Koh Samui. Accommodation, lodging guide

Koh Samui. Accommodation, lodging guide

Koh Samui offer a large selection of accommodations. Virtually on every beaches there are accommodation available starting from few dollars a day as well as several 5 stars beach hotels and resorts. The selection is so vast that is difficult to identify the right place for your needs, especially if you come in Koh Samui the first time.

In Koh Samui you will find variety of beaches and Villages where you can always find a bungalow or a room to stay. The main town of Koh Samui, Nathon, is home of the island main port, shops and market. Nathon doesn' t offer attractive places and beach to stay, for this reason tourist come here just for shopping during the day but not for stay in the hotel. In the evening there are few Thai and Seafood restaurant open at the seaside.

In Koh Samui there are beaches everywhere along the coast, some beach is very busy with discotheque and pubs ( Chaweng, Lamai ) other beaches are almost unspoiled ( Pangka, Bang Makam, Lipa Noi ), so you can choose the place you prefer. If you stay on a quite beach, within 25-30km at maximum, you can be in the middle of the nightlife in Chaweng or Lamai.

Look Koh Samui Map. All the West and South coast of the island offer the most unspoiled beaches. This part of the island is still undeveloped because in this area the sea is not the ideal for swim.
In Bang Makam, Nathon, Taling Ngam, Pang Ka, Thong Krut, Hua Thanon the coral reef is very far from the coast ( between 300 to 1000 meter ) and when is low tide, the water can be low as much as your ankles. On the west coast, Lipa Noi is the only beach where is possible to swill also during low tide.

Some people like to stay on the West and South coast of Samui because they love to see amazing sunset over the Anghtong archipelago, because they like to be in unspoiled and quite beach

The most of the bungalows, resorts and hotels are located on the North and East coast of Koh Samui. The first beaches on the North-West coast of Koh Samui is Bang Po and Ban Tai beach, here is possible to find few resort with beach bungalow. The beach here is very quite and is few kilometers long. From April to September is possible to see amazing sunset from here. This area is suitable for snorkeling, the coral reef is only 200 meter from the shore so it is easy to go explore the reef. In low tide the water inside the reef can be very low. In the summer afternoon the water can be low as much as your knee

Other very popular beaches are Maenam Beach, Bophud Beach and Big Buddha beach. Maenam is a large bay with many beach bungalow. The bay of Maenam doesn' t have a coral reef so the water here is very deep just a few meters from the shore. In Maenam is possible to rent sail boat because here it is often windy.

Bophud Beach is also a large bay with many beach bungalows and resorts. In the middle of the bay is situate Bophud Village or Fishermen Village. It is a pretty sea town with many old style Thai wooden houses. Bophud village offer several accommodations in guest house and offer a variety of foreigner, Thai and seafood Restaurants.

Big Buddha Beach is a large bay located on the North-East part of Koh Samui also here there are many resort, hotels and beach bungalow available. Big Buddha beach doesn' t have a center like Bophud and Maenam, there are restaurants and shops spread all around the bay. The extreme East part of the bay, after the big Buddha, is the quiet part of Big Buddha bay, from here is possible to watch beautiful sunsets ( from April to September ), however in the low tide period, the sea water here is very low for swimming.

On the extreme North-East coast of Koh Samui there are 2 tiny bays: Ao Sam Rong Bay and Thong Son Bay. Here you will find luxury accommodations and resort offering beach cottage to rent. Either bays are very quiet. the beach is nice and is possible to swim all year round. In this area, there are not many restaurants outside the resort, from here the shortest way to some Western food restaurant is to Big Buddha beach ( 7 Km ) or Cheng Mon beach( 5 Km ).

Further down the East coast Cheng Mon Bay is a small quite bay with white sand beach. Here is possible to swim all year round. Choeng Mon Beach offer a good selection of middle class and high standard accommodation in Hotels or Resort beach bungalows.

Going about 8 km further south the East coast is located the most famous beach of Koh Samui, Chaweng Beach is about 10km long bay, on the extreme of the bay there are the coral reef, in the low tide time the water can be a bit shallow. Except the monsoon time ( middle October to middle December ), Chaweng is very safe beach, the water is shallow near the shore and get deeper many meters from the beach.

Chaweng Beach offer a vast selection of accommodations. Here you can find 5 star hotels and resort, beach bungalows, budget bungalow, guest houses. The cost for the accommodation varies a lot, from few dollar a day to few hundreds dollar a day.

In Chaweng is possible to find hundred of restaurants offering international food, Thai food, seafood, Italian Food, Indian food and much more. Chaweng is also very popular for the great shopping area.
Chaweng is very famous for a big selection of bars, pubs and discotheques.

Further down 10km South of Chaweng is located Lamai beach. The bay is very similar to Chaweng, with the reef at the sides of the bay and open sea in the middle. Lamai offer a lot of accommodation in bungalows, resort or hotels.

Lamai center is smaller than Chaweng, but still offer a good selection of restaurants, shops, bars and pubs.

Koh Samui offer a so vast selection of places to stay and different beaches, that nearly everyone will find the ideal place to spend their holiday on the island. Our suggestion where to stay in Samui:

Want to stay in a quite beach almost unspoiled ?

West or South coast ( Lipa Noi, Thaling Ngam, Phanka, Thong Krut )

Advantage: Beach bungalow in a quite environment, Amazing Sunset over the Angthong Marine National Park Disadvantage: in the low tide is not possible to swim except in Lipa Noi beach, there are few public taxis running in this area, there are only few restaurants in some resort in the area

North West coast ( Bang Po Beach, Ban Tai Beach)

Advantage: 5 km long quite beach, amazing sunsets ( from April to September ), good public transportation service, good snorkeling area over the reef, beach bungalow and houses for rent. Disadvantage: during the low tide is not possible to swim due to a low sea water, some resort are close to the beach but also close to the main road, can be noisy in some area, no many restaurants, no shops

North East coast ( Ao Sam Rong bay, Thong Son Bay)

Advantage: Beach bungalow in a quite environment, private beach, good swimming all year round. Disadvantage: there are not public taxis running in this area.

Want to stay in a quite beach but with all services ?

Maenam beach

Advantage: Quiet beach, many resort and hotels to choose from, a discreetly selection of restaurants, convenient public transport service along the main road, suitable for wind surfing, not noisy nightclub in the area, save swimming for small children only on the East part of Maenam bay leading to Bophud Bay, suitable for families.
Disadvantage: Not many shops, some resort is far ( 2 km ) from the main road so it is not so convenient for public transport, the sea water is deep just from 2 meters from the beach and is not safe for small children ( except the East part of the bay ).

Bophud beach

Advantage: Quiet beach, many resort and hotels to choose from, a good selection of restaurants, convenient public transport service along the main road, not noisy nightclub in the area, good swimming, suitable for families.
Disadvantage: Not many shops and pubs, in high tourist season is quite busy during the arrival and departure of speedboats.

Big Buddha beach

Advantage: Quiet beach, many resort and hotels to choose from, a good selection of restaurants, convenient public transport service, not noisy nightclub in the area, suitable for families, good swimming area only in the middle of the bay, amazing sunset ( from April to September ) on the Eastern part of the bay.
Disadvantage: Some resort are located on the beach but also close to the road, Some rooms or bungalow could be noisy some times, the Eastern and Western part of the bay is not suitable for swimming in the low sea tide because of the coral reef

Choeng Mon Beach

Advantage: Quiet beach, many resort and hotels to choose from, a good selection of restaurants, not noisy nightclub in the area, suitable for families, safe swimming for children.
Disadvantage: Public transportations aro not so frequent, there are only few shops. Need to drive at least 7 km to find a bigger market.

Want to stay in the middle of the action ?

Chaweng beach

Advantage: Large selection of accommodations, hotels, resorts, shops, restaurants, pubs and discotheque. Good transportation service, children safe beach, good swimming only in the middle of the bay.
Disadvantage:A lot of traffic, the beach is often very full, many beach vendors, it is too noisy for some people and especially for children, in the center area the sound of the night pubs and discotheque can be hear until 2am.

Lamai beach

Advantage: Large selection of accommodations, hotels, resorts, shops, restaurants and pubs; Good public transportation service, children safe beach, good swimming only in the middle of the bay, quite areas except the center of Lamai. Disadvantage:Some traffic, not as many shops as Chaweng, very far from the airport or main town Nathon

If you click on each hotel and resort infos, there is a map where is specified the location of the hotel or the resort, in this way you will have a clearer idea of the location of the place you like.

It, is also important to read the hotels and resort Guest Reviews. Those are comments left from the hotels and resorts guests who have been there before you, so you can read unbiased opinions and ratings, about the resort or the hotels.