Gulf of Thailand
Samui is round, and every coast does something different with the light. The east side — Chaweng, Chaweng Noi, Lamai — looks straight at the sunrise, so its beaches are at their best from about six to half past seven and flat and crowded by ten. The west coast from Nathon down to Lipa Noi and Taling Ngam is the only place on the island where the sun goes down into the sea, with the Five Islands and the Ang Thong archipelago on the horizon. The north coast, Bophut and Maenam, looks across at Koh Phangan and gets side light at both ends of the day. Near the equator the golden hour is short — closer to half an hour than an hour — so a session is built around one coast, not two. The ring road is about fifty kilometres, and through Chaweng in the evening it is slower than the map suggests. Most weddings and vow renewals here happen in private villas and resorts, and that is where permission matters: the sand in front of a resort is public in Thailand, but its lawn, pool deck and sala are not, and a shoot there is booked with the venue. The other constraint is the airport. Samui Airport sits on the north-east corner, and Thai rules keep drones out of a 9 km radius around it unless cleared, which takes in Bophut, Fisherman's Village, Choeng Mon, Big Buddha and the north end of Chaweng. Drone work is planned for Lamai, the south coast and the west. For a villa inside the zone, the aerial is replaced by a frame from the highest terrace or a hill nearby — and that is settled before the booking, not discovered on the day.
Samui runs on the Gulf calendar, not the Andaman one. January to April is the driest, clearest stretch, with February to April the calmest sea; April is the hottest month and pushes sessions to the first and last hour. May to August stays mostly dry with short showers — this is when Phuket is in its monsoon, so July and August are busy here. September is changeable. October to December is the north-east monsoon: November is usually the wettest month, rain can set in for days, the east-coast sea turns rough, and boat trips to Ang Thong are often cancelled. A booking in those months is made with a flexible date.
Here is where to shoot in Koh Samui, with ideal times and permit notes.
Granite boulders on the headland between Chaweng Noi and Lamai, looking east over open water. It is a pull-off on the ring road, so the frame is ready the moment you step out of the car, and it is one of the few places on the east coast where the sunrise has rocks rather than sunbeds in the foreground.
The twelve-metre golden Buddha on Koh Faan, the islet joined to the north-east coast by a causeway. Planes on approach pass low overhead, which some couples love in a frame. By mid-morning the tour vans arrive and the stairs are full; at seven it is monks and a few locals.
Old Chinese-Thai wooden shophouses along a single street, with the north-facing beach behind them and Koh Phangan across the water. On Friday evening the street becomes the walking-street market and there is no room to stand; any other evening it is the most atmospheric street on the island.
The west coast, and the island's sunset. Lipa Noi has a long, shallow, quiet beach where the water stays ankle-deep a long way out — good for reflections and for children. Taling Ngam, further south, is mostly hillside villas looking over the Five Islands, which is why so many Samui weddings end up there.
The rock formations at the south end of Lamai, with surf breaking over granite. Every island tour stops here from mid-morning, so the window is early. The rocks are steep and wet: flat shoes for the walk, and the dress carried in a bag.
Forty-odd limestone islands west of Samui, with the viewpoint on Koh Wua Talab and the enclosed green lagoon on Koh Mae Ko. It is a day, not a session: a photographer joins a private boat charter rather than a group tour, where the schedule is fixed and the viewpoints are shared with everyone else.
These beaches and areas come under the Koh Samui rate: the photographer comes to you at no extra charge, and the session costs exactly the same.
You can, but book it with a spare date. November is usually Samui's wettest month and the rain can last for days rather than an afternoon. If your trip is fixed, put the session early in your stay so there is room to move it, and choose the west coast — it is sheltered from the monsoon wind.
Sunrise, if you can face the alarm: Chaweng faces east, the beach is empty at six and the light comes off the sea. For a sunset you need the west coast — Lipa Noi or Taling Ngam, about forty minutes by car. Both work; the choice is between an early start and a drive.
It depends on where the villa is. Thai rules keep drones out of a 9 km radius around an airport, and Samui Airport's radius covers Bophut, Choeng Mon, Big Buddha and the north of Chaweng. In Lamai, on the south coast or in the west it is usually possible; send us the location when you book and we will tell you before you pay.
The beach itself is public in Thailand, so yes. The resort's lawn, pool, sala and restaurant are private, and many resorts charge an outside-vendor fee for a photographer working on their grounds. It is worth asking the front desk before the day; we can help with the wording.
