Koh Samui
The scooter key is somewhere in the sand at Chaweng
Chaweng runs for 6 km and splits into four stretches, so the stretch you were on is the first thing to pin down.
A key that fell in the sand or the shallows at Chaweng is worth a search, provided you can say which part of the beach you were on. Chaweng is divided into Chaweng North, the central stretch, Chaweng South and Chaweng Noi, and naming yours narrows the search a great deal.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone on Koh Samui with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Below you will find Chaweng and Lamai, Bophut and the rest of the north coast, Na Thon on the west coast, and Koh Phangan and Koh Tao to the north.
Check the scooter, then go back to the sand
For a key, look over the scooter first: the ignition, the seat box, the ground where it stood. Then go back to your spot on the sand and film a slow turn all the way round, so the rocks, the sunbeds and what stands behind the beach are in one clip, and drop a pin while you stand there.
Boats for Koh Phangan and Koh Tao leave from Na Thon, and speedboats for Koh Tao from Bophut, so for a loss on a day trip, tell us the pier and the boat.
Places we cover on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao
- Chaweng Beach (Chaweng North, Central and South)
- Chaweng Noi
- Lat Ko Viewpoint
- Lamai Beach
- Hin Ta and Hin Yai (Grandpa and Grandma Rocks)
- Hua Thanon fishing village
- Na Tian Beach
- Choeng Mon Beach
- Big Buddha Beach and Bang Rak
- Bophut Beach
- Fisherman's Village, Bophut
- Maenam (Mae Nam) Beach
- Bang Po Beach
- Na Thon and its pier
- Taling Ngam
- Thong Krut and Ko Taen
- Thong Sala, Koh Phangan
- Hat Rin, Koh Phangan
- Thong Nai Pan Yai and Thong Nai Pan Noi, Koh Phangan
- Ao Si Thanu, Koh Phangan
- Mae Hat and Ko Ma, Koh Phangan
- Mae Hat, Koh Tao
- Sairee Beach, Koh Tao
- Ko Nang Yuan
- Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park
- Ko Wua Ta Lap, Ang Thong
- Ko Hin Dap, Ang Thong
Samui beach by beach, plus two islands to the north
From Chaweng round to Taling Ngam, then across the water to Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and the Ang Thong islands.
Chaweng and Chaweng Noi
Chaweng lies on the east side of the island and is split into four stretches: Chaweng North, the central part, Chaweng South and Chaweng Noi. The sand is fine and white and the beach is wide. Snorkellers swim out along the rocks, where there is coral and plenty of fish. Lat Ko Viewpoint, between Chaweng and Lamai, is a rocky cliff with a walkway down to the sea.
Lamai, Hin Ta and Hin Yai
Lamai curves for about 4 km from north to south, and the water is deep in parts of the bay. South of the main beach are Hin Ta and Hin Yai, the granite Grandpa and Grandma Rocks. Hua Thanon, a fishing village between Na Tian and Lamai, has its boats lined up on the beach at the end of the road.
Bophut and Fisherman's Village
Bophut, on the north coast between Mae Nam and Bang Rak, is a long, calm curve of white sand. Bophut is also home to the oldest fishing village on Samui, Fisherman's Village, with Chinese-style shophouses along the beach road and a walking street. Speedboats leave Bophut for Koh Tao.
Big Buddha, Bang Rak and Choeng Mon
The golden Big Buddha of Wat Phra Yai sits on Ko Fan, a small rocky island joined to Samui by a causeway, and the beach beside it is usually called Big Buddha Beach. Bang Rak has a pier on the road from Bophut to the temple. Choeng Mon is more peaceful than Chaweng or Lamai.
Maenam and Bang Po
Maenam is one of the more peaceful beaches. Bang Po, on the north coast, runs for more than 4 km with Koh Phangan in clear view across the water, and its sea is shallow, still and clear.
Na Thon, Taling Ngam and Thong Krut
Na Thon, on the west coast, has the pier for boats to Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Ko Nang Yuan. Taling Ngam, also on the west side, looks out at Ko Si and Ko Ha, and boats can be hired there to snorkel off the two islands. From Thong Krut, long-tails go to Ko Taen, stopping first at the reef facing it.
Koh Phangan and Koh Tao
On Koh Phangan, the mainland ferries come in at Thong Sala. Hat Rin is split into Hat Rin Nai, which has a lot of sharp rock underfoot, and Hat Rin Nok. Ao Si Thanu has fine white sand, with rocks where the fishing boats come in, and at Mae Hat a sandbar runs across to Ko Ma. On Koh Tao, the main pier is at Mae Hat, and Sairee, a long beach of powdery white sand, is not far from it.
Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park
The Ang Thong islands lie off Samui, and day boat trips go out from Samui and Koh Phangan. Ko Wua Ta Lap has beaches and a trail to a hilltop view over the islands, and on another island a path of natural steps climbs to a lookout over an emerald lagoon. Ko Sam Sao, Ko Thai Phlo, Ko Wua Kan Tang and Ko Hin Dap are snorkelling and diving stops, and Ko Hin Dap has the longest stretches of sand. Tell us which island the boat stopped at and what you did there.
How a Samui case runs with us
One person, not a form
Your messages go to one person on WhatsApp, who reads all of it and answers you from the first message to the last.
What goes in the brief
The detectorist gets your pins and photos along with the route you took to the beach and the spot where you went into the water.
Plain answers
When what you describe makes a search unlikely to work, we say so in the chat before anything is arranged.
Agreed at the start
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you decide from there.
Still water in the north, rock and reef close in
What the shore and the water are like where things go missing.
The north coast from Bang Po to Bophut
On the north coast the sea at Bang Po is shallow and still, with small waves, and Bophut is a calm curve. Wade out at Bang Po and there are rocks, coral and seaweed, so tell us whether you had got that far.
Chaweng's rocks and Lamai's deeper water
At Chaweng the snorkelling is out along the rocks. Parts of Lamai bay are deep. Say how far out you were, measured against the rocks or the sunbeds, and whether you could stand.
Piers and long-tails
Boats for the other islands leave the piers at Na Thon and Bophut, Bang Rak has its own pier, and long-tails run from Thong Krut. If something dropped between a boat and a pier, a photo of the boat or its name helps as much as the name of the pier.
Questions about Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao
The key to our hire scooter fell out of a pocket somewhere on Chaweng.
First work out which part of Chaweng you were on: Chaweng North, the central stretch, Chaweng South or Chaweng Noi. The beach is wide, so say how far up from the water your towels were, and trace your walk down from the scooter. Describe the key and anything hanging from it, such as a tag or a fob.
I was swimming at Lamai, towards the Grandpa and Grandma Rocks, when my wedding band slipped off.
Hin Ta and Hin Yai are south of the main beach, so say how far from the rocks you were swimming. The water is deep in parts of the bay, and whether you could still touch the bottom matters a great deal. Tell us that, and what the band is made of.
Was it the beach at Bophut or the street in Fisherman's Village? Either way, the bracelet is gone.
Both can be looked at, as the old fishing village lines the road that runs along the beach. Mark the part of the street you walked and the spot where you sat on the beach, and say whether the clasp had been giving trouble.
On the causeway to the Big Buddha, my engagement ring went into the water.
Wat Phra Yai stands on Ko Fan, a small island joined to Samui by that causeway, so the water along its two sides is where a search would begin. Say which side it went in, roughly how far along you were, and describe the stone and the setting.
Snorkelling off Bang Po, I lost my Oura ring somewhere over the rocks.
Close in, the water at Bang Po is shallow and still. Farther out there are rocks, coral and seaweed, which is where people snorkel. Tell us whether you had reached the rocks when you noticed, and mark where you walked into the water.
An earring is somewhere on the sandbar at Ko Nang Yuan.
Ko Nang Yuan is three small islands near Koh Tao, linked by strips of white sand, and most visitors spend the day on that sand or snorkelling beside it. Say which side of the sandbar you were on, and whether the earring could have come out in the water.
Learning to surf at Thong Nai Pan on Koh Phangan, I lost my watch.
Thong Nai Pan is two beaches, Thong Nai Pan Noi to the north and the longer Thong Nai Pan Yai to the south, so start by saying which. Yai has fine white sand, is surrounded by mountains and gets enough waves to learn to surf on. Tell us where along the beach you paddled out, and the make of the watch.
I lost a necklace somewhere on the trip from Bophut to Koh Tao by speedboat.
If the clasp gave way while the boat was moving, it is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. If it went as you were climbing aboard at the Bophut pier or stepping off at Mae Hat on Koh Tao, name the pier and tell us whether you were getting on or off.
Koh Samui
Name the beach and the stretch of it you were on
A rough idea of the spot is enough to begin.
Pictures from that day often show the rocks or the sunbeds behind you. Send a few with the name of the beach in your first WhatsApp message.