It's hard to imagine a more perfect tropical island than Koh Samui, where the lush mountainous interior leads down to endless swathes of coconut groves and a shore fringed with white sandy beaches and ancient granite boulders. Calm, clear waters are always warm and inviting, usually “azure”, and numerous surrounding islands offer their mysteries to explore.
Koh Samui is located 560 kms south of Bangkok and 80 kms off the coast of Surat Thani province. The island covers 280 km2 and measures 21 km at its widest point and 25 km at its longest.
People first settled on the island around 1500 years ago. The first known inhabitants were fishermen seeking shelter from the wind in the calm waters of BoPhut bay, on the north coast. They were quick to take advantage of the rich waters offering a plentiful supply of ink-fishes and other seafood along with the fertile land. Small villages developed and the island's population started to grow.
The local population is still only 34,000 -- mainly Buddhist and very friendly. Until the recent increase of tourism, coconut farming and fishing were the main sources of income. The island still exports around 2 million coconuts a month, most of which are picked by trained monkeys.
The island is quite mountainous with a ridge running east to west. Pristine tropical rain-forest covers most of the interior, while the coastline comprises numerous palm-fringed, powdery-sand beaches with crystal clear sapphire waters. Access to the beaches is very easy as a 50 km ring road skirts the coastline. Samui offers a great diversity of landscape, vistas, flora and fauna for such a small island.
Until Koh Samui was “discovered” by backpackers in the 70’s it had remained relatively untouched by the outside (even the Bangkok government). Since then it has developed into an up-market holiday destination renowned throughout the world as a lush tropical paradise offering just about everything – from water activities (snorkling or diving in the AngThong Marine Park, fishing, kayaking, or just swimming) to land sports (great golf, weight-training, jungle-trekking, shooting, off-roading, etc.) to animal shows (monkeys, crocs) as well a a vibrant (all)night-life, diverse cuisines and wonderful massage services.
Apart from offering everything one could wish for on a tropical island, what makes Koh Samui most special is her people. Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, and that religion is strongly reflected in the culture. Not only are the locals immensely tolerant and welcoming, but genuinely happy with their lives. Warm smiles and laughter are a part of everyday life here, and immediately contagious. Little wonder so many visitors fall in love with the island, return yearly, build their fantasy homes here, or in many cases settle on Koh Samui.