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Location: Koh Samui (Thailand)
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On this page you can see an overview of the location, including interactive maps, climate data, and photos.
You can also see what other divers thought, the top dive sites, what fish to see, and what wrecks there are.
We also have detailed listings of dive centres, resorts, travel agents and helpfull websites.
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Those who experience Koh Samui are rewarded with an idyllic tropical retreat with little traffic, white-sand beaches, a sapphire-blue sea, an abundance of tantalising Thai cuisine and an unusually warm and friendly people.

Koh Samui is just 21 kilometres at its widest point and 25 at its longest. Its hinterland consists of forests hills of limestone and granite, and the shoreline is made up of countless palm-fringed beaches and bays.

The best (and most developed) beaches are at Chaweng and Lamai on the east coast, where you can now find a very wide range of accommodation, and both restaurants and nightspots to suit every taste. Bophut and Maenam, on the calmer north coast facing Koh Phangan, are also popular beaches offering a quieter, gentler holiday experience.

Samui's natural attractions include the coral beds at Laem Sed and Tong Takien, the Hin Lat and Na Muang waterfalls and the rock formations at the southern end of Lamai bay - to identify just a handful.

The Gulf of Thailand is a great place to try diving, get certified or sample some of its great reefs on half or one day dive trips. If you have never dived before there are many options available. Discover Scuba Diving gets you straight in the water with an instructor and can take as little as half a day. If you enjoy this and want to learn, you can choose to gain full certification by taking the Open Water Diver course. The operator will offer you a choice of options for completing the course – different locations, boats and even islands.
For the certified diver, you will find the operators on Samui offering a choice between trips to the National Marine Park, Sail Rock and Koh Tao. These are day trips with travel times between one and three hours by boat. The National Marine Park is a beautiful archipelago, with the best diving and clearest waters offered by the islands to the far north called Koh Wao and Hin Nippon Yai and Lek. Further north, Sail Rock is the best-known site in the Gulf, offering a wall dive on the rock, while Koh Tao offers a choice of over 20 dive sites for all experience levels.

The dive site that I enjoyed most was definitely Sail Rock. It is known as one of the most beautiful divesites in the Gulf of Thailand – and this is not just a rumour! Located in the middle of the ocean north of Koh Samui, this huge granite rock formation comes out of the sea from a depth of 40 m – and it offers a huge variety of marine life to see. Besides big schools of barracuda, king mackerel, batfish and giant groupers, there is even a good chance of spotting whalesharks. If you have a closer look at the rock, which is covered in hard corals and anemonies, you might find moray eels, scorpion fish, nudibranches and hermit crabs.The most spectacular attraction of Sail Rock is the ‘vertical chimney swim through’, which is located on the northwest side of the rock. It allows you to enter the rock at a depth of 18m and ascend inside the rock. At 12m there is a ‘window’ in the chimey which allows you to exit or just keep ascending to 6m, where you will find the top exit. The chimney is wide enough for two divers. Whilst ascending slowly you should have a look into the little crevices, maybe you’ll find some colourful boxershrimps, busy cleanershrimps or a rare pipefish.

Located in the very north of the Angthong Marine National Park there is Koh Yippon, a picturesque rocky island covered in tropical trees. Once you pear under water, you will find plenty of beautiful hard and soft coral, sea anemones and stunning barrel sponges of purple colour – even to spot in shallow waters, so this location is excellent to combine snorkeling and scuba diving.
While the snorkeler is exploring the exciting small caves and crevices in shallow water, the diver can enjoy big schools of fusiliers, come across a couple of big snappers or have a look under the rocks and corals to find blue spotted stingrays. There are as well big schools of small yellow tailed barracudas and lots of blue ringed angelfish.
As the maximum depth here is about 18 m, Koh Yippon is the perfect divesite for unexperienced divers or beginners. One of the biggest advantage of this divesite is its shelter during the north-east monsoon season, so even if the sea might be a bit rough, Koh Yippon still offers calm areas to enjoy an unforgetable day diving and snorkeling.

The best time of the year for diving and snorkeling activities is February until May and July until October.

Besides diving there is a huge range of places to see and things to do on Koh Samui - for example Thai Boxing, Thai Cooking Classes, Island Safaris, Elephant Trekking, Samui Aquarium & Mini Zoo, Kayaking, Jungle Canopy Tour, Montain Biking, Kiteboarding, Jungle Tours, Sailing, Shopping, Thai Massage, Spas and Fasting, Fitness Centres, Yoga, Reiki, Shiatsu, Accupuncture, Reflexology, Mediation, Dining and last but not least a lot of nightlife and entertainment!

However you get here, it's likely that your first sight of Samui will be unforgettable - either traditional villages nestled in palm-fringed beaches or else Samui's beautiful and justly famous tropical airport.

At any event, you can be sure that from the moment you land, the beauty and relaxed atmosphere of this island will begin to catch you in its spell.

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Extra climate info suplied by Anna from Dive Indeep:

Samui's seasons:
November and December are definitely the rainiest and least sunny with air temperatures in the mid to low 20's Centigrade. The water will get as low as 27 degrees centigrade.
April, and May are the hottest months with rain in the afternoons. The air temp from April-March is around 30-36 degrees and the water temp is usually 29-30 degrees.
Our dry season is July through October. This is the sunniest time and the best time for diving. The Air temp is usually 29-32 Degrees centigrade. The water temp is 30-34 degrees!




Location Photos: (shared by My Blue Planet users)

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Climate Data:
View data in degrees Fahrenheit.
Average air temperature: Chance of rain: Hours of sun / day:
Surface water temperature: Water temperature at 30m: Water visibility:
General Info:

Travel Tips:
Most visitors thought
Koh Samui was:
Good.
Ranked as Good by independant reviews Ranked as Good by independant reviews Ranked as Good by independant reviews Ranked as Good by independant reviews
Non diving activities: Lots to see and do!
Language: Thai, English
Money: Baht
Stability: Active travel warnings exist for this location (see Lonely Planet)!
More Information: Country Bio from Lonely Planet