Ko Samui

Thailand Family Holidays

By Boat

Numerous ferry services 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 inBangkok) for the latest schedules, which vary according to the season. There are also regular speedboats and ferries to Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao. Lomprayah offers a combined bus/high speed catamaran ferry service fromBangkok to Ko Samui which takes about 11 hours and costs around 850 baht (1000 baht in the opposite direction). The bus pauses in Hua Hin and then stops at Chumphon where it connects with the ferry, which calls at Ko Nang Yuan, Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan on its way to Ko Samui. The buses and ferry are air-con and very comfortable. From Surat Thani train station, 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 longer on the ferry. Tickets are sold by numerous agents who meet each train.

Bophut . Its lifestyle is relaxed and more traditional than the larger beaches, referring to itself as Fisherman's Village. It is very popular with French tourists, and has a number of pricey, but good French-owned restaurants.

Getting There

By Air Ko Samui Airport (USM) is a private airport originally built by Bangkok Airways, which is still the main operator and the only airline with services to Ko Samui fromThailand. They have near-hourly departures to/from Bangkok; tickets are expensive by Thai standards, but advance bookings can be tolerable (around 2000B), while a walk-in booking may be twice as much. There are also daily flights to/from Phuket for 2200 baht, U-Tapao, and Chiang Mai (but no direct flights in the opposite direction); In addition to Bangkok Air, Ko Samui is served by Berjaya Air from Kuala Lumpur and Firefly from Penang, both 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.

Ko Samui

Located in the Gulf of Thailand, about 35 km northeast of Surat Thani town. It is surrounded by about sixty other islands, most of which comprise the Ang Thong National Marine Park Ang Thong National Marine Park,but also include other tourist destinationsKo Pha Ngan, Ko Tao and Ko Nang Yuan. The island is roughly circular inshape, and is about 15km across.

The central part of the island is mountain jungle and the various lowland areas are connected together by a single road, that circles the island. There is one town, Na Thon, on the west coast of the island, with a major port for fishing and inter-island transportation. Each of Samui's many beaches is also nominally considered a town, due to the number of hotels, restaurants and bars that have sprung up in recent years.

Muay Thai boxing takes place regularly at the island's stadium in Chaweng. Numerous animal attractions are dotted around the island, including several Gym’s, acrocodile farm, monkey theatre, elephant trekking, a snake farm, an aquarium and a butterfly garden a couple of bowling alley’s, go karts.Most visitors to the island take a day trip out to the beautiful Ang Thong National Marine Park at least once on their stay in Samui. Boats leave Na Thon several times a day.

Choeng Monis one of the smallest of Samui's tourist beaches, it lies in a secluded
bay on the northeastern tip of the island, making it perfect for those whowant peace and quiet, and warm sea all day. It does not have a town, but thereare a number of small restaurants and a couple of shops, in addition to the luxurious (and expensive) hotels that surround the bay, and it is only five minutes from the bright lights of Chaweng.

The mountain junglein the interior of the island is an excellent day out, and is home to a number of impressive gardens built by legendary Samuian farmer Nim Thongsuk, the impressive waterfalls at Na Muang, real working rubber plantations and the most amazing views over the Aug Thong archipelago. The roads in the jungle are an adventure in themselves, and tourists normally take a tour with an experienced Samuian driver.

The Island is all about the beaches. Samui is mostly visited by holidaymakers wanting to "get away from it all", so its main appeal is its white beaches and warm sea, and it has plenty to choose from.Chaweng covers most of the island's east coast, forming the most crowded and tourist saturated destination on the island. The beach itself, while generally clean suffers from overcrowding since there are vast numbers of visitors year-round.

Ao Tong Takian is also a small beach North of Lamai beach. It has been popular among tourists as it has white inviting sand and is also known asSilver Beach. Here you will find five resorts: La Mer Samui Resort, Samui Yacht Club, Tong Ta Kian Villa, Silver beach andCrystal Bay. Be a little careful if you are walking in the water, as Tong Takian has a lot of corals.
Nathon on the Western coast is the island's largest port and thus lacks much of the beauty found in the rest of the island. The city ofNathon does offer many local Thai shops, with some of the best prices to be found on Samui as well as a few good restaurants and an open-air evening-time food market with very inexpensive but tasty local food.

Bangrak is often known by the name Big Buddha Beach, after the 19-metre statue of that spiritual leader which overlooks the area (Big Buddha). Bangrak is very close to the airport, and is one of the calmest beaches, though often dirty,the island's international school, is also located in Ban Rak

Ko Pha Ngan has a full-moon party at the appropriate time each lunar month, and tourists in Samui often jump on a boat to the nearby island to join in the fun. Not for family’s but it is on a separate island.