Tips for Koh Samui

Hi All,

I’m off to Thailand for 10 days (3 nights Bangkok, 7 nights Koh Samui) with my 60 year old mum at the end of April. I’ve travelled in Thailand for many years (backpacking, full moon parties and all that stuff in my younger days!) and she’s lived in Indonesia for some time and is up for anything – snorkelling, driving, boat trips.

I’ve got a few ideas for Bangkok (Ghost Ghat for food, Temples, markets, a trip down Khao San Road for old times’ sake and a trip to the floating markets), but wondered what Koh Samui’s like for some good food (local, beach front or posh), chilled beaches, good snorkelling and hiring a car for an explore of the island.

My previous experiences of Koh Samui have been passing through on my way to Koh Pangan a few times and driving past dodgy resorts, and hearing it has a reputation for “gentleman’s” bars with a seedy night life in some parts. I’m sure this isn’t all Samui has to offer, so I’m after a few tips on finding good beaches with nice restaurants and bars and recommendations for local eating, as well as top eats and driving adventures.

Also, is a day trip to the Angthong Marine Park worth missing day on the beach for?

We’re staying at The Tongsai Bay Resort up on the north east and I think Bo Phat area is meant to be nice and just over the peninsula….am I right? Are there any bars and restaurants on the bigger beach just south of The Tongsai Bay Beach? I think it’s called Choeng Mon Beach? Where’s a good night out without too many lady bars?

I know I’m asking a lot ….please forgive me, but I want to make this a really good trip for my mum!

Any tips would be much appreciated.

Kate

Ko Samui is a big place, and although I've been here several times since the early 2000s, there is much of it that I haven't seen as I get trapped by beach lounging. It has a few attractions, but generally I lounge on the beach. I've stayed in Maenam and Lamai several times, and have visited other areas on day trips. Nathon (the admin town and port most boats come in at) in itself can be an interesting little town for a day. Renting a moped is the way, on this island. Without it, you're at the mercy of the cartel of songathew drivers who have got so used to idiots paying several hundred baht for a 3 minute drive down the road, that they now try that with everybody. Ideally you should only have to use those once, after arriving in Nathon and getting onward. You'll see a sign with official prices on. It's B50 to somewhere like Lamai. Don't ask how much it is (the signal they look for, for a newcomer). Just get in, and when you get to your destination, hand the driver the B50 and walk off. Expect a - "HEY!" shout, to imply you haven't payed the correct amount. It's bull*** and just a tactic they use to get tourists back to the driver for a squabble and feigned anger and other nonsense. It is B50. End of story. Pay it, walk off and keep walking and in 5 seconds they give up.

Once that initial annoyance is out the way, moped rental can be from B100-B150 per day depending on where you rent it from. B100 tends to fill up a tank to the brim, and lasts for ages. Enjoy riding around Samui, and stopping at whatever catches your eye. It's a big island, and plenty of little stretches of coast, fishing villages, inland forested hill areas etc. I don't have any particular names to suggest, as I just see places and stop a lot of the time.

It also has a few 'formal' attractions like some over hyped waterfalls and a mummfiied Monk wearing sunglasses, which I guess is something to see at least once. I persona..hehe. Now I mostly beach lounge. I've visited lots of areas before, but have only stayed in Nathon, Maenam and Lamai. Both have some nice areas of beach (although with the latst, make sure you go to the middle part of Lamai beach, which to me is south of a resort called 'Sand and Sea' (near a lagoon and wooden bridge) after which the beach flattens out, widens out and is clean and breezy.

Ko Samui's - "Gentlemen's Bars" as you describe them, are now so tame they are a mere shadow of their former selves in terms of antics / clientelle. Ko Samui is going 'family friendly' increasingly, and the Bars and Massage places have been instructed to tone down the 'sales pitch' considerably, on threat of penalty / closure, also relocating to discreet corners over the years. Even in areas that have bar 'zones' you'll even see female tourists and middle aged couples in the bars and having a drink as the Girly bars have become as a tourist attraction of their own, it seems. In other words, if you're dreading that Ko Samui nightlife is going to be something like Pattaya then don't worry. In places like Maenam, everything is much much quieter anyway (but prices for things tends to be higher).

I'm not quite sure what you meant by 'dodgy' resorts that you passed.

You may want to visit my koh Samui info blog and especially my trip around the island post, this may give you some ideas.

There are also plenty of restaurant reviews, Thai and Western places alike.

Enjoy your stay.

Many thanks for the tips and reassurance about the bar life Origin. Sounds like I’ve nothing to worry about. By dodgy, I meant the not-so-nice places I passed when passing in a back of a taxi. I don’t think those places on the main road gave a very good impression of Koh Samui!

And thanks to Limbo1 for the links. Choengmon beach looks great.

Choengmon beach is my favorite beach on the island, we go there a lot with the children during the late afternoons when the heat cools down! Check some of the hotel options here .