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Ko Samui




























 
 

Ko Samui

Travel guide

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As far as popular islands in Thailand go, Ko Samui is surpassed only by Phuket. With an international airport, a mass of ferry connections and close to 500 hotels and guesthouses, this is not somewhere to come to glimpse a corner of the Thai kingdom untouched by tourism development.

But if you're hunting for white sand beaches, turquoise waters and all-day sun, Samui can be a fine choice and our Ko Samui travel guide should help you to find the best beach, guesthouse or hotel for your needs.

With over a million visitors a year, Ko Samui's inadequate infrastructure is at breaking point, yet development continues unabated. Huge swathes of land are cordoned off for developers to slap up massive "luxurious" residential compounds -- well away from the chaotic mess some of the beachside developments have become. Then, as Ko Samui's first million-dollar house was sold, the lure of big bucks has even more developers scrambling for a piece of the action.

As the lush inland areas are deforested and concreted, topsoil run-off blights the roads in wet-season -- even a short downpour leaves many roads awash in red water -- areas such as Bophut and Chaweng flood in an instant. At times you can really be left scratching your head wondering if anyone really cares about what a mess parts of the island have become.

Nevertheless, put the environmental degradation and unabated development aside and you'll find that Ko Samui still retains some lovely beaches -- you just need to look a little harder to find them.

Before the crowds drag themselves out of bed popular Chaweng and Lamai remain pretty, while on the north side, quieter Mae Nam has a growing reputation. Of course there are many other beaches worth investigating -- don't make the mistake of spending your entire Ko Samui sojourn on just the one stretch of sand.

Amongst all this development, there have been some stunning resorts appear on the island -- boutique spas and hidden jungle hideaways -- if budget is of no concern, then Samui has some terrific options for serious pampering -- and best of all you'll not need to leave the resort.


 
















For backpackers and the budget traveller, Samui is not yet a lost cause. Mae Nam beach in particular has some outstanding old-style backpacker guesthouses that are excellent value. Big Buddha is also decent, though the noise from the aircraft darting in and out at the nearby airport is a distraction. For mid-range and up, Chaweng and Lamai are home to the majority of hotels, though Lamai should be considered Chaweng's ugly sister -- the beach is fine enough, but the guesthouse, hotel and restaurant selection is not nearly as good.

Text and/or map last updated on 15th August, 2009.

More information

Other spots near here
 » Ban Tai
 » Big Buddha Beach
 » Bophut Beach
 » Chaweng Beach
 » Choeng Mon Beach
 » Ko Samui South Coast
 » Lamai Beach
 » Mae Nam Beach
 » Taling Ngam Beach
 » Thong Ta Kien Bay

Maps
  Ko Samui: Overview
  Ko Samui: South coast
  Ko Samui: Bophut to Choeng Mon
  Ko Samui: Mae Nam to Bang Po

Further reading
 » What's a good beach on Ko Samui?
 » Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao Diving Guide
 » How do I get from Bangkok to Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao?
 » Do I need reservations for my holiday?

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   Vision: Photos of Ko Samui

Click on any image below to be taken to see a larger version of the photo and to browse our Ko Samui photo gallery.

Ko Samui Caberet. Mae Nam Beach Chaweng Beach -- white sand, brown tourists View to Ko Pha Ngan from Starfish Coffee You gotta love Jungle Club -- overlooking Chaweng Beach Western Mae Nam beach, Ko Samui Old shack meets new chalet on Lamai beach Swinging shells Mae Nam A lonely swing on Lamai Beach Big Buddha beach - very low crowds
View to Ko Pha Ngan from Starfish Coffee View looking over Choeng Mon beach South Lamai, distant jetskis, tempting waters

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Picture of Baan Suan Siriwan, MaenamBaan Suan Siriwan
Maenam
From: US$6.00 with Sawasdee


Picture of Sukasem Bungalows, 206 Lamai Beach, Koh Samui, SurathaniSukasem Bungalows
206 Lamai Beach, Koh Samui, Surathani
From: US$7.00 with HostelWorld


Picture of Ko Kheaw 40, 81/64 M.3 Chaweang Beach (Lamdin Market) BophutKo Kheaw 40
81/64 M.3 Chaweang Beach (Lamdin Market) Bophut
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Picture of The Cottage@Samui, Lamai BeachThe Cottage@Samui
Lamai Beach
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Picture of Green Villa, LamaiGreen Villa
Lamai
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Picture of Embassy Guesthouse, 3/26 moo2 Chewang Beach BophutEmbassy Guesthouse
3/26 moo2 Chewang Beach Bophut
From: US$9.04 with HostelWorld


Picture of Panupong Apartment, 147/1 Moo.2, Chaweng Beach BophutPanupong Apartment
147/1 Moo.2, Chaweng Beach Bophut
From: US$9.29 with HostelWorld


Picture of Nid's Bungalows, Soi Poolsawad, Chaweng Koh SamuiNid's Bungalows
Soi Poolsawad, Chaweng Koh Samui
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Picture of Tropical Garden Lounge, 19/9 Moo 1 MaenamTropical Garden Lounge
19/9 Moo 1 Maenam
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Picture of Magic Resort, Lamai BeachMagic Resort
Lamai Beach
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Picture of Moon Light Hotel, Chaweng BeachMoon Light Hotel
Chaweng Beach
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Picture of Cactus Bungalow, Bophut BeachCactus Bungalow
Bophut Beach
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Picture of Baan Rom Mai, Chaweng BeachBaan Rom Mai
Chaweng Beach
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Picture of Hutcha Resort, 82/11 Moo1, Maenam SuratthaniHutcha Resort
82/11 Moo1, Maenam Suratthani
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Fresh off our Asia travel forum

Here are some discussions off the Travelfish forum, perhaps related to Ko Samui. You can find the full forum here.

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Ko Samui reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

Samui Still Has It
By tezza (dabbler - 5 reviews)
Written on 5th September, 2009 after a visit to Ko Samui in August, 2009

Who says you can't find laid-back, scenic, good-value places on Samui these days? Try Jungle Club high in the hills behind Chaweng Noi with 180 degree panoramic views from the horizon-style pool, the hillside sitting-bales or the Bali-style restaurant.
You can check the coastline stretching from Choeng Mon/Ko Maitang in the north, down thru Chaweng and Chaweng Noi to the area around Coral Cove in the south. Accommodation here starts at backpacker/flashpacker level and goes thru midrange.

And who says you can't find a quiet, scenic white-sand beach with good value accommodation on the popular east coast of Samui within a few minutes of the shopping and entertainment of Lamai and Chaweng?
Get yourself to Thong Ta Kien, a small bay at the start of the hilly section of coastline between Lamai and Chaweng. There are four bungalow joints on this bay and since first seeing it way back I'd been determined to stay here some day.
The sand is white and the water very clear. At lower tide levels the far end of the bay becomes very shallow and there is a section of rocks mid-bay which is exposed. However the western section is sandy right out into deeper water, which at lowest tide is maybe 30m out to be deep enough to swim. Closer to the beach is nice for pottering around looking at fishies etc - or snorkelling when the tide is up. I also snorkelled along the western headland - there were small patches of fringing coral, but mainly mono-colour and underwhelming. Thongtakian Resort is a good value place on this beach with lower midrange rooms at flashpacker prices.

Here's another who says - that you can't get a beachfront budget bungalow of the old style on Lamai these days. New Hut has share-bathroom A-frame bungalows right on the sand were going for 350B high season. One the other side of the atmospheric beachfront restaurant were bigger places with bathroom for 450B.
The beach in front has a reef which runs down the northern third Lamai forming a shallow lagoon at low tide, way too shallow for swimming in most places. Some people like this because it allows for some fossicking or just sitting around in a shallow pool of water. Deeper water for swimming is available starting five minutes further south -- the centre and south end of the beach have no reef and good water depth low tide.

Again, who says you can't get a reasonably priced beachfront place on Chaweng Beach? Check out OP Bungalows (owned by the same people as P&P Samui Resort) which gets good posts on travel forums. Air-con - hot water bungalows were going for 1,050B when I called around.
OP is situated on a particularly nice section of sand about one quarter down from the northern end where the beach does a curve. This area also has a reef which creates a shallow lagoon at low tide. Central and southern Chaweng have no reef - low tide water is deep enough for swimming but you may have to go out a bit further than similar areas at Lamai.
Lamai's sand is pretty white, but Chaweng is even more so. Actually these are real attractive beaches - the resorts are stylish and not Miami Beach re-created.

I won't even start on the more laid back north coast or sparsely developed west and south coasts. Plenty more nice areas and good value accommodation.

  Sights & activities
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Also reviewed by tezza: Ko Lipe, Ko Pha Ngan East Coast, Kuala Perlis, Thong Ta Kien Bay,

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