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Map guides · Episode 4

Phuket or Koh Samui: two islands that keep different time

They are often treated as two versions of the same island. They do not face the same sea, do not get their rain in the same months and do not sell the same thing. Follow the camera from one to the other.

Survey of 5 October 2026 · asking prices, median per development

Each dot is a development we track; its colour is its median asking price per square metre.

30,000 ฿/m²180,000 ฿/m² and above

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1 of 11 · Two islands, two seas

Phuket faces the Andaman Sea, Samui the Gulf of Thailand

Between them lie 257.8 km as the crow flies and the whole peninsula; Phuket is 2.4 times larger.

developments tracked in Phuket
1,356
developments tracked in Samui
315
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Sources

Developments tracked in our database on 5 October 2026. Area: Wikipedia (547 and 228.7 km²).

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026 · Wikipedia — Phuket province, accessed 23 September 2026 · Wikipedia — Ko Samui, accessed 23 September 2026

2 of 11 · Getting there · Phuket

The island stretches south of its airport

The international airport holds the northern tip; developments run all the way to the southern cape, a median 30.4 minutes' drive away.

million passengers in 2024
17.2
minutes' median drive to the terminal
30.4
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Sources

Annual passengers, arrivals and departures: Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, 2024. Driving times without traffic (OSRM, 24 September 2026), from each development to the terminal.

Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand — 2024 annual statistics by airport (xlsx): calendar-year passengers, arrivals + departures, domestic and international flights, accessed 24 September 2026 · AOT — Investor Relations, FAQ, accessed 23 September 2026 · OSRM, accessed 24 September 2026

3 of 11 · The beaches · Phuket

The sunset coast lines up its beaches on the Andaman

From Bang Tao to Nai Harn the bays follow one another; behind them the island stays low: only 3 condominiums reach 20 floors.

named beaches within 3 km of a development
41
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Sources

Beaches named in OpenStreetMap, on the island only, within 3 km of a tracked development. Declared floors of 353 condominiums.

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026

4 of 11 · By the water · Phuket

Sand more than doubles the price of a villa square metre

Within 300 m of a beach, villa asking prices per square metre are 110% higher than beyond 1,000 m.

per m², villas within 300 m of a beach
142,144 ฿/m²
per m², villas beyond 1,000 m
67,837 ฿/m²
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Sources

Asking prices per m², median of villa developments (41 within 300 m of a beach, 105 up to 1,000 m, 676 beyond); straight-line distances to the nearest beach.

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026

5 of 11 · The crossing

From the Andaman to the Gulf, the sea changes

Samui is reached by air, or by ferry from Don Sak on the Gulf coast.

as the crow flies between the islands
257.8 km
See what fits me on the coast

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Sources

Straight-line distance between the centres of the two islands, along the great circle. Access: Wikipedia.

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026 · Wikipedia — Ko Samui, accessed 23 September 2026

6 of 11 · Getting there · Samui

You land on a private runway, a short drive from everything

The island's airport belongs to Bangkok Airways; from the terminal, developments are a median 15.7 minutes' drive away.

million passengers in 2024
2.8
minutes' median drive to the terminal
15.7
See what fits me on the coast

A link by email opens your advisor, no password.

Sources

Annual passengers, arrivals and departures: Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, 2024. Driving times without traffic (OSRM, 24 September 2026).

Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand — 2024 annual statistics by airport (xlsx): calendar-year passengers, arrivals + departures, domestic and international flights, accessed 24 September 2026 · Bangkok Airways — Airport Business, accessed 23 September 2026 · OSRM, accessed 24 September 2026

7 of 11 · Island of villas · Samui

Samui is an island of villas, set on its slopes

No condominium there rises above 5 floors, and buyers often purchase what is not yet built.

of developments are villas
85.7%
of developments sell off-plan
52.2%
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Sources

Column height: ground elevation under each development (median 31 m, up to 438 m). Declared floors of 19 condominiums. Off-plan share among known statuses.

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026

8 of 11 · By the water · Samui

On Samui, the sand costs less

Same scale, same bands: within 300 m of a beach, villa asking prices per square metre are 42% higher than beyond 1,000 m.

per m², villas within 300 m of a beach
82,567 ฿/m²
per m², villas beyond 1,000 m
58,104 ฿/m²
See what fits me on the coast

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Sources

Asking prices per m², median of villa developments (29 within 300 m of a beach, 75 up to 1,000 m, 146 beyond); straight-line distances to the nearest beach.

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026

9 of 11 · The price

The square metre is similar; it is the villa that shrinks on Samui

The median villa measures 320.0 m² in Phuket and 224.0 m² on Samui; the square metre itself varies little.

the median villa in Phuket
24.7 M ฿
the median villa on Samui
12.9 M ฿
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Sources

Villa square metre: 70,564 ฿ (€1,839) in Phuket, 63,439 ฿ (€1,653) on Samui. Asking prices, not sale prices; medians over at least 20 developments, outliers excluded (32 in Phuket, 10 on Samui).

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026

10 of 11 · The calendar

Phuket gets its rain in summer, Samui in autumn

Two calendars: 75.8% of Phuket's rain falls from May to October, 50.3% of Samui's from October to December.

of rain in August in Phuket
308.7 mm
of rain in November on Samui
444.6 mm
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Sources

World Meteorological Organization normals 1991–2020, read on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia — Phuket (city), climat 1991-2020 (OMM, TMD), accessed 23 September 2026 · Wikipedia — Ko Samui, accessed 23 September 2026

11 of 11 · Which island suits whom

Two islands, two ways of living

Phuket for the waterfront apartment and a hospital a median 2.5 km away; Samui for the villa, with a square metre 10% lower.

See what fits me on the coast

A link by email opens your advisor, no password.

Sources

Condominiums within 300 m of a beach: 72 developments in Phuket, 2 on Samui. Nearest Bangkok Hospital network hospital, straight-line (3.1 km median on Samui).

Reflexion survey of 5 October 2026 · Bangkok Hospital — Network Hospitals Directory, accessed 23 September 2026

Your plans begin here

City or coast, apartment or villa, to live there or to spend part of the year: three gestures are enough for your advisor to start from your project, not from a catalogue.

Find my property

Method and sources

Prices are asking prices, surveyed on 5 October 2026 in our database. For each development we take the median price per square metre of its unsold units; for an area, the median of those medians, shown only from 20 developments upward. A unit is set aside as an outlier below 10,000 ฿/m², above 1,000,000 ฿/m², above 500,000 ฿/m² on less than 30 m² or with no known floor area, above 500 M ฿, or with less than 10 m² per bedroom. The off-plan share counts developments whose status is known. Distances are measured as the crow flies. Euros are converted at €1 = 38.374 ฿ (13 September 2026).

These are listing prices, not sale prices. No figure on this page is a promise of return.

Sources specific to this guide:

This page is market information, not legal, tax or financial advice. The rules quoted are dated; check that they still apply with a professional before any decision.

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