Koh Samui Motorbike Routes

Where you can actually ride on the island — scenic roads, jungle climbs and the best viewpoints

The Map

This is a heat-map of roads I have personally ridden on Koh Samui over the past few years. Use it to see where a scooter can realistically go — including the small mountain roads that do not appear on tourist maps.

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Videos

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Skill level and experience required

Most of Koh Samui is easy. The mountain sections in the centre of the island are not. Be honest with yourself before you point the scooter uphill.

Difficulty levels on this map

🟢 Easy — coastal ring road

Route 4169 around the island. Wide, flat, well-maintained asphalt. Fine for a first-day rider, including the section between Lamai and Chaweng.

🟡 Medium — secondary roads and short climbs

Roads to most viewpoints (Lad Koh, Wat Khao Hua Jook, Secret Buddha Garden access). Steeper grades, occasional gravel patches, tight turns. You should be comfortable braking on a downhill curve.

🔴 Hard — central mountain roads

The roads cutting through the centre of the island and reaching the high viewpoints (Pom Mountain, Khao Pom area, the inner waterfall tracks). Very steep climbs, broken surface, loose gravel, sharp blind turns. A weak scooter will not make it up, and brakes get hot on the way down.

Minimum experience

At least 50 hours of scooter riding before you attempt mountain roads — roughly 2-3 weeks of daily riding.
Confident cornering at 40-60 km/h.
Understanding of how a scooter behaves on wet asphalt, sand and gravel.
Comfortable with left-hand traffic (Thailand drives on the left).

Which scooter to rent

⚠ Take an ABS-equipped scooter — this is non-negotiable

Koh Samui has steep mountain descents, sudden tropical showers and gravel patches in the middle of corners. ABS will save your skin at least once on these roads. All major rental shops on the island stock ABS models, usually for an extra 100-200 baht per day. Pay it. Do not even consider a scooter without ABS for these routes.

Easy starter: 125-160cc with ABS

Honda Click 125 ABS, Honda PCX 160 ABS. Lightweight, easy to pick up if you drop it, easy to manoeuvre at parking speed. The right choice for your very first day on a scooter on the island.

Sweet spot for most riders: 150-200cc with ABS — RECOMMENDED

Honda ADV 150/160, Yamaha Aerox 155, Honda PCX 160. Enough torque for the mountain climbs, but still light enough for a beginner to lift alone, push backwards into a tight parking spot or roll out of a sand patch. This is the safe default if you have a couple of weeks of riding behind you.

Only for experienced riders: 300cc maxi-scooter

Yamaha X-Max 300, Honda Forza 300. I personally rode every track on this map on a Yamaha X-Max — but I have years of maxi-scooter experience. It is heavy and tall; if you drop it on a slope you will not pick it up alone, and tight mountain hairpins on a steep grade are noticeably harder. Do not take a 300 as your first scooter on the island.

Do not take

Anything without ABS — full stop. Honda Wave 110 and similar underbones — not enough power for two people on a 15% grade. Large tourist trikes — too wide for mountain turns.

Most popular rental scooters in Thailand

What you will most likely see in rental shops on the island. Prices are approximate for Koh Samui in the 2024-2025 season, in Thai baht per day for a weekly rental. A daily rental is usually 30-50% more.

Model	Engine	ABS	Price (THB/day)	Good for
Honda Click 125	125cc	Optional	200-300	City riding, beaches, ring road. Mass-market beginner choice.
Honda Click 160	160cc	Optional	250-350	Same as 125 but with more torque for two riders and gentle climbs.
Honda Scoopy 110	110cc	No	200-250	Light city scooter, popular with first-time renters. Not for mountains.
Honda PCX 160	160cc	Yes	350-500	Comfortable cruiser with ABS. Good for the ring road and easy climbs.
Honda ADV 160	160cc	Yes	500-700	Semi-adventure styling, real suspension. Great for mountains. My pick for most renters.
Yamaha Aerox 155	155cc	Yes	400-600	Sporty, light, ABS. Excellent power-to-weight for the climbs.
Yamaha NMAX 155	155cc	Yes	400-600	Comfortable mid-size, ABS. Solid all-rounder.
Yamaha Mio 125	125cc	No	200-300	Light city scooter. Underbike for the mountains.
Yamaha Fazzio 125	125cc	Optional	250-350	Newer retro-styled 125. City use, light climbs.
Yamaha X-Max 300	292cc	Yes	700-1000	Premium maxi-scooter, real torque and brakes. What I ride. Experienced riders only.
Honda Forza 300/350	330cc	Yes	800-1200	Top-end maxi-scooter, heavy and capable. Experienced riders only.
Honda Wave 110	110cc	No	150-200	Semi-automatic moped. Cheap but underpowered for two riders or mountains.

Photos

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Gear and what to bring

Required

Full-face or open-face helmet (provided with the rental, demand a working one).
Long trousers and closed shoes — no flip-flops on the bike, ever.
Gloves are strongly recommended even in heat — they save your palms in a fall.

Take with you on the day

1-2 litres of water (mountain rides are sweaty).
Light rain jacket — tropical showers come fast even in the dry season.
Phone with offline maps (Organic Maps or maps.me) and a full battery, plus a power bank.
International driver's licence with motorcycle category and a copy of your passport.
Small first-aid kit: bandage, antiseptic, painkillers.
Mosquito repellent with DEET — dengue fever is endemic on the island, especially in the mountain jungle.
Cash — most viewpoints and small shops do not take cards.

Things to avoid

Riding mountain roads after rain

Asphalt becomes glass, gravel slides, and storm runoff washes mud across blind corners. Wait a few hours after a heavy shower.

Night riding in the centre of the island

No street lights, dogs and the occasional snake on the road, and oncoming locals who know the road and will not slow down for you.

Any alcohol

Tight turns, left-hand traffic and steep descents do not forgive even one beer.

Rainy season for the high routes (October-December)

Some of the inner mountain tracks turn into a small river. The ring road stays fine.

Long breaks in the jungle without mosquito protection

Dengue fever is endemic on Koh Samui and the mosquitoes that carry it live in the mountain jungle. They are most active around dawn and dusk. Use DEET repellent, cover arms and legs when you stop, do not linger barefoot at viewpoints in the evening. Dengue puts you in bed with 40°C fever for 1-2 weeks and there is no easy treatment — prevention is the whole game.

About the routes

Anton

Anton A.

I have been riding around Thailand for several years and spent a long stretch on Koh Samui. The tracks on this map are stitched together from my own GPS recordings — mostly on a Yamaha X-Max and a Honda Fazio, with side trips on smaller scooters.

This is not a commercial tour guide. It is a personal map, last updated for the 2025 season. Use it as a hint for where a scooter can actually go on the island.

Contact:
Email: abrameytsev@gmail.com
Telegram: @abrameicev