Koh Samui holidays

Holiday highlights

Rapidly surpassing Phuket as Thailand’s preeminent island destination, Koh Samui has become increasingly popular in recent years. However, the island has so far retained much of its laidback charm and natural beauty that made it such a hit with Kuoni customers in the first place.

Koh Samui also, uniquely, offers a delightful variety to its beaches, making this an ideal destination catering for most travellers’ tastes and budgets, be it lively beachfront ambiance or secluded island hideaway.

The relatively compact nature of the island and the concentration of resorts on the island’s east coast also mean that rarely are you more than 20 minutes from anywhere else of interest. Choose a resort on the northern shores – in Bo Phut for example – and you’re still just a 20 minute ride south to Chaweng or Lamai, and vice versa.

Chaweng is Koh Samui’s busiest resort centre. Found midway up the east coast, the resort stretches most of the way along an uninterrupted sandy beach, with numerous hotels, guest houses and restaurants opening directly onto the sands. In parts, the beach becomes crowded with sunbeds and beach towels as well as watersports touts and beach vendors. However, the ambiance is always convivial, and by night many of the beachfront bars become particularly lively and are the place to be seen. Behind the beach itself, the town sprawls along the parallel beach road, offering a bewildering array of restaurants, bars, shops and boutiques. It is in Chaweng that you will find the island’s liveliest nightlife, as well as best value dining, shopping and entertainment.

Lamai lies about 10 minutes to the south of Chaweng and is slightly smaller and quieter than its neighbour to the north. Sometimes, by comparison, Lamai can seem somewhat sleepy, especially in quieter seasons, with numerous picturesque beachfront restaurants offering romantic moonlit dining right on the sea shore. The resort centre itself clusters at the southern end of the beach, making for a pleasant evening stroll along the quieter parts of the shore, perusing the various restaurant seafood displays as you go.

As the water can be shallow on the northern part of Lamai beach, swimming is perhaps best further south. But either way, the beach is attractive and safe. Much of the resort’s shopping and more raucous nightlife can be found on the main street that runs behind the beach.

For the best of both world’s, several of our most popular hotels, including Rocky’s Boutique Hotel and Silavadee, can be found nestled amongst the secluded bays and coves just out of Lamai’s environs, thereby offering the privacy and seclusion of a quiet location, but conveniently just a few minutes by taxi to Lamai itself and just a few more to livelier Chaweng.

Another popular destination is the sleepy village of Bo Phut on the island’s north shore. The traditional centre of the resort is known as the ‘Fisherman’s Village’ and is host to an array of restaurants, bars and boutiques. Compared to Lamai or Chaweng, the Fisherman’s Village is quiet in the extreme, the resort is also devoid of the more salacious types of bars that can be seen in Chaweng and Lamai, making it a particularly safe place for families.

To the northeast of Bo Phut a small peninsular juts out into the Gulf of Thailand, and it is here that you will find several of Koh Samui’s most exclusive hotels, including romantic The Tongsai Bay and the exclusive Six Senses Samui. The quiet location ensures little disturbance on and around their beaches (which are all but private), but also the convenience of a short five to ten minute hop to Bo Phut, the airport and Chaweng.

As a popular holiday island, Koh Samui also offers an array of sights and attractions to tempt those able to tear themselves from the beautiful beaches and sparkling pools. A rewarding day out is to the idyllic, undisturbed islands of Ang Thong National Marine Park – real life inspiration for ‘The Beach’. Although the film was set in Ang Thong it was actually shot on koh Phi Phi on Thailand’s west coast, however the islands remain stunning nonetheless.

The island’s most iconic attraction is the ‘Big Buddha’ which can be found on the northeaster peninsula, plus there are waterfalls and regular dive trips to Ang Thong and Koh Tao. For the ultimate night out, take the short crossing to neighbouring Koh Phangan for the famous (or infamous) Full Moon Party. Many hotels in Koh Samui organise special trips for the monthly beach party which goes all night and features vast crowds of partygoers entranced by the hypnotic beats of the DJs.