon.

Temples Worth Your Time

The Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai has watched over the northeast corner since 1972 and is best at sunrise before the coaches. Wat Plai Laem next door is a riot of colour around an 18-arm Guanyin statue, and Lamai’s Wat Khunaram houses the island’s famous mummified monk — surreal, respectful and quietly moving.

Eat Like You Mean It

Southern Gulf cooking is its own school: gaeng som’s sour-turmeric heat, whole sea bass with garlic and lime, coconut everything. The fish stalls at Hua Thanon’s Muslim fishing village and Maenam’s Thursday night market are the real deal. For special occasions, several of our villas — Villa Moonstar among them — come with private Thai chefs who’ll cook a southern feast at home.

Where to Stay While You Do All This

Samui rewards the villa approach: the island’s best stretches of coast are residential, not hotel strips. Browse the full Koh Samui collection, or jump straight to the size you need — our three-bedroom, four-bedroom and five-bedroom Samui villas cover everything from honeymoon hideaways to full family compounds like Lime Samui 10. Still weighing Thai islands? Our Phuket vs Koh Samui comparison settles it.

Tell us your dates and we’ll match you with the right corner of Samui — enquire here and our specialists will shortlist villas within 24 hours.