Find out where each area of Koh Samui is, where to find the best beaches and how to choose the perfect place to stay.

👉 Choosing your location is key on Koh Samui - the differences between the different parts of the island are significant (busy city centre vs. quiet beaches vs. resort areas).

Find the best hotels on Koh Samui

Map of Koh Samui areas

Before you can settle on a specific hotel, you need to understand where on the island to actually stay.

• Chaweng - the busiest part of the island, long beach, bars, nightlife
• Lamai - slightly quieter, still good infrastructure
• Bophut (Fisherman's Village) - stylish restaurants, evening markets, nice atmosphere
• Maenam - quieter beaches, less tourists, good value for money
• Choeng Mon - smaller beaches and resorts, ideal for a quiet holiday

👉 We break down the locations and hotels in detail, including our personal reviews, in the Accommodation on Koh Samui chapter.

What Koh Samui looks like on a map

Koh Samui is a compact island that is very easy to understand without studying maps in detail.

• The main roads form a circuit around the entire island
• the length of the ring road is about 50 km
• the circumnavigation without stops takes about 2.5 hours

Most of the hotels, beaches and restaurants are located along this road.

The interior, on the other hand, is hilly and covered with jungle. You'll find waterfalls, viewpoints or more remote resorts, but the roads are narrower and much steeper.

Maps of tourist attractions

Where can you find the best places to see on Koh Samui? For an overview, we recommend a custom map with the points marked:

• 👉 Map: what to see on Koh Samui

Here you will find, for example:

• Main beaches (Chaweng, Lamai, Silver Beach)
• temples (Big Buddha, Wat Plai Laem)
• waterfalls and viewpoints
• restaurants, cafes and places of interest

👉 Ideal for planning a 1-3 day program.

Transport and road map

Orientation on Koh Samui is easy just because of the main ring road.

• Most of the transfers are along the coast.
• Turns inland are shorter but often steep
• signage is basic, mobile phone navigation works reliably

This makes the island ideal for hiring a car or scooter - you'll be virtually impossible to get lost.

• 👉 For detailed info, see the chapters Transport to Koh Samui and Car Rental

Map of Koh Samui online

You can also use the interactive map for quick orientation:

Koh Samui in numbers

• Size of the island - approx. 230 km²
• Length of the main road - approx. 50 km
• Highest point - Khao Pom (635 m above sea level)
• Population - approx. 70 000

How to use the map in practice

To sum it up simply:

• first choose an area (Chaweng vs. Lamai vs. quiet parts)
• then a specific hotel
• and only then deal with individual locations and movements

This is the order that will save you the most time and money.

Choose a hotel by location