Ang Thong Day Trip from Koh Samui, or a Small Boat Instead?
By the Endless Summer crew · · 9 min read
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Ang Thong National Marine Park is closed to visitors every year from 1 November to 15 December, so if your holiday falls in those weeks, an Ang Thong day trip is off the table. For the rest of the year, the short verdict: go to Ang Thong for the landscape, and choose a small boat round Samui for a shorter, quieter day in the water.
We run one Thai teak cruiser around Samui’s own coast and we do not go to Ang Thong, so read this as a comparison from the other side of the fence. Sometimes the right answer is Ang Thong, and we say so below.
Is Ang Thong open in November and early December?
No. The park is closed to visitors every year from 1 November to 15 December, the heart of the north-east monsoon, when this part of the Gulf of Thailand is at its windiest. If a seller offers you an Ang Thong date inside the closure, ask them about it before you pay.
To be fair about our side too: the same weather makes mid-October to mid-December our most disrupted weeks, and seas settle from late December. The east coast takes the swell first, the crew adjust the route on the day, and if they cancel for weather you choose a free reschedule or a full refund. Our guide to Samui’s rainy season covers those weeks in more detail.
What an Ang Thong day trip from Koh Samui actually involves
A full day, most of it shared with a lot of other people. Ang Thong is a group of around forty islands north-west of Samui, about 30 km away. Join-in day trips pick you up from your hotel at roughly 07:00 to 08:00, spend about an hour and a half each way crossing on a standard boat (less by speedboat), and get you home in the late afternoon. Boats typically carry 30 to 50 people.
Most itineraries include some combination of these:
- The climb to the emerald lake viewpoint on Koh Mae Ko.
- The viewpoint on Koh Wua Talab, the island with the park headquarters.
- A spell in a kayak along the cliffs.
- A snorkel stop and lunch on board.
| Join-in Ang Thong day trip | Our Half-Day Trip round Samui | |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | About 07:00–08:00 | 07:00–08:15, board at 09:00 |
| Home | Late afternoon | Back alongside by 14:00 |
| Open-water crossing | About 1.5 hours each way | None: the coast stays in view |
| People on board | Typically 30–50 | 15 at most |
| Highlights | Emerald lake, viewpoint, kayaking | Big Buddha coast, snorkelling at Silver Beach or Coral Cove, beanbags |
| Price per adult | Roughly 1,200–2,000 baht | ฿2,900 |
| Open | Closed 1 Nov–15 Dec | Monday to Friday, weather permitting |
On the park entrance fee: at the time of writing, foreign visitors pay 300 baht per adult and 150 baht per child; check whether your tour includes it.
The emerald lake and the viewpoint: how hard are the climbs?
Both are proper climbs, and the viewpoint is the harder of the two. The emerald lake (Talay Nai) on Koh Mae Ko is a saltwater lake inside the island, reached by roughly twenty minutes of steep steps and ladders up to a lookout. You look down on it; swimming in the lake is not allowed.
The viewpoint on Koh Wua Talab is about 500 metres of steep trail with ropes on the rough sections, around 25 to 30 minutes up in the heat of the day. The view over the islands is the one in all the photographs. It is not a walk for flip-flops, small children or anyone who struggles with heat.
The snorkelling is the weakest part of the day. Sediment from the mainland rivers often limits visibility, and with several boats sharing a stop you will not have the water to yourself. The scenery and the kayaking are the reason to go, not the reef.
When a small boat around Samui is the better day
A small boat wins when the time in the water and the people around you matter more than one famous view. Our Half-Day Trip runs Monday to Friday for fifteen guests at most. You board at 09:00 at Petcharat Marina in Bangrak or Hansar Samui Resort in Bophut (the crew confirm which), cruise north along the Big Buddha coast past Koh Faan, then round to Silver Beach (Crystal Bay) or Coral Cove on the east coast to snorkel, swim, lie on the floating beanbags and take the dinghy ashore. Lunch is chosen from twelve dishes when you book and made fresh by an island kitchen. You are back by 14:00. It is ฿2,900 per adult and ฿1,900 per child aged 4 to 11, with free hotel pickup anywhere on the island.
The case for it comes down to four things.
- No open-water crossing. Our heavy wooden hull cruises at roughly 6 to 7 knots with the coastline in view all day. If someone in your group gets seasick, that alone can decide it. Our piece on wooden boats and speedboats goes into the difference.
- Fifteen people, not fifty. Nobody queues for the ladder, and the stop isn't run to a fifty-person schedule.
- It works with children from four. The crew run a supervised snorkelling session for 4 to 11-year-olds in shallow water. Our guide to a Koh Samui boat trip with kids covers the rest.
- You get your afternoon back. An Ang Thong day is the whole day.
What you give up by choosing us
You do not see Ang Thong, the emerald lake or the karst islands, and we will not pretend otherwise. There are no kayaks or paddleboards on our boat. Silver Beach is a small boulder cove between Chaweng and Lamai with good swimming, not a national park.
We also cost more per head than a join-in Ang Thong ticket, because fifteen guests cover the same boat and crew that a big operator spreads across forty or fifty. Shared trips run on weekdays only and need five guests to go ahead; if a departure falls short, you get a free reschedule or a full refund. That is the trade, stated plainly.
Is Ang Thong worth it? Yes, if two of these are true
Ang Thong is worth it when the landscape is the point of your trip and you are happy to trade a long, busy day for it.
- You want the emerald lake and the view from the top. Nothing on Samui’s own coastline looks like it.
- Budget decides. Roughly 1,200–2,000 baht for a full day on the water is hard to beat, and we cannot.
- Your group is adults or older children who enjoy a climb and do not mind an early alarm.
- You have one boat day this holiday and want the famous one.
If two or more of those fit, book Ang Thong, outside the closure dates. A big-boat Ang Thong day with kayaking is the classic, cheapest version, and the bigger boats are the steadier crossing if anyone in your group gets seasick. An Ang Thong day tour with kayaking, snorkelling and lunch is the other common format.
The Sunset Cruise: a boat evening that leaves your days free
If your days are already full, the Sunset Cruise gives you the sea without costing you one. You are on the water from 16:00 to about 19:30, with hotel pickup between 14:00 and 15:15. The boat runs past Fisherman’s Village in Bophut, along Mae Nam and out to the open water off Bang Po on the north-west coast, where the crew stop for a swim around 17:30.
Snacks and soft drinks come out from boarding, the chef’s light bites arrive on deck as the sun goes down, and there is live music or a playlist depending on the night. It is not a dinner cruise, so book a table for afterwards. The price is ฿2,500 per adult and ฿1,500 per child.
Doing both in one week is a sensible plan: Ang Thong for the landscape on one day, outside the closure, and an evening on the water with us on another.
Eight or more of you? Do the charter maths
For a villa group, one price for the whole boat is often the simpler sum. A Private Charter is one price per boat for up to fifteen guests: about four hours for ฿28,000 or about eight hours for ฿49,000. The crew plan the route round Samui’s coast with you, within what the sea allows. Weekends are kept for charters; a weekday charter is possible only when no shared trip is booked that day. Message us on WhatsApp at +66 62 417 0628 with your dates and we will tell you honestly which option suits your group, even when the answer is Ang Thong.
Questions people ask us
- Is Ang Thong National Marine Park closed?
- Yes. It is closed to visitors every year from 1 November to 15 December, during the north-east monsoon. Outside that window the park is open daily, and join-in day trips run from Koh Samui. Treat any Ang Thong date offered inside the closure as something to query with the seller before you pay.
- Is Ang Thong worth visiting?
- Yes, if you want the emerald lake and the viewpoint and you are happy with a long, busy day. Expect an early pickup, about an hour and a half each way, 30 to 50 people per boat and two steep climbs. If the landscape is not the point, a shorter small-boat trip round Samui gives you more time in the water with fewer people.
- What is the entrance fee for Ang Thong National Marine Park?
- At the time of writing, foreign visitors pay 300 baht per adult and 150 baht per child; check whether your tour includes it, as some collect it separately on the day. Join-in day trips themselves sell for roughly 1,200–2,000 baht per person (a rough market range), depending on the boat and what is included.
- How do I get to Ang Thong from Koh Samui?
- Almost everyone goes on an organised day trip, since the park lies about 30 km north-west of Samui. Tours collect you from your hotel at around 07:00 to 08:00, cross in about an hour and a half on a standard boat (less by speedboat) and bring you back in the late afternoon. Bigger, slower boats are the steadier option if you get seasick.
- Can you swim in the emerald lake at Ang Thong?
- No. The emerald lake (Talay Nai) on Koh Mae Ko is for looking at, from a lookout reached by roughly twenty minutes of steep steps and ladders. Swimming in the lake is not allowed. You can swim and snorkel from the boat at other stops during the day, although visibility in the park is often limited by sediment.
- Does Endless Summer go to Ang Thong?
- No. Our Thai teak cruiser is a slow boat, and we keep to Samui’s own coastline rather than selling a long open-water crossing. Our Half-Day Trip goes to Silver Beach or Coral Cove for snorkelling and swimming, and the Sunset Cruise heads to the water off Bang Po. If Ang Thong is what you want, book a specialist day trip.
Come out on the water with us
One handcrafted Thai teak cruiser, fifteen guests at most, free hotel pickup anywhere on Koh Samui.
