Koh Samui: a tour of the island

Round the island by car. About 120 km on Koh Samui, the second-largest island of Thailand, in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Surat Thani. The tour follows the coastal ring road past the main beaches and temples and adds some of the steep roads of the hilly, jungle-covered interior, up to about 570 m.

What you see. The 12-m golden Big Buddha of Wat Phra Yai in the north-east, built in 1972 on a small island that is now joined to the coast. Chaweng, the longest and busiest beach on the east coast. Lamai in the south-east, with the Hin Ta and Hin Yai rocks, nicknamed “Grandfather and Grandmother” – weathered stones that look like human bodies. Na Thon on the west coast, the main port, with ferries to the mainland and to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. In the hills, the Secret Buddha Garden (Magic Garden), a sculpture park built from the 1970s by a local fruit farmer.

Good to know. Traffic drives on the left. The ring road is busy; scooters are the common way to travel, so keep your distance and ride or drive with care. The monsoon rains are from October to December; January to April is the dry season. Dress modestly in temples.

Picture: The Big Buddha of Wat Phra Yai, Maksim Sundukov, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.