03Places

The Gulf of Thailand

Ko Samui

Ko Samui is the second-largest island after Phuket, at 228.7 square kilometres. It belongs to Surat Thani and has had municipal status since 2012. Annual rainfall in the 1991–2020 normals is 1,994.3 millimetres. February is the driest month at 64.3. November is the heaviest at 444.6, with October at 294.9 and December at 263.1 just beside it. The gulf does not dry out in the months that feel easy on the Andaman. The airport opened in April 1989, roughly 2 kilometres north of Chaweng. In 2018 the island received 2.7 million visitors. Offshore, not on this beach, Mu Ko Ang Thong is a marine park of forty-two islands. Two days on the shore are enough if you skip the archipelago, and the boat out is its own day. Compared with Phuket the island is smaller, and the autumn rain runs the other way. February is the lighter month, so anyone chasing a quieter gulf should stay clear of November.

0.7 km²

Area

0

Ang Thong islands

0.6 mm

November rain