A comparison : Koh Samui vs koh Phangan vs Koh Tao – Which island to choose ?

Maps – Orientation

Map 1 : Distance from Bangkok

Map 2 : Transport to the islands

Map 3 : Interactive Map

Comparison between the 3 islands

If you have time, then visit the 3 islands. It is easy to move between them.
I will try to give a general idea of the difference between the islands. Some of the points may be just my personal opinion.

The Size

Look at the maps above. Koh Samui is the bigger among the 3 islands (about 20 Km long). Koh Phangan is smaller (about 12 Km long) and Koh Tao is very small (about 6 Km long). You feel the size when you are on a motorbike touring the islands. In Koh Samui it will take you more than 1 hour to make a circle. In Koh Tao you arrive from bottom to top in 15 minutes (no circle road in Koh Tao).

Hotels

Because of the size of the islands and supply and demand : In high season, it is easy to find a good hotel in Koh Samui, more difficult in Koh Phangan and very difficult in Koh Tao. I was in Koh Tao on a new year evening without reservation, there were 0 rooms left on Booking.com and I finally slept in a room with a huge spider.

In Koh Phangan there is high demand for hotels on the days of the full moon parties (it happens each month…). The prices go up significantly.
There are hotels for all budgets in all the 3 islands.

See the pages :

  1. Where to stay in Koh Samui.
  2. Where to stay in Koh Phangan.
  3. Where to stay in Koh Tao.

Facilities and development 

The 3 islands are developed, you won’t miss anything. Internet works good. Plenty of food. Good roads. Koh Samui is the most developed island, it has even an airport. In Koh Samui, in the main town, there is a main street with a huge mall (Chaweng beach).

There are no malls in Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, but there are some big supermarkets and plenty of 7 Eleven stores.

Nightlife 

The nightlife is different on the 3 islands. In Koh Phangan there are the famous full moon parties (Haad-Rin beach), each month. These parties attract a lot of young people. There are parties in Koh Phangan also during other shapes of the moon and in different locations of the island.

Koh Samui on the other hand, has mainly 2 animated zones (Chaweng and Lamai), with a lot of restaurants and cafés, but no big parties.
Koh Tao has a good nightlife, but less extreme than Koh Phangan.

Beauty 

There are beautiful beaches on all the 3 islands but Koh Tao and Koh Phangan are more beautiful than Koh Samui (especially Koh Tao). In Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, there are more mountains near the beaches. Koh Samui is more inhabited. It is advised to make an organized boat trip in Koh Tao. These tours are making a loop around the island.

Food 

There is good western food on all the 3 islands (Thai food is always in abundance). In this category it is Koh Samui that wins, In Koh Samui there are many restaurants owned by foreigners. There are several authentic French Bakeries, many Italian restaurants and even middle eastern restaurants. In koh Phangan, there are less foreign owners and in Koh Tao almost no foreign owners.

Ease of Access

It is faster to arrive to Koh Samui. There is an airport and it closer to the mainland. See the page : How to arrive to the islands : Koh Samui + Koh Phangan + Koh Tao + Transit cities.

Now see the pages about the 3 islands (where to stay, how to move, what to visit…) :

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star  If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.