Last checked: 27 October 2026 by Lia, Editor of Pointer Guides. Free entry and the airport drive are from TAT Japan’s Wat Plai Laem page. The clock is not on that page. I did not walk the grounds. Affiliate links: if you book a hotel through them, Koh Samui Pointer may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See the affiliate disclosure.
Wat Plai Laem is free. That is the line people are searching for, and it is the one TAT Japan actually prints: free worship, and about 15 minutes by car from Samui Airport. The same page does not print opening hours.
What you are looking at, if the photos matched the search, is the 18-armed white Guanyin standing in the lake, and the large laughing Buddha (Budai) on the other side of the water. It is a working Thai-Chinese temple, not a museum with a ticket window. The short card, with the same place and a thinner write-up, is Wat Plai Laem. This page is the visit plan.
The other temple people pair it with is Wat Phra Yai, the Big Buddha. The two map pins on this site are about 820 metres apart. A visitor page updated in October 2026 says about 1 km. I am using the pins, not a drive time I did not measure.
Quick facts
Checked 27 October 2026.
- Entry: free. TAT Japan says 参拝自由, free worship. Donations are the usual temple practice. I am not quoting a fee, because the official line is that there is not one.
- Hours: not on the TAT Japan page. JTB, updated 6 February 2026, says 06:00 to 18:00 and no closing day. A visitor page updated in October 2026 says the same, and warns that some map listings show late-night hours that do not apply. One 2026 tour page says 06:00 to 19:00. Plan on daylight.
- Dress: cover shoulders and knees. Shoes come off before a hall with a Buddha image. A visitor page updated in October 2026 says some temples lend a wrap and some do not. I am not going to promise a sarong at this gate.
- What is there: an 18-armed Guanyin in the lake, a large laughing Buddha, and a painted hall. TAT Japan also points to the Buddha’s footprints on the grounds. I am not printing statue heights. The pages that do disagree with each other.
- Big Buddha: about 820 metres between the two pins on this site. Both are free.
- Airport: TAT Japan says about 15 minutes by car from Samui Airport. JTB says 10 minutes. Both were in print in 2026. I am not choosing one.
- Address: Wat Plai Laem, 4171, Tambon Bo Put, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84320. That is the address on the activity card and on the October 2026 visitor page.
The short version
Go in the morning if you want the lake without a tour-van crowd. The October 2026 visitor page suggests about 08:00, and says the vans start turning up later. I have not timed that myself. What I can say is that the grounds are outdoors, the paths are in the sun, and a free temple near Big Buddha is not a secret.
Cover up before you get out of the taxi. The laughing Buddha and the Guanyin are the photos. The hall is the part where the dress rule actually matters.
What you are actually looking at
The white figure in the water is Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, with 18 arms. She stands on a lotus in the lake. The fat, smiling figure is Budai, the laughing Buddha. He is not the same person as the Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai, and he is not Gautama. People mix those three up in one caption. Do not.
TAT Japan describes both statues as sitting over the water, and it also mentions the Buddha’s footprints on the grounds. The main hall is the ornate building with the painted ceiling. It is still a temple. Speak quietly in the hall, and do not point your feet at a Buddha image when you sit.
Fish in the lake are part of the visit. I am not printing a price for fish food. One 2026 page says 10 baht and another says 20 baht. That is two souvenirs of a stall, not a fact I am willing to put in a sentence by itself.
Hours, without pretending there is a timetable
TAT Japan does not print a clock. That is the awkward part of this search, because “opening hours” is half of what people type.
The 06:00 to 18:00 line shows up in more than one 2026 write-up. JTB’s guide, last updated 6 February 2026, says 6:00 to 18:00, no regular closing day, free entry, and about 30 minutes on site. The October 2026 visitor page says daily from about 06:00 to 18:00, and it says some map pins show late hours that do not match a daylight visit. A tour page dated 2026 says 06:00 to 19:00.
I would plan to be there in daylight, and I would not build a sunset plan on the 19:00 line. If the gate is shut when you arrive, that is the temple’s day, not a number I can correct from a desk.
How to get there, and how it sits next to Big Buddha
The temple is on the northeast of the island, on the 4171 road in Tambon Bo Put. Bophut is the village to the west. Choeng Mon is the bay to the east. Samui Airport is the short drive TAT Japan calls about 15 minutes, and JTB calls 10.
Big Buddha is the usual pairing. On this site the Wat Phra Yai pin is 9.5707832, 100.0597982 and the Wat Plai Laem pin is 9.5712837, 100.0672883. That is about 820 metres in a straight line. It is a short scooter hop, or a walk if you like the heat. I am not calling it a 15-minute drive, and I am not calling it 5 km. Both of those numbers are on other pages. They do not match these pins.
The wider day, if the temple is one stop and not the whole morning, is best things to do in Koh Samui. Routes and scooter rules are in getting around Koh Samui.
Where to sleep if the temple is the point
Neither of these is a hotel on the lake. I am putting them here because their Agoda listings name the temple.
Absolute Sanctuary is the closer one on its own 27 October 2026 listing: Wat Plai Laem 1.84 km, Big Buddha 2.37 km. It is a 38-room wellness hotel on a hill in Choeng Mon. Agoda does not print a Choeng Mon Beach distance for it. The comparison is in Choeng Mon beach hotels.
Check Absolute Sanctuary on Agoda
The Briza Beach Resort is the Chaweng one. On 27 October 2026 Agoda’s places list put Wat Plai Laem at 3.54 km and Big Buddha at 3.75 km. A nearby highlight on the same listing said 3.51 km and 3.71 km. Fifty-seven rooms, 4 stars supplied by the property. The resort site says it is on Chaweng Beach. Agoda’s nearby highlight says Chaweng Beach is 1.25 km, and the landmark list does not name Chaweng Beach at all. The closest beach on that list is Chaweng Noi, at 3.58 km. Read those as a disagreement, not as a walk I measured.
Check The Briza Beach Resort on Agoda
Nightly rates are on those links. I am not printing one. Late December through April is the dry, busy stretch on Koh Samui, and sea-view rooms go first. A free-cancellation rate, when Agoda offers one, locks the price you see today. October and November are the wet months, not the peak. The month-by-month version is best time to visit Koh Samui.
FAQ
Is Wat Plai Laem free? Yes. TAT Japan’s page lists free worship. JTB, updated 6 February 2026, also lists free entry. I am not adding a ticket price.
What time does Wat Plai Laem open? TAT Japan does not print hours. JTB and a visitor page updated in October 2026 say about 06:00 to 18:00, daily. One 2026 tour page says 06:00 to 19:00. Treat that as a daylight plan, not an official timetable.
How far is Wat Plai Laem from Big Buddha? About 820 metres between the two map pins on this site. A visitor page updated in October 2026 says about 1 km. Both temples are free, and most people do them on the same morning.
What should I wear at Wat Plai Laem? Cover shoulders and knees. Take shoes off before a hall with a Buddha image. A visitor page updated in October 2026 says some temples lend a wrap and some do not. Bring your own cover if you are in shorts.
Is Wat Plai Laem the same temple as Big Buddha? No. Big Buddha is Wat Phra Yai, the gold seated Buddha on the causeway. Wat Plai Laem is the lake temple with the 18-armed Guanyin and the laughing Buddha. The pins are about 820 metres apart.
Where should I stay if I want the temple nearby? On the 27 October 2026 Agoda checks, Absolute Sanctuary lists Wat Plai Laem at 1.84 km and is a hill hotel in Choeng Mon, not a room on the sand. The Briza Beach Resort lists the temple at 3.54 km on its places list and 3.51 km on a nearby highlight. It is in Chaweng. Check today’s rate on the links. A free-cancellation rate, when one is offered, locks that price.
