Living on Koh Samui with Kids: Schools and Family Life (2026)

Moving to Koh Samui with children changes the priority order for almost every other decision on this site. Where you live, which car or scooter you need, and how you budget for healthcare all start from one question: which school will your child attend, and how far are you willing to commute to it twice a day. This guide lays out the island's international schools by area and curriculum, what pediatric care looks like, and what the visa picture is for a family, so you can work backwards from the school to the rest of the move.

A note on the numbers below: several school fee figures circulating online for Koh Samui disagree with each other by a wide margin, sometimes because they were collected in different years. Where we could confirm a figure directly from a school's own current page, we say so; otherwise we give only a broad range and link to the school's official fee page so you can check the current number yourself before budgeting.

International schools on Koh Samui, by area

Two schools are the most established on the island, both in Bophut and both teaching a British/Cambridge curriculum: the International School of Samui (ISS) and PBISS International School of Samui. Several smaller schools cover younger age groups on other parts of the island. None of them currently run a full International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, so families set on IB specifically should plan on a Bangkok or Phuket school instead, at least for now.

One correction worth flagging: some directories place Greenacre International School in Maenam. Our local team checked this on Google Maps in September 2026 and confirmed the school is actually in Na Mueang, on the road toward Saket in the south of the island, roughly equidistant between the west coast and Lamai. If you're shortlisting it, plan the commute from Na Mueang, not Maenam.

For ISS and PBISS, published annual fee figures we found elsewhere online varied by well over 100,000 THB depending on the source and the year it was collected, so treat any number outside the schools' own current fee pages as a rough starting point rather than a quote. As a very broad orientation, full-year fees at Koh Samui's two largest international schools tend to fall somewhere between roughly 250,000 and 650,000 THB depending on the school and year group, before admission and deposit fees. Oonrak's semester fees above are the one figure in this table we could confirm directly from the school's own page on the day this article was checked.

Thai public schools

Foreign children are legally entitled to enrol in Thai public schools. In practice, very few expat families on Koh Samui use this option, mainly because instruction is almost entirely in Thai. It is a real option for families planning a long-term stay who want their children to become fluent in Thai from an early age, but it is a different commitment from an international school and worth visiting in person before assuming it will or won't work for your family.

Choosing where to live around the school run

Because ISS and PBISS both sit in Bophut, that area (and neighbouring Chaweng) is the default choice for families prioritising a short commute to either school. Families choosing Windfield or Lamai International School often base themselves around Lamai or Maret instead, and Oonrak families cluster around Maenam. Our separate guide to where to live on Koh Samui compares these areas on noise, price and access to hospitals; read it alongside this page before committing to a neighbourhood, since a 20-minute school run each way, twice a day, adds up over a year in a way that's easy to underestimate from a short holiday visit.

Once you've picked an area, our guide to finding a long-term rental on Koh Samui covers how to search and vet listings, and our guide to long-term rental prices on Koh Samui gives typical monthly ranges by property type.

Pediatric care and hospitals

Bangkok Hospital Samui and Wattanapat Hospital Samui both run dedicated pediatric departments and are the two hospitals most commonly used by expat families on the island. Thai International Hospital, in the Chaweng/Bo Phut area, is a genuine 24-hour hospital rather than a walk-in clinic, according to our local team's own experience, and is a reasonable option outside normal clinic hours. For more complex pediatric cases, a referral to a larger hospital in Surat Thani or Bangkok is possible and worth asking about in advance if your child has an ongoing condition. Our separate guide to healthcare and insurance on Koh Samui goes into more detail on hospitals, clinics and what international insurance typically covers.

Visas for children and accompanying parents

The general pattern for a school-age child moving to Koh Samui is a Non-Immigrant ED (education) visa, arranged through the school once your child is enrolled, since Thai schools that accept foreign students typically handle the visa paperwork as part of admission. An accompanying parent who is not otherwise working in Thailand typically applies for a Non-Immigrant O visa as a dependant of the child (or of a Thai spouse, where that applies). A newer option some families use is the DTV (Destination Thailand Visa), which covers spouses and children under 20 in some circumstances.

These rules depend heavily on your specific family situation and the practice of the embassy or Immigration office you deal with, and some of the official guidance pages we checked were more than a year old. Confirm the exact requirements for your case with the relevant Thai embassy or the Immigration Bureau before you commit to a school start date. Our guide to the Thailand visa options for remote workers covers the DTV and other visa routes in more depth for the working parent's own status.

Family life outside school

Away from school logistics, Koh Samui has a reasonable amount to keep children occupied: water parks such as HighPark, go-kart tracks, mini golf, and ethical elephant encounters at sanctuaries that let children observe and help feed elephants rather than ride them. None of these venues are specific to any one part of the island, so they don't need to factor into the where-to-live decision the way schools and hospitals do.

Before you enrol or sign a lease: a checklist

• Visit the school in person and ask directly about current-year fees, since published figures online often lag or vary by source.
• Confirm the school's exact location on a map before ruling an area in or out — Greenacre in particular is commonly mis-listed.
• Time the actual school-run commute from a rental you're considering, at drop-off and pick-up times, not just on a map.
• Ask the school what visa support it provides for the ED visa, and start that process early.
• Check which hospital the school or your insurer recommends for pediatric emergencies from that specific area.
• If Thai public school is genuinely on the table, visit one in person rather than deciding from general advice alone.

Once schools, healthcare and visas are lined up, the rest of the move follows the same pattern as for any renter: see our moving to Koh Samui checklist for the wider list of first-30-days tasks.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best area to live on Koh Samui for international schools?

Bophut is the closest area to both major international schools, International School of Samui (ISS) and PBISS International School of Samui. Families choosing Windfield or Lamai International School often base themselves around Lamai/Maret instead, and Oonrak Koh Samui School families around Maenam.

Is there an IB (International Baccalaureate) school on Koh Samui?

Not currently. The island's established schools run British/Cambridge curricula (ISS, PBISS, Lamai International School, Greenacre) or dual Cambridge/French tracks (Windfield). Families who need a full IB programme should look at Bangkok or Phuket.

Where exactly is Greenacre International School?

Greenacre is in Na Mueang, on the road toward Saket in the south of the island — not in Maenam, as some directories list it. This was checked against Google Maps by our local team in September 2026.

What visa does a child need to attend school on Koh Samui?

The typical route is a Non-Immigrant ED (education) visa, arranged through the school after enrolment. An accompanying parent usually applies for a Non-Immigrant O visa as a dependant, and some families instead use the DTV. Confirm the exact requirements with the relevant Thai embassy or Immigration office, since practice varies by case.

Which hospitals on Koh Samui treat children?

Bangkok Hospital Samui and Wattanapat Hospital Samui both run dedicated pediatric departments. Thai International Hospital in the Chaweng/Bo Phut area is a 24-hour hospital and a reasonable option outside clinic hours. More complex cases may need a referral to Surat Thani or Bangkok.

Sources

Last checked: 19 September 2026. Facts were cross-checked against several sources; official ones take priority.

• Local knowledge of the properties-away team (checked against Google Maps) (2026-09-19)
• School Fees | International School of Samui (2026-06-03)
• Curriculum | The International School of Samui (2026-07-03)
• Contact | International School of Samui (2026-09-19)
• 2026 school fees (PBISS) (2026)
• Cambridge Curriculum with STEM+ Integration | PBISS (2026)
• PBISS International School of Samui (home) (2026-09-19)
• School Fees | Oonrak Koh Samui School (2026-09-19)
• Contact Us | Greenacre International School (2026-09-19)
• Windfield International School — Contact (2026-09-19)
• Lamai International School (2026-09-19)
• Pediatric Department | Bangkok Hospital Samui (2026-01-10)
• Pediatric Department | Wattanapat Hospital Samui (2026-08-31)
• Studying Visas (Non-Immigrant ED) | Thailand e-Visa (2026-09-16)
• Official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa — Non-Immigrant O
• Non-Immigrant Visa (O) for Dependant (MFA) (2026-09-13)
• DTV Visa Spouse and Children under 20 years old (2024-08-22)