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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Bangkok Airways to launch Koh Samui – Hong Kong route
Bangkok Airways revealed plans to launch a direct route between Koh Samui in Thailand and Hong Kong, aiming to “generate more revenue from foreign customers.” President of Bangkok Airways Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth revealed that a nonstop Koh Samui – Hong Kong flight is in the works and could launch sometime this year. The airline has also entered discussions to lease more…
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2 killed and 3 rescued in boat collision near Koh Samui
A fishing boat and an oil tanker collided near Koh Samui, an island in the southern province of Surat Thani. Three of the five fishermen were rescued, while the other two died. The Fisheries Checkpoint Management Centre Region 7 in Surat Thani notified the relevant departments at 2.20pm yesterday that the fishing boat named Talay Nam Chok 8 (Lucky Sea…
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Samui Open Beach Volleyball Tournament boosts sports tourism
With tourism back in full swing, a variety of diverse events and activities are taking place in tourism hotspots, offering variety to tourists and locals alike. Koh Samui recently hosted a successful volleyball tournament that organisers hope will boost sports tourism to Thailand. The 5th annual Samui Open Beach Volleyball Tournament took place from March 10 to 12, at the…
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Koh Samui needs more direct flights to boost post-pandemic recovery
Koh Samui Tourism Association chief is urging authorities to enhance the island’s tourist infrastructure and increase flight capacity to boost a full post-pandemic recovery of the popular holiday resort. Association president Ratchaporn Poolsawadee revealed that only 70% of independent hotels with three or four-star have resumed operations following the pandemic. This is due to slow cash flow in comparison to…
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Family of British man in coma needs help to bring him home from Thailand
A British man’s family is appealing for help to bring him home from Thailand, where he is fighting for his life following a terrible motorbike crash. The man, 32 year old Jay Bridgehouse from Stockport, travelled to Thailand for a chance to ‘chase his dreams’ and look for work, Manchester Evening News reported. But tragedy struck when a pickup truck ploughed…
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Dead dolphin washes ashore in Koh Samui
Tragic news hit Koh Samui island yesterday when reports confirmed a dead dolphin was found washed ashore. The unfortunate discovery was made at Hua Thanon Beach in the Maret sub-district on the southeastern side of the island. The dead dolphin was reported to the Samui District Offices yesterday, prompting officers to investigate the incident. Upon arriving at the beach, the…
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Koh Samui welcomes inaugural flight from Chengdu, China
On Sunday, Koh Samui Airport in Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, welcomed a flight from Chengdu in China for the first time in over three years. Chengdu Airlines flight EU2807 landed in Koh Samui at 5.40pm with 130 Chinese tourists on board. Samui Airport held a special welcome ceremony for the inaugural flight by using fire engines to spray water…
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German man drowns at Koh Samui beach
There’s been another tragic drowning at one of Thailand’s holiday paradises, this time the island of Koh Samui. A 58 year old German man drowned at Koh Samui‘s Chaweng Beach on Monday. Bo Phut Police said the tourist had gone into the water with his girlfriend. When his girlfriend got out of the water, she could not find her boyfriend…
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Samui Open Beach Volleyball Tournament in March
The 5th annual Samui Open Beach Volleyball Tournament is set to take place on the island of Koh Samui between March 10 and March 12. The event will be held at the Royal Muang Samui Villas on Choeng Mon Beach in the northeast corner of the island. The tournament was created in 2016 to cater to the increasing global interest…
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New hospital aims to boost Samui medical tourism
A new hospital hopes to boost medical and wellness tourism on the popular holiday island of Koh Samui. Wattanapat Samui Hospital has just opened its doors, marking the fifth medical facility on the island. The hospital has 380 beds, specialist personnel, and modern equipment that are expected to boost confidence in Koh Samui as a wellness destination. Dr Somchai Chansawang,…
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Remembering the dead – Koh Tao dive master mystery
Twenty-three years before diving instructor Neil Giblin from Birmingham died on Koh Tao last month, a fellow Brummie diver lost his life there. Giblin is the fifth Koh Tao dive master to die on the island where Ian Jacobs, from Sutton Coldfield, died on January 18, 2000. Jacobs was found at the bottom of a well on the island. Giblin…
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Seahorse Ferry relaunches Pattaya to Samui route
After a four-month hiatus, the Seahorse Ferry Company is finally ready to set sail again, resuming its weekly service between Sattahip and Koh Samui from Thursday, February 16. After a temporary pause for essential repairs and maintenance shortly after launching, the ferry is now back in business and ready to welcome passengers on board once again. If you’re planning a…
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‘Buy insurance’ urges English tourist who crashed moped through window in Thailand
A young Englishwoman urges tourists to take out travel insurance after crashing a moped through a glass window in Koh Pha Ngan in southern Thailand. Emma Lewis, a 24 year old student from Basingstoke in Hampshire, was en route to go snorkelling on the island paradise when she lost control and crashed into a house window. The glass shattered around her…
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Body of German tourist who jumped from Koh Pha Ngan ferry found near Koh Tao
A body found floating in the sea near Koh Tao is believed to be the missing German tourist who jumped off a ferry shortly after it departed from Koh Pha Ngan in southern Thailand one week ago. At 4pm yesterday, the Kusol Sattha Rescue Foundation was informed that a tourist boat came across the body of a male tourist floating…
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Biggest crowd yet for Full Moon Party
Full Moon Party has completely returned to pre-Covid numbers, as tourists from around the world flocked to Haad Rin, Koh Pha Ngan for the massive knees-up. News reports estimated the crowd size to be anywhere between 20,000 to 50,000, and accommodations including hotels and hostels were almost fully booked at 99% capacity. The pier and boats were overwhelmed with large…
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Speedboat engulfed in flames sinks off Koh Samui, Thailand
A speedboat engulfed in flames sank off Thailand’s island of Koh Samui last night. According to the Thailand Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC), the boat caught fire near the Bang Rak boat pier in tambon Bo Phut of Koh Samui district, at around midnight. The emergency response team arrived at the scene and found the two-engine speedboat, named the Silver…
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German tourist missing after jump from Pha Ngan ferry
Rescue workers continue to search for a German man who shocked onlookers last night by jumping from a large ferry as it departed Koh Pha Ngan. The man is currently lost at sea as worried friends and community members hope for a happy ending. Last night, the deputy director of Surat Thani province Region 2 Police, was informed by the…
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Large waves wash away Burmese man in Koh Samui
A recent tragedy in Koh Samui is a reminder of how dangerous large waves can be in Thailand. Large waves washed away a Burmese man in Koh Samui on Monday. Witnesses said the man was a migrant worker travelling with two other male friends, and the three appeared to be drunk. The three men walked to a viewpoint near the sea.…
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German cruiseliner brings 3,000 tourists to Koh Samui
German cruise liner Mein Schiff 5 reportedly dropped 3,000 tourists on the island of Koh Samui for a bit of shopping and sightseeing. Koh Samui’s Mayor Chayapon Intarasupa says the large group arrived at Nathon Pier on Saturday in small boats as the ship approached the island. The luxury liner dropped the guests off for a one-day trip on the…
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Koh Samui booms as over 200,000 tourists visit the popular island in January
The picturesque island of Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, Thailand, has seen a remarkable turnaround to its economy in the first month of 2023 with over 200,000 tourists visiting in January alone. After a year of uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the arrival of over 200,000 tourists has been a welcome sight for the island’s local economy. The…
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Koh Samui parking dispute leads to violent brawl and gunshots
Koh Samui parking dispute leads to violent brawl, photo by Naewna. A Koh Samui parking dispute lead to a violent brawl and gunshots on Friday, Thai media reported. This was after two brothers reportedly refused to move their pickup truck so that a man could leave an auto accessories shop. The two brothers, Phisit and Panuwat, parked their truck in…
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Luxury cruise brings 5 million baht to Samui
Koh Samui recently welcomed the high-end liner Mein Schiff 5, marking the arrival of the first luxury cruise ship to the island this year. Over 3,000 tourists from Europe disembarked from the boat for a day of sightseeing and shopping, bringing in an estimated 5 million baht in tourism revenue for the island. The vessel arrived from Vietnam and docked…
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Foreign mafia who attacked 2 Thai women in Koh Samui found in Phuket
National Police Deputy Commissioner Surachate Hakparn, aka Big Joke, ordered police in Koh Samui to speed up the search for the foreign mafia gang that attacked two Thai women at a bar on New Year’s Eve. Officers from Bor Phut Police Station in Koh Samui reported that they know the identities of two of the group members and stated that…
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International school teacher accused of molesting kindergarten pupil in Koh Samui
A teacher at an international school in Koh Samui in Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, has been accused of molesting a kindergarten pupil. Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police Pol. Maj. Gen. Surchate “Big Joke” Hakparn travelled to the island yesterday to attend a meeting about the progress of the case so far. The parents of a kindergarten student…
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2 Thai women attacked by foreign mafia in Koh Samui
A Thai woman sought help from the Thai media after she and her mother were attacked by some foreigners who claimed to be part of a mafia gang at a bar in Koh Samui on New Year’s Eve. The woman turned to the media because the police ignored her case. The local Facebook page Samui Fresh News posted a video…
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Koh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists
Koh Samui ferries prepare to welcome back Chinese tourists this weekend. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese made up Thailand’s biggest tourist group. Yesterday, China finally allowed its citizens to travel abroad again. Thai media said yesterday that ferry companies in Koh Samui’s Angthong sub-district were preparing their ferries to accommodate tourists travelling to Koh Samed, Koh Pha Ngan,…
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4-metre waves off Pha Ngan capsize tugboat, crew rescued
At 4am on Saturday, tens of thousands of tourists and partiers were dancing the night away at a Full Moon Party on Haad Rin Beach, Koh Pha Ngan. Just 37 kilometres away off the coast of the popular holiday island catastrophe struck as huge waves capsized a tugboat, tossing all the crew members overboard into the swelling seas. The crew of…
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Koh Pha Ngan packed with back to back parties
Business in Koh Pha Ngan has been booming with the biggest New Year’s Eve Countdown party in three years followed by the first Full Moon Party of 2023. Tens of thousands of visitors flocked to the island to take part in the (nearly) all-night beach party last night. The event was a success, though not quite as big and rowdy…
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Bridge connecting Koh Samui to mainland Thailand to open in 2029
Travelling to Koh Samui from mainland Thailand will be cheaper and more convenient in the future once a bridge connecting the island to Khanom in Nakhon Si Thammarat province reaches completion. The bridge is expected to open for service in 2029. Consulting companies are currently bidding on the huge project which is estimated to cost 25 billion baht. The winner will…
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British man falls from waterfall cliff on Koh Samui
In Koh Samui, a British man was rescued after slipping from a dangerous waterfall. The man was part of a group of eight international tourists who were holidaying on the island of Koh Samui. They had climbed to the top of Na Muang Waterfall despite warnings not to when the man fell off the cliff. The group of hikers said…
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