One compass, every lookout

Every horizon on one compass

We measured the skyline from 51 lookouts across Koh Samui, out to a radius of 8 kilometres, and checked it against where the sun rises and sets through the year. The ring below plots the whole island's view at once, arc for arc.

25 m 100 m 300 m 630 m north east south west Khao Pom Summit Trek — 631 m, 360° Wat Teepangkorn — 613 m, 288° Samui 360 Viewpoint Trail — 610 m, 201° Khao Phra Trail — 515 m, 150° Secret Buddha Garden — 448 m, 87° Paradise Park Farm, Taling Ngam — 445 m, 135° Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek — 285 m, 60° Grand Viewpoint Traverse — 231 m, 72° Khao Yai Waterfall — 230 m, 45° Santiburi Samui Country Club, Maenam — 78 m, 123° Khao Hua Jook Pagoda — 75 m, 204° Lamai Viewpoint — 70 m, 114° Lamai Viewpoint — 70 m, 114° Wat Khao Chedi — 67 m, 198° Buddha's Footprint Shrine — 61 m, 81° Na Muang Waterfalls — 59 m, 18° Monkey Trail Koh Samui — 56 m, 21° Lad Koh Viewpoint — 27 m, 168° Overlap Stone Viewpoint — 17 m, 153° Wat Sila Ngu — 16 m, 138° Khao Nui Loop — 16 m, 87° Wat Phu Khao Thong — 15 m, 144° Nikki Beach Koh Samui, Lipa Noi — 9 m, 108° Guan Yu Shrine — 6 m, 141° Bang Rak Beach — 6 m, 114° WOOBAR, W Koh Samui — 6 m, 174° Wat Phra Yai — 5 m, 99° Tong Yang Beach — 5 m, 159° Wat Plai Laem — 4 m, 6° Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse — 4 m, 177° Bang Kao Beach — 4 m, 120° Coral Cove to Silver Beach — 3 m, 108° Nathon Beach — 3 m, 159° Taling Ngam Beach — 3 m, 141° Hin Ta Hin Yai, Lamai — 2 m, 183° Thong Tanote Beach — 2 m, 141° Laem Sor Pagoda — 2 m, 117° Thong Krut Beach — 1 m, 96° Thong Krut Beach — 1 m, 96° Jungle Route 360 — 595 m, 333° Giant Summit — 387 m, 174° The Roof Samui — 323 m, 129° Apirom Viewpoint — 307 m, 147° Jungle Club — 164 m, 132° Hillcrest Drive Viewpoint — 121 m, 297° The Cocoon Viewpoint — 118 m, 180° Laem Yai Viewpoint — 78 m, 69° The Old Lighthouse, Laem Yai — 40 m, 213° Maenam Viewpoint — 5 m, 135° Jungle Route 360 — 595 m 1 Giant Summit — 387 m 2 The Roof Samui — 323 m 3 Apirom Viewpoint — 307 m 4 Jungle Club — 164 m 5 Hillcrest Drive Viewpoint — 121 m 6 The Cocoon Viewpoint — 118 m 7 Laem Yai Viewpoint — 78 m 8 The Old Lighthouse, Laem Yai — 40 m 9 Maenam Viewpoint — 5 m 10
Each arc is one lookout's open horizon: angle for the true bearing, radius for its height above the sea. The pale wedges mark where the sun rises and sets across the year.
A polar chart plotting every Koh Samui viewpoint by true compass bearing and elevation, with the arc of open horizon at each one and the sunrise and sunset bands marked behind them.
Our own page m Open horizon
Khao Pom Summit Trek 631 360
Wat Teepangkorn 613 288
Samui 360 Viewpoint Trail 610 201
Jungle Route 360 595 333
Khao Phra Trail 515 150
Secret Buddha Garden 448 87
Paradise Park Farm, Taling Ngam 445 135
Giant Summit 387 174
The Roof Samui 323 129
Apirom Viewpoint 307 147
Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek 285 60
Grand Viewpoint Traverse 231 72
Khao Yai Waterfall 230 45
Jungle Club 164 132
Hillcrest Drive Viewpoint 121 297
The Cocoon Viewpoint 118 180
Santiburi Samui Country Club, Maenam 78 123
Laem Yai Viewpoint 78 69
Khao Hua Jook Pagoda 75 204
Lamai Viewpoint 70 114
Lamai Viewpoint 70 114
Wat Khao Chedi 67 198
Buddha's Footprint Shrine 61 81
Na Muang Waterfalls 59 18
Monkey Trail Koh Samui 56 21
The Old Lighthouse, Laem Yai 40 213
Lad Koh Viewpoint 27 168
Overlap Stone Viewpoint 17 153
Wat Sila Ngu 16 138
Khao Nui Loop 16 87
Wat Phu Khao Thong 15 144
Nikki Beach Koh Samui, Lipa Noi 9 108
Guan Yu Shrine 6 141
Bang Rak Beach 6 114
WOOBAR, W Koh Samui 6 174
Wat Phra Yai 5 99
Maenam Viewpoint 5 135
Tong Yang Beach 5 159
Wat Plai Laem 4 6
Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse 4 177
Bang Kao Beach 4 120
Coral Cove to Silver Beach 3 108
Nathon Beach 3 159
Taling Ngam Beach 3 141
Hin Ta Hin Yai, Lamai 2 183
Thong Tanote Beach 2 141
Laem Sor Pagoda 2 117
Thong Krut Beach 1 96
Thong Krut Beach 1 96
Lookouts on this page
51
Highest pin
631 m

Khao Pom Summit Trek

Widest open horizon
360°

Khao Pom Summit Trek

Sunset reaches the sea
25

Radius here is height above the sea. Each dashed ring carries its real height, and the outermost sits at 630 metres.

How to read it

For every lookout we cover, we sent a ray out from its pin across a full circle, spaced a few degrees apart, out to several kilometres, sampling the ground repeatedly along the way and correcting for the curve of the earth. The highest angle each ray reaches is the skyline you would actually see standing there, not a guess from a photograph.

We then crossed that skyline against a solar model for the island's latitude, which tracks how far the sunrise and sunset bearings swing across the year. A direction only counts as catching the sun when the terrain there stays low enough for the sun to clear it. The page reports three outcomes per direction: the sun reaches the sea horizon, it drops behind a near ridge a few minutes early, or the direction is blocked outright.

The heights on this page all come from that same elevation model, sampled the same way, at our own pin for every lookout. Several of the individual viewpoint articles quote a different elevation model instead, because that is what their own source published, and the two can disagree by a little on the same hill. We report both figures rather than quietly picking one, the same way we report it when a guidebook's account of a view disagrees with what the model measures.

The model only knows bare ground. It cannot see trees, buildings, or the wall around a restaurant terrace, so a skyline here describes the island, not the site standing on it.

The lookouts, tallest first

Every viewpoint we cover, sorted by elevation and grouped by where the sun falls in its view. Each row carries its own measured skyline.

Sunrise and sunset

The open horizon here is wide enough to catch the sun coming up and going down, at some point across the year.

  1. Khao Pom Summit Trek

    631 m south 360° open

  2. Wat Teepangkorn

    613 m south 288° open

  3. Jungle Route 360

    595 m east 333° open

  4. Khao Phra Trail

    515 m south 150° open

  5. Secret Buddha Garden

    448 m south 87° open

  6. Giant Summit

    387 m south-west 174° open

  7. Hillcrest Drive Viewpoint

    121 m west 297° open

  8. The Cocoon Viewpoint

    118 m south-east 180° open

  9. Laem Yai Viewpoint

    78 m north-east 69° open

  10. Khao Hua Jook Pagoda

    75 m east 204° open

  11. Wat Khao Chedi

    67 m south-east 198° open

  12. The Old Lighthouse, Laem Yai

    40 m west 213° open

  13. Overlap Stone Viewpoint

    17 m south-east 153° open

  14. Wat Sila Ngu

    16 m south-east 138° open

  15. Khao Nui Loop

    16 m south-west 87° open

  16. Wat Phu Khao Thong

    15 m north 144° open

  17. Guan Yu Shrine

    6 m south-east 141° open

  18. Bang Rak Beach

    6 m north 114° open

  19. WOOBAR, W Koh Samui

    6 m north 174° open

  20. Wat Phra Yai

    5 m north 99° open

  21. Maenam Viewpoint

    5 m north 135° open

  22. Wat Plai Laem

    4 m north 6° open

  23. Maenam to Magic Garden Traverse

    4 m north-east 177° open

  24. Bang Kao Beach

    4 m south-east 120° open

  25. Hin Ta Hin Yai, Lamai

    2 m south-east 183° open

  26. Thong Tanote Beach

    2 m south-west 141° open

  27. Laem Sor Pagoda

    2 m south-east 117° open

  28. Thong Krut Beach

    1 m south-west 96° open

  29. Thong Krut Beach

    1 m south-west 96° open

Sunset only

These lookouts face where the sun sets, whether it drops behind a ridge or clears all the way to the sea.

  1. Paradise Park Farm, Taling Ngam

    445 m south-west 135° open

  2. Nathon Mountain Ridge Trek

    285 m west 60° open

  3. Nikki Beach Koh Samui, Lipa Noi

    9 m north-west 108° open

  4. Tong Yang Beach

    5 m west 159° open

  5. Nathon Beach

    3 m west 159° open

  6. Taling Ngam Beach

    3 m west 141° open

Sunrise only

The open horizon at these lookouts faces where the sun comes up, not where it goes down.

  1. Samui 360 Viewpoint Trail

    610 m south-east 201° open

  2. The Roof Samui

    323 m north-east 129° open

  3. Apirom Viewpoint

    307 m north-east 147° open

  4. Jungle Club

    164 m north-east 132° open

  5. Santiburi Samui Country Club, Maenam

    78 m north-east 123° open

  6. Lamai Viewpoint

    70 m east 114° open

  7. Lamai Viewpoint

    70 m east 114° open

  8. Buddha's Footprint Shrine

    61 m east 81° open

  9. Lad Koh Viewpoint

    27 m east 168° open

  10. Coral Cove to Silver Beach

    3 m east 108° open

Facing inland

The horizon at these lookouts opens onto the island's interior mountains rather than the sun's path. That is not a lesser view, it is just a different one.

  1. Grand Viewpoint Traverse

    231 m north 72° open

  2. Khao Yai Waterfall

    230 m south-east 45° open

  3. Na Muang Waterfalls

    59 m south 18° open

  4. Monkey Trail Koh Samui

    56 m south 21° open

Where the sun sets, month by month

The setting sun's bearing swings across the year, so a lookout that catches it in one month can lose it in another. This row shows which lookouts have the sun in their open horizon, month by month.

  1. Jan

    17

    249°

  2. Feb

    18

    257°

  3. Mar

    15

    268°

  4. Apr

    15

    280°

  5. May

    14

    289°

  6. Jun

    13

    294°

  7. Jul

    14

    292°

  8. Aug

    15

    285°

  9. Sep

    13

    273°

  10. Oct

    18

    262°

  11. Nov

    17

    251°

  12. Dec

    19

    247°

A filled cell means the setting sun sits inside that lookout's open horizon that month, split by whether it clears all the way to the sea or drops behind a ridge first.
Where the sun sets, month by month
Jan Reaches the sea Behind a ridge
Jan 17 10
Feb 18 9
Mar 15 13
Apr 15 10
May 14 12
Jun 13 12
Jul 14 11
Aug 15 11
Sep 13 16
Oct 18 11
Nov 17 10
Dec 19 8

Where they sit on the island

Every lookout we cover, pinned on the map, plus the same list grouped by region for a page that loads without it.

Loading the map

Places in view

10 places in view

Every lookout by region

North 4

Northeast 4

East 12

South 7

Southwest 4

West 5

Central 13

Offshore, Ang Thong 2

The rest of the census

Beyond the lookouts above, our research turned up 38 more places across the island that locals or guidebooks call a viewpoint, some already covered by a page of their own, most not.

These places carry no link of their own here, either because nothing sources a published coordinate for them or because another page on the site already covers the spot in full.

North 3

  • Ban Tai hill viewpoint (จุดชมวิว)

    Hilltop

    Only one source names this place.

  • Rai Yai Pan (ไร่ยายพัน)

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Beryl Bar (Laem Yai / Bang Po)

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

Northeast 8

  • Sitting Buddha Viewpoint

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • Oceanis Project viewpoint

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • The Deck Beach Club

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • BBC Café (Big Buddha)

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Dining on the Hill (Six Senses Samui)

    Venue

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Café 69

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

  • Tree Tops (identity disputed — see entry)

    Venue

  • Café Lae Bua

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

East 12

  • Koh Koon Viewpoint

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • Heart Rock / Heart Shape Mountain

    Venue

  • Hill Side Residence viewpoint

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • Chaweng Noi observation deck (unnamed)

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • Vikasa Life Café cliff view

    Venue

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Dr Frogs Bar & Grill

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • High Park Samui

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Overlap Stone 2 / The Best Samui

    Venue

  • Cobra Stone Viewpoint

    Landmark

    Only one source names this place.

  • "Mountain hut" / "Overlap rock" pair

    On a trail

    Only one source names this place.

  • Beach Republic

    Venue

  • Merit Life Cafe & Restaurant

    Venue

    No published coordinate for this one.

Southwest 5

  • Hillcrest Drive Viewpoint

    Roadside pull-off

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Air Bar (InterContinental Baan Taling Ngam)

    Venue

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Baan Lipa Noi Viewpoint

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Khao Pa Na Le (เขา ป่า นา เล)

    Venue

    No published coordinate for this one.

  • Think & Retro Café

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

West 2

  • Pha Jun Jaras

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • Bang Makham Beach sunset (หาดบางมะขาม)

    Roadside pull-off

    No published coordinate for this one.

Central 8

  • "Free viewpoint", Soi Nalat

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • "Viewpoint with small bath", Soi Nalat

    Roadside pull-off

    Only one source names this place.

  • Mountain Grand View Seaview Restaurant

    Venue

  • Peak Eye View

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

  • Woodland Park View Restaurant

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

  • View Top Restaurant

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

  • Khao Nui View Restaurant

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

  • Zodiac Viewpoint (under construction)

    Venue

    Only one source names this place.

    No published coordinate for this one.

Questions

Which viewpoint on Koh Samui is best for sunset?

It depends on the month, because the setting sun's bearing swings across the year and only some lookouts keep that bearing open all the way to the sea. Check the sun-by-month row above for the match rather than trusting one fixed answer.

Do you need a four-wheel drive for these viewpoints?

A few of the higher, steeper pins want a sturdy rental bike or a vehicle with real ground clearance, and we say so on each lookout's own page. Most of the roadside ones are fine on an ordinary scooter.

Is there an entry fee at any of these viewpoints?

Most are free roadside pull-offs or public land. A handful sit on private property or inside a paid venue, and the census table below marks a fee against every place we could confirm one for.

Where can you see both sunrise and sunset from the same spot?

Only lookouts whose open horizon spans a wide enough arc catch the sun both ways, and the index above groups every place we cover by exactly that. Look for the sunrise-and-sunset band near the top of the list.

How accurate is this measurement?

It is a bare-ground elevation model, sampled at a fixed resolution and corrected for the curve of the earth, so it gets the terrain right but knows nothing about trees or buildings. Where it disagrees with a guidebook, we publish both rather than picking a winner.

Can you see Ang Thong from any of these viewpoints?

The two offshore lookouts inside Ang Thong Marine Park are the only ones on this page reached by boat rather than by road, and they are marked separately in the region directory below.