January Festivals
New Year Festival: even though Thai New Year is not the first of January, Thais still celebrate on this day. The celebration includes a lot of fireworks, parties and presents-giving. January/February Festivals
Chinese New Year Festival: during this time, people pay respect to their forefathers who have passed away. Islanders with Chinese origins gather and celebrate this festival and the elders give some money to the children (they usually put banknotes into red or pink envelopes). Some hotels and resorts might throw a Chinese New Year party by organising special Chinese food on the menu. May Festivals
Visaka Bucha Day: is the Buddhist religious day. It is the holiest day of all Buddhist important days as it commemorates the birth, enlightenment and the death of the Buddha. Buddhists usually go to the temple in the evening to join the candlelit procession. July Festivals
Buddhist Lent Day: is the day when the monks start their rain retreat which goes on for three months. Buddhists usually go to the temple to make merits and give food to the monks as they are not allowed to visit the residents. During this period, there is a fun festival where people decorate big candles and enter them in the candle competition. The Fisherman’s Village Festival: is a music festival held at Bo Phut beach where you can enjoy live music such as rock and pop Thai songs played by local Thai artists from Bangkok. Food is plentiful and the atmosphere lively. September Festivals
Samui International Regatta: is a week-long sailing event packed with the yacht races, fun parties and delicious food. Most of the action usually takes place around the eastern and the northern coasts of Samui Island. Exciting races can be viewed from the south of Chaweng Bay, Chaweng and Lamai beaches and Bo Phut and Mae Nam beaches. December Festivals
His Majesty the King’s Birthday/Fathers’ Day: takes place on 5th of December, King Bhumipol’s birthday. It also serves as the National Father’s Day and a national holiday. Throughout December, you will see a lot of Thai flags, the King’s pictures and many beautiful flowers around the island, dedicated to their much loved monarch who celebrated 60 years of rule in 2006. Full Moon Parties: are the ultimate party festival and take place once a month on Samui’s nearby island - Pha Ngan Island. It’s not really a Samui’s festival, but hedonists from around the world sometimes come to Samui and then go to Pha Ngan for the night. More than 10,000 partygoers head to Hat Rin beach, a kilometre long sandy beach, to party from dusk till dawn. | 
