Time of Travel - Early March
Weather - Warm interspersed with heavy showers for short durations everyday.
How to travel from India - Take a flight to koh samui via bangkok (expensive ticket around Rs25k return). Alternatively a cheaper mode of travel (saving upto 10k)
1) Fly from mumbai to bangkok.
2) Then fly from bkk to surat thani.
3) Then take a car or a bus from surat thani airport to the pier for a ferry .This trip is usually 45 to 1 hour. If you take the bus, it is cheaper and most of the times the ferry ticket is included with the bus ticket. Last ferry is about 6 pm, some times they have a 7 pm ferry.Seatran Ferry, operates several trips per day between Don Sak (Surat Thani) and Koh Samui, from 5.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The trip takes about 90 minutes.
4)Then from the pier at Koh Samui (Na-thon), again take a taxi or a bus.
While taking a taxi or a bus - you will have to negotiate. Koh Samui is an expensive city with respect to travel by taxi.
If you take the 2nd alternative route to travel - its a really long tiring journey, and will take you the whole day. ( The question then to choose how is to weigh time against money).
Accomodation
Hotel - Q Signature Samui at Choeng Mon Beach
It is a BEAUTIFUL HOTEL - Huge rooms, beautiful view , huge bathrooms - you must check out the website.
It is connected to the choeng mon beach. There are a lot of restaurants at the beach side. The pool is an infinity pool - they have a main pool overlooking the beach. And a second pool right next to the villas, which you can even dip in at 4 a.m. Service is also excellent. If you only like indian food then there is an indian restaurant also in this hotel to cater to your appetite, but we did not quite like the indian food.
The only downside to this hotel is that if you are young and here to party, then chaweng beach is a more idle place to stay. Choeng Mon beach is more relaxed, more for people who have come for a leisurely spaced out holiday. This hotel would mean more luxurious stay.
Chaweng beach is 15 mins away from Choeng Mon Beach if you use a taxi. A taxi ride to Chaweng Beach would cost 300 bht - for a 15 min ride- if you negotiated you could get it for 200bht also.
Restaurants
1)Coyote Samui for mexican food -poor for mexican, even nachos were not done right, but the margheritas - outstanding ( better than any that i have had so far),
2)Khao Sum - thai food -- the papaya salad, thai curry, rice, everything was delicious and we did end up coming to this restaurant again in the week.
3) Pancakes and Waffles - Street Vendors.
4)Le percorenere - italian restaurant- yummy pizzas.
5)At q signature samui - The main restaurant (pasta +watermelon orange juice was good).
6)Choeng mon beach restaurant - do not remember the name but there is one restaurant which has thai folk dance entertainment.
7)There are a lot of shacks at the beach side.
Clubs
1)Green Mango
2) Sound
3)ARK BAR (check it our on wednesdays- there is some deal there).
4)There is a cabaret joint diagonally opposite green mango, if interested.
At Chaweng beach, there is a long stretch of clubs lined up right next to each other, and being girls - we did not have a tough time entering any. You can do bar hopping.
So, the idea of drinking in thailand is via buckets (tiny buckets - 150bht for a bucket - cheap) if you want to go cheaper, theres a 7/11 always around.
No surprises there, the clubs are open till 6 a.m. in the morning.
Now, to go back to the hotel we had an option of a tuk tuk or a taxi - you can use either - but again they took some 300 bht from us. ( on a rough basis , i think 100 bht a person)
Activities
1)Scuba Diving - There are a lot of divers clubs to choose from. We did it through easy divers.
If you want a PADI certification, you need to give it 2 days and 4 dives.
2)Full Moon Party - A trip to Koh Samui is worth it if you go for the full moon party - it is AMAZING!!
You can book your tickets through your hotel for the party. Along with the tickets you have a ride all the way to Koh Phangan which is an island so you have to get on a boat to get there.
On the day of the party this island is bustling with markets, shops, entertainment. It is like you have reached Neon Paradise. You can shop neon tops , accessories, shorts, bikinis to blend in the party mode. Alternatively, you can buy them from Chaweng market as it is a little more expensive at the market at Koh Phangan.
Basically, it is a long stretch of shack based clubs at the beach side, so you can keep dancing your way through different genre of music. Moreover, there are fire activities, lambada, a small water slide and lots and lots of alcohol. You also have the liberty to dip into the sea anytime. In short it is like a open house 'wild wild wild' party scene.
On the way back you can return at any time. There are ferries running back and forth till morning hours. But the later you plan to leave the longer the line. Just make sure to reach sometime before the last return journey of your speed boat or ferry.
3)Beaches
We visited only chaweng and choeng mon beach. You could do jet ski as well as banana ride at either of the beaches. chaweng is known for it but you could request somebody at choeng mon for the same too, as the number of jet skis are limited at choeng mon. Also, if you are sure you want to do it check the timings because they shut all sea activities by 5 p.m.
4)World Famous Thai Massage
Be sure to take a massage. They are good. They are even available at all the beaches!!
5)Touristy things to do
Look up what you are interested in doing . Well, there are elephant shows, fish pedicure, monkey shows. Thai boxing was pretty average. What is worth seeing is the waterfall. There is a swing on top of the waterfall. Also, for the animal lovers, there is a tiger there on leash of course. The thai food at the waterfall restaurant is really delicious!!
You can also do a full day sea safari at angthong by speedboat-you must do this trip - it is pretty and adventurous.
So you will find all these packages and safaris, so choose one as per your preferences.
5) Next to our hotel there was an island. You could swim to it. So given our sense of adventure and need for exploring, we waded upto it. It was fun. This is what it feels like being a part of the LOST series stranded on an island ;)
So to sum it, It is an amazing place to go. It has something for everybody be it tranquility, be it a crazy night out or just a week of leisure in your hotel. Definitely worth a visit. Go before it gets too commercialised.
Try to negotiate everywhere in thailand, you will find a better deal.
Caution: For any tour offering lunch to go with, be sure to tell them what can you eat, because even after specifying no eggs we were offered eggs.
P.S. - if not an animal lover, I should warn you there are domesticated well bred cats and dogs everywhere!!!
Will put up pictures SOON!! - hope you enjoyed my blog.
Weather - Warm interspersed with heavy showers for short durations everyday.
How to travel from India - Take a flight to koh samui via bangkok (expensive ticket around Rs25k return). Alternatively a cheaper mode of travel (saving upto 10k)
1) Fly from mumbai to bangkok.
2) Then fly from bkk to surat thani.
3) Then take a car or a bus from surat thani airport to the pier for a ferry .This trip is usually 45 to 1 hour. If you take the bus, it is cheaper and most of the times the ferry ticket is included with the bus ticket. Last ferry is about 6 pm, some times they have a 7 pm ferry.Seatran Ferry, operates several trips per day between Don Sak (Surat Thani) and Koh Samui, from 5.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The trip takes about 90 minutes.
4)Then from the pier at Koh Samui (Na-thon), again take a taxi or a bus.
While taking a taxi or a bus - you will have to negotiate. Koh Samui is an expensive city with respect to travel by taxi.
If you take the 2nd alternative route to travel - its a really long tiring journey, and will take you the whole day. ( The question then to choose how is to weigh time against money).
Accomodation
Hotel - Q Signature Samui at Choeng Mon Beach
It is a BEAUTIFUL HOTEL - Huge rooms, beautiful view , huge bathrooms - you must check out the website.
It is connected to the choeng mon beach. There are a lot of restaurants at the beach side. The pool is an infinity pool - they have a main pool overlooking the beach. And a second pool right next to the villas, which you can even dip in at 4 a.m. Service is also excellent. If you only like indian food then there is an indian restaurant also in this hotel to cater to your appetite, but we did not quite like the indian food.
The only downside to this hotel is that if you are young and here to party, then chaweng beach is a more idle place to stay. Choeng Mon beach is more relaxed, more for people who have come for a leisurely spaced out holiday. This hotel would mean more luxurious stay.
Chaweng beach is 15 mins away from Choeng Mon Beach if you use a taxi. A taxi ride to Chaweng Beach would cost 300 bht - for a 15 min ride- if you negotiated you could get it for 200bht also.
Restaurants
1)Coyote Samui for mexican food -poor for mexican, even nachos were not done right, but the margheritas - outstanding ( better than any that i have had so far),
2)Khao Sum - thai food -- the papaya salad, thai curry, rice, everything was delicious and we did end up coming to this restaurant again in the week.
3) Pancakes and Waffles - Street Vendors.
4)Le percorenere - italian restaurant- yummy pizzas.
5)At q signature samui - The main restaurant (pasta +watermelon orange juice was good).
6)Choeng mon beach restaurant - do not remember the name but there is one restaurant which has thai folk dance entertainment.
7)There are a lot of shacks at the beach side.
Clubs
1)Green Mango
2) Sound
3)ARK BAR (check it our on wednesdays- there is some deal there).
4)There is a cabaret joint diagonally opposite green mango, if interested.
At Chaweng beach, there is a long stretch of clubs lined up right next to each other, and being girls - we did not have a tough time entering any. You can do bar hopping.
So, the idea of drinking in thailand is via buckets (tiny buckets - 150bht for a bucket - cheap) if you want to go cheaper, theres a 7/11 always around.
No surprises there, the clubs are open till 6 a.m. in the morning.
Now, to go back to the hotel we had an option of a tuk tuk or a taxi - you can use either - but again they took some 300 bht from us. ( on a rough basis , i think 100 bht a person)
Activities
1)Scuba Diving - There are a lot of divers clubs to choose from. We did it through easy divers.
If you want a PADI certification, you need to give it 2 days and 4 dives.
2)Full Moon Party - A trip to Koh Samui is worth it if you go for the full moon party - it is AMAZING!!
You can book your tickets through your hotel for the party. Along with the tickets you have a ride all the way to Koh Phangan which is an island so you have to get on a boat to get there.
On the day of the party this island is bustling with markets, shops, entertainment. It is like you have reached Neon Paradise. You can shop neon tops , accessories, shorts, bikinis to blend in the party mode. Alternatively, you can buy them from Chaweng market as it is a little more expensive at the market at Koh Phangan.
Basically, it is a long stretch of shack based clubs at the beach side, so you can keep dancing your way through different genre of music. Moreover, there are fire activities, lambada, a small water slide and lots and lots of alcohol. You also have the liberty to dip into the sea anytime. In short it is like a open house 'wild wild wild' party scene.
On the way back you can return at any time. There are ferries running back and forth till morning hours. But the later you plan to leave the longer the line. Just make sure to reach sometime before the last return journey of your speed boat or ferry.
3)Beaches
We visited only chaweng and choeng mon beach. You could do jet ski as well as banana ride at either of the beaches. chaweng is known for it but you could request somebody at choeng mon for the same too, as the number of jet skis are limited at choeng mon. Also, if you are sure you want to do it check the timings because they shut all sea activities by 5 p.m.
4)World Famous Thai Massage
Be sure to take a massage. They are good. They are even available at all the beaches!!
5)Touristy things to do
Look up what you are interested in doing . Well, there are elephant shows, fish pedicure, monkey shows. Thai boxing was pretty average. What is worth seeing is the waterfall. There is a swing on top of the waterfall. Also, for the animal lovers, there is a tiger there on leash of course. The thai food at the waterfall restaurant is really delicious!!
You can also do a full day sea safari at angthong by speedboat-you must do this trip - it is pretty and adventurous.
So you will find all these packages and safaris, so choose one as per your preferences.
5) Next to our hotel there was an island. You could swim to it. So given our sense of adventure and need for exploring, we waded upto it. It was fun. This is what it feels like being a part of the LOST series stranded on an island ;)
So to sum it, It is an amazing place to go. It has something for everybody be it tranquility, be it a crazy night out or just a week of leisure in your hotel. Definitely worth a visit. Go before it gets too commercialised.
Try to negotiate everywhere in thailand, you will find a better deal.
Caution: For any tour offering lunch to go with, be sure to tell them what can you eat, because even after specifying no eggs we were offered eggs.
Will put up pictures SOON!! - hope you enjoyed my blog.
Thailand is such a beautiful island - it's no doubt it's proved so famous with tourists coming from far places. Admirable beaches, wonderful bars and shops.
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