The first backpackers (early 1970s)

Koh Samui's first 'tourists' were not package travellers but hippies and backpackers following the overland Asia trail of the early 1970s. The often-repeated story is that the first Western travellers arrived around 1971 on coconut cargo boats, and night boats from Surat Thani brought others to Nathon. They stayed in basic wooden beach huts with no electricity or running water - accounts mention prices around 20 baht a night - and organised day trips cost about 50 baht with the island's only English speaker at the time. Through the 1970s and 1980s Samui had just a few bungalow operations and a trickle of travellers; Chaweng's beach was reached by boat or jungle path, not road. The island's reputation spread by word of mouth, and by the mid-1980s Koh Samui was a fixed stop on the Southeast Asia backpacker circuit, alongside Koh Phangan, which would soon host the first Full Moon Party.

Dates

Early 1970s (c. 1971) onwards

Highlights

• First backpackers arrived c. 1971 on coconut cargo boats and night boats
• Beach huts with no electricity cost about 20 baht a night
• Tourism grew slowly through the 1970s-80s
• Samui became a classic stop on the Asia backpacker trail

Local tips

• Some of the oldest bungalow operations were on Chaweng and Lamai - the island's tourism geography started there

Frequently asked questions

When did tourists first come to Koh Samui?

The first foreign backpackers arrived in the early 1970s, usually dated around 1971, coming by boat from the mainland.

How did early backpackers get to Samui?

By night boat from Surat Thani to Nathon, or on cargo boats carrying coconuts; there were no roads or airport.