Getting Around Koh Samui: Your Complete Guide

Getting from place to place whilst you are travelling is definitely something that can eat into your budget and getting around Koh Samui without doing the correct research is no different.

Whilst we can often imagine that this is a tranquil, teeny, tiny island in the Gulf of Thailand Koh Samui’s size may surprise you! At 228 square kilometres, it can take 1.5 hours to drive around the outside ring road, so this is definitely not a spot where you’ll want to be relying on your legs for transport.

The good news is that because of its size, there are plenty of transport options that are easily accessible and as there are so many of them, they are not going to break your budget as they can do in smaller areas such as Koh Tao!

Throughout this guide, I will run you through all of the options you have for getting around Koh Samui, what you can expect from each one and how to organise each one!

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Table of Contents

Your Complete Guide to Getting Around Koh Samui

Hiring a Scooter for Getting Around Koh Samui

Hiring a scooter to get around Koh Samui is by far your easiest and cheapest option, but only if you can ride one!

🙋🏻‍♀️ If you are not very confident on a scooter I recommend buddying up with someone you find along your travels who is confident and asking them to help you learn, once you feel confident on a scooter this will be the best way for you to get around Koh Samui but also the rest of South East Asia.

Hiring a scooter in Koh Samui is very easy, you can find tons of rental shops around the island that all rent scooters for competitive prices, renting scooters to get around Koh Samui is usually around 200 (£5)/250 baht (£6) per day but this varies with each model and the age of the scooter.

If you want to check out some rental ideas before you go, you can find more information here on James’s Rental Samui.

It is also much cheaper to rent a scooter for a longer period in one go, if you have for example a 2-week Airbnb or Booking.com rental then you can often arrange scooter rental directly with them and they will have a local company to deliver the scooter to your accommodation for a lower price.

💡 Top tip when hiring anything in South East Asia is to make sure you photograph/video the scooter or car before hiring, this way you cannot be falsely accused of any existing scratches or dents!

Hiring a Car

Hiring a car is another cheap and great way to get around Koh Samui if you are travelling as a family or plan on moving around the island lots to see as much as possible.

Just be mindful of how they drive in Koh Samui and South East Asia, it is not the same as the west and many drivers could find it overwhelming and very challenging.

Car rental is again very easy to come across and you can find car rental shops around the island or arrange rentals with your accommodation.

I highly recommend using a company such as discovercars.com, here you can find a large selection of different car rentals to choose from, including insurance and get everything booked and ready for you to collect when you land at Samui International Airport!

Renting a car as a way of getting around Koh Samui is not going to break your budget either especially if you are looking to use it daily, costing around 700/800 THB per day (around £18) minimum. The cost will vary depending on the make, model and rental time.

Using Local Tuktuks to Get Around

Tuktuks will be one of your main sources of transport if you are not a confident scooter rider!

You can find many different types of tuk-tuks around Southeast Asia, but the ones you use for getting around Koh Samui are like pickup trucks with a cabin on the back consisting of 2 benches that can fit up to 8/10 adults.

These are not private ways to travel and you will usually catch a ride with a tuk-tuk heading in the direction you want to be.

When you want to use a tuk-tuk to get around, be prepared to haggle! Having small notes such as 100 or 200 THB can come in handy as you are more likely able to haggle the price down when they do not have to provide you with change.

I recommend asking your accommodation for rough ideas of how much things should cost to be able to get around, the more you use the tuk-tuks, the more used to this process you will get. I often found that a few drivers give you a very fair price to begin with so haggling is not always needed.

Just remember, confidence and a smile are your best friends here!

Private Koh Samui Taxis

If you have to be at a certain place for a certain time or want to get somewhere quickly, then a taxi is the best way for getting around Koh Samui.

You can easily arrange private taxis with restaurants and accommodation or you can often find them in busy areas waiting in dedicated taxi spots.

Or if you want to pre-book a transfer online you can find taxi services on 12go.asia.

Again when it comes to private taxis be prepared to haggle, these will be much more expensive than using the shared tuk-tuks but you have a clean, private and air-conditioned car which takes you from A to B with no hassle.

Using The Grab App for Getting Around Koh Samui

Personally, throughout my time in Koh Samui when I was travelling alone and did not want to use a scooter my go-to was Grab, this is just like Uber in the West and is a great way to get around, stress-free and with no haggling involved, as I am rather bad at it!

With Grab you just use the app to select the place you want to go and when you need a driver, someone will then pick up the job. There is also an option to choose a Grab scooter ride which is much cheaper than a car, however, these are not as common in Koh Samui and much more used in Bali.

🙋🏻‍♀️ The thing I liked most about Grab was if you found a good driver who as a solo female traveller made you feel safe and comfortable, they were always happy to share their card with you so you could WhatsApp them directly and book future transport for cheaper than on the app.

One thing to consider however with Grab is that if you are a long way from anywhere or looking to travel a long distance you can often find that drivers will not pick up your request as it is too far out of the way. This is where it is always best to plan ahead and arrange collection with a private taxi if necessary.

Walking in Koh Samui

If you are not looking to move around the island too much and are in a built up area such as Chaweng, Lamai or Fishermans Village then walking is more than enough.

Located in one of the main towns around Koh Samui you will have everything you need right on your doorstep from tons of incredible restaurants, beaches, pool bars, walking markets, yoga studios and more!

Looking for more things to do in Koh Samui? Make sure to check out these posts: