How to Get to Koh Tan (Koh Taen) from Koh Samui: Boats, What’s on the Island and Staying Overnight

Koh Tan, also spelled Koh Taen, is the larger of the two islands you can see from Samui’s south coast, a short hop beyond Thong Krut. It has no cars, a few dozen residents and a reef along its east shore. If you are working out how to get to Koh Tan, the answer is a boat from Thong Krut, either one you hire on the beach or one that comes as part of a tour. This guide covers both, plus what is on the island, whether to stay the night, and how to fit in Pig Island next door.

Quick answer: Go to Thong Krut on Samui’s south-west coast and hire a longtail or speedboat. The crossing takes about 15–30 minutes. A few hours with a boatman typically costs about 1,500–3,000 baht per boat, and almost every boatman will add Pig Island (Koh Madsum) on the same trip. Tours with hotel pickup and the Samui Journey catamaran also stop at Koh Tan.

Quick facts

Names	Koh Tan, Koh Taen, Ko Taen (เกาะแตน)
Where	About 5 km south of Koh Samui, Taling Ngam sub-district
Departure pier	Thong Krut for longtails and speedboats; Bang Kao Pier for the Samui Journey catamaran
Crossing time	About 15–30 minutes by longtail, less by speedboat
Getting around	On foot. Visitor guides report no cars or motorbikes
Residents	A small community, reported at around 20–30 people
Facilities	Very limited: a few simple bungalows and one or two places to eat. Check locally
Neighbour	Koh Madsum (Pig Island), a few minutes away by boat

How to get to Koh Tan: the main options

Boats from Thong Krut

Thong Krut is a fishing village on Samui’s south-west corner, roughly 25–35 minutes by road from Lamai and 35–50 minutes from Chaweng, depending on traffic. Longtails pull up on the beach, and boatmen wait near the pier and the seafood restaurants along the shore. Koh Tan is the big, hilly island straight in front of you.

Hiring a longtail

Ask on the waterfront in the morning, or through a restaurant or small tour desk in the village. Visitor reports put a few hours with a boatman at roughly 1,500–3,000 baht per boat. Pre-booked private longtails listed online run about 2,700–6,000 baht per boat, with the higher prices usually including hotel transfers and snorkel gear. A private speedboat costs considerably more.

Before you leave the beach, agree:

• the price, and whether it is per boat or per person;
• which islands and beaches you will stop at;
• how long you stay at each, and the time you head back;
• life jackets for everyone, and snorkel gear if you need it.

Tides and landing

Both Thong Krut and the Koh Tan shoreline are shallow. At low tide, boats may stop short of the sand and you wade the last stretch. Wear water shoes, pack in a dry bag and keep phones out of your pockets.

Getting back to Samui

There is no scheduled boat back. On a day trip your boatman waits or returns at an agreed time. If you stay overnight, fix the pickup day and time before you are dropped off, take the boatman’s phone number, and save the number of your bungalow too. Phone signal on a small island may be patchy, so do not rely on calling at the last minute.

What is on Koh Tan

Koh Tan is quiet. Thai sources describe an island that once had around a hundred households farming coconuts and fishing, until many families moved to Samui. The school has closed, and much of the island is forest, mangrove and beach. Go for the calm, not for nightlife or shopping.

Beaches

• The east side (Ao Awk) has the long beach, running parallel to a fringing reef. This is where most visitors swim and snorkel, and coral heads near the southern end of the beach are often mentioned.
• The west side (Ao Tok) is a sheltered bay with mangroves and a rocky shore, better for a walk than a swim.

Walks and sights

• Mangrove boardwalk. A raised walkway runs through the mangroves on the west side. Sources give its length as anything from about 400 m to around 1 km, so allow 20–40 minutes for a slow walk.
• Buddha viewpoint. A white Buddha statue stands on the island’s hill, which rises to just over 200 m. On a clear day you look back across to Samui and out to the islands to the west. The path is hot, so go early and take water.
• Village life. A handful of houses, coconut palms, the old school and a small temple. Be polite with photos; people live here.

Snorkelling

The reef along the east shore is shallow and close in, which suits beginners. Our Koh Tan snorkelling guide covers the reef and technique, and if it is your first time, start with Koh Tan snorkelling for beginners. Bring your own mask if you have one; rental gear on the island is not guaranteed.

Places to stay and eat

Accommodation is limited and simple. Koh Tan Village Bungalows, a family-run place on the beach, has been reviewed by Travelfish as fan-cooled bungalows with cold-water bathrooms, run by a family that has been on the island for generations. A couple of other small resorts and bungalows list rooms online. Expect basic comforts and power that may be limited to certain hours, as reported by visitor guides.

For food, tours often stop for lunch at a Thai restaurant on stilts, and visitor guides mention one or two simple places to eat. Opening hours on a small island depend on the season and on how many boats are coming. Carry water, some snacks for yourself and enough cash, and check locally before you count on a meal.

Day trip or overnight?

For most visitors, a day trip is enough. An overnight stay suits people who like simple places and have flexible plans. In the monsoon months, from about mid-October to early December, we would not book a night on Koh Tan close to a flight home.

Combining Koh Tan with Pig Island

Koh Madsum, better known as Pig Island, is a few minutes away by boat, and almost every longtail hire and tour visits both. Two common ways to order the day:

• Pig Island first, early. Recent visitors report the beach is busiest when tour boats arrive around 9–10 AM and 2–3 PM. Leaving Thong Krut before 8:30 AM can beat the first wave, then you snorkel at Koh Tan afterwards.
• Koh Tan first. Snorkel while the water is often calmer in the morning, have lunch, then visit the pigs later in the day.

Expect to pay a landing fee of about 50 baht per adult on Pig Island, in cash. Before you go, read our Pig Island rules; the short version is no snacks for the pigs and no chasing them. Our Pig Island Koh Samui guide has the rest.

If you would rather not arrange a driver, a boatman and lunch, the catamaran is the easiest way to see Koh Tan and Pig Island in one day. It is a different experience from a longtail, though. The Koh Tan stop is about snorkelling, kayaks and paddleboards around the boat rather than exploring the island on foot, and the route and timings are fixed.

When to go

Koh Samui sits in the Gulf of Thailand, and its roughest weather usually comes with the north-east monsoon, from about mid-October to early December. Small boats are the first to cancel then. January to August is generally the most reliable stretch for a crossing, though strong wind can come through in any month. Our best time to visit Koh Samui guide goes month by month.

Check the forecast the night before, and listen to the boatman. If he says the sea is too rough, it is.

Mistakes to avoid

• Not agreeing the return time. Write it down, and swap phone numbers.
• Running out of cash. Do not count on card payments or an ATM on the island.
• Walking the hill at noon. Go to the Buddha viewpoint in the morning or late afternoon.
• Standing on the reef. Float instead; coral breaks and urchins hurt.
• Leaving rubbish. Waste is hard to deal with on a small island, so take yours back with you.

For background on the island, see the Ko Taen entry on Wikipedia and this Thai travel feature from MGR Online (in Thai).

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