December 23, 2024: We came to Koh Samui again because we love it so much. We stayed in the same place as our last visit in 2022. You will find that below in the paragraph titled, “Where We Stayed.”
We also ate in many of the same restaurants. But here are a few new restaurants we are adding from this 30 day visit.
P&T Hostel Restaurant: 60 Baht Happy Hour Meals and 50 Baht Happy Hour Beers. We loved this place near the house so we went back many times.
Café K.O.B By The Sea: We went here for western-style breakfasts on 3 Sunday Mornings. The omelets were expensive ($5.26 per person) but we were treating ourselves.
Evergreen beachside restaurant & bar: Expatan endless buffet breakfast here that included juice and coffee right on the sand for 250 Baht ($7.30 per person). Great deal.
20 Stories Restaurant: Expat restaurant right on the beach in Fisherman’s Village. Seafood Tomyum noodle 280, Massaman Curry Tofu 200, Beer 79
The other restaurants we ate at are on the below 2022 list.
LaSirene | Car & Bike Rental Samui: We rented our scooter from these guys for 3500 Baht for a month including two helmets. Make sure to video the bike when you pick up the bike so you you are not charged for pre-existing scratches when you return it.
The data below was gathered from our 2022 visit.
November 12, 2022: Could I retire early on $865 USD per Month in Koh Samui Thailand?
Our early retirement tour of Thailand continues in Koh Samui. On this trip to Thailand, we have already completed our research and written retire cheap reports for Pattaya and Jomtien Thailand.
We now have retire cheap reports for 12 locations in Thailand including Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Hua Hin, Bangkok, Pai, Pattaya, Jomtien, Koh Samui now, and Koh Phangan next. Those are available at VagabondBuddha.com.
My name is Dan and I left the USA and started traveling the world over 15 years ago. I am on a quest to complete my research on the best places to retire inexpensively overseas. I have lived in or visited over 67 countries and I have over 200 reports that share the best places and the best tips and tricks to retire inexpensively overseas or slow travel the world.
This report shares my research on Koh Samui Thailand. Koh Samui is the second largest island in Thailand at 88 square miles (228 sq km). Koh Samui is located in the Gulf of Thailand in the Surat Thani Province.
There have been people living in Koh Samui for about 1500 years. During the last census in 2019 there were about 70k people living here. Koh Samui has been on Chinese maps since 1687. The name Samui is likely derived from a Chinese word that means beautiful beach.
The economy is based first upon tourism and then on coconuts and rubber. The first roads were first built here in the 1970s. Now there are about 32 miles of roads (51km) that circle the island.
My research helps me estimate what it would cost me to retire in Koh Samui if I were to rent a one-bedroom apartment on a long-term lease. My research indicates that I may be able to retire here on about $865 USD per Month.
This report also shares favorite markets, restaurants, and things to do in and around Koh Samui.
My Favorite Markets and Restaurants on Koh Samui
Koh Samui Markets
Public Markets: This is where we buy fruits, vegetables, and rice. They also have meat and fish if you need them. They are all over Koh Samui, but here are a few of our favorites: Bangrak Market, Maenam Morning Market, Lamai Market. Google “Public Market near me” to find the closest public market to you.
Ex-Pat Grocery Stores: The above public markets are typically cheaper and fresher. If you are looking for what are called Supermarkets in your home country visit any of these places: Makro, Big C, Lotus, or Google “Supermarkets near me.” We found some delicious vegetarian curry packets at Big C so we cooked at least half of our meals at home using tofu and vegetables from the public market near us Bangrak Market.
Central Samui Mall: Expensive grocery store, theater, high-end clothing stores, and a food court that is not as expensive as you might think.
Koh Samui Restaurants
One of the best things about Thailand is the small mom-and-pop style food carts located at public markets, and food courts. Koh Samui doesn’t have as many as you will see in other parts of Thailand but there is sure to be one near you if you take the time to find them. Here are a few we enjoyed and then some of our favorite restaurants. I am bubbling up favorites towards the top.
Best Meal in Koh Samui (RAN KHANG NON) Have the pomelo salad and Khao Soi. This is the best two dishes anywhere in Koh Samui. We went back three times we loved it so much. The weird thing is the prices are still really low. It is Thai pricing.
Chill Inn (Lipa Noi Beach): Where we ate on the beach tour, Green Curry ($4.86) and Cashew Pineapple fried rice ($4.06). Large Singha 620 ml) ($2.56)
Vegan Buffett (Vegan Khunnay): All-you-can-eat vegan buffett. I loved all the planet-based meats they have here. This is right next door to the Central Samui mall.
Noi Friendly: This was also right across the street from where we stayed but the food was better and cheaper. The meals here range from about 80 Baht to 150 Baht.
Hungry Wolf: This is a nice place to go if you have both meat eaters and vegans in the group and you want some western food choices.
Beach Coconut Bowl:(Fisherman’s Village) Great healthy choices to start your day or even for the middle of the day. We had an amaing protein super food bowl and toast here for $13 USD or so. Not cheap but fun for a change.
Bangrak cafe and restaurant: This is right across the street from where we stayed. The meals were decent but it has slightly higher prices around 150 Baht?
Thongtakian Restaurant (Silver Beach): There is where we ate breakfast on the beach tour. My french toast was 80 Baht ($2.16) and Qiang’s Pork Porrage was 100 Baht ($2.70).
Koh Samui Nightlife
The below Google Map is not a recommendation of specific places you must see. The spots on the map are merely landmarks you walk between to see areas in Koh Samui that might be fun. Just listen for music you like as you walk past. Also, walk this path in Fisherman’s Village at night if you are looking for a more chill nightlife.
Best White Sand Beach Scooter Tour
Here are our favorite beaches in Koh Samui. Just jump on your scooter and click the Google Map and set out on the highway of adventure. If your time is limited, visit only our top 3 favorites: Chaweng Beach, Silver Beach, and Lipa Noi Beach.
Best Beaches in Koh Samui: Here are my favorite 6 beaches in Koh Samui ranked in order number 1 through 6. But I will also include which beaches are better for party animals, families, romantic couples, feet-in-the-sand dining, and original Thai experiences.
One: Silver Beach: Great for a relaxing vacation experience beautiful sand and water and reasonable prices in the restaurants.
Two: LipaNoi Beach: Great for an authentic Thai experience, great prices, and rugged untamed beauty.
Three: Chaweng Beach: Great for the most beautiful long white sand beach and baby blue water, for party animals, singles and younger couples, people with larger budgets, people watching, and getting your best Instagram pictures.
Four: BoPhut Beach: Great for feet-in-the-sand fine dining while watching fire dancers for a more upscale clientele with generally more expensive western-style restaurants.
Five: Choengmon Beach: Has both resorts and smaller Thai businesses and is quiet and tranquil.
Six: Maenam Beach: More families and lower key Thai vacation experience. The beach and water are almost as good as the top two.
Best Temples and Rock Formations in Koh Samui
Here is a Google Map of our favorite temples and rock formations in Koh Samui.
Ang Thong National Marine Park
The Ang Thong National Marine Park can be expensive depending upon who you book with. Here is the cheapest one we could find. It cost only about $24 USD per person and includes lunch and a morning snack.
Apartment Hunting
We drove around on our scooter one day for about 3 hours and found a bunch of things for rent. The video above has examples of places we found ranging from about $75 to $325 per month. The last landlord in the above video gave us permission to share his Facebook page.
Our Estimated Cost of Living in Koh Samui
Here is our estimated cost of living converted into US dollars if the two of us moved to Koh Samui on a tight budget. But we are all different, so you will have to put your feet on the ground in Koh Samui to determine your cost of living based on how you would live, shop, eat, and entertain yourself.
Rents: You will see furnished 1 bedroom apartments in the range of about 6000 to 30000 Baht ($162 to $810 USD) per month if we were willing to sign a lease for a year or more. I will use the 10000 Baht ($270 USD) beautiful one-bedroom apartment shown in the above video for our estimated cost of living. Make sure to read how I find perfect apartments around the world.
Utilities: Koh Samui is at sea level, so, we would need to run our air conditioner to sleep for most of the year. Our electricity will run about $60 USD per month and gas and water would be another $20 per month so about $80 USD per month for our estimated utilities which would vary by the season of course.
Groceries: Based on our time here and the money we spent on groceries, we estimate about $260 USD per month on groceries for the two of us. We would shop mostly in the public market where the vegetables, fruits, rice, and meats are cheaper, and only go to the more expensive supermarkets like Makro and Big C for things we could not find in the public market.
Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, plus some street food, we would spend around $35 per week or $140 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We would eat mostly in mom-and-pop-style restaurants in the night markets or food carts rather than the expensive expat-style restaurants.
Cell Phone Data: The cost to recharge our prepaid service is about $19 per month. My android phone will act as a hotspot so we can both be on the internet at the same time when we are out of the house together.
Laundry: Many apartments here include washing machines so we would pay about $6 month for detergent.
Water: We would spend about $20 per month on drinking water. They have bottled water for 70 Baht ($2 USD) for 20 liters (5 Gallons). We would drink about 10 per month which is $20 per month delivered.
Internet: Our Internet would be about $50 per month.
Transportation: The fun areas around Koh Samui are spread out and public transportation is really non-existent. So everyone just rides scooters it seems. They don’t have a 10 Baht bus like we saw in Jomtien and Pattaya. So we would pay cash for a used scooter and two helmets for around $800 USD. We would spend around $20 USD per month on fuel.
Alcohol (Optional): Large local beers (620 ml) cost about 62 Baht ($1.67 USD) in the 7-11. Since the large beers are actually two regular-size beers in Thailand, you are paying about $0.85 USD per regular-size beer. Bars charge about twice as much. So for the two of us, we estimate about $120 USD per month since we would drink more at home or on the beach.
Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $130 per month for entertainment for the two of us.
Retire Early $865 USD Month Koh Samui Thailand
|
Koh Samui |
Expense (USD) |
|
Rent |
270 |
|
Groceries |
260 |
|
Utilities |
80 |
|
Restaurants |
140 |
|
Cell Data |
19 |
|
Laundry |
6 |
|
Water |
20 |
|
Internet |
50 |
|
Transportation |
20 |
|
Recurring Total |
$865 |
|
|
|
|
Alcohol (Optional) |
120 |
|
Optional Total |
$985 |
|
|
|
|
Entertainment (Optional) |
130 |
|
Optional Total |
$1115 |
This is our estimated cost of living if the two of us moved to Koh Samui on a tight budget. To fully understand what it would cost you to live here, you must do an exploratory visit and put your feet on the ground. Also, visit Koh Samui Numbeo and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the above table. Our costs of living are generally much lower than a new traveler’s because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live cheaper than we do.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
More typical ex-pat living costs in Koh Samui range from about $1000 to $3000 per month. But people spending that much also have higher incomes or pensions. They often report spending more on entertainment, eating out, and alcohol. Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.
But many of you will likely be unable to retire on so little here. I give example reasons why in this report: Understanding Why Overseas Living Costs Vary Widley. You will never know your cost of living here until you do an exploratory visit with your feet on the ground. Several other reports you should read include How to NOT FAIL at Retiring Cheap Overseas and the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explain why you should have emergency funds available for unexpected large expenses.
Where We Stayed
We got a discount for staying 14 nights in the condo we show in the above video. So our nightly rate was $23 USD plus booking fees when translated into dollars. If you like the place you can book it on Airbnb here. Here is the location on Google Maps.
If you decide to live or retire in the Philippines for a year or more, and, you will be trying to live within the budget we are estimating in this report. you are going to have to put your feet on the ground and look for more local less expensive long-term accommodations. Here is our process for finding places as we slow travel: How to find great apartments around the world.
Bus from Pattaya to Koh Samui
We used the Bolt Taxi App to get a taxi to the north Pattaya Bus Station. We bought VIP bus tickets for 1228 Baht ($33) per person from Pattaya to the pier for the Seatran Ferry. In this case, the VIP tickets were a waist of about 400 Baht. We recommend general tickets.
The bus drops you at Seatran Ferry where you catch the Seatran ferry to Koh Samui for 170 Baht ($6 USD) per person. When you arrive in Koh Samui, the taxis there charge about 600 Baht ($16) per taxi to take you to your accommodations.
That Taxi price seemed high to us but we had no choice. Grab and Bolt didn’t seem to be operating on Koh Samui. Luckily our Airbnb landlord rented us a scooter for 150 Baht ($4) per day while we were in town since the commercial taxi rates would have added up.
Livability Factors and Retirement Desirability Score
Here are the factors I think about when I consider a place for early retirement potential. After I discuss each factor, I will assign an overall retirement desirability score.
Walkability: Medium Desirability. I love living in walkable areas of the world where you can walk to restaurants, grocery stores, nightlife, and other interesting things to do. If I decided to retire in Koh Samui, there doesn’t seem to be a completely walkable area. There are walkable neighborhoods, but I would want to have accessibility to other parts of the island and there is no real public transportation to speak of. So I would buy an old scooter and a couple of helmets for around $800 USD.
Internet: High. The internet was great while we were in town, 24 MBPS down and 82 MBPS upload speeds. The ATT-Test Internet Speed Test is shown below.
Food: High. The food choices in Koh Samui are great. Just stay away from the overpriced restaurants in the tourist areas and stick to the more local restaurants. Thailand is particularly known for its amazing food all over the world. You will find vegetarian versions of dishes in many restaurants even when not stated on the venus. Just Google translate the following statement and show it to your server: “Do you have any vegetarian dishes, no fish sauce.” The Thai religion is Buddhism and Buddha was a vegetarian. But do remind them that you do not want any fish sauce in your dish because some cooks will forget that fish sauce is not vegetarian.
Transportation: Low. Since we like living in walkable neighborhoods, and Koh Samui is spread out, we would need to get a scooter to live here. So transportation is low desirability.
Weather: Medium. Here is the weather in Koh Samui. The average daily temperatures range very little from average highs of 81F, 27C, in December to the average highs of 87F, 31C, in May. The nightly lows also range very little from 73F, 23C, in December to 76F, 24C, in May. October through December is the rainy season, with the wettest month being November.
Things to Do: High. Partying, shooting pool, golfing, night markets, cooking, yoga, scuba, snorkeling, mountain biking, martial arts, gyms, restaurants, bar hopping, island hopping, live music, running, coffee shops, street food, mall, dancing, picnics, standup boarding, windsurfing, volleyball, basketball, jet skiing, sailing, and relaxing on the beach.
Healthcare: Medium. Thailand is one of the top-rated medical tourism countries in the world. Of course, the best hospitals in Thailand are in Bangkok. But there are a few fairly decent hospitals in Koh Samui (Google Map links: 1, 2, 3). They can take care of everyday needs without much trouble. But, for anything that requires a specialist, you might be referred to Bangkok. My favorite in Bangkok is this one.
Expats: Medium. There are not as many resources to help Expats get settled in Koh Samui if you want to live there permanently. But there is an expat group on Facebook where you can ask questions. Make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make.
Real Estate: High. Foreigners can buy condos in their own name in Thailand. But I never recommend buying real estate overseas until you have lived somewhere for at least 2 years. I have a report explaining Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas for the first 2 to 3 years of living somewhere new overseas. Make sure to read that before deciding to buy real estate overseas. Almost everyone else is going to try to get you to buy (for the commission) so read at least one source explaining why I would wait a few years living there before I would even consider buying.
Visa: High. Over the last 5 years, many retired ex-pats in Thailand have been complaining about how it gets harder and harder. In this video, my friend Martin explains two of the most popular options for getting a retirement visa in Thailand.
Koh Samui Overall Retirement Desirability Score: High. I am ranking Koh Samui as high desirability. I personally like the feeling of island life. Why? Because it is more relaxed and has more of a permanent vacation feel to it. But I missed all the night markets we saw in Jomtien. But the beaches are so much nicer here, it was fair trade to get the beaches.
Thailand is one of the easiest countries in the world for ex-pats to adjust to overseas living. Stay tuned for our annual worldwide ranking where we rank the top places in the world to retire cheap in Paradise. Jomttien will likely slide into one of the top spots in the 2023 annual rankings. Here is our 2022 ranking for the top places in the world.
Thanks for reviewing my report, Retire Early on $865 USD Month in Koh Samui Thailand.
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