Ko Samui(เกาะสมุย) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand and belongs to southern thai province Surat Thani. Samui is Thailand's third largest island after Phuket and Ko Chang. Due to the large number of tourists and expats, there is every conceivable luxury on the island. Chaweng and Lamai are the most popular tourist destinations.
Places and stretches of beach
- 1 NathonNathon - the largest town on Samui with a ferry port (located in the west) with 1 Nathon Beach
- 2 Laem Yai (แหลม ใหญ่)
Laem Yai - Located in the extreme northwest of the island - 3 Chaweng (หาด เฉ วง) Chaweng - the busiest / most popular place for vacationers on the island on the east coast with the 2 Chaweng Beach Chaweng Beach
- 4 Lamai (บ้าน ละไม)
Lamai - second largest tourist town south of Chaweng with a long 3 Sandy beach - 5 Mae Nam (ตำบล แม่น้ำ) Mae Nam - Settlement in the north with ferries to Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao, here are the 4 Maenam Beach Mae Nam Beach and the 5 Bang Po Beach Bang Po Beach
- 6 Bo Phut (ตำบล บ่อ ผุด)
Bophut - Fast growing fishing settlement on the north coast with beautiful old houses and beautiful 6 Bophut Beach Beach - 7 Big Buddha B.Bang rak - Home of the Big Buddha on the northeastern tip of the island and the 7 Big Buddha B. Buddha Beach
- 8 Choeng Mon (หาด เชิง ม น) Choeng Mon - rather quiet place in the northeast of the island
- 9 Taling NgamTaling Ngam - quiet place on the west coast
- 10 South coastSouth coast with the small beaches 8 Hua Thanon Ban Hua Thanon, Na Khai, Laem Set, 9 Bang Kao Bang Kao and 10 Thong Krut Thong Krut.
getting there
Due to the peculiarities of an island, Samui can only be reached by plane or ship. However, a number of travel providers sell tour packages where the traveler can take the train to Surat Thani drives and from there is brought over in a bus with the ferry.
By plane
Samui has one 1 Airport in the northeast of the island operated by Bangkok Airways. Their high fees lead to rather high-priced tickets for all airlines. There are connections with Bangkok Air from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phuket, Pattaya (U-Tapao), Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Thai Airways also flies to the island twice a day. There are daily flights with firefly of Subang (SZB) at Kuala Lumpur and three times a week from Penang. Of Singapore also flies SilkAir. More information is available on the Homepage of the airport.
Bangkok Air flies Bangkok - Samui and back 13 to 16 times a day. The flight (one way) with Bangkok Air costs approx. 3200 to 5000 Baht (approx. 80 to 130 €) including fees (as of January 2013). The flight takes about 65 minutes with an Airbus A319 / A320 or 95 minutes with an ATR-72.
The low-cost airlines Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Smile do not fly directly to Ko Samui (presumably because the fees would be too high for them), but offer combined connections in cooperation with the ferry companies: By plane to Surat Thani, then on by bus and ferry to the Island. Such a connection, with transfer times, takes a total of 5 to 6 hours - significantly longer than a direct flight, but shorter than by bus or train. One way with AirAsia costs 1480 THB on favorable days.
There is a ticket counter for minibus tickets directly at the airport exit. A card costs 150 THB and is therefore significantly cheaper than the taxis in front of the airport.
By boat
From the mainland there are essentially two places of departure for ships to Samui. Either from Don Sak port in the province Surat Thani to the pier Nathon (in the west of the island) or Bangrak (in the east). Or from the port much further north (closer to Bangkok) Chumphon with stops on Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao to the Mae Nam pier in the north of the island.
Ordinary ferries from Seatran Ferry drive from Don Sak to Nathon every hour between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., take 90 minutes and cost 120 baht for an adult. The faster ferries from Ferry Samui only need 45 minutes from Don Sak to Nathon (4x daily), but also cost 290 baht, to Bangrak (2x daily) it takes 90 minutes and also costs 290 baht. The high-speed catamarans from Lomprayah also take 45 minutes from Don Sak to Nathon and cost 400 Baht per person. These also run twice a day from Chumphon to Mae Nam, which takes 3:40 to 3:50 hours and costs 1100 Baht, with Ferry Samui the same connections cost 17% less.
The ferry companies also organize bus transfers from the train station or airport Surat Thani, Bangkok and other places right up to the respective landing stage. You then pay a full price for the bus and ferry. From Bangkok or Hua Hin Coming from, it is faster via Chumphon (fastest connection from Bangkok 10:40 hours, 1162 Baht) than via Don Sak (16:30 hours, 1040 Baht). Further feeder connections are: from Surat Thani City min. 2 hours, 498 Baht; Surat Thani Railway Station 2:25 h, 415 Baht; Surat Thani Airport min. 2:25 h, 498 Baht; Krabi min. 3:45 h, 374 baht; Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport at least 4 hours, 504 Baht; Phuket min. 6:15 h, 913 baht; Ko Phi Phi 7 hours, 747 baht; Ko Lanta 8 hours, 747 baht; Hua Hin min. 8:10 h, 1162 Baht.
- There are ship connections to Ko Pha-ngan of Bophut, Mae Nam and Bang rak (Big Buddha) out.
- More boats go to Ko Tao and Donsak i.a. from Nathon out.
- Cruise ships can due to their size 1 pier at the port of Nathon do not start, so they stay in the roadstead. You can then go on shore excursions with tender boats.
background
Ko Samui(Samui Island) is located in the Gulf of Thailand and is by far the largest island in the archipelago Muu Ko Samui, whose around 60 islands are largely uninhabited. The area of Ko Samui is 247 km², at its widest point the island measures about 25 km. The inland is largely covered by tropical jungle, the highest point is the 635 m high Khao Thai Kwai in the southwest of the island.
Countless coconut palms define the image of the island. Until a few years ago, the coconut plantations were the most important industry on the island, and trained macaques often served as workers. The males of this species of monkey were able to harvest several dozen nuts a day, and these animals can still be seen at work today. The second important branch of the economy was fishing.
Tourism began around 1960: the beaches with fine white sand, picturesquely lined with coconut palms, and now and then smoothly polished rock formations, initially attracted backpackers from all over the world. The airport on Ko Samui was opened in 1969. In the meantime, over 1.5 million tourists come to the island every year, plus several thousand seasonal workers from all over Thailand, so that the around 50,000 permanent residents are often in the minority.
The island is divided into 7 communities 1-Ang Thong, 2-Lipa Noi, 3-Taling Ngam, 4-Na Mueang 5-Maret 6-Bo Phut 7-Mae Nam. Each of these communities in turn consists of 5-6 villages. The most important tourist areas are in the northwest of the island, there are the large centers of Lamai and Chaweng in the communities of Bo Phut and Chaweng. Depending on the labeling of the addresses, this can be confusing for strangers.
The main road on Ko Samui is called "Ring Road" and bears the number 4169. It is a good 50 km long and goes around the island. There are also shared taxis on this ring road, so-called. Songthaews. The ring road goes through most of the touristically important places. In the side streets, on the other hand, you are more dependent on a taxi or a rental vehicle. At peak times (morning and after school), traffic jams and slow-moving traffic are not uncommon, especially in the north-east of the island.
Tourist Attractions
- 1 Big Buddha (15 meters high, golden statue on an offshore island) and the nearby temple complex on the north coast
- Wat Plai Leam The complex is about 2 km north of Big Buddha. The twelve-armed statue of Guanyin can be seen from afar.
The twelve-armed statue of Guanyin at Wat Plai Leam on Ko Samui
- In the interior of the island there are a number of waterfalls, which are mainly worth seeing in the rainy season.
- Hin Lad near Ban Nathon, the water falls in several stages from a height of about 15 m
- Well, muang (near Ban Turian) has two 2 Water falls. Na Muang 1 is about 18 m high, the water falls into a natural pool where you can swim. There are stalls nearby. There is also the option of riding an elephant through the jungle. The Na Muang 2 is more spectacular with a drop height of over 80 m. You can either reach it sweaty on foot or on the back of an elephant.
- 3 Hin Ta, Hin Yai - grandmother, grandfather rock formation south of Ban Lamai
- Ban Thale. 150 year old, antique teak house.
- Magic Buddha Garden
- 4 Butterfly garden (season: January - March) in the southeast of the island
- Snake farm. Shows: 11 a.m. / 2 p.m. daily).
activities
- Island tour on a motorcycle or with a jeep
- Go snorkeling on the last, undeveloped beaches in the north and north-east
- Go swimming at Haad Chaweng and Haad Lamai
- Enjoy the sunset on the west coast
- climb the hills through the mountainous part of the island
- Boat tour for fishing or snorkeling
- Thai boxing "Muay Thai" Chaweng Stadium, fights of national and international players (4x / week)
- Starz Cabaret (dance show with transvestites - Thai Kathoey), Chaweng Beach
- very good diving areas around Samui: (Marine National Park, Hua Hin, Ko Tao)
- Elephant trekking is theoretically possible. Anyone considering this activity should inquire about the keeping conditions beforehand and then decide whether they would like to support these offers.
shop
On Samui there are so-called "Night Markets" once a week at various locations where local traders sell their goods. The offer ranges from unusual, homemade souvenirs and curiosities to more or less common trinkets.
At countless food stands there are inexpensive and varied options to try out Thai cuisine. Everything from snacks to full meals is offered, plus there are beer and cocktail stands and live music.
The most popular night markets are on Thursdays in Mae Nam (at the Chinese Temple), on Fridays in Bo Phut (Fisherman's Village), on Sundays in Lamai. Other places are Choen Mon (in front of the Mueang Samui Resort) and the somewhat clearer Chaweng, next to the Boxing Stadium. The hotels are happy to provide information on dates and locations on the island.
kitchen
Samui has a wide variety of local and, above all, international restaurants in all price ranges thanks to its tourist offers, which have been in the middle and premium range for many years. Food from all over the world is available, so there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to international gastronomy.
The local cuisine is influenced by southern Thailand and there are typical, inexpensive restaurants available. They offer various curries on rice ("Khao Gaeng") in large saucepans, also in plastic bags to take away. Typical breakfast is "Khanom Chin": freshly steamed rice noodles with coconut or curry sauce. On each table there are large plates with a variety of fresh herbs, aromatic plants and vegetables, which are placed over the pasta.
There are also numerous offers of northeast Thai cuisine (Isaan) with sticky rice, papaya salad and grilled fish and meat.
Fresh fish and seafood naturally play a major role on Samui. The morning market next to the pier in Bangrak is the most important market for fish and seafood, others are the markets in Mae Nam (Soi 5 only in the morning, Soi 7 in the afternoon), Lamai and Bophut. All markets are easily accessible on the Ring Road.
nightlife
There is party life in the center of Chaweng Beach. Here you can go out in the evening, stroll and dance on Beach Road.
accommodation
There are now around the island and even on many mini-islands off Samui accommodations in all price ranges, whereby the inexpensive, because often the simplest and oldest accommodations are gradually being demolished and replaced by more modern ones with a higher standard. Rooms and beach bungalows are available from USD 5 to USD 500.
- The most popular vacation destinations are Chaweng and Lamai. But you can go on a quiet holiday in Bophut, Mae nam, on Choengmon Beach or one of the many other beaches.
Practical advice
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has an office in Nathon, where the friendly staff will be happy to provide information about Samui and the neighboring islands.
trips
- to the neighboring island Ko Pha-nganto get a Full moon party to celebrate. To the Party dates taxi-speedboats operate between the islands.
- to the seaAng Thong
literature
- : Relaxed on the palm. In:In Asia, Vol.5 (September / October) (2011), Pp. 34–38 (German). - Ko Samui and a few of their insider tips.
