Short answer
Our Pig Island tour from Koh Samui is from $50 per person for a shared boat day of about 5 to 6 hours: hotel pickup, snorkelling at Koh Tan and free time on Pig Island (Koh Madsum), where a family of pigs lives on the beach. A fuller island day with the Heaven Gate viewpoint, lunch and an elephant visit is from $65. On ethics, we found no independent welfare study, so follow the rules: no chasing or riding, feed only what the guide allows. It suits families.
What the Pig Island day costs
There are two options. The speedboat option is from $50 per person. You are collected from your hotel and taken to the pier in the south of Samui, you snorkel around Koh Tan, and you have free time on Pig Island, which is Koh Madsum, for the beach, a swim and the pigs. The whole thing is about 5 to 6 hours including the hotel transfers. Pickup covers Mae Nam, Bophut, Choeng Mon, Bang Rak, Chaweng, Chaweng Noi and Lamai.
The island day is from $65 per person and takes about 6 hours. It starts at about 9:00 am with the Heaven Gate viewpoint and photos, then lunch, then about 30 minutes with elephants, and only then the boat to Koh Tan and Pig Island. The elephant visit is not riding: you watch, learn about and feed the elephants. Choose the $50 day for the water and the pigs, and the $65 day if you want the whole day filled.
What is included and what is extra
On both options the price includes the round-trip hotel transfer in the main areas of Koh Samui, the boat to Koh Tan and Pig Island with a guide, a mask, a snorkel, a life jacket and drinking water. The island day also includes the entrance to Heaven Gate and to the elephant visit, and lunch at the restaurant on the route. On the speedboat option, ask us what lunch is served on your date, because our listing does not say.
Our listing names no entrance fee for Pig Island. Inside Samui's 2026 guide says there is a small island fee at Koh Madsum of around 50 baht per person, in cash on arrival, rarely included in tour prices. Longlae Samui, an operator whose page was updated in December 2025, gives 50 baht including a bottle of water, with children free. These are third-party figures, so ask us whether a fee applies on your date, and carry a little cash for drinks; Travel Hiatus describes a small bar on the island.
Koh Madsum: where it is and what you find
Wikipedia's article on Ko Samui places Ko Taen and Ko Matsum, as it spells them, to the south of the main island, each with small tourist facilities. Inside Samui says the boats leave from Thong Krut Pier in the south and that the crossing to Koh Madsum takes 15 to 20 minutes; Travel Hiatus says about 30 minutes by speedboat. Our listing says only that you board the boat in the south of Samui, so treat the crossing as a short ride.
On the beach, our operator describes a family of pigs that often walks into the shallow water. Inside Samui and a Samui water-sports blog say the pigs are used to visitors and gather when there is food, and the blog adds that chickens, goats, a dog and birds live on the island too. Inside Samui also says that by late morning several tour boats arrive at once and the small beach gets busy, so an early start is calmer.
Is Pig Island ethical? What we can and cannot say
We cannot give you a certificate. The pigs are domestic animals living freely on a small beach, they are not wildlife in a park, and we found no independent animal-welfare assessment of them. Every account of how they got there comes from tour operators and travel blogs with something to sell, and we are a booking company with something to sell as well. Travel Hiatus and an operator page by Longlae Samui tell the same story: a man who runs a beach bar on the island bought a family of four pigs at a Surat Thani market, where they were being sold to butchers. We could not verify it.
The questions that matter are plain ones: can the pigs get away from visitors, is the feeding controlled and suitable, are the animals left alone? World Animal Protection advises travellers never to pay for a picture with a wild animal and to check whether a tour operator has an animal welfare policy. That advice is about wild animals, and sources call these pigs used to people or "technically semi-wild", so treat it as a list of questions, not a verdict. Ask any operator, us included, who looks after the pigs and what the rules on the beach are.
The rules visitors should follow
Our listing says it plainly: the pigs are animals living on the island, so no chasing or riding, and feed them only what the guide allows. Inside Samui adds that human snacks, especially salty or sugary ones, are bad for the pigs, and asks visitors not to chase or crowd them, to give them space and to take all rubbish back to Samui. Travel Hiatus warns that piglets should not be rushed, because their mother may charge.
Feeding rules exist for a reason. On a different island, Wikipedia's article on Pig Beach in the Bahamas records that a number of pigs were found dead in 2017 and that the speculation about the cause included tourists feeding them alcohol and the pigs swallowing sand. The point is not that the same thing happens on Madsum, but that unmanaged feeding is the risk to avoid. Keep your own snacks and drinks away from the pigs, and let the guide hand out the food.
Koh Tan: the snorkelling half of the day
Pig Island is only half of the trip. The other half is snorkelling around Koh Tan. Inside Samui describes Koh Tan as a small uninhabited island next to Koh Madsum, ringed by coral, where tours spend around an hour in the water, and says Samui itself has few snorkelling spots. A water-sports blog adds that what you see under the surface varies with the time of year, so expect reef fish on a calm day and not a guaranteed show.
Non-swimmers can join. On our tour a life jacket is provided, snorkelling is done in it, and you can stay in the shallow water at Pig Island. Travel Hiatus describes the water at Koh Madsum as clear and shallow for quite a way out, good for children. Bring swimwear, a towel, sunscreen and water shoes; the mask, snorkel and life jacket are in the price.
Who the Pig Island day suits, and who should skip it
It suits families best. Our listing calls it one of the best family trips on Samui: short boat rides, calm water, life jackets and the pigs. Children who like animals are the obvious audience, and the speedboat option leaves part of the day free. Non-swimmers and nervous swimmers are welcome. If you are weighing it against a longer day, read our comparison of Ang Thong and Pig Island.
Skip it if you use a wheelchair, because the trip is not wheelchair accessible, or if you have back problems or are prone to seasickness, because our listing does not recommend it for either. Skip it too if feeding and photographing animals is not something you want to do. And if you want a national park with a viewpoint and kayaking, the Ang Thong tour is the better fit, though that park closes from 1 November to 15 December 2026.
Season, booking and payment
Wikipedia's article on Ko Samui says the heaviest rain on the island typically falls from mid-October to early December. Inside Samui says December to April is calmest and that boat trips can be bumpy or cancelled for safety from late October into December. Our listing names no closed season. If the sea is unsafe, the operator moves the trip to another date or refunds it.
To book, send us the option, the date, your hotel and the number of guests on WhatsApp. We confirm availability, the pickup time and the total before you pay, and the pickup time is confirmed on WhatsApp the day before. Hotels on steep hills meet at a point nearby. For the stop-by-stop route read the travel guide, and for times and packing the tour schedule.
Practical checklist
- Choose the option first: the speedboat day from $50 or the island day from $65.
- Do not chase, ride or crowd the pigs, and feed them only what the guide allows.
- Pack swimwear, a towel, sunscreen and water shoes; the mask, snorkel and life jacket are provided.
- Carry a little cash in case of a small island fee or drinks, and ask us whether a fee applies.
- Send us the option, date, hotel and number of guests, and we confirm the total before you pay.
Questions and answers
How much is the Pig Island tour from Koh Samui?
The speedboat option is from $50 per person, about 5 to 6 hours with hotel transfers. The island day, with the Heaven Gate viewpoint, lunch and the elephant visit before the boat, is from $65 per person and takes about 6 hours.
Is Pig Island ethical?
We found no independent welfare assessment, and every account comes from tour operators and travel blogs. Follow the rules: no chasing or riding, feed only what the guide allows, and give the pigs space. Skip it if animal photo stops are not for you.
Can I feed the pigs on Pig Island?
Only what the guide allows. Inside Samui says human snacks, especially salty or sugary ones, are bad for the pigs. Do not bring your own food for them, and do not chase, crowd or ride them.
Is Pig Island suitable for children and non-swimmers?
Yes. Our listing calls it one of the best family trips on Samui, with short boat rides, calm water and life jackets. Non-swimmers snorkel in a life jacket and can stay in the shallows.
Is the elephant visit on the island day riding?
No. You watch, learn about and feed the elephants for about 30 minutes. There is no riding. The visit comes before the boat to Koh Tan and Pig Island and is part of the $65 island day only.