Koh Samui International Airport

Koh Samui International Airport, as soon as you arrive here you very quickly realise you have arrived onto a paradise haven; Samui International Airport is by far the most distinguishable airport in the entire country.

Around the world there are many airports in beautiful airport locations, but I am sure you will agree, that Samui holds the title of the most beautiful; nestled in its beautiful surroundings of lush green tropical forest and on the edge of the azure blue seas of Bophut Beach.

Samui International Airport is also known as Ko Samui Airport or Koh Samui Airport.  The airport is situated only a few kilometres north of the main city and largest resort on the island, Chaweng Beach.

Samui airport is unique, as it is almost no indoor areas except a couple of shops, and has the most amazing décor. Samui International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in Thailand, with over a million people (and increasing) flocking to the beautiful shores yearly.

The airport has two terminals, one for domestic and the other is for international flights, the Airport is located quite near to the Big Buddha Pier and here you can catch ferries to Koh Phangan. If you need the ferry for Koh Tao or Chumpon then you will need to go to the Pier at Maenam Beach, which is located approximately 6 km north-west of the airport.

Koh Samui International Airport is privately owned by Bangkok Airways (the boutique airline), it was officially opened in 1987. The airport took almost 7 years to complete and work officially began in 1982. The airport was finally completed in 1989 and most flights in and out of Koh Samui Island are conducted by Bangkok Airways, although Thai Airways, have also started using this fascinating little airport for the past few years too.

Bangkok Airways is the country’s largest privately owned international carrier, and they have plans to turn the Airport at Koh Samui into a second international air hub after Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, all within the next couple years.

The airline has big plans for Samui Airport and will launch more international flights in the near future. There are plans to add Kuala Lumpar, Bali, Dubai, Shanghai connections to their ever growing flight schedules. The airline already has scheduled flights to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Thai Airways International started flying twice-daily between Bangkok and Samui Island on Feb 14th 2008 using Boeing 737- 400 planes targeting the European market which make the initial stopover in the country’s capital Bangkok.

Although Samui Airport is mainly classed as a domestic airport, and flying mainly foreign tourists from Bangkok to Samui, aside from Bangkok Airways’ own international-bound services, Samui serves a handful of international flights from Malaysia by the low cost carrier Firefly and Selangor-based Berjaya Air.

Bangkok Airways is to make Samui International Airport its second biggest base thus supporting their 500 million baht investment, for a new terminal, which was made only last year.
This new terminal is four times larger and can handle 16000 passengers per day, and has been designed to accommodate the huge potential market coming from Asia and Europe over the next decade.

Once outside the airport terminal you will find an array of transportation which will whisk you off to your final destination. Taxi, Tuk Tuks and Mini Buses are all readily available and can be rented for a nominal fee.
Private car transfers can be booked at the transport counter in the Arrivals area. Shared minivan transfers can also be booked at the transport counter in the Arrivals area.

There is also several car rental places available to, with counters (Hertz, Sixt, Budget, Avis) being located in the arrivals area, so if you know the area or familiar with the roads of Thailand then why not give driving on Samui a go, its great fun.

Contact Us – Koh Samui International Airport

Easy day Samui is happy to answer your questions regarding Koh Samui International Airport, so feel free and ask 🙂 Our Easy Day Samui Tours Team is always happy to answer.