Koh Samui News
Koh Samui news, tourism, business, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and expat insights from Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted island news source.
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Koh Samui tourism operators want cheaper flights to lure tourists
Koh Samui needs more visitors, from anywhere. A number of hotels on the island, one of Thailand’s popular tourist destinations hit by the pandemic-induced travel bans, are certified for alternative local state quarantine, or ALSQ, and now tourism officials are looking to lure travellers in with cheaper flights. Getting the prices lower could be difficult. President of the Tourism Association…
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The Raja 4 salvage operations completed after the ferry sank off Koh Samui on August 1
Salvage operations have been completed for the Raja 4 car and passenger ferry which sank off the coast of Surat Thani, heading back from Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand, on August 1. 12 people drowned as a result of the sinking. The ferry foundered and sank in a sudden weather front about 2 nautical miles from Koh Samui…
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23 Koh Samui hotels seek alternative state quarantine certification
Nearly 2 dozen hotels and resorts in the Thai Gulf island resort of Koh Samui are seeking certification to be alternative state quarantine facilities. Talk of a potential travel bubble scheme to the island is also set for today, the Nation Thailand reports. 8 of the 23 hotels have already gone through a government check and the rest will be…
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Raja salvage operation resumes, garbage truck, pick-up raised from seabed
An operation to raise the sunken Raja 4 ferry and its cargo of vehicles from the seabed off Koh Samui has resumed, after being delayed due to bad weather. The ferry sank on the night of August 1 as it was transporting several garbage trucks from Samui to the mainland. The ferry had set sail in bad weather and capsized…
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Lights are out on Ibiza – the world’s party islands go dark
“The party scene, by its nature, is all about getting together, dancing, celebrating ‘closeness’ and being social – the antithesis of social distancing and staying away from other people in the Covid-era.” Some of the world’s tourist islands are suffering badly from the lack of travel, it’s not just Bali and Phuket. The Spanish party island of Ibiza is also…
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Salvage effort on Samui ferry delayed due to bad weather
An operation to lift the sunken Raja company ferry from the seabed off Koh Samui has been delayed due to strong winds and high tide. The salvage operation is aimed at recovering the ferry and a number of garbage trucks it was transporting at the time of the sinking. The ferry sunk on the journey back from Samui to the…
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Koh Phangan cannabis farm raided by police
A Koh Phangan cannabis farm was raided today and police seized 40 plants. Meanwhile, Thai lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would allow people to grow cannabis. But these growers might have jumped the gun. Police say the farm was around 1 rai (.3 acres), and hidden in the forests of Koh Phangan. The seized cannabis plants weighed around 60…
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Foreigners arrested over eco-vandalism off Koh Phangan
A Hungarian and Dutch man have been arrested for picking up sea animals and taking photos with them whilst diving off Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. They then posted them on social media, probably oblivious to their potentially criminal act. Police described the two as “long-stayers on Koh Phangan”. Their selfies sparked plenty of outrage from Thai netizens…
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Work to begin on raising Raja ferry, garbage trucks, from seabed
The managing director of Raja Ferry Port, Apichart Chayopas, says port officials have engaged a company to carry out the salvage operation on the cargo ferry that sank off Koh Samui on August 1. It’s understood the ferry capsized as a result of 3 garbage trucks shifting while being transported to the mainland in rough weather. 5 of the 16…
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Heavyweight doctors oppose Phuket plan to admit tourists
A number of prominent physicians, some advisors to the Ministry of Public Health and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, have posted on social media this weekend that they strongly oppose opening Thailand to tourists in any way, shape or form. Their concerns follow the government’s announcement yesterday of its plan to cautiously reopen the southern resort island of Phuket…
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Lack of tourists sees return of endangered sea turtles to Koh Samui
Thailand’s ebach resorts maybe bereft of tourists, but another population is making a comeback: endangered hawksbill and green sea turtles are returning in droves. This year, as the Covid-19 pandemic emptied the nation of tourists, nests on Koh Samui in the southern Surat Thani province have burgeoned. Since February, some 838 baby turtles have scuttled their way across the island’s…
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Last bodies found in sunken Koh Samui ferry
Divers found the bodies of 2 missing men after a car ferry capsized off the coast of Surat Thani earlier this month. The divers found the bodies trapped between lorries chained up to the sunken ferry, Raja 4. They were the last people missing. 18 year old Tiwakorn Vacharit was a crew member on the ferry and 47 year old…
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Royal pardon for 2 Burmese men in Koh Tao backpacker murder case
“They will also have a chance to get their sentences reduced further on good behaviour.” Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, the 2 young Burmese men sentenced to death over the Koh Tao British backpacker double murder in 2014, have had their sentences commuted to life in prison by the Thai monarch. The pair were sentenced to death for the murder…
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Samui ferry company facing legal action over environmental impact of capsize
Thailand’s Ministry of National Resources and the Environment is threatening to sue the Raja Ferry company as a result of environmental contamination from the capsizing of a ferry off Koh Samui. The cargo ferry sank in rough weather last Saturday night, while attempting to transport rubbish from Samui to the Surat Thani mainland, resulting in dead and missing crew. The…
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Remains of another ferry disaster victim found, in the sunken vessel
The body of another victim of Saturday’s Surat Thani ferry disaster have been located, trapped inside the sunken vessel. Divers in Surat Thani found the remains of the missing female crew member in the sunken Racha 4 ferry, but were unable to recover the body. The deputy commander of the Second Fleet said today that the divers found the victim…
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Koh Samui bridge collapse leaves truck stuck under pier
In the second setback in a week for the beleagured Raja Ferry Co., a steel boarding bridge for vehicles at Raja 1 ferry pier on Koh Samui collapsed yesterday, leaving a truck wedged under the wharf. The incident follows Saturday’s ferry disaster in which 3 people are confirmed dead and 3 remain missing. The pier is one of the 3…
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4 people still missing from the Koh Samui ferry sinking
Rescue workers and recovery teams are still searching for 4 missing people following the capsize and sinking of a car ferry off the coast of Surat Thani last Saturday night. The ferry, the Raja 4, was on its way back from Koh Samui, loaded with garbage trucks and was about 2 kilometres off Don Sak Pier, when the incident happened.…
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UPDATE: Koh Samui ferry capsize. 3 people still missing.
3 people are still missing in the aftermath of the capsizing of a Koh Samui car ferry, the Raja 4. The incident happened last night, about 2 nautical miles short of Don Sak pier in Surat Thani, on its way back from Koh Samui. It was transporting garbage from the island and had trucks, crew, drivers and a company salesperson…
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UPDATE: Koh Samui ferry capsize. 2 more found alive.
The body of the skipper of a capsized ferry has been recovered, whilst 2 others have been found. This leaves 3 people still missing. Surat Thani governor Wichawut Jinto announced the latest info following the capsize of the Koh Samui car last night. The Raja 4 ferry was loaded with rubbish from the island, 3 10-wheel lorries and a pickup,…
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7 still missing after Koh Samui ferry capsizes
7 people are missing while 9 others have been safely rescued after a car ferry capsized shortly after leaving Koh Samui for the mainland last night. The ship was loaded with, three 10 wheel garbage trucks and a pickup truck. Onboard were 11 crewmen, 4 truck drivers and the pickup driver, and a saleswoman. The ferry left Koh Samui at…
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Surat Thani “cockle wars” are over, says navy chief
The chief of the Royal Thai Navy says local figures wielding influence are being “neutralised” and the disruptive, sometimes violent dispute between cockle farmers and local small-boat fishermen is drawing to an end. Admiral Ruechai Ruddit says the conflict off the coast of Bandon Bay in the southern province of Surat Thani has eased, after cockle farmers began dismantling the…
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More sea turtles lay eggs on Koh Samui
It’s been years since sea turtles have been seen laying eggs on Koh Samui beaches. But this year more than a dozen sea turtle nests have popped up around the island’s coast. Just over the weekend, 70 eggs were found by villagers at Laem So beach by the Ban Sai Ree Hotel. It’s rare for the turtles to come to…
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Russian charged with credit card fraud on Koh Samui
Police in Koh Samui, in the southern province of Surat Thani, have arrested a 35 year old Russian man for allegedly using counterfeit credit cards to buy goods on the resort island. When he was arrested there were 8 fake credit cards found on him. The arrest comes after a bank employee told police of suspected irregularities in the use…
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British expat petitions government to help desperate elephants, handlers
The closure of elephant camps and sanctuary-style tourist attraction throughout the northeastern provinces has left thousands of elephants facing starvation. Some have made the long march back to their home villages, where their arrival is creating more problems than it solves. Susan Field, a British citizen living in Koh Samui, yesterday presented a petition with nearly 65,000 signatures to the Thai…
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Surat Thani fishermen want government intervention in “cockle war”
Cockles – and Thailand’s “cockle wars” – are back in the news this week. Fishermen in the southern Surat Thani province are calling for clearer guidelines on cockle catches, as their conflict with shellfish farmers drags on despite intervention from provincial authorities. Last Wednesday, a man rode in on his jet ski, firing a gun as some 300 fisherman raided…
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Footage found of Ukrainian in suspected murder investigation
Police in the southern province of Surat Thani say they’ve found CCTV camera footage of a Ukrainian woman shortly before her death on Koh Samui. Authorities say the footage shows her on the same day she was reported missing. 32 year old Olha Frolova was found dead earlier this week in a case police suspect involves foul play. Koh Samui…
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Murder investigation launched as body of Ukrainian woman found on Koh Samui
Two weeks after she went missing, the body of a 32 year old Ukrainian woman has been found in a wooded area of Koh Samui. The discovery has prompted local police to launch a full murder investigation. A report in Coconuts says the unnamed woman’s body was found off Soi Pracharat Pattana by hotel employee Uten Wiangnon. In a statement…
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Covid-19 crisis sees nearly 100 Koh Samui hotels put up for sale
The economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic on Thailand’s tourism and hospitality sectors has been inestimable, with foreign arrivals banned since March and hotels nationwide ordered shut in April. Some around the country have since re-opened but nearly 100 hotels on the tourist island of Koh Samui are now for sale. The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui…
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Koh Tao residents caught without face masks made to do push-ups and jumping jacks – VIDEO
Officials on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand have come up with a novel way to punish people for not wearing face masks, still a legal requirement under the Covid-19 emergency decree when people are out in public. The Pattaya News reports that both tourists and Thais caught without protective face coverings are being made to…
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24 people arrested after police raid on Samui bar
22 foreigners and 2 Thai nationals have been arrested at a bar called La Bohemia on the Gulf island of Koh Samui last night. All were charged with breaking the emergency decree, which prohibits restaurants selling alcohol and gatherings of people. Acting on a tip off from local residents, police from the Bo Phut police station raided the La Bohemia…
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