Visiting Pig Island Thailand: Why Are There Pigs on Koh Madsum?

There are plenty of strange things to see in Thailand, but pigs wandering around a tropical island beach has to be somewhere near the top of the list.

Koh Madsum, a small island off the southern coast of Koh Samui, is now better known as Pig Island. Tourists arrive by boat, wander onto the beach and find pigs roaming around in the sand, lying under the trees and, sometimes, swimming in the shallow sea.

It looks almost too perfect to be real.

But the pigs aren't native to the island. And, despite some rather entertaining stories that they somehow swam across from a neighbouring island, the more widely repeated account is that people brought them there.

How Did the Pigs Get to Pig Island?

The story most commonly told locally concerns a man called Mr Kitt, who runs a small beach bar on Koh Madsum.

According to the story, he was visiting a livestock market in Surat Thani when he noticed a family of four pigs – two adults and two piglets – that were due to be sold.

He decided to buy them and brought them back to Koh Madsum.

The pigs were allowed to roam freely around the island and, over time, they bred. Several sources now describe the animals as descendants of those original pigs.

It is worth saying that this is the commonly reported local story, rather than a piece of history for which there appears to be a detailed official record. Even the stories differ slightly on whether the original group consisted of four pigs or whether the animals were subsequently replaced or supplemented.

What does seem clear is that the pigs were introduced by people rather than being a naturally occurring population.

And once tourists started arriving to see them, something that presumably began as a rather unusual way of keeping a few pigs turned into one of Koh Samui's more unusual tourist attractions.

Thailand's Tourism Authority now describes Koh Madsum as a popular stop because of the pigs on its beach.

Where is Pig Island?

Pig Island isn't actually called Pig Island.

Its official name is Koh Madsum (also written Koh Mudsum or Koh Matsum), and it is a small island just off the southern coast of Koh Samui, in Surat Thani Province.

It is close to another small island called Koh Tan, and most visitors see both on the same half-day boat trip.

There is no bridge or road to Koh Madsum. You have to arrive by boat.

The most common departure point is around Thong Krut on the southern coast of Koh Samui, with the crossing taking roughly 15–25 minutes depending on the boat and sea conditions. You can join an organised speedboat trip or hire a traditional longtail boat privately.

Many tours combine Pig Island with snorkelling around Koh Tan, making it an easy half-day excursion from Koh Samui.

Do the Pigs Actually Swim?

Sometimes.

This is one of the things that can make Pig Island slightly different from the photographs.

Some visitors genuinely report seeing pigs wading into the sea and swimming, while others arrive expecting a beach full of swimming pigs and find them mostly lying around on the sand.

The water around parts of the island is extremely shallow, so the pigs can simply wander into the sea to cool themselves down.

But they aren't performing a show.

You might get the photograph you've seen online of a pig paddling through turquoise water. Or you might spend your visit watching pigs eat, sleep, wander around the beach and look for food.

That seems to be part of the lottery.

What is Pig Island Actually Like?

This is where the reviews become interesting.

Some visitors absolutely love it.

Recent reviews describe the pigs as friendly and photogenic, the beach as beautiful and the experience as genuinely unique. Families in particular seem to enjoy the novelty of being able to get close to the animals.

But the experience isn't universally idyllic.

Other visitors complain about crowds, rubbish, pig droppings and the general smell. One review described the beach as depressing and raised concerns about pigs eating rubbish left by visitors. Another visitor expressed serious concerns about the animals' condition and access to food and clean water.

Other visitors have had almost the exact opposite experience, describing the beach as surprisingly clean and the pigs as apparently well looked after.

So if you're expecting the perfectly clean, deserted tropical beach shown in some of the promotional photographs, it is probably worth adjusting your expectations.

Pig Island is a working tourist attraction, and there can be quite a few boats arriving, particularly during the middle of the day, and the pigs have become accustomed to visitors bringing them food.

What Else Is There to do on Pig Island?

If you're wondering whether Koh Madsum is worth visiting if you're not particularly interested in pigs, there is a little more to the island than its unusual residents.

The main beach has a small bar and restaurant, Mad Sum Bar, serving drinks and Thai and basic Western food. There are also toilets, shaded seating and kayaks for rent, so you can spend some time on the beach, swim or paddle around the coast rather than simply arriving, photographing the pigs and leaving.

There is also The Treasure Koh Madsum, a small resort on the island, so it is possible to stay overnight rather than visiting exclusively as a day trip. The resort has villas, a restaurant and facilities including kayaks and snorkelling equipment.

That said, Koh Madsum is a very quiet place, and there isn't much in the way of nightlife or a choice of restaurants and bars. Staying there is more about having a peaceful island escape than having lots to do after dark.

For most visitors, however, Pig Island is a half-day trip rather than a destination in its own right. The usual excursion combines Koh Madsum with nearby Koh Tan, where the main attraction is snorkelling around the coral reefs. Tours commonly allow some time on Koh Madsum for the pigs, beach and lunch before moving on to Koh Tan for snorkelling.

So you can certainly make a day of it, and you can even stay overnight, but most people visiting from Koh Samui are likely to find that a few hours is enough to experience Koh Madsum itself.

Is Pig Island Worth Visiting?

That's probably a matter of what you find interesting.

If you are looking for an immaculate, deserted Thai island, there are certainly better places to go.

But if the idea of sitting on a tropical beach watching pigs wander past you sounds sufficiently bizarre that you simply have to see it for yourself, then that's exactly what Pig Island is for.

And perhaps that's the strangest part of the whole story.

Somebody apparently bought four pigs at a livestock market, took them to a small island off Koh Samui and let them roam free.

A few generations later, people are paying to take a boat across the Gulf of Thailand to take photographs of them swimming.

Only in Thailand.

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