Ko Samui

From MaxTravelz

Ko Samui , also Koh Samui, is an island off the eastern coast of Thailand.

Contents 1 Districts 2 Understand 3 Get in 3.1 By plane 3.2 By boat 4 Get around 5 See 6 Do 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 10 Buy 11 Stay safe 12 Get out

Districts

Ko Samui is Thailand's third largest island and all in all a fairly big place. The largest and most popular beaches on Samui Island are Chaweng and Lamai, both of which are thoroughly commercialized and packed with a dense warren of ugly concrete hotels, dodgy backpacker outfit and lurid girlie bars. For those looking for a quieter place to spend their holiday, the northern beaches and their adjacent villages of Mae Nam, Bophut, Bang Ruk (Big Buddha) and Choeng Mon are a popular choice, while the west coast beaches are still (comparatively) quiet and unexplored.

Clockwise from Nathon on the west coast, the main beaches are:

• Nathon — Samui's port and administrative center, but with little to attract the tourist
• Mae Nam — a quiet and beautiful beach on the northern coast
• Bophut — known for its Fisherman's Village, laid-back but growing fast
• Bang Ruk — at the northeastern tip, home of the Big Buddha
• Chaweng — the largest and most-developed beach, with a curious mix of luxury hotels and backpacker guesthouses and a hopping nightlife
• Lamai — Samui's "Second" beach south of Chaweng, more backpackery than Chaweng
• South Coast — the small beaches of Ban Hua Thanon, Na Khai, Laem Set, Bang Kao and Thong Krut.
• Choeng Mon — quiet North shore beach

Understand

An island of great natural beauty and variety, Samui is home to about 40,000 full-time inhabitants, 90% of whom are Buddhist. The palm fringed shoreline and coconut and fruit cultivation of the coastal lowlands rise to a central granite massive, the slopes of which are cloaked in virgin rainforest.

At 247 sq.km., Samui is the largest island in an archipelago of over 80, mainly uninhabited islands, which form the Ang Thong National Marine Park, a kayaking and snorkeling paradise. At 25km long and 21km wide, Samui is big enough for serious exploration by the adventurous and fit, but can be circumnavigated in just a couple of hours by motorbike or car.

Samui is located about 80 km off the mainland of south-eastern Thailand and the largest of the Ang Thong group of 80 smaller islands. Six islands of these, Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Ta Loy, Koh Tao, Koh Taen, Koh Ma Ko and Koh Ta Pao, are also inhabited.

Tourism has long since overtaken coconut farming and fishing as the main sources of income. The latter are still practiced though to a lesser extent and the pleasant aroma of charring coconuts can still be smelled on many parts of the island. The fish you’ll eat in the many restaurants and hotel dining rooms comes from the surrounding Gulf of Thailand’s warm waters, although increasing amounts are imported from elsewhere as demand outstrips supply.

Get in

Located 700km south east of Bangkok in the Gulf of Thailand, Samui can be reached through a 70 minute flight from Bangkok, or the slower and cheaper route by road or rail and ferry from mainland Surat Thani, a distance of 80km.

By plane

Bangkok Airways has a monopoly on flights to the privately owned Ko Samui Airport (USM) and charges accordingly, with near-hourly departures to/from Bangkok priced at B3500 one way (although some advance booking discounts are available). There are also daily flights to/from Phuket for B2200, U-Tapao, and Singapore; four direct flights a week from Chiang Mai (but no direct flights in the opposite direction); and twice weekly flights to/from Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur (Berjaya Air).

Visa-on-Arrival is available at Samui Airport for passport holders of 14 nations, see Thailand for more about entry.

The airline maintains a monopoly on transport from the airport, with a seat in a minibus for the 20-minute ride to Chaweng costing B100 per head. You also can use a faster taxi for B250 - B300. Note that a steep B500 (international) or B300 (domestic e.g. Bangkok) departure tax (not included in your ticket) is also charged.

A cheaper but less convenient option is to fly to Surat Thani and connect to the ferry.

By boat

Ferries arrive from the mainland. By express boat (3 departures daily), the trip takes around 3 hours and costs B150, while slow night boats take 6-7 hours for the same trip. Call operator Songserm Travel (252 9654 in Bangkok) for the latest schedules, which vary according to the season.

There is also a combined bus/high speed ferry service from Bankok to Ko Samui which takes about 11 hours. The bus stops in Hua Hin and connects with the ferry at Chumporn. The ferry stops at Ko Tao and Ko Pangan on its way to Ko Samui. It costs about 1250 baht and the return about 1050 baht. The buses and ferry are air con and comfortable. The operator is Lomprayah. http://www.lomprayah.com/E/route.html

There are also regular speedboats and ferries to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao.

Get around

As on many islands in Thailand, small motorbikes are available for rental. Compared to other nearby islands, Samui's road systems is very developed and there are plenty of taxis cruising about, although it's a challenge to get them to use their meters.

Pickup trucks also serve as group taxis. Hail one on any major road with a wave or yell, negotiate a fare, and sit down on the bench in the back.

See

The reason why people come to Samui is, quite simply, the beaches which remain stunning after decades of development, helped in no small part by a height restriction on new buildings.

Other than lying on the beach with a cold beer in hand and ogling at the babes and hunks sauntering past, there isn't all that much to see on the island. A certain pair of rocks on Lamai amuses some visitors, Bang Rak has a large but nondescript Buddha statue, and there are some waterfalls (notably Na Muang) of minor interest.

Do

The usual panoply of watersports are available, including plenty of dive shops, but most diving is done either in the nearby Angthong Marine National Park or Ko Tao as the visibility around Samui's sandy beaches tends to be poor. You can book diving day trips at dive shops, most of which are based in Chaweng. The dive boats tend to leave from the pier at Bophut.

Santiburi Samui Country Club boasts the only 18 hole golf course on the island. Located inland from Maenam, the neighbouring town to Bophut, the challenging mountain-side and high valley fairways offer stunning views of the bay area and distant Koh Pha Ngan. Golf carts are compulsory, to prevent the exhaustion of players otherwise following the steeply rising and falling fairways. Large greens offer some compensation to players distracted by the fabulous views and lush tropical setting. The clubhouse includes locker rooms, dining, conferencing rooms as well as a driving range, practice green and shop.

Kayaking is a great way to see the Angthong Marine National Park. Look for a credible tour operator when on the island.

Eat

Samui is well known for its coconuts, which are available everywhere and quite tasty. Being an island, seafood is generally a good choice, although in high season demand often exceeds local supply. The larger beaches have a number of international restaurants as well (often run by Thai-farang couples), with Bophut having a particularly good reputation.

Dual pricing is regrettably common: some restaurants have two menus, one for farangs and the other for Thai people, at about 1/4 of the farang prices. Main courses in a standard, low-key Thai restaurant should be under 100B (except some seafood dishes), so if prices seem unreasonably steep, head elsewhere.

Drink

There are innumerable options for a drink, ranging from the load and brash backpacker pubs and girlie bars of Chaweng to the candle-lit romantic bars of Bophut. Figure on B80 for a beer.

Sleep

With an estimated 60,000 rooms accommodation is basically not a problem, and the largest decision will be picking a suitable beach. Head for Chaweng or Lamai if you want nightlife, Mae Nam or the South Coast for a quieter beach experience, or Bophut for a good compromise.

Buy

• Tailor-made suit for next-to-nothing (60EUR+, for good quality).
• Sarongs and other tropical souvenirs.

Stay safe

On Samui, nobody cares about driving licenses, helmet or alcohol consumption, which leads to the highest vehicle accident rate in Thailand. Motorbikes are particularly risky. You might want to be careful yourself though, and use the local bus system when drunk.

Samui hit the headlines in early 2006 with the rape and murder of a British tourist, highlighting a recent rise in crime fuelled by the increasing inequality of the island's haves and have-nots. By and large, however, tourists are not targeted and the island remains reasonably safe, but women would do well to observe basic precautions like not walking alone after dark in quiet places.

Get out

• Ang Thong National Marine Park, scuba and snorkeling within striking distance
• Ko Pha Ngan, home of the infamous Full Moon Party
• Ko Tao, among the best places in Thailand to learn to dive

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