# Getting married in Koh Samui & the Gulf Islands > Granite shores and coconut palms on Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao to the north, the limestone islands of Ang Thong to the west: vows by the Gulf of Thailand, then portraits on the rocks, on the sand or out on a boat at sunset. - URL: https://lensandvows.com/thailand/koh-samui - Thailand: https://lensandvows.com/thailand (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/thailand.md) - Português: https://lensandvows.com/pt/thailand/koh-samui.md - Español: https://lensandvows.com/es/thailand/koh-samui.md - Italiano: https://lensandvows.com/it/thailand/koh-samui.md - Deutsch: https://lensandvows.com/de/thailand/koh-samui.md - Français: https://lensandvows.com/fr/thailand/koh-samui.md - Lens & Vows: https://lensandvows.com/ Koh Samui, some 247 km² of coconut palms and forested hills, lies in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Surat Thani. Its longest beaches, Chaweng and Lamai, face east to the sunrise; the west coast, from the pier town of Nathon down to Taling Ngam, is quieter and faces the sunset; and between the bays the shore breaks up into great granite boulders. On the north-east tip, Wat Phra Yai — the temple of the Big Buddha, founded in 1972 — looks across the water to Koh Phangan, a mountainous island of 168 km² with waterfalls and fishing villages, best known for the Full Moon Party at Hat Rin. Some 45 km further north lies Koh Tao, a diving island, and just off it Koh Nang Yuan, three islets joined by white sandbars. To the west, Mu Ko Ang Thong Marine National Park scatters 42 limestone islands over 102 km² of sea. Most couples who come from abroad keep it small: a ceremony on a beach or on the rocks above the sea with a few guests, then portraits in the last hour of light, on Samui’s west coast or out on a boat among the islands. In Thailand a marriage is legal only once a registrar records it — at a district office (the amphoe, or the khet in Bangkok) or, for a fee, at a place you choose — and a religious or beach ceremony alone is not a legal marriage. Many couples therefore sign the papers at home and exchange their vows here. ## When to marry in Koh Samui & the Gulf Islands - **Best:** February, March, April - **Good with planning:** January, May, June, July, August, September February, March and April are the driest months: in the Thai Meteorological Department’s 1991–2020 averages for Samui, rain (0.1 mm or more) falls on about six days a month in February and March and eight in April, and the average highs climb from 29 to 32 °C. From May to September showers come on 13 to 15 days a month, but the totals stay moderate — 100 to 135 mm a month, while Phuket, on the Andaman coast, gets 240 to 350 — and the highs hold at 32 to 33 °C, May the hottest. The wet season comes late on this side of Thailand: from October to December, with November the wettest month — about 445 mm on 19 days, more than a fifth of the year’s 2,000 mm — and rougher seas. January is in between, with fewer rainy days and, with February, the steadiest winds of the year. It is hot and humid in every month. - **February to April:** The driest weeks, and from March the wind drops: the best time for a boat to Ang Thong or a ceremony on the sand. The highs rise from about 29 °C in February to 32 °C in April, and on 14 or 15 April the noon sun stands straight overhead, so the palms give little shade at midday — keep the ceremony for the late afternoon. - **May to September:** Hot and humid, with showers on about half the days and thunder on seven to twelve days a month — but far less rain than on the Andaman coast, which is in its rainy season: for a wedding in the Thai islands in July or August, the Gulf is the side to choose. The sun sets latest in July, at about a quarter to seven. - **October to January:** The Gulf’s own rainy season, when most of Thailand is drying out: October and November are the wettest months, December is still wet, and in January the wind picks up. Storms can stop everything — when Tropical Storm Pabuk struck in early January 2019, the car ferries from the mainland stopped and Ang Thong closed for three days. A wedding in these months needs a flexible date and a covered place in reserve. ## In numbers - **Hottest month, average high:** May · 32.9°C — TMD: https://ubonmet.tmd.go.th/files/MetInfo/climate_normal.pdf - **Average high in the best months:** Feb 29.4°C · Mar 30.4°C · Apr 31.8°C — TMD: https://ubonmet.tmd.go.th/files/MetInfo/climate_normal.pdf - **Days with 0.1 mm of rain or more, best months:** Feb 5.6 · Mar 5.9 · Apr 8.1 — TMD: https://ubonmet.tmd.go.th/files/MetInfo/climate_normal.pdf - **Sunset on 21 June:** 18:42 (Koh Samui) — NOAA: https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/ Weather station: Ko Samui, normals 1991–2020 · Checked 30 October 2026 ## Where couples marry here The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well. - **Samui’s beaches and granite shores:** Chaweng, the island’s main resort beach, and Lamai, both on the east coast, take the sunrise over the sea; the west coast, from Nathon to Taling Ngam, is quieter and takes the evening light. Between the bays, granite boulders and coconut palms run down to the water — a backdrop for portraits a short walk from the sand. The beaches are at their calmest early in the morning and in the last hour before dark. - **Wat Phra Yai, the Big Buddha:** On the north-east tip, the temple founded in 1972 around a giant golden Buddha, reached by a staircase lined with nagas, looks across to Koh Phangan — the view is at its best at dusk. It is a place of worship first: sleeves, and clothes that cover the knee; shoes off wherever you go inside; and in front of the image keep your feet pointing away, never turn your back on it and never stand higher than it. Photographs are allowed in most temples, as long as you don’t get in the way of people praying. - **Ang Thong Marine National Park:** Forty-two islands of limestone cliffs, beaches and young mangroves, a Ramsar wetland since 2002; most visitors come on a day trip by boat from Samui or Phangan. From the park headquarters on Ko Wua Ta Lap a steep trail climbs to a view over the whole archipelago, and on Ko Mae Ko a path of natural steps leads up to look down on a green lagoon enclosed by cliffs. Foreign visitors pay the park’s entry fee. The parks department charges a fee for commercial photography — 1,000 baht a day for a photographer registered in Thailand or another ASEAN country, 2,000 for others — so ask the park before planning a shoot or flying a drone there. - **Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan:** Koh Phangan is more mountainous than Samui, with a ridge down its middle and fishing villages such as Chalok Lam on the north coast — but on the night of every full moon, Hat Rin Nok, on its southern tip, fills with the all-night Full Moon Party, which draws visitors from all over the world: for a quiet wedding, check the moon before you fix the date, and stay away from Hat Rin those nights. Koh Tao, 45 km further north, is a diving island, with the John-Suwan viewpoint over its bays; just off it, Koh Nang Yuan’s three islets are joined by sandbars, with a viewpoint above them and a small fee to land. ## How the light falls Close to the equator, the day hardly changes length through the year: at midsummer the sun rises out of the sea off Chaweng at about six and sets at about twenty to seven; at midwinter it is up from about half past six until five past six. It sets fast — from ten degrees above the horizon to sunset in about three-quarters of an hour, with only some twenty minutes of dusk after it — so plan the portraits for the last hour of sun. Around mid-April and again at the end of August the noon sun stands straight overhead, and for much of the day the light is hard and vertical. From the west coast, between May and July, the sun goes down behind the islands of Ang Thong; in winter it sets further south, over open sea. The east-coast beaches take the sunrise. ## Getting there Samui has its own airport, 2 to 5 km from Chaweng, with direct flights from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi taking about an hour and a quarter. The other way in is overland to Surat Thani on the mainland and the car ferry from Donsak, about 95 km by road from Surat Thani’s airport: an hour and a half to Samui’s Lipa Noi pier, with sailings every hour through the day, and two and a half to Koh Phangan. High-speed catamarans link Chumphon, further up the coast, with Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Samui. Boats don’t sail in a storm, so leave a day’s margin before a flight home. Every foreign visitor fills in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online in the three days before arriving. A drone must be registered with the NBTC, the telecoms regulator, within 30 days of arriving, even if you never fly it; one with a camera must be registered with the civil aviation authority, CAAT, as well, with third-party insurance of at least a million baht and each flight approved through its portal at least three days ahead. No drone may fly within 9 km of an airport without approval — on Samui that takes in Chaweng, Bophut and the Big Buddha. ## Photographers in Koh Samui & the Gulf Islands The first photographers in Koh Samui & the Gulf Islands are joining now. Tell our concierge your date and your plans — it checks who is free and fits. https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=koh-samui https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=koh-samui&sort=rating (Highest rated) ## Read before you plan - [Getting married in Thailand as foreigners: the papers, the district office, same-sex couples](https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-thailand): How couples who don’t live in Thailand marry there legally: the document from home that says you’re free to marry, its Thai translation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ stamp, registration at any district office, same-sex marriage since 2025, Buddhist blessings and symbolic ceremonies, costs, and registering the marriage back home. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-thailand.md) - [How to choose a wedding photographer: the steps, and the questions to ask](https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer): The decision in order — whole weddings, style, availability, the package, the contract and deposit, cancellation, delivery and a conversation — then a checklist of questions, with why each one matters. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer.md) - [A wedding-day timeline built around the light](https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-day-timeline): Sunset decides more of your photos than you might think. Approximate sunset times by month, where golden hour fits, and two example timelines — one for June, one for October. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-day-timeline.md) - [How deposits and payment protection work on Lens & Vows](https://lensandvows.com/journal/deposits-and-payment-protection): A 30% deposit holds your date; the balance goes straight to the photographer, or through us with payment protection. Every step, what each choice costs, and what happens if plans change. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/deposits-and-payment-protection.md)