what a trip here turns on, before the detail
When to come
Jun to Sep, Dec to Feb
1 spot is in season then
2 spots, and each figure is how many of them name that month as their own season, so a month reading 1 is one spot and not the whole place.
How windy
10.3 kt
the month's average wind in September at Nathon, the strongest month any spot here models
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. What it holds here is the month's average wind, month by month; it does not count how many days carry a three-hour window at 12 kt.
Riding on your own
1 spot
publishes a rule of its own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the spot cards
Where to ride
2 spots
shallow flat lagoon with chop and small reef waves outside, shallow flat to choppy bay
Levels at least one spot takes
Good to know before you go3
Hua Thanon (Nahai Beach)Hua Thanon sits on the south-east corner of Koh Samui and answers to five other names: Nahai, Coral Beach, Samui Orchid Kitebeach, Orchid and Shiva.
In seasonDec to Feb
The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 10 kt in September, the strongest month it models for this spot.
More on Hua Thanon (Nahai Beach)
The riding area is a lagoon behind a reef, standable all the way across, flat inside, with small waves breaking out on the reef for anyone who can ride upwind to them. KBA teaches out of the Hua Thanon and Ocean Resort lagoon from December to April, though the core northeast monsoon is narrower than that, mid-November or December into February or March. Wind is 8-18 knots, strongest from the morning to lunch and fading through the afternoon, and it arrives in cycles rather than day after day. Then the rocks. They sit at the reef and on the right-hand side of the spot, which is exactly where a beginner drifts. Launch is better than at most small Thai island spots, a wide sand and grass area next to the beach cafe, reached through Ocean Resort. It is out of the way compared with Chaweng or Lamai, so arrange to meet the school onsite rather than turning up and hoping.
Getting on the water
Wide sand and grass launch next to the beach cafe. Access is through Ocean Resort: riders meet on site or walk through the resort grounds to the kite beach. Side-onshore wind makes launching and getting back in straightforward.
If it goes wrong
Nothing formal. No lifeguard, no patrol and no rescue boat is published for this stretch of the south-east coast. On a lesson your cover is the school working the lagoon out of Ocean Resort, reachable on +66 83 643 1627 (2026). Riding independently, the fact that the lagoon is standable is most of the answer, but the reef and the open water sit downwind and nobody is watching this beach. Onshore the numbers are 191 for police, 1669 for an ambulance and 1155 for the tourist police (2026).
Room to rig
A sand and grass strip beside the beach cafe, wide enough to lay out and launch. Reportedly spacious, though it is also put no higher than adequate, so do not count on room for a crowd. Side-onshore wind makes landing straightforward, which matters more here than square metres.
Rules and access
2026: no kite-specific rule, permit, marked zone, seasonal ban or municipal watersports order has been published for Hua Thanon, and spot records for the beach list the rules as none. What governs access here is private property rather than a public order. The riding area is reached through Ocean Resort, so you either walk through the resort grounds or arrange to meet the school on site; turning up unannounced is not the way in. No marine-park boundary covering this lagoon was found.
Nathon is Koh Samui's west-coast kite spot and the island's ferry and commercial town at the same time.
In seasonJun to Sep
The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 10.3 kt in September, the strongest month it models for this spot.
More on Nathon
It runs on the southwest monsoon, which is what makes it the other half of Samui: the east and south-east beaches work on the northeast monsoon, and in December-February that NE is straight offshore here, so winter riders go elsewhere. Lessons run in front of the shop from May to November; the honest riding window is June-September, SW to W at 10-25 knots on 8-12 m. The bay is shallow and sandy, mostly flat with some chop and waist-high in places, so it is easy water to learn in and easy water to cruise. Best wind is usually 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, with a small thermal kick on July-August afternoons. The catch is the port. Ferries, fishing boats and transport boats work the pier, and you need to give that whole zone room; cloud lines in the southwest season also bring sudden stronger wind, so watch what is coming across the channel.
Getting on the water
Beach launch directly in front of the KBA Nathon shop, with easy beach access and ample setup space.
If it goes wrong
No lifeguard service and no kite rescue are documented for this beach. On a lesson you have the school's cover from the shop directly behind the launch; riding independently, assume self-rescue and someone watching from the sand, and remember that a downwind drift here takes you toward the pier and the working boat lanes.
1 in the directory
1 shop
Head office of Thailand's largest kite operator network, running two Hua Hin centres with its own repair shop, rental fleet and IKO lesson programme, active for over 24 years.
143/8 Soi 75/1, opposite Bangkok Hospital, Hua Hin 77110 (second centre: 127/19 Soi 71/1, opposite Market Village Shopping Mall, Hua Hin 77110)
+66 93 480 4040kiteboardingasia.com@kba_kiteschools
As of 2026
Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.
Known for Thailand:Thai Airways / Bangkok Airways / AirAsia
Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →
4 recurring claims
The two-season, two-coast setup is real in rider advice: southeast/south spots in the NE season, west-coast Nathon for the opposite monsoon.
consensus×5 riders
The beginner-school experience gets better reviews than the wind itself: people repeatedly mention patient instructors, clear explanations, radios, and modern gear.
majority×5 riders
Riders do not talk about Samui like a guaranteed wind factory; they talk about big kites, moving around the island, and jumping on it when it blows.
majority×4 riders
Samui is comfortable for a mixed holiday, but that comfort means driving: the kite beaches are not the same place as the main nightlife and resort strip.
majority×3 riders
When is the best time to kite Koh Samui?
Koh Samui has two seasonal coasts: Hua Thanon in the southeast has its core season during the northeast monsoon, roughly December to April, while Nathon on the west coast works the opposite southwest monsoon from May to November.
Which spot should I choose?
Pick Hua Thanon for the winter northeast monsoon, or Nathon on the west coast if visiting during the May-November southwest monsoon since it faces the opposite direction.
Are there kite schools on Koh Samui?
A school operates from Nathon during May-November, and KBA runs from the Hua Thanon/Ocean Resort lagoon area from December to April.
Out of ten, one place against another. The percentage beside a figure is how much of this record that figure had to work from, so a high score on a thin record is a thin score.
3 questions
What we could not settle. Ride here? These are the gaps worth filling.
Last updated: 4 September 2026