

However, the pandemic and the resulting border closures hit the local economy hard, with many hotels, restaurants and other businesses closing. The water at Bophut Beach, though, is often murky, especially around December.ĭevelopment on Ko Samui has taken its toll and, before COVID, the island saw an average of 2.3 million visitors per year and the beaches of Chaweng and Lamai were overcrowded in the high season.

Ko Samui may not be the country’s most beautiful island but it is still an oasis of natural beauty with its white sandy beaches, dazzling coral, luscious lagoons, picturesque waterfalls, swaying coconut trees, and crystal clear water. Samui is now the second most popular island destination in Thailand (after Phuket).
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Things started to change in the early 1990s when tourists started arriving in full boats and since then the place has grown substantially. For years after that the island just had a few bungalows and a trickle of travelers. In the early 1970s the first backpackers travelling on the back of a coconut boat arrived on Ko Samui. The island was even without roads until the early 1970s, and the 15 km (9.3 mi) journey from one side of the island to the other involved a whole-day trek through mountainous jungle. Until the late 20th century, Samui was an isolated self-sufficient community, having little connection with the mainland. The island was probably first inhabited about 15 centuries ago, settled by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and south China. Samui is home to some 50,000 full-time inhabitants, 90% of whom are Buddhist. At 25 km (16 mi) long and 21 km (13 mi) wide, Samui is big enough for serious exploration by the adventurous and fit, but can be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car. Understand Even the sun rests in paradiseĪt 247 km², Samui is the second largest island in Thailand and the largest island in an archipelago of over 80 (mostly uninhabited) islands which form the Ang Thong National Marine Park, a kayaking and snorkelling paradise.


It is about 700 km (430 mi) south of Bangkok and 80 km (50 mi) from the eastern coastline of Southern Thailand. Ko Samui is the second biggest in Thailand after Phuket.
