Visiting Koh Samui in Thailand was pure bliss, but for me it wasn’t exactly a work-free escape. A full vacation wasn’t in the cards, so my days became a mix of laptop clicks, beach walks, and smoothie breaks. The good news is that working remotely in Koh Samui turned out to be much easier, and far more enjoyable, than I expected.
Page Contents
Where to Work in Koh Samui
Personally, I prefer working from my hotel room, and I have a few reasons for that.
First, I usually work with two screens, and that setup never fits well on a tiny café table. Second, I need a quieter environment for meetings – background chatter and coffee machines don’t exactly help. Third, a lot of what I do isn’t meant to be seen by people outside of the business, so privacy matters. And finally, sometimes it’s just nice to stay in your pyjamas and click away without leaving the room.
That said, if you want to squeeze in a quick work session while exploring, or if your hotel isn’t the best setup, Koh Samui has plenty of options. Modern cafés with charging stations, AC, and good coffee are easy to find, and they make for a comfortable temporary office.
If you’re looking for something more structured, there are also coworking spaces such as:
- Chill In Co Working (4.9⭐)
- Desk and Chair Co (4.9⭐)
- Koh Working (5.0⭐)
In short, Koh Samui has no shortage of comfortable places to work, whether you enjoy the buzz of a café, the focus of a coworking space, or the simplicity of a hotel room with a decent desk.
WiFi and Mobile Data in Koh Samui
For starters, finding WiFi in Koh Samui is no big task. Most cafés and restaurants have it and don’t mind you opening up your laptop for a while. If it’s a fancier spot, though, you might want to think twice or at least triple-check before setting up shop.
My main base was hotel WiFi, and that usually did the job. For safety, I always use a VPN on public networks, just to be on the safe side. On the rare occasions when the WiFi wasn’t reliable, I easily switched to an eSIM – more specifically, Nomad. That app was a real connection lifesaver throughout my whole Asia trip, and I loved how easy it was to adjust data plans depending on the country and how long I was staying.
Getting Around Koh Samui
Getting around is quite different depending on whether you’re choosing Ko Tao, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan. Since I didn’t bring a national driving license, renting a scooter was out of the question. That alone made Samui stand out.
Unlike Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, Koh Samui has a cab app – Grab. No need to chase down drivers on the street; you just open the app and book a ride. It made life so much easier, especially for those small “before work” trips or when I wanted to check out a lunch spot a bit further away.
You can download Grab for free and instantly see prices and distances. If you’ve ever used Uber or Bolt, the app will feel completely familiar.
Balancing Work with Island Life
Finding the right balance between work and exploring wasn’t always easy, but Koh Samui made it more manageable than I expected. Luckily, my work is fairly flexible, so I’m not tied to a strict 9-5 schedule. With European work hours, that would have meant starting late in the afternoon and finishing in the middle of the night – not ideal for a morning person like me.
Working from the hotel, even on busier days, I could still sneak in little breaks – a beach walk, a quick swim in the pool, or watching the sunset before opening the laptop again in the evening. Those small escapes made the workdays feel lighter without cutting into productivity.
What I really appreciated about Koh Samui compared to the smaller islands was how much easier it was to fit both work and exploring into the same day. Distances aren’t too long, getting around with Grab is simple, and there’s always something nearby worth seeing or doing. Even without full days off, I still managed to enjoy slices of island life here and there.
Eating While Working
Finding food in Koh Samui is never a problem. There are plenty of cafés and restaurants if you want to step out for a meal, from beachside spots to small Thai eateries. But on days when I preferred to stay in and keep working, delivery was a lifesaver.
Grab isn’t just useful for getting around – it also works well for food delivery, and Foodpanda is another reliable option. Both apps made it easy to order Thai dishes, fresh smoothies, or even Western comfort food straight to the hotel when time was tight.
Tech Troubles in Paradise? No Worries
Imagine waking up ready to work, only to find that your computer doesn’t. Or worse, you knock over your mango smoothie straight onto the keyboard. A true nightmare.
The good news is that if you’re in Koh Samui, it doesn’t have to mean forced time off or painfully slow workdays. The island has a few larger electronic stores and repair shops where you can get things fixed or replaced. Sure, it might sting your travel budget, but at least it gets you back on track.
Final Thoughts on Working Remotely in Koh Samui
Having the option to work remotely is a blessing, but depending on where you are it can also be a challenge. That is why finding places like Koh Samui, which gives you both a tropical escape and a reliable work base, feels like such a win.
Koh Tao and Koh Phangan might not take the prize for the best working islands, but I would still recommend visiting them if you are in the area. I managed to get by just fine on both, and while the workflow was not always perfect, it never completely fell apart either.
So with that said, if you are a digital nomad, Koh Samui is definitely worth putting on your list.
