Koh Samui News
Stay up to date on the latest happenings in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao with The Thaiger. Our team delivers up-to-date news, insightful analysis, and exclusive stories from this popular part of the Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Keep your finger on the pulse of Samui’s ever-evolving tourism, economic, and cultural scene, as well as its thriving beach entertainment and nightlife. Stay informed about local events, transportation updates, and expat experiences in this vibrant collection of Islands.
The Thaiger is your go-to source for all things Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. Don’t miss out – subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay connected with the city’s most trusted news source.
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Sponsored Promoting sustainable tourism at Blue Tree Phuket: Initiatives and impact
Blue Tree Phuket has been offering experiences that are both fun and environmentally conscious for many years. The comprehensive entertainment hub and waterpark has implemented numerous programs to enhance the sustainability of its practices, with its most recent endeavour being...
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Samui Times responds to Police accusations of ‘fake news’
The media has become its own story today after Surat Thani, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan police and officials have accused Samui Times of spreading ‘fake news’, apparently the latest go-to explanation for any news that you disagree with. Samui Times responds to allegations of spreading ‘Fake News’ and having a ‘Vendetta’ against Koh Tao Sanook has reported that the…
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Accusations fly between foreigner and Thai over bottle attack on Koh Phangan
PHOTOS & VIDEO: Facebook/Natthicha Yachana Accusations are being fired thick and fast on social media after various clips have been aired online of the aftermath of an altercation in front of a pharmacy on Koh Phangan. Thai Rath reports that a female foreign tourist was hit over the head with a bottle in a scuffle between here and the owner of…
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National police begin Koh Tao rape claim investigation today
Thai police are now responding to a growing call to make some concrete investigations into allegations by a 19 UK woman that she was drugged, robbed and raped whilst visiting Koh Tao in June this year. A senior police commissioner and forensic officials are in Koh Tao today to investigate the claims. National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda has…
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The monthly Full Moon Party still popular
PHOTO: RTW Backpackers More than 10,000 foreign tourists joined the Full Moon Party on Koh Pha-Ngan last night (Sunday) and under the watchful eye of security officials. Pha-Ngan district chief Krirkkrai Songthani sent 120 troops, police and Interior Ministry officials to the Haad Rin Beach to maintain security and safety during the party. Krirkkrai said the beach was crowed with…
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DSI crackdown on foreigners using Thai nominees: Law firm raided in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui
Four offices of the same investment advisory firm have been raided in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui. Coordinated raids on the offices of what appears to be a single advisory firm were conducted by the DSI (Department of Special Investigations), police and Board of Investment representatives. Pictures showed that the company is DFDL Thailand Legal and Tax. This company offers “investment advisory…
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28 year old Norwegian found dead in car on Koh Samui
Police are investigating a Norwegian tourist found dead inside his car on Samui last Monday. 28 year old Aspen Anray Solian was found dead in the driver’s seat on Thaweerat Phakdee Road in Tambon Maret. A doctor says he had died about one or two hours before he was found. Police say the body showed no signs of violence. A…
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Electricity glitches for Samui and Koh Phangan
PHOTO COMPILATION: Thai Rath The Thai media are claiming there’s an electricity crisis on the holiday islands – Samui and Koh Phangan. Thai Rath reports that electricity authorities in the south of Thailand are residing to the recent articles and complaints. There have been so many power cuts recently that things are desperate, according to Thai Rath. Authorities say that the problem…
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Warning out for Samui ferry as waves reach 3 metres in Gulf of Thailand
The Samui Harbour Office has issued warnings to the ferry operator to be careful in both directions on the Surat Thani run with waves up high as three metres today in the Gulf of Thailand. The office has also prohibited small boats from leaving the shores of Koh Samui. The ferry boat operator was warned to check lifejackets and all…
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Nigerian drug suspect arrested after police chase
PHOTO: Matichon Thai-language daily Matichon has reported that a Nigerian drug suspect did a runner after being tracked down by Samui police today. In a scene straight out of an action thriller, Koh Samui policemen and soldiers had to chase down a Nigerian drug suspect who jumped out of a window of his rented house, climbed over the fence and…
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Banyan Tree Samui hailed as eco-friendly leader in Thailand
The Banyan Tree Samui has become the first and only hotel in Thailand to be awarded “Gold Certification” at a single-property level by Earthcheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. Although other hotel chains have received similar accolades from EarthCheck at a group level, Banyan Tree Samui stands alone as the sole property…
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7,000 pirated items seized in Samui sting
Thailand’s favourite neighbourhood crime buster, Big Joke and his tourist police taskforce, have been working the markets of Koh Samui – the distribution network selling pirated goods on the island. Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal says he was following orders from PM Prayut Chan-ocha to stamp out piracy. The deputy head of the tourist police was pictured on the Tourist Police…
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Indian currency cons arrested on Samui
Thai TV Channel 7 has featured the arrest of two Indian citizens who were attempting to rip off currency exchanges on Koh Samui. The scam works as follows… the Indians would bring 10 x US$100 dollar bills to a currency exchange booth, to change to Thai currency. One would then ask to recount the US dollars and take out two…
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Two gibbon touts arrested on Samui – three gibbons rescued
Yesterday we posted the story about Samui beach touts hawking a baby gibbon for tourist photos – a lucrative little cash business at 100 baht per photo. But the practice is frowned upon my may westerners these days and remains illegal in Thailand. Facebook blogger Arkadiy Kulev was keen to see the touts arrested. Today (Thursday), Samui police have arrested two…
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Baby gibbon used for photo-ops in Samui
PHOTOS: Facebook/Arkadiy Kulev “Endangered gibbon used to entertain tourists on Chaweng Beach in Koh Samui, Thailand.” On Phuket it’s the slow loris which is the ‘cute-creature-for-100-baht-photos’. In Samui they’ve gone for a baby gibbon. A foreign resident on Koh Samui has exposed that a baby gibbon was used for selling photos at Chaweng Beach, resulting in an uproar among expats…
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Burmese maid returns bag containing $11,000 to tourist
Daily News is reporting that a tourist from the Netherlands has thanked a Burmese maid at his hotel on Koh Samui. 37 year old Sawee Let Mau showed it was not just the Thais who are high up in the honesty stakes. Sawee found the green bag under some stairs – it contained AUD$ to the tune of 280,000 baht –…
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Two race finale wraps up successful 2018 Samui Regatta
PHOTO: Java Yachting The sun teased and the wind held steady on the final day of the 2018 Samui Regatta. Race Officer Ross Chisholm set two windward/ leewards for the keelboat and multihulls classes while it was a three-race showdown for the Hydrofoil Kites off Mae Nam Beach. It’s been a week of dominance by Kevin and Tom Whitcraft and…
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Seconds in it on Day 3 of Samui Regatta
Performance Cruising on Day 3 of 2018 Samui Regatta. Day 3 of the 2018 Samui Regatta started off with a whimper. The storms of yesterday had gone and the sun was out in force, hopes were high for a return to the tropical sailing conditions which have made Samui Regatta so famous. Come start time all the ingredients were there,…
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Search resumes for missing Russian on Samui
Samui officials have resumed a search for a female Russian tourist who went missing on Koh Samui more than a month ago. She is said to be suffering dementia. 39 year old Inna Obukhova was last seen at Centra Coconut Resort Samui on April 20. The operation is being assisted by a sniffer dog from the Nakhon Si Thammarat Border…
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Variable conditions test sailors on Day 2 of 2018 Samui Regatta
Early morning thunder and lightening made way for a wet and breezy start to Day 2 of the 2018 Samui Regatta. The four classes lined-up in 10 knots of wind topping out at 15, and it was the IRC classes off first with a quick windward/ leeward. They were then sent on the same course as the Performance Cruising and…
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French cybercrime suspect arrested in police raid – Samui
PHOTOS: Samui Police Frenchman Jonathan Verron, an alleged leader of a hacker group that stole data from a British financial institution and demanded a ransom to keep it secure, has been arrested on Koh Samui this morning (Friday). Crime Suppression Division Fifth Command and Technology Crime Suppression Division police had French embassy staff on hand when they raided a house…
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May Event Round-Up
with Paul Poole (South East Asia) May is typically the month of the popular Hua Hin International Jazz Festival and this year is no different. For two days from 18-19 May, the seaside resort transforms into a mecca for jazz lovers with performers and fans arriving from all over the world. This year’s highlights include Austrian-born Simone Kopmajer and New…
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Who’s keeping Thailand’s beaches clean?
PHOTO: Daily News Every week there are volunteers heading to the beaches of Phuket to pick up rubbish, mostly washed ashore and landing on the beaches. Some of it has washed out Phuket’s drains and just making its way back to shore. Other rubbish comes from passing boats and fishing fleets. One group, Clean The Beach Bootcamp, organised bi-weekly by…
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Private investors being wooed over planned marina for Samui
Samui is looking to establish the island’s first marina and is currently looking to investors for the project in the Gulf of Thailand. Asia Pacific Superyachts reports that Koh Samui has succeeded in attracting international five-star brands, a strong luxury villas market as well as quality golf courses. The report says that superyacht sailors are now coming to the region…
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Samui jet ski operators scoop Russian tourist out of the surf
SCREENSHOT by Sanook.com A Russian tourist has been pulled out of the Samui surf by a Jet Ski. The female tourist was swimming at Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui when witnesses say she appeared to get caught in a rip and dragged out to sea. Jet Ski operators at the beach heard the woman’s screams but was was caught in…
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‘Death Island’ in the news again after alleged rape of British woman
Koh Tao, off Koh Samui in the Surat Thani province, is in the spotlight again after a British woman claimed a 26 year old French man had raped her in a hotel on the island. The woman, whose name has been withheld, first alerted her mother in the UK to the alleged attack. The British Embassy in Bangkok stepped in…
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Boracay’s closure sparks global travel fallout
By Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com The biggest worldwide tourism story going is that of the trending closure of the iconic resort island of Boracay in the Philippines. In a bold move President Rodrigo Duterte who termed the island a “cesspool” is banning tourist visits from April 26 through October 25. For an island that last year hosted over 2 million…
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Nikki Beach to take over management of luxury Chiang Mai hotel
By Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com In a somewhat surprise announcement, Nikki Beach Worldwide has signed on as operator of Chiang Mai’s Dhara Dhevi hotel. Nikki has assumed management of the property and the rebranding process reportedly will be done by the middle of the year. Nikki Beach became known to Phuketians when they launched the Nikki Beach Club at the northern end…
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Phuket gets Number Two in list of Top Asian Destinations
The trip advisor list of Asia’s top 25 destinations is in. Good news… Thailand has five locations in the Top 25 reader-voted list. Bad news, Thailand’s not Number One. The Indonesian island of Bali has come in Number One with Phuket in Number Two spot. Hanoi in Vietnam is in Number 3, Cambodia’s Siam Reap Number 5 and the mega-city…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, March 20
MH370 has NOT been found | Bar owner in Pattaya bashed unconscious | 10 million baht worth of marijuana seized in Chumpon | Officials concerned over damage on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao | Nok Air being asked to ‘please explain’ over poor on-time record | 103 ‘practice bombs’ found near Vachira Hospital Bangkok.
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Naked tourist hugs a rock in Samui. But not just any rock!
Samui residents are calling on police to locate and arrest a naked foreign tourist who was photographed hugging Hin Ta rock, which is regarded by local residents as a symbol of Koh Samui in Surat Thani. The photos show the unidentified woman walking around and hugging the rock, which resembles a phallus, to pose for photos. They were posted on…
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