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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Bophut
บ่อผุด
Base here 3 nights if you want a walkable beach village with restaurants and no nightlife strip; the water is murky, so treat it as a dining and sunset base, not a swimming beach.
Bophut is a beach village on the northeast shore of Ko Samui, about 15 minutes from the airport. Its core, Fisherman's Village, is a short street of old Chinese shophouses turned into restaurants, cafés and small shops, with a 2 km beach and a small pier where ferries from Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao dock. It suits couples and families who want to eat well and walk everywhere; the bay water is often murky, so swimmers usually head elsewhere.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- บ่อผุด
- Best months
- Jan–Mar, Jul–Aug
- Avoid
- Nov–Dec (northeast monsoon, murkiest water)
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿1,200–2,200 excl. bed · Mid ฿2,500–4,500 excl. bed · High ฿6,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance and rescue 1669 · Tourist police 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Thai noodle or rice dish, village restaurant | ฿80–180 |
| Seafood dinner, per head | ฿400–800 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a shop | ฿90–150 / ฿40–60 |
| Thai massage, one hour | ฿300–500 |
| Songthaew hop along the main road | ฿50–100 |
| Scooter rental, one day | ฿200–350 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- USM · Samui International Airport
- About 15 min by taxi or songthaew to Bophut; confirm the fare with the driver before you set off.
Typical fares
- Samui airport → Bophut, taxi
- about ฿400–600, 15 min
- Songthaew along the main road
- ฿50–100 per hop
- Ferry Bophut pier → Ko Pha Ngan
- check the current timetable and fare at the pier
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Fisherman's Village is walkable end to end in about 10 minutes. For anything further, songthaews run along the main road (about ฿50–100 per hop), taxis and app cars cost more, and scooters are the usual rental option — ride only with a licence and a helmet. Ferries to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao leave from the small pier in east Bophut.
See and do
Known for
- Fisherman's Village
- Sunset dinners on the beach road
- Thai-Chinese shophouse street
- Ferry pier to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Chaweng | Songthaew or taxi along the ring road | About 20–30 min |
| Choeng Mon | Taxi or scooter northeast along the coast | About 15 min |
| Mae Nam | Songthaew or scooter west along the ring road | About 15–20 min |
| Nathon | Songthaew south along the ring road | About 40–50 min |
| Bang Rak | Songthaew or scooter west along the ring road | About 15 min |
| Laem Yai | Scooter or taxi northwest along the coast road | About 25–30 min |
Sleep
- Fisherman's Village (east end)
- Walk to restaurants, bars and the pier; the priciest and busiest part of the beach.
- West Bophut
- Newer resorts and quieter sand; you need a scooter, songthaew or taxi to reach the village.
- Main road inland
- Guesthouses and cheaper rooms a few minutes' walk from the beach; more road noise.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ไหนhong nam yu nai |
| Can I pay by card? | จ่ายบัตรได้ไหมjai bat dai mai |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- The bay water is often murky, especially around December; do not book Bophut for swimming.
- A Bophut postal address can be anywhere in the district, including Chaweng — check the map before booking.
- Scooter rental: wear a helmet, check the brakes, and photograph existing damage.
- Jet-ski and beach-operator disputes over damage claims are a known island issue; agree the price and condition first.
Bophut is a low-risk, family-oriented village with no girly bars; the real issues are scooter accidents, murky water, and agreeing prices before jet-ski or beach-operator rentals.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Bophut yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Fisherman's Village
- Sunset dinners on the beach road
- Thai-Chinese shophouse street
- Ferry pier to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand: www.tourismthailand.org/
- OpenStreetMap — Bophut: www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/9.5621/100.0255
- Wikivoyage: Bophut, revision 5312080 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5312080
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Bophutบ่อผุด
ไปที่ที่อยู่นี้ครับ/ค่ะ
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Most embassies are in Bangkok; several countries keep consulates on Samui — check your own embassy's list before you travel.
Tipping is not required; round up and tip massage staff and guides.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/bophut). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.