Spanish · 5 years on Samui
Spanish cycling enthusiast and eco-travel advocate on Koh Samui for 5 years. Carlos covers all bicycle and e-scooter content with a focus on sustainable exploration.
Updated: May 2026
Riding the northern coastal circuit from Chaweng to Choeng Mon, Mae Nam, and back last February on the NIU MQi+ Sport - 38 kilometres total - I completed the route with 42 per cent battery remaining and used Sport mode on the two ring road sections where traffic ran at 60 km/h. The northern coastal road is the NIU's most natural Samui route: flat tarmac, consistent surface quality, and a speed profile that sits within the NIU's efficient range. I arrived at each beach location with the scooter ready for the return without any range calculation.
On the Chaweng-to-Lamai ring road section last November at 8 a.m. - 14 kilometres of coastal and slightly elevated tarmac - the NIU MQi+ Sport ran at 58 km/h through the traffic-clear morning stretch. I checked the app at Lamai: 34 per cent battery used for 14 kilometres. The return brought me back to Chaweng with 32 per cent remaining. The Chaweng-to-Lamai daily beach circuit is the NIU's most-used Samui route. At 28 kilometres round trip it costs approximately 32 per cent of battery - three return trips possible on a single charge.
At Chaweng last October I used the NIU for a full day of town access - the Big C, the Lamai morning market, the Fisherman's Village evening market, total 36 kilometres. Battery at the end of the day: 28 per cent. I did not charge once. The NIU's efficiency on Samui's town circuit keeps daily consumption low enough that a three-destination town day rarely requires a charge stop. The NIU handles this use case identically to the G5 Pro, with the advantage of the app's battery forecast for planning later additions to the day.
From Chaweng central to the Big Buddha via the northern road last January on the NIU: 12 kilometres, one moderate hill, 14 per cent battery consumed. Adding the Fisherman's Village for the Thursday evening market extended the circuit to 19 kilometres, total 22 per cent battery. The NIU's Eco mode on the hill section reduced motor demand visibly; I switched back to Normal mode for the flat sections. This circuit - Big Buddha, Fisherman's Village, back to Chaweng - is well within the NIU's single-charge capability and demonstrates the mode-switching that makes the NIU adaptable to gradient changes within a single day.
At the mountain road above Nathon last March I turned the NIU around at the first viewpoint - the combination of 8 per cent gradient, 12-inch wheels on rough tarmac, and 35 per cent battery used in the 6-kilometre climb made the continuation inadvisable without a known charging point at the summit. There is none. The NIU's limits on Samui are the same as the G5 Pro's: mountain road circuits without charge points, beach access tracks with sand or gravel, and plantation roads above the Nathon rubber plantation. These are the routes where the petrol scooter fleet has an unassailable advantage the NIU's speed and connectivity do not offset.
Five years of riding the NIU MQi+ Sport on Koh Samui has produced four route recommendations that consistently work within the scooter's range and surface capability: the northern coastal circuit, the Chaweng-to-Lamai ring road day, the Big Buddha and Fisherman's Village evening loop, and the Nathon market west coast run. All four stay on tarmac, stay within 45 kilometres, and use the NIU's 62 km/h capability on their ring road sections. All four also allow a café charging stop at the natural midpoint if the rider wants to extend the day further.
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