Health, Hospitals and Dentists
🏥 Health, Hospitals and Dentists in Koh Samui: What You Really Need to Know
If you’re thinking about moving to Koh Samui — or even just planning an extended stay — one of the questions you might be quietly wondering is: What’s the healthcare like? Can I actually trust the hospitals? What happens if I need real treatment, not just a band-aid and a Panadol?
I get it. We wondered the same. And now, after a couple of years living here (and a few personal medical experiences under my belt), I can say this:
Healthcare in Koh Samui is generally excellent — but you need to know how the system works, and how much things might cost you.
Let me share what we've learned — from doctors and dentists to hospitals and clinics.
🧑⚕️ Private Hospitals — World Class (But Not Cheap)
Koh Samui has several private hospitals that offer high standards of care, modern facilities, and fast service. The main player on the island is Bangkok Hospital Samui, which feels more like a hotel lobby than a hospital when you walk in. Air-conditioned waiting areas, English-speaking staff, and specialists available most days of the week.
But don’t be fooled by the smiles and palm trees — it’s expensive.
Overnight stays can cost hundreds of US dollars per night, and it's not unusual to hear stories of tourists and expats landing five-figure bills after scooter accidents or serious illness. If you don’t have health insurance, things can escalate very quickly.
🩻 My Personal Experience (aka: “It Might Be Cancer... Oh, Never Mind”)
A while back, I developed a bit of swelling and soreness around the collarbone where it joins the sternum. I didn’t think much of it — chalked it up to hitting too many golf balls, as I’d been locked in long-drive battles with a mate visiting the island (I’d like to say I was winning, but he may read this).
After a couple of months with no improvement, I started reading (bad idea) and saw that this kind of swelling can be a sign of early-stage cancer. A different mate told me to get it checked — properly.
So I popped down to a local hospital here on Samui. The general doc had a look and said, “You need to see an ENT specialist at Bangkok Hospital.” I went to pay — he waved me off. “No charge, I didn’t do anything.”
Try getting that in Auckland.
Fifteen minutes after arriving at Bangkok Hospital, I was with an ENT specialist. He felt around, said “not an ENT issue — you need orthopaedics.” I asked the fee. Again: “No charge. I didn’t do anything.”
And just like that, I was walked next door to see the orthopaedic surgeon.
Diagnosis: "Might be bone cancer."
Not quite what I was hoping for.
He suggested an X-ray, but when I asked if that would show everything, he said not really — “to see inside the bone, we need an MRI.”
I skipped the X-ray, went for lunch, came back, and was slid into the MRI machine. Not exactly relaxing — I was in there for over two hours — but the job got done.
Next morning, I returned at 10:00am. The results had already been reviewed by a specialist in Bangkok. Verdict?
No cancer. Just arthritis.
Thanks, Greg (my golf mate). The bastard.
Total time elapsed: 24 hours
Total cost: 27,000 Baht (around $750 USD)
Sure, it wasn’t “cheap,” but compared to New Zealand — where this would’ve taken 2–3 months and cost more privately — the service was incredibly fast and efficient. For anything serious or urgent, I’d absolutely trust the system here (as long as you’ve got the funds or insurance to back it up).
🦷 Dentists — Some Excellent, But Choose Wisely
Thailand is known for its high standard of dental care, and dental tourism is a big thing — but on Samui, the pool of dentists is smaller, so it pays to ask around.
I lost a large filling in a molar right before Christmas (timing is everything), and it turned out I needed a crown, not just a patch-up.
One dentist mucked me around — cancelled my appointment after two weeks of waiting. Another didn’t fill me with confidence.
Eventually, I found a husband-and-wife team in Chaweng running a private clinic. Professional, well-equipped, and honest.
The previous dentist told me I needed a root canal and a crown. This new team had a better idea:
“We’ll try a temporary filling. If it’s fine in a couple of months, we’ll just do the crown — no root canal needed.”
Sounded good to me.
That temp filling (cost: 4,000 Baht / $75 USD) lasted 15 months — mostly because I kept putting it off — and I’m now finally having the crown fitted (literally today). Cost for the crown: 18,000 Baht or about $600 USD. Back home? Probably triple that.
And the quality of care? Second to none.
🏥 Public Hospitals — Better Than You Might Think
We’ve also seen the other side of the system — a friend of ours needed a proper surgical procedure and had it done on the mainland at a public hospital.
The experience? Excellent.
Modern facilities, professional staff, a private room, and nurses checking in regularly. The food was apparently even decent.
Total cost: ~$4,000 USD.
If she’d done it privately in NZ, she’d be looking at $12K to $15K for the same operation.
Thailand’s public healthcare system might not look flashy from the outside, but it can deliver great results at a fraction of the cost — especially for non-emergency surgery or inpatient care.
💊 Local Clinics — Fast and Cheap for Day-to-Day Stuff
For minor things — coughs, earaches, random rashes, that kind of thing — the local GP-style clinics are gold. No appointments needed, walk in, see a doctor within 15–20 minutes.
Consultations can be as low as 200 Baht ($6 USD). Medications are cheap. I had to get my ears cleaned after too much swimming — the whole visit cost around $30 USD.
🧾 The Bottom Line
✅ Private hospitals: Excellent quality, fast service, but expensive. Great if you have good insurance.
✅ Public hospitals: Not third-world — in fact, very decent — and excellent value for money.
✅ Doctors' clinics: Affordable, accessible, and good for everyday health issues.
✅ Dentists: Mixed bag — but if you find the right one, you’ll get world-class treatment at 30–40% of the cost back home.
👍 Final Word
If healthcare is one of the things holding you back from making the move to Koh Samui, I’d say don’t worry too much. You’ll want to have health insurance (of course), and you should be prepared to pay upfront — but in return, you’ll get fast, competent care from professionals who know what they’re doing.
And you might even get a diagnosis that lets you blame a mate for your arthritis. Win-win.
