Pig Island, Koh Samui: is Koh Madsum worth it, and is it ethical?

Where is Pig Island, Koh Samui?

Koh Madsum lies off the south coast of Koh Samui, a short hop from Thong Krut, the fishing village and pier at the island's south-western corner. Its neighbour, Koh Tan (often spelled Koh Taen), sits close by, and the two are nearly always visited together.

The crossing from Thong Krut is short: reports range from around 15 minutes to under an hour, depending on whether you go by speedboat or longtail and how the sea is. There is no bridge or ferry service in the usual sense; you go on a hired or booked boat.

That geography is why most Pig Island trips start in the south of Samui, not in Chaweng, Bophut or the north coast. If you are staying on the north or east coast, add a road transfer of the best part of an hour each way to whatever the boat takes. Many tours include hotel pickup; check that yours does.

How a Pig Island tour from Koh Samui usually works

A pig island tour from Koh Samui is normally a half day: a road transfer to the south coast, a short boat ride, time on the beach at Koh Madsum, and a snorkelling stop at Koh Tan. Some run in the morning, some in the afternoon, and some add lunch or more stops.

There are two main ways to do it:

• Private longtail from Thong Krut. A wooden longtail for your own group, usually small. You set the pace and can leave the beach when it gets busy. It costs more per boat but is the most flexible way to go.
• Shared speedboat tour. Hotel pickup, a seat on a speedboat with other guests, a fixed timetable. Cheaper per person and easy to book. You arrive when everyone else on the boat arrives, which is often around the busiest part of the day.

Prices change by season and by operator, so we won't quote them. Some visitors report a small charge to land on Koh Madsum; ask whoever takes you whether it is included. Also ask how long you get on each island and whether snorkelling gear is provided.

What you actually see on Koh Madsum

You step off the boat onto a sandy beach where pigs of all sizes lie in the shade, root around the sand and wade into the shallows, sometimes up to their shoulders. Piglets follow the adults about. A small beach shop sells coconuts and snacks, there are a few loungers, and there are often dogs on the beach too.

It is not a nature reserve and it is not a farm. The pigs are domestic animals living semi-free on a tourist beach, and the most common story you will hear is that a local man bought a family of pigs at a market on the mainland and brought them over. Other versions say they swam from a neighbouring island. Nobody has a definitive record, so treat whatever story you are told as a story.

Is Pig Island ethical?

There is no clear yes or no on whether Pig Island is ethical, and we would be wary of anyone who gives you a simple one. We know of no published welfare assessment of the Koh Madsum pigs. What exists is a long trail of visitor reports, and they split.

Some visitors describe free-roaming, well-fed animals and a clean beach. Others describe crowded, stressed-looking pigs pushing and fighting over food that tourists keep throwing, pigs eating litter, and thin dogs on the same sand. Both can be true on different days, because what the pigs live through depends on how many boats land and how people behave once they are ashore.

The concerns that come up again and again are these:

• Snack food. Bread, crisps, biscuits and sweets handed over for a photograph. Pigs will eat almost anything; that is the problem, not the excuse.
• Crowds. Several boats landing at once around midday, with people surrounding the animals for photos and children chasing piglets.
• Heat. Pigs have very few sweat glands and need shade and water to stay cool. In the midday sun on an exposed beach, you will see them lying flat in whatever shade there is.
• Litter. Wrappers and plastic left on the sand end up in the pigs.

Part of the debate is borrowed from the Bahamas, home of the best-known swimming pigs. In 2017 a number of the swimming pigs in the Exumas died; the vet who examined them said sand eaten with food thrown onto the beach was the likely cause. Koh Madsum is a different place with different people looking after it, but the same pattern of feeding and crowding is what visitors worry about here.

How to visit Pig Island responsibly

If you go, the way you visit makes more difference than which tour you book. These are the rules we would follow ourselves:

• Don't bring food. If the people who live and work on the island feed the pigs, let them. Never give sweets, crisps, bread or anything in a wrapper, and never throw food onto the sand.
• Go early, in a small group. A morning visit avoids the midday crowd and the worst of the heat. A private longtail keeps your group small.
• Let the pigs come to you. Don't chase them, pick up piglets or block a pig's way back to the shade. A pig used to being fed can nip if it expects food and gets a hand.
• Watch your children. Keep them out of the scrum and away from sows with piglets.
• Take your rubbish back to the boat. All of it, including fruit peel and bottle caps.
• Leave if it looks wrong. If the beach is packed or the animals look overwhelmed, ask your boat to move on to Koh Tan early.

At Koh Tan, the same care applies to the reef: don't stand on coral, use reef-safe sunscreen, and keep your fins off the bottom. Our guide to snorkelling on Koh Samui covers what to bring.

Is Pig Island worth it?

Pig Island is worth it for families with young children who would love a beach full of pigs and are happy with a short, busy stop. Paired with snorkelling at Koh Tan, it makes an easy half day, and the crossing from Thong Krut is short.

It is less worth it if you are after quiet, wildlife in a natural setting, or a long beach day. And if you are unsure about animal attractions in general, take that feeling seriously and spend the morning somewhere else.

Why our boat doesn't go to Pig Island

We don't run trips to Koh Madsum or Koh Tan, and we won't pretend otherwise. Our boat is a 14.7-metre Thai teak cruiser that cruises at about six to seven knots and boards at Petcharat Marina in Bangrak or Hansar Samui Resort in Bophut, on the opposite side of the island from Koh Madsum. Pig Island is round the other side of the island, a long way at our speed, and we never sell a long run just to get somewhere.

The right boat for Pig Island is a longtail or speedboat from the south coast. A slow wooden boat earns its keep on the coast it lives on. If you are weighing up the two kinds of trip, our piece on a wooden boat versus a speedboat sets out the trade-offs.

If you want a boat day on Samui's north and east coasts instead

If what you really want is a calm morning on the water with swimming and snorkelling, our half-day trip runs Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 14:00. It passes the Big Buddha on Koh Faan, then anchors at Silver Beach (Crystal Bay) or Coral Cove next door, chosen on the day by what guests prefer and what the sea allows. Children aged 4 to 11 get a supervised snorkelling session with the crew in shallow water, and there is the roof to jump from and floating beanbags to lie on. No animals, just the sea.

For a later start, the Sunset Cruise runs 16:00 to about 19:30 along the north coast to the open water off Bang Po, with a swim stop and light bites at sunset. Both trips include free hotel pickup from anywhere on the island, take up to 15 guests, and have a minimum age of 4. For more on choosing a day out with children, see our guide to a Koh Samui boat trip with kids.