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.
-
Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
-
Investigation begins into Thailand’s latest maritime incident off Chumpon
Thailand has logged another maritime mishap with the fire on a passenger ferry, about 5 kilometres off the coast of Chumpon. The sea conditions were reported as “rough” at the time of the incident off the uninhabited Koh Thong Lang. This time 20 people were on board, but the 18 passengers jumped into the water and were all rescued. A…
-
Transport Minister gives Koh Samui-Khanom Bridge thumbs up
The Transport Minister, Saksayam Chidchop, approved a project to construct the Koh Samui – Khanom Bridge connecting the island with the mainland of Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The media reported yesterday that Saksayam gave the green light on five projects to develop and improve the motorways, rural roads, and expressways of Thailand. Koh Samui – Khanom Bridge is one of…
-
American man who fell through roof at Full Moon Party in critical condition
Friends and family of an American man who was seriously injured at a Full Moon Party have launched several GoFundMe campaigns to raise money for his treatment and repatriation. The man remains in critical condition at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok after falling through a roof in the wee hours of the famous party on Haad Rin Beach in Koh Pha…
-
Koh Pha Ngan springs back into gear with the July Full Moon Party
This holiday weekend hosted the largest Full Moon Party since February of 2019 before the pandemic, with the biggest crowd the beach and venues of Haad Rin on Koh Pha Ngan have seen since the party restarted tentatively in November 2021. Some estimated as many as 20,000 people flooded the island to take part in the festivities – the first…
-
Ferry routes resume operation in Surat Thani after storms
After all boats in Surat Thani were cancelled on Monday due to storms, with partial service resuming yesterday, Ferry routes are in full service today – though scrambling and late. In addition to the ferries that had been running before the fierce and windy storms shut everything down, Seatran Ferry has relaunched its service to Koh Phangan from the mainland…
-
Storms cancel ferry service for Koh Samui, Pha Ngan, and Tao
While Surat Thani has been gearing up for a huge holiday weekend, the weather has other plans. Scattered storms with extremely high winds have disrupted power as well as ferry schedules, with Surat Thani Governor Wichawut Jinto ordering the cancellation of all ferry services today until at least tomorrow, including to the popular tourist islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha…
-
Buddha Days, Full Moon Party brings 5-day holiday surge to Surat
The Southern Thailand province of Surat Thani – home to Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao – is set to see a money-making surge of travellers during next week’s 5-day holiday. The Surat Thani office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand is estimating over 70,000 visitors generating about 833 million baht in tourism revenue for the province. The…
-
Ferries to Koh Pha Ngan is costing 40% more (and the other islands too)
Business owners on Koh Pha Ngan are demanding cheaper ferry charges after they increased by more than 40% since the start of July, impacting businesses and living expenses. For the average car, the ferry service from Don Sak dock to Pha Ngan with the Raja Ferry increased from 620 baht to 900 baht as of July 1. The Raja Ferry…
-
Frenchman found dead in luxury villa in Koh Samui, Thailand
The body of a Frenchman was discovered at a luxury pool villa in Koh Samui, off the coast of the southern province of Surat Thani, at 9:30am this morning. Officers from Koh Samui Police Station were called to a detached house in Na Muang subdistrict after a cleaner discovered the body of 45 year old Christophe Cedric Moulinaires lying dead…
-
Koh Samui tourist viewpoint to temporarily close following troubling inspection
A tourist attraction in Koh Samui is set to temporarily close after officials inspected the site. Officials from the southern province of Surat Thani discovered yesterday that Overlap Stone viewpoint had been operating without a business operator licence. Furthermore, there was no bridge construction licence for the bridge that connects to the site’s giant rock mass. Now, the viewpoint is…
-
Fare hike on ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan from July 1
Surat Thani province in the south of Thailand announced that fares of ferry services to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan would increase from July 1 onwards due to the rising diesel price. The report revealed that fares had not been raised in more than 14 years. Following the meeting between Surat Thani officials and representatives from ferry businesses on…
-
Democrat MP gives blessing for party-goers to get high
Democrat Party MP, Kanok Wongtrangarn believes the nation’s party zones should be allowed to throw “ganja parties” to draw in more tourists in a bid to boost the Thai economy. Kanok, who quit as deputy leader in April after the party failed to take stronger action over a sex-abuse case, says specific areas, like the Koh Pha Ngan Full Moon…
-
Government says relaxed travel restrictions have led to tourism surge on Phuket, Samui
The Thai government is patting itself on the back for the decision to ease entry restrictions, which officials say has boosted tourism in places like Phuket and Koh Samui. “All this is due to the government’s move to ease travel restrictions during the country’s high season between March and May.” So says government spokesman, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, pointing out that up…
-
Romanian tourist dies after falling from Koh Samui waterfall
A young tourist has tragically perished in Koh Samui yesterday. The woman, 23 year old Romanian national Nane-Iosana Bodea, fell from Koh Samui’s Na Muang waterfall near the centre of the island, and hit her head on a rock. She reportedly had large wounds on the back of her head. There are numerous signs and internet articles warning people about…
-
Thailand’s public health officials proposing ‘Endemic Sandboxes’ to legally reopen nightlife
Thailand is getting closer and closer to the endemic phase of its Covid response. Achingly slow but now with at least a proposal to be tabled at the next CCSA meeting. The Ministry of Public Health will propose ‘Endemic Sandboxes’ as a plan to allow entertainment venues to legally reopen in 3 tourist islands including Phuket, Koh Chang, and Koh…
-
South African woman, jailed in Thailand, gets to speak to mother
A young South African woman, 23 year old Ashley Oosthuizen, sentenced to life in a Thai prison has finally been able to speak to her mother after nearly 3 months of Covid ‘quarantine’ (as there was an outbreak in the prison). She was sentenced after being accused and convicted by a Thai court of accepting a package of MDMA at the Koh…
-
Police raid illegal ‘casino’ on Koh Samui located near police station
Officers from Bor Put police station in Koh Samui raided an illegal “casino” located in the middle of the island yesterday evening. They were joined by the island’s mayor, Chayapon Intarasupa. Those running the operation allegedly allowed people to gamble in different games to win money, according to reports. Thai media reported that the illegal gambling centre was a one-story…
-
Tourists ignore red flags on Samui beach, Thai man drowns, foreigner rescued
Four Thai tourists ignored a red flag warning on the beach and went swimming anyway in strong waves at Chawaeng Beach of Koh Samui in the southern province of Surat Thani on Wednesday. One person drowned, but four others survived. Staff from a jet ski rental business on the beach reported that one foreigner was also saved not long before…
-
Spiking Songkran tourist demand on ferry services in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan
Ferry services in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan are trying to meet an influx of tourist demands leading up to Songkran. Songkran will be between April 13 – 15 this year, followed up with a convenient weekend on April 16 and 17. A ferry port managing director at the Raja Ferry terminal at Don Sak told Nation Thailand that his…
-
Koh Samui villa owner cuts rates in half for Ukrainian couple stuck in Thailand
A kind villa owner on the southern island of Koh Samui has reduced the rates of his villa by 50% for a Ukrainian couple who can’t return to their country due to the ongoing violence caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are no commercial airlines are flying to Ukraine as the country closed its airspace to civilian flights following…
-
Emergency food relief has reached Koh Samui
by Joanna Matlub Living Waters Phuket has expanded its charitable food donations from Phuket to Koh Samui. This week, Living Waters Phuket continued its efforts to support vulnerable communities in need, this time moving beyond the Phuket and Phang Nga areas and onto the communities in Koh Samui on the Gulf of Thailand. The LWP Foundation was set up to…
-
Body of Australian cricket legend to be flown home following autopsy
Police on Koh Samui say the body of Australian cricket player, Shane Warne, will be flown home for a state funeral once the autopsy is completed. The 52-year-old was found dead at a villa on the island on Friday, a day after he arrived. The player is thought to have died of a heart attack. According to a Bangkok Post…
-
UPDATE: Shane Warne’s death, “blood found in villa”
UPDATE: Thai Police have reported a “large amount of blood” found in the room of Shane Warne at the rented villa he was staying at in Koh Samui. Despite the latest revelations Police don’t believe there was any foul-play involved in Mr. Warne’s demise. New photographs have emerged of the room where Mr. Warne was staying at the Samujana Villas…
-
Shane Warne’s death, “he had chest pains and asthma”
Thai Police have made some further comment relating to the death of legendary Australia cricketer, Shane Warne’s, death on Friday afternoon. One of Cricket’s finest bowlers of all time, and ‘Aussie icon’, died aged 52, a day after arriving on Koh Samui for an extended vacation with friends. He died of a suspected heart attack after taking an afternoon nap.…
-
Australian cricket legend Shane Warne dies in Koh Samui villa
The legendary Australian cricketer and leg-spinner, Shane Warne, has died of a suspected heart attack whilst holidaying on Koh Samui, Thailand. He was aged 52. During his career Warne took 708 Test wickets in 145 cricket matches during a 15 year international career. . His take of wickets was the second most of all time. He was found “unresponsive” in his…
-
Central Festival Samui opens Covid test centre for Test & Go, Sandbox tourists
A Covid-19 testing centre has opened on Koh Samui to travellers entering under either the Sandbox or Test & Go travel schemes. Koh Samui Hospital and Bangkok Hospital Samui have teamed up with Central Festival Samui to open the “Samui Swab Centre” to offer convenient Covid-19 RT-PCT tests for tourists who are required to take two tests after entering Thailand.…
-
Infected inmate escapee from Koh Samui Hospital surrenders, says he got hungry
The inmate infected with Covid-19 who escaped from Koh Samui Hospital has reportedly surrendered to police. Apparently, he turned himself in to police because he got hungry. With prisons and correctional facilities requiring a quarantine period for all new inmates, and with a number of them testing positive for Covid-19, there has been an increase in prisoner escapes, according to…
-
Koh Samui hotel, business owners call for PCR test price cut to draw in Test & Go tourists
Hoteliers and business owners on the southern island of Koh Samui are asking the Thai government to lower the costs of RT-PCR tests in an effort to draw in more foreign tourists. The calls follow the decision to reopen registration for the Test & Go entry scheme starting February 1. The quarantine exemption scheme requires tourists to isolate themselves at…
-
Tourists flock to Koh Phangan for New Year’s beach party
Expats and tourists are flocking to Koh Phangan for the legendary Full Moon Countdown New Year’s party on Haad Rin Beach, packing ferries and overwhelming some in the tourism industry after a quiet two years due to the pandemic. While many hostels and hotels remain shuttered, those that are open are reporting to be sold out and in some cases…
-
Samui businesses call for Test & Go to be reinstated and to be included in sandbox
Tourism operators on Koh Samui are urging the government to reconsider the suspension of the Test & Go entry scheme. Operators are also asking for a sandbox programme for Samui, demanding to know why this is currently limited to Phuket only. According to a Pattaya News report, operators have cited multiple cancellations of hotel bookings from foreign tourists who had…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.