Koh Samui & Koh Tao
The Gulf-of-Thailand alternative to the Andaman beaches: opposite weather window, broadly the same idea. Koh Samui is the largest of the three (with Koh Phangan and Koh Tao), the most developed, and the easiest to fly into — the gilded twelve-meter Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai is the airport-postcard view, and the night markets at Fisherman’s Village in Bophut are the better evening. North of Samui, Koh Tao is the country’s diving school: the cheapest place in the world to get an open-water certification, and the right base for a low-key week of pier-and-bungalow living. Avoid the Gulf side October–December (rainy window) and aim for January–April.
