Choosing Sides

"Choosing Sides" I named this entry and with a good reason; being an island roughly rectangular in shape, deciding where to stay in Koh Samui means choosing a side.

The choices are clear; the western coast faces the mainland and is the arrival place to the island. It offers the best sunsets and the only sizable town, Nathon. The northern side has a few good beaches but its main role is being the access point to other islands in the area, namely to Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao. The eastern coast is where the star beaches, Chaweng and Lamai, are; sadly that means hyper-super-mega-development. The southern side is rather isolated, offering the very few beaches that could be defined as undeveloped. The inner parts of the islands offer several attractions like butterfly gardens and waterfalls.

Choosing sides here is not a definitive event, moving around is possible and even recommended. This richness of opportunities is what transforms Koh Samui into an extremely varied and desired destination despite its overdevelopment.

Reaching the Island

This is the type of destination you cannot walk there; being an island some type of travel machine must be chosen. The fastest and simplest choice is by air. Sadly, that means missing most of the landscape in the way there. Bangkok Airways spans the distance in less than ninety minutes, offering around ten flights per day, depending on the season, arriving at the airport and buying a ticket on the spot is a real option. A more attractive option is flying with Thai Airways to Surat Thani and continuing there by ferry. The last offers unforgettable views of the Gulf of Thailand and the ragged, green line of the mainland.

Surat Thani is connected to Bangkok also by train, meaning that it is possible to travel there by train and continuing by ferry. Sleeper cars exist, but traveling by night means missing the lush views of southern Thailand.

Another option is traveling by bus; considering the high quality of these in Thailand this may be the most attractive one for this trip. VIP buses leave from the new southern bus terminal (deep within Thonburi, bus 4 reach it from the Victory Monument) at all hours, offering very comfortable seats, meals, snacks, coffee, movies, air-conditioned, and ten hours of awesome views along the way. What else can a traveler ask for? The last leg of the trip is done on the ferry from Surat Thani. Of course, cheaper buses to Surat Thani exist; from there the ferry can be booked independently. However, since the pier is away from town that means an extra expense and this approach ends up costing about the same.

Traveling within the Island

Traveling within the island is simple since there are only two options: by taxi or tuk-tuk, or by renting some type of vehicle.

Small motorbikes are recommended, though they create the annoying duty of looking for them while on the beach. If choosing to move around by taxi or tuk-tuk, bargaining and setting the trip’s price before boarding the vehicle is essential. It is possible to travel across the island by tuk-tuk for about two dollars.

Accommodations

Being one of the most developed resorts in Thailand, there is an awesome variety of hotels crowding almost every beach along the island’s circumference. The only thing all of them have in common is that they are more expensive that in most of the rest of Thailand, maybe with the exception of Phuket.

If searching for cheaper options, then rooms in private houses and guesthouses are available in the town of Nathon. The only drawback of this option is that is the arrival port to the island, meaning it does not offer beaches. However, the island is tiny and moving around is easy, so that this is not a real limitation.

Weather

"Turquoise waters" may seem a strange definition of the weather, but I have nothing more to say about it in Koh Samui. Regardless the deason, gulf waters are gorgeous; though from October to December it gets rainy due to the monsoons. Warm rain on a beach; who cares?

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White sand beaches by turquoise, warm waters; refreshing breezes and smiling denizens await the traveler here. What better way of taking a vacation within the vacations that visiting Koh Samui?
From journal So Hidden