Ko Samui (เกาะสมุย), often called just Samui (สมุย) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand, some 700km south of Bangkok and about 80km from the eastern coastline of southern Thailand.

An island of great natural beauty and variety, Samui is home to about 40,000 full-time inhabitants, 90% of whom are Buddhist. The palm fringed shoreline and coconut and fruit cultivation of the coastal lowlands rise to a central granite massive, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.

At 247km² Samui is the third largest island in Thailand and the largest island in an archipelago of over 80 (mostly uninhabited) islands which form the Ang Thong National Marine Park, a kayaking and snorkeling paradise. At 25km long and 21km wide, Samui is big enough for serious exploration by the adventurous and fit, but can be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car.

There are more than 300 hotels on the island catering for all budgets and ranging from $10 to $500 per night. You can find a comprehensive list of Koh Samui hotels on HotelsCombined.com – a website which lets you compare hotel rates from multiple sites at once.