Plan around the calendar
When things happen on Samui
Some of what happens on Koh Samui lands on the same date every year. Some of it is set by the moon and moves by weeks. Songkran and the Chaweng countdown are fixed. Loy Krathong, Chinese New Year, the full moon parties on Koh Phangan and the Buddhist holy days all shift year to year, and those holy days are also when alcohol stops being sold island-wide. The Samui Regatta sits on its own, a late-May sailing week with no religious calendar behind it.
Fixed on the calendar
Same days every year, easy to plan a trip around.
Dates that move with the moon
Set by the lunar calendar, so the exact day shifts year to year.
- Full moon party dates On Koh Phangan, not Samui, dates set by the moon and published a year ahead.
- Loy Krathong Falls on November's full moon, so the date moves yearly; krathongs float from Chaweng Lake to Wat Plai Laem.
- Chinese New Year Follows the lunar calendar so the date shifts yearly; villa prices spike for the week regardless.
- Buddhist holidays and the alcohol ban Five lunar dates a year when alcohol sales are banned island-wide, with fines for shops that ignore it.
Annual fixtures
Once a year, tied to neither religion nor the moon.
Not planning around a date?
These pages cover the island regardless of when you land.
- Weather
Month-by-month rain and heat, useful whichever of the dates above you're planning around.
- Sport year
The island's sport fixtures, from muay thai to triathlons, on its own separate calendar.
- Guides
Every guide on the site, in case none of the dates above match your trip.
- Beaches
Where to actually spend the days between the dates above.