Thailand's top resort islands

The island of Koh Samui is located about 35 km northeast of Surat Thani town in the Gulf of Thailand. At its centre is dense mountainous jungle, with the peak of Khao Pom rising to over 2,000 feet. A coastal road, about 50 km in length, encircles the island connecting the various sandy beaches where the resorts that draw tourists in large numbers have mushroomed. There are over 260 resorts on Koh Samui, making it the most-invested resort region after Bangkok, and surpassing Phuket. Koh Samui's smaller sister islands -- Koh Phangan and Koh Tao -- are also favoured destinations of the backpacking and beach-partying crowd. This year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has set itself an ambitious target of attracting more than 20 million tourists. In April alone, Thailand welcomed over 1.6 million visitors.