By Kylian Dev
The 7 best Koh Samui day trips at a glance
The sea decides first: from November to early January, crossings and the east coast are at their roughest.
| Trip | Duration | Typical price | Best season | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ang Thong Marine Park | Full day (7.30 am – 5 pm) | 1,200 – 2,500 THB + 300 THB park fee | Late Dec – Sept | Everyone |
| Koh Tao and Nang Yuan | Full day (7 am – 6 pm) | 2,000 – 2,800 THB + Nang Yuan fee | March – Sept | Snorkellers, good sailors |
| Pig Island and Koh Tan | Half day | 1,500 – 2,000 THB | Feb – Oct | Families, couples |
| Island drive with a driver | 6 – 8 h | 2,000 – 3,000 THB per car | All year | Rainy or rough days |
| Koh Phangan on your own | Full day | About 300 – 400 THB one way by boat | Jan – Sept | Independent travellers |
| Kayak and SUP on the west coast | 2 – 3 h | 800 – 1,500 THB | Feb – Oct | Active travellers |
| Thai cooking class | 3 – 4 h | 1,500 – 2,500 THB | All year | Food lovers, rainy days |
First visit
The classicAng Thong by speedboat: kayaking between limestone cliffs, the climb to the Koh Wua Talap viewpoint and the emerald lake of Koh Mae Ko.
Underwater
Best snorkellingKoh Tao and Nang Yuan: the clearest water in the Gulf, fish right off the beach and three islets joined by a sandbar.
With kids
Short and calmPig Island and Koh Tan by longtail: twenty minutes at sea, white sand and back in time for a nap.
Rough sea
Plan BA day with a driver: Na Muang waterfall, the Hin Ta Hin Yai rocks, Big Buddha and Wat Plai Laem.
Ang Thong: big boat or speedboat?
Forty-two limestone islands an hour from Samui, protected as a national park: the one trip that justifies the ferry ticket on its own.
Two formats share the market. The big boat, around 1,200 to 1,500 THB, takes about 1.5 hours to reach the park and often carries over a hundred people: pick it if you get seasick, because it rolls less. The speedboat, 1,900 to 2,500 THB, gets there in an hour with around thirty passengers and fits more islands into the day.
Either way, expect a 7.30 am pick-up, kayaking under the cliffs, the climb to the Koh Wua Talap viewpoint (500 steep metres, so wear proper shoes) and the inland lake of Koh Mae Ko, which you admire from above but cannot swim in. The 300 THB park fee is paid in cash on board or at the pier: check whether it is included before you pay.
Koh Tao and Nang Yuan: the best snorkelling day
Koh Tao is 1.5 to 2 hours from Samui by speedboat: a long ride, rewarded with the clearest water in the Gulf of Thailand.
A typical tour picks you up around 7 am, stops at Nang Yuan (three islets joined by a sandbar, with a viewpoint ten minutes' walk up), then snorkels two or three bays around Koh Tao such as Mango Bay or Hin Wong. You are back between 5 and 6 pm. Nang Yuan charges a cash entry fee and bans plastic bottles: ask whether your tour covers the fee.
- Take a seasickness tablet before boarding, the crossing can be bumpy
- Choose a boat that caps the group at 30 to 40 people
- If you really love the water, spend two nights on Koh Tao instead of four hours: see how to get from Koh Samui to Koh Tao
Pig Island and Koh Tan: the easy half day
Two small islands twenty minutes by longtail off Samui's south coast: the gentlest trip on the list, and the best with children.
Koh Madsum, nicknamed Pig Island for the pigs that wander its beach, and wilder Koh Tan are reached by longtail from Thong Krut or Bang Kao. Group trips cost 1,500 to 2,000 THB a person, or you can hire a private longtail on the beach and negotiate. Go in the morning, when the sea is calmer and the beaches emptier.
Around the island: the Plan B that fills a real day
When the sea is too rough to go out, Samui is still a lovely island to explore by scooter or with a driver.
Samui in one day
1 days- 1Koh Samui1 d
Big Buddha and Wat Plai Laem in the morning, Na Muang 1 waterfall before lunch, the Hin Ta Hin Yai rocks and Lamai in the afternoon, sunset at Lipa Noi or Nathon.
A driver for the day costs 2,000 to 3,000 THB per car depending on hours: for four people it beats a group tour. Only rent a scooter if you already ride one and hold a motorcycle licence. To pick your late-afternoon beach, see the best Koh Samui beaches.
Koh Phangan, kayaking, cooking: trips you can do on your own
Three outings that work perfectly well without an agency.
Koh Phangan for the day
Scheduled ferryBoats from Bangrak or Nathon take 30 to 60 minutes to Thong Sala. Share a taxi to Bottle Beach or Haad Rin and catch the last boat back in the late afternoon. On party nights, see the Full Moon Party.
Kayak and SUP
West coastRental shacks at Lipa Noi and Bophut hire kayaks and paddleboards by the hour. Go in the morning, the wind picks up after lunch.
Cooking class
Rainy dayThree to four hours, with a market visit in the better classes, and you leave with the recipes. Book the day before.
Which Koh Samui tours should you skip?
Some outings still appear in hotel brochures. We do not recommend them.
- Elephant rides, and the jeep 'safaris' that include them
- Monkey, crocodile or snake shows, and photos with wild animals
- Ang Thong trips sold in November and December
- Jet-ski 'island tours' without insurance or life jackets
To see elephants responsibly, read our guide to ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand: observation-only places, with no riding, bathing or shows, are mainly in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Krabi. Samui's own sanctuary has dropped riding and bathing but still lets visitors feed the elephants.
How to choose, and how many trips to plan
On a one-week stay, two boat trips are plenty: the rest of the time, the beach is the excursion.
3 to 4 days
One tripAng Thong, or Pig Island if the sea is rough.
One week
Two tripsAng Thong and Koh Tao, with a rest day in between.
With children
No long crossingPig Island, an island drive and a half day of kayaking.
Stay on the north or west side if you can: Bophut, Bangrak and Maenam are close to the piers and speedboat departures. See where to stay on Koh Samui and our Koh Samui guide.
Book online or on the island?
Both work: what matters is knowing exactly what is included.
- 1Check that hotel pick-up covers your beach: Lamai and the south are sometimes charged extra
- 2Ask whether the park or island fee is included, otherwise bring cash
- 3Choose free cancellation up to 24 hours: boat trips are cancelled in bad weather
- 4Book two or three days ahead in high season (December to April), the day before the rest of the year