Koh Samui
Pig Island (Koh Madsum), Koh Samui
A small island six kilometres off Samui's south coast where pigs live on the beach and boats bring visitors to see them. What it actually is, the months the crossing turns rough, and how to go without making the pigs the product.
Pig Island is Koh Madsum, a small island about six kilometres south of Thong Krut pier on Koh Samui’s south coast. A group of pigs lives on its beach, boats bring visitors to see them through the day, and a photograph of a pig standing in clear water has done the rest.
This site has said before, on the things to do page, that we will not call it a highlight without a caveat. This page is the longer version: what the island is, what the crossing is like month by month, and how to go if you are going, which for most people means as half of a snorkelling trip to Koh Tan next door.
What it is, plainly
A small beach, some shade, and pigs that spend their day on the sand and in the shallows, because that is where the visitors are. Boats arrive from Samui in the morning and again in the afternoon, people step off into the water, and the food arrives with them.
That last part is the whole issue. On 2 October 2026 we read the 29 Pig Island trips departing Koh Samui that Viator lists, and at least eight of them sell feeding the pigs in their title or description, several alongside “play with” and “swim with”. Viator’s text is cut off after about a thousand characters, so eight is the floor. One operator does the opposite and tells its passengers not to touch or feed the animals at all.
Animals fed by every boat that lands learn to rush people. On a small, exposed island in the hot months, a crowd arriving with food at midday is the worst part of the day for them. None of this needs a dramatic word to describe it: it is a beach that exists for the photograph, and the pigs carry the cost of the photograph.
How to go without making the pigs the product
Do not feed them. Food will be offered, sometimes on the boat and sometimes on the island. Watching from a few metres away costs nothing and is the same picture.
Do not pick them up or pull one into the water. A pig in the sea is the image the tours sell, and getting it usually means dragging or luring an animal somewhere it would not go. Small children want to grab; keep hold of them rather than the other way round.
Treat it as the short stop. The island is one stop of several on every trip we read. The snorkelling at Koh Tan on the same boat is the better half of the day, and it is the half to choose a trip for.
The crossing, measured
The boats leave from Thong Krut, on a stretch of coast that is sheltered when the northeast monsoon runs down the Gulf from November. That shelter is the trap. Koh Madsum sits out in the open water south of the island, and the sea around it is not the sea you are looking at from the pier.
The table below sets four years of marine reanalysis for the water around the island against the coast the boats leave from. It shows the average wave height, and also how often a day went over a metre, because the average hides exactly the days a small boat stays in.
| Month | Around Pig Island | At the pier coast | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waves | Days over 1m | Waves | Days over 1m | |
| January | 0.67m | 16% | 0.53m | 6% |
| February | 0.69m | 19% | 0.55m | 4% |
| March | 0.51m | 1% | 0.41m | 0% |
| April | 0.34m | 3% | 0.30m | 0% |
| May | 0.31m | 0% | 0.31m | 0% |
| June | 0.28m | 0% | 0.32m | 0% |
| July | 0.35m | 0% | 0.38m | 0% |
| August | 0.30m | 0% | 0.33m | 0% |
| September | 0.34m | 0% | 0.37m | 0% |
| October | 0.25m | 0% | 0.24m | 0% |
| November | 0.57m | 13% | 0.47m | 7% |
| December | 0.70m | 11% | 0.56m | 8% |
What that means in practice. For most of the year the crossing is short and easy, and in the southwest monsoon the open water by the island is, if anything, calmer than the coast. In the northeast monsoon it turns: book a trip with free cancellation, expect the occasional one to be called off, and if you are prone to seasickness, take something before you board rather than halfway across. A longtail is open and low, and on a choppy morning everybody in it gets wet.
The months that are best for the crossing are not the months that are driest on Samui. October is the island’s calmest sea and its second-wettest month; the full picture is on the Koh Samui weather page.
Getting there
On a tour. This is how most people go. Pickup from your hotel, a minivan to the south coast, a speedboat or longtail out to Koh Tan for snorkelling and to Koh Madsum for the pigs, lunch somewhere along the way, and back by the afternoon. The listings run from about four to seven hours.
On a private longtail from Thong Krut. The boatmen at Thong Krut hire out longtails by the trip, and it is a reasonable way to go with a family or a small group, because you decide how long you stay where. Agree the price, the stops and the return time before you leave, and check there are life jackets aboard.
There is no ferry to the island and nowhere to stay on it. A landing fee is collected on the island; two of the operators we read list it as included and others do not mention it. We have not confirmed the current amount and do not publish one.
Tours we would book, and the rule we used
Every trip below departs Koh Samui by boat rather than jet ski, includes snorkelling at Koh Tan, does not add an elephant venue, has a rating of 4.5 or better from at least fifteen reviews, and does not sell feeding, playing with or swimming with the pigs anywhere in its listing. That rule removed three of the four most-reviewed trips, and it is written here so you can hold us to it. We are paid a commission if you book through these links.
Free cancellation
Pig Island Tour by Speedboat with Snorkeling
Free cancellation
Koh Samui Island Hopping Adventure in Coral and Pig Island
Free cancellation
Private Longtail Boat to Koh Madsum (Pig Island) & Koh Tan
Screened on 2 October 2026 against each operator’s own listing on Viator. A trip that changes its description can fall foul of the rule later; if you see feeding sold on one of these, tell us and it comes off the page.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants an animal encounter for a child to touch: this is not that, and should not be. Anyone booking in December or January who struggles on small boats. And anyone with one boat day on Samui, who would do better at Ang Thong marine park, the day trip we would keep if you only kept one.
Pig Island (Koh Madsum), Koh Samui FAQs
Where is Pig Island on Koh Samui?+
Off the island rather than on it. Pig Island is the English name for Koh Madsum, a small island about six kilometres south of Thong Krut pier on Samui's south coast, next to the larger Koh Tan. You reach it by boat, usually as part of a half-day trip that includes snorkelling at Koh Tan.
How do you get to Pig Island from Koh Samui?+
By boat from Thong Krut on the south coast. Most people book a tour with hotel pickup, which runs four to seven hours and pairs the island with snorkelling at Koh Tan; the alternative is hiring a private longtail at Thong Krut. There is no ferry and nowhere to stay on the island.
Is Pig Island worth visiting?+
As half of a boat trip, it can be. As the reason for the trip, we would not send anyone: it is a small beach where pigs live and visitors are brought to see them all day. The snorkelling at Koh Tan on the same boat is the better half of the day. If you go, do not feed the pigs and do not handle them.
Can you feed the pigs on Pig Island?+
You will be offered the chance, and several tour listings sell it as the main event. We would not. Animals fed by every boat that lands learn to rush people, the food is not chosen for them, and on a hot island the crowd at feeding time is the worst of the day for them. Watching from a few metres away costs nothing.
When is the best time to visit Pig Island?+
From March to October the crossing is usually easy. From November to February the open water around the island is noticeably rougher than the coast the boats leave from, and it goes over a metre on more days. Book something with free cancellation in those months and expect the occasional trip to be called off.
Is there an entrance fee for Pig Island?+
There is a landing fee collected on the island. Some tours include it and say so, others do not. We have not been able to confirm the current amount and do not publish one; carry some small notes.