Koh Samui Travel Guide

Koh Samui island of Surat Thani Province or often, simply Samui as it is referred to by locals, is an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand's third largest island, with an area of 228.7 square km's and a population of over 50,000 (2008). It is rich with natural resources, white sandy beaches, coral reefs and coconut trees.

 

 

 

Climate

 

Koh Samui, being in Suratthani Province, has essentially two seasons, warm and tropical most of the year, with a short rainy season. Unlike Phuket most of the rest of Southern Thailand which have a 6-month rainy season between May and November, Samui's weather, on the other hand, is relatively dry for the vast majority of the year, with the rainy season being primarily confined to November. For the rest of the year, since the weather is tropical, when it does rain, it usually doesn't last long; rain showers of 20-60 minutes are typical.

 

Attractions

The major reason why people come to Samui is, quite simply, to enjoy the beaches. Even though the two main beaches of Chaweng and Lamai have generally suffered due to mass development over the past decade they are still relatively impressive. Development has been thwarted slightly because of the island's regulation governing height restriction.

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.

 

Na Thon - The island's major seafront settlement where shops, restaurants and tour agencies are concentrated.

 

Namtok Hin Lat -This waterfall is easily accessible by car. Some of the numerous tiny levels have a large basin for swimmers.

 

Namtok Na Mueang - A local road leads to the Na Mueang 1 Waterfall. A walk of about 30 minutes ends up at the more scenic Na Mueang 2 Waterfall. Purple rocks surround the stream of water, which gushes in from an impressive height of around 79 meters.

 

Ban Lipa Yai - This village grows high quality fruits, including rambutan, durian, mangosteen and the famed langsat.

 

Old House - This Chinese-style house, aged almost 200 years, represents Samui's cultural identity. Grandpa Si and Grandma Maen Hancharoen, the present owner, open the house to visitors.

Other island attractions include coral beds at Laem Set and Thong Takhian; the nearby butterfly garden and aquarium; a snake farm; a monkey theatre at Bo Phut and a massive seated Buddha image on Fan isle.

 

Wat Khunaram Ko Samui This temple is the island's most famous temple for its mummified monk on display. The mummy sits upright in a glass casket and devotees offer it flowers and incense. The mummy is in fact the body of a very revered former abbot of the temple who was also a meditation master that was able to predict his own death.

 

Grandmother and Grandfather Rocks These odd-looking rocks situated on Lamai beach bear a striking resemblance to male and female sexual organs and they have turned into one of the island's biggest attractions. For those who would like to hear a legend or two surrounding the rocks, they need only ask a local.

 

Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo Ko Samui Located at Ban Harn beach, the Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo offer a fun day out for the family. The undersea world of the aquarium has an amazing collection of tropical fish and other vibrant aquatic animals such as turtles and colorful coral. The tiger zoo is home to Bengal tigers and leopards. For those who are daring enough, they can have their photograph taken with the awesome animals. The Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo are open daily from 9AM till 6PM.

 

Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai) Also known as the Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai), has a 15 meter tall statue of the Buddha. It was built in 1972 and is in the north of the island.

 

Laem Sor Pagoda Ko Samui This chedi (pagoda) situated at Laem Sor temple is one of the most important shrines on Ko Samui. The structure with its yellow tiles which gives off a golden aura is quite impressive.

 

Samui Butterful Garden / Insect Museum This butterfly garden can be found in the south-east of the island. There is a huge collection of different butterflies, some quarter of a meter wide. The visitor can also enter the insect museum nearby to see a variety of rare bugs and a bee house.

 

Secret Buddha Garden This beautiful garden was made by a 76 year-old Ko Samui fruit farmer in 1976. It is surrounded by lush jungle, rocky hills and is adorned with sculptures depicting both humans, in various poses, as well as various deities. Since the garden is the highest point on the island, there are also some awesome views to be had. Organized tours to the garden last for about 2 hours.

 

Monkey Shows These shows can be enjoyed at the open-air theater on the main road behind Bophut beach. The entertainment also includes performing elephants

 

Nightlife

 

Chaweng Beach: is especially famous for its beer bars (also called bar-beers), staffed by pretty hostesses, usually from the north-east of Thailand. Buy them a "girlie drink" and you'll be in entertaining company. Beer bars can be found all over Chaweng. The bars offer pool, Connect4 and other popular bar games. Since the nightlife on Chaweng can see serious debauchery at times, the local law enforcers are strict in concern to enforcing closing times. The official closing time in "entertainment zones" is 1am (in practice usually somewhere between 1am and 2am, depending on the location).

Chaweng Beach is packed out with nightclubs playing the latest rave sounds and serving exotic cocktails. Electronic music is very popular. The biggest club is the Green Mango to which even a street was named.

 

Full Moon Party (Ko Phangan) Had Rin Beach on nearby Ko Phang-ngan was once a secret haven for a few backpackers who could only get to the beach by boat. Now, it is packed with bungalows, bars, pizza joints and even a 7-11 and every month on full-moon, a huge all-night event is held with rave music played by international DJs to thousands of party-goers. To get there you will need to take a boat. The party goes until late morning and only the biggest party animals will survive until the end. a lot of people will sleep on the beach and then take the boat back in the afternoon. So if your a party animal and your in Koh Samui around a full moon, this is a place not to miss. Party-goers often say this is one of the best parties in the world.

 

Beaches

 

Chaweng Beach is the major beach on Ko Samui and one that has developed tremendously since the early 1990s. Just 20 years ago the beach was home to just a sprinkle of wooden bungalows but now the place is swamped with 4-5 star hotels, Italian pizza joints, Irish pubs and even go-go bars. Samui's nightlife is becoming legendary but unfortunately not always attracting the best standard of tourist. Chaweng's once "hippy" only backpackers have given way to a lot of "lager louts". Chaweng is the place to be if you are looking for a rowdy reckless party scene.

 

Lamai Beach Like Chaweng, Lamai has transformed from a "hippy" hangout into a fun, party place packed out with bars and exciting nightlife. The beach though, is still in better condition than Chaweng and the place doesn't get quite so crowded. If it's a quiet relaxing location you are after, then Lamai won't be the ideal place for you. At the southern end of Lamai, there are some odd-looking rock formations.

 

Maenam Beach This quite beach, located in the north of the island is decent enough for swimming and sunbathing especially for families with children due to the shallow water.

 

Bophut Beach situated in the north of the island, is a popular starting point for diving tours. The place isn't in any way as developed as Chaweng but there are still plenty of restaurants, shops and bars.

 

Choengmon Beach is in the North-East of Samui just 10 minutes from Chaweng. Unlike the latter it is a perfect place for relaxing.

 

Big Buddha Beach Located in the north-east of Samui, Big Buddha offers visitors good swimming and lovely views. The area has developed a lot over the past few years and there are now a plentitude of restaurants, shops and bars

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Getting to Koh Samui

 

A 300 baht surcharge is levied on domestic departures, as well as the 500 baht surcharge on international departures. If you fly via Bangkok to an international destination the tax is only 200 baht as the Bangkok international departure tax is already included in your ticket ex Bangkok. These charges are not included in the ticket price. The only 2 ways to get to Koh Samui is by boat or plain.

 

By plane

 

Ko Samui Airport (USM) is a private airport originally built by Bangkok Airways, which is still the main operator and was for a long time the only airline with services to Ko Samui from Thailand until Thai Airways started in April 2008 to operate some flights between Bangkok and Ko Samui. They have near-hourly departures to/from Bangkok and tickets are expensive by Thai standards, with advance bookings costing 2000-3500 baht, while a walk-in booking may be twice as much. There are also daily flights to/from Phuket for 2200 baht, 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.

In addition to Bangkok Air, Ko Samui is served two flights a day from Bangkok with Thai Airways as well as by Berjaya Air from Kuala Lumpur and Firefly from Penang and Subang airport (Kuala Lumpur) in Malaysia.

Ground transportation from the airport is readily available. A seat in a minibus for the 20-minute ride to Chaweng costing 100 baht/person; a faster taxi will cost 150-300 baht. Be sure to negotiate the rate to your destination before you get into the taxi since many drivers refuse to use their meters.

A cheaper but less convenient option is to fly to Surat Thani and connect by road and then ferry.

 

By boat

 

From Surat Thani train station and Surat Thani Airport (URT), there are combined bus/ferry services to Ko Samui cost 200-300 baht - some entail a 60 minute bus ride followed by a 90 minute ferry crossing, others a 30 minute bus ride but the ferry takes extra time. Tickets are sold by numerous agents that meet each train and airport. Should cost less than 300 baht (return combo ticket to either Surat Thani city, airport or train station bought on the Na Thon pier on Samui normally costs 220 baht) There are 2 Ferry companies (departures every 30 mins).

Numerous ferry services are direct from mainland Surat Thani include an express boat (3 departures daily, taking around 3 hours and costing 150 baht) and slow night boats (taking 6-7 hours). Call operator Songserm Travel (252 9654 in Bangkok) for the latest schedules, which vary according to the season.

 

Map of Koh Samui

 

source: http://www.visit-thailand.info/information/map-of-koh-samui.htm