Drilling a well or filling a tank is much the same on any of the three islands. What changes is everything around it — because on Phangan and Koh Tao, the equipment and often the water itself arrive by boat. That single fact shapes how supply works, and planning around it is the difference between smooth and stuck.
Koh Phangan: scheduled, not spontaneous
Phangan runs drier than Samui and municipal supply reaches less of it — much of the west and south depends on wells, storage and trucked water for a good part of the year. Drilling equipment crosses from Samui by ferry, so well projects are scheduled into mobilisation windows rather than called out on the day. Delivery runs on planned routes; standing orders get route priority. None of this is an obstacle — it just means Phangan work is planned rather than improvised.
Koh Tao: built around the boat
Koh Tao is the hardest of the three for water — no meaningful municipal supply, granite geology, and everything arriving by boat. Most properties live on a mix of stored, delivered and rainwater. Delivery runs on boat-scheduled supply days, and work is grouped into visit windows covering Sairee, Mae Haad and Chalok Baan Kao. On drilling we're deliberately honest: granite means feasibility varies sharply site to site, so it's assessed per location rather than promised.
Planning around the schedule
- Larger storage than the equivalent property on Samui, to absorb the crossing
- Standing delivery orders rather than one-off calls, for route and boat-day priority
- Drilling and installation booked into mobilisation windows, planned ahead
Common questions
Do you really drill on Phangan and Koh Tao, or only deliver? We drill on Phangan — the rig crosses by ferry, so projects are scheduled. On Koh Tao, drilling feasibility is assessed per site because of the granite; storage-led supply is often the better answer there.
How far ahead should I plan? For delivery, a standing order beats an emergency call every time. For drilling or a system install, the earlier it's on the calendar, the easier the crossing is to arrange.