Administered by the large mainland province of Suratthani, Koh (Thai word for island) Samui lies approximately 35 km offshore and 800 km southof Bangkok in the southern Gulf of Thailand. The island is endowed with many beautiful beaches and blessed with some stunning tropical vistas. Samui has defied much of the development such a location attracts to remain, very much, an exotic island paradise to the million visitors it receives in a good year. The island is home to about 50,000 full-time inhabitants, 95 per cent of whom are Buddhist and the majority of whom originate from Issan province in the north east of Thailand, where well paid work is scarce.
At 237 km² Samui is the third largest island in Thailand and the largest island in an archipelago of over 80 (mostly uninhabited) islands which form theAng Thong Marine National Park, a kayaking and snorkeling paradise. Koh Samui’s palm fringed shoreline, coconutand fruit cultivation of the coastal lowlands rise to a central granite massive, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.
At 25 km long and 21 km wide, Samui is big enough for serious exploration by the adventurous and fit, but the 51 km concrete road that circles the island can be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car.
The island was probably first inhabited about 15 centuries ago, settled by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and Southern China. The name Samui is thought to be a corruption of the Chinese word Saboey, meaning safe haven.
Until the late 20th century, Samui was an isolated, self-sufficient community engaged in coconut cultivation and fishing, occupations which still engage a majority of its indiginous population. The island was even without roads until the early 1970s, and the journey from one side of the island to the other involved a two day trek through the mountainous central jungles. In the early 1970s the first backpackers traveling on coconut boats arrived on Ko Samui. For years the island had a just few bungalows and a trickle of travelers. Progress brought change in the early 1980s after tourists started arriving by the boatload. Development and visitor numbers accelerated with the opening of its airport in 1989.
Koh Samui Airport (USM) is a private airport built by Bangkok Airways, which is still the main operator and was for a long time the only airline with services to Koh Samui from mainland Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. The airport is additionally served by Thai Airways International from Bangkok and more recently Firefly, a low cost airline serving Kuala Lumpur. Several ferries connect the island with the mainland, including the car ferry from Donsak to Lipa Noi on the west of the island, near Nathon, the island capital.
Samui is now the second most popular island destination in Thailand (after Phuket), but strictly enforced height restrictions have prevented the construction of high-rise apartment blocks that so dominate the coastlines of Phuket and Pattaya. Koh Samui may not be the country’s undiscovered island paradise anymore, but it’s still an oasis of natural beauty with its white sandy beaches, picturesque waterfalls, swaying coconut trees and fabulous local cuisine. Koh Samui still enchants and endows it’s visitors with the same laid-back, island experience it always has.
Samui Guide
Administered by the large mainland province of Suratthani, Koh (Thai word for island) Samui lies approximately 35 km offshore and 800 km southof Bangkok in the southern Gulf of Thailand. The island is endowed with many beautiful beaches and blessed with some stunning tropical vistas. Samui has defied much of the development such a location attracts to remain, very much, an exotic island paradise to the million visitors it receives in a good year. The island is home to about 50,000 full-time inhabitants, 95 per cent of whom are Buddhist and the majority of whom originate from Issan province in the north east of Thailand, where well paid work is scarce.
At 237 km² Samui is the third largest island in Thailand and the largest island in an archipelago of over 80 (mostly uninhabited) islands which form the Ang Thong Marine National Park, a kayaking and snorkeling paradise. Koh Samui’s palm fringed shoreline, coconut and fruit cultivation of the coastal lowlands rise to a central granite massive, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.
At 25 km long and 21 km wide, Samui is big enough for serious exploration by the adventurous and fit, but the 51 km concrete road that circles the island can be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car.
The island was probably first inhabited about 15 centuries ago, settled by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and Southern China. The name Samui is thought to be a corruption of the Chinese word Saboey, meaning safe haven.
Until the late 20th century, Samui was an isolated, self-sufficient community engaged in coconut cultivation and fishing, occupations which still engage a majority of its indiginous population. The island was even without roads until the early 1970s, and the journey from one side of the island to the other involved a two day trek through the mountainous central jungles. In the early 1970s the first backpackers traveling on coconut boats arrived on Ko Samui. For years the island had a just few bungalows and a trickle of travelers. Progress brought change in the early 1980s after tourists started arriving by the boatload. Development and visitor numbers accelerated with the opening of its airport in 1989.
Koh Samui Airport (USM) is a private airport built by Bangkok Airways, which is still the main operator and was for a long time the only airline with services to Koh Samui from mainland Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. The airport is additionally served by Thai Airways International from Bangkok and more recently Firefly, a low cost airline serving Kuala Lumpur. Several ferries connect the island with the mainland, including the car ferry from Donsak to Lipa Noi on the west of the island, near Nathon, the island capital.
Samui is now the second most popular island destination in Thailand (after Phuket), but strictly enforced height restrictions have prevented the construction of high-rise apartment blocks that so dominate the coastlines of Phuket and Pattaya. Koh Samui may not be the country’s undiscovered island paradise anymore, but it’s still an oasis of natural beauty with its white sandy beaches, picturesque waterfalls, swaying coconut trees and fabulous local cuisine. Koh Samui still enchants and endows it’s visitors with the same laid-back, island experience it always has.