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Travel Destination » Travel to Koh Samui, Thailand
KOH SAMUI
Although similar to Phuket in many ways, Koh Samui has gone through a very different evolution as a travel destination, and the two islands now have decidedly different personalities. While Phuket was targetted for mainstream development, Koh Samui was left dozing in the sun, frequented primarily by backpackers, budget travellers and those seeking an alternative to mass-market tourism. People came here to escape, relax and be at one with the beautiful environment. But a few “New Age” entrepreneurs discovered that there were travellers who wanted a few luxuries along with this laid-back lifestyle, and were prepared to pay for it. The island started to develop as a centre for relaxation and rejevenation, and elegant, upmarket spas and resorts began to spring up beside the nips huts and bungalows. The island is now an ideal place to come to recharge your batteries and recover from the stresses of modern urban life. But — perhaps because of this laid-back approach — there’s not the same range of high performance activities you find on Phuket. If your ideal holiday is lots of relaxation interspersed with a little bit of action, this may well be the place for you.
Like Phuket, you should also think of Koh Samui in terms of the whole area, which includes the beautiful, small islands of Ang Thong Marine Park and the superb underwater environment that surrounds Koh Tao.
DIVING: GO TO KOH TAO
Samui itself has little in the way of good diving, but it has a number of good operators and is an excellent place to learn. The east coast, off Chaweng and Lamai Beaches, offers good conditions for instruction and shore-based night dives; but underwater visibility and coral cover off the western and northern sides of Samui are reduced by sediment from coastal runoff. The best diving is at Koh Tao, about 65km off the mainland and 3-4hrs from Samui — far enough from shore to be well away from the sediment. There are two types of dive sites near Koh Tao: relatively shallow dive sites around the inshore boulders and coral gardens; and deeper dives around offshore rock pinnacles. The jumble of big granite boulders along the shore create fascinating underwater environments, including numerous swim-throughs and caves. The rocks are covered in coral, and home to a vast variety of fish. The submerged rocky pinnacles in the area offer dives as deep as 40m (though the most interesting parts of the dives are shallower than this). Larger fish such as barracuda, jacks, grouper and even the occasional whale shark congregate around these spires. Diving is year-round, and this small island is now swarming with dive operators offering all kinds of deals.
BOARDSAILING: JUST CRUISING
Koh Samui is a good place to learn boardsailing, but advanced boardsailors will find it disappointing. Bophut and Mae Nam are the best year-round beaches for wind, though Chaweng Beach has the best selection of rental gear. On both Bophut and Mae Nam the winds are sideshore which makes for comfortable cruising out and back. There are certainly days when the wind can pick up and blow here, but if you’re looking for a real boardsailing holiday with strong, consistent winds, this isn’t the place.
HIKING & BIKING
Samui is a big and very beautiful tropical island. Although there are no big towns on the island, there are many rural communities, farms and coconut plantations — and foot trails that link them. These are ideal for walking or mountainbiking. There are several waterfalls on the island, all well-documented with mapped-out trails, and these make for pleasant walking destination. The interior of the island is hilly and covered in thick scrub, so if you want something a bit more strenuous try hiking up the gullies and stream beds till you get to the ridgelines. The reward is superb views over the island.
Biking is also a good way to see Samui. The island is circled by a sealed coast road, just over 50km long, and the interior is webbed with trails and dirt tracks. Mountain bikes are available from some hotels and motorcycle hire shops.
SEA CANOEING: THE EXOTIC ISLANDS
A number of resorts on Samui have sea canoes for hire, but if you’re really into paddling head for Ang Thong Marine Park. This is a cluster of some 50 small islands that are conveniently close together, making for superb short-hop paddles. The islands are virtually deserted, and the environments intact. The overall impression is like a mini-Phang Nga Bay —though you’ll see even fewer people around here. You can pull up on deserted beaches, and feel worlds away from mainstream tourism.
Although similar to Phuket in many ways, Koh Samui has gone through a very different evolution as a travel destination, and the two islands now have decidedly different personalities. While Phuket was targetted for mainstream development, Koh Samui was left dozing in the sun, frequented primarily by backpackers, budget travellers and those seeking an alternative to mass-market tourism. People came here to escape, relax and be at one with the beautiful environment. But a few “New Age” entrepreneurs discovered that there were travellers who wanted a few luxuries along with this laid-back lifestyle, and were prepared to pay for it. The island started to develop as a centre for relaxation and rejevenation, and elegant, upmarket spas and resorts began to spring up beside the nips huts and bungalows. The island is now an ideal place to come to recharge your batteries and recover from the stresses of modern urban life. But — perhaps because of this laid-back approach — there’s not the same range of high performance activities you find on Phuket. If your ideal holiday is lots of relaxation interspersed with a little bit of action, this may well be the place for you.
Like Phuket, you should also think of Koh Samui in terms of the whole area, which includes the beautiful, small islands of Ang Thong Marine Park and the superb underwater environment that surrounds Koh Tao.
DIVING: GO TO KOH TAO
Samui itself has little in the way of good diving, but it has a number of good operators and is an excellent place to learn. The east coast, off Chaweng and Lamai Beaches, offers good conditions for instruction and shore-based night dives; but underwater visibility and coral cover off the western and northern sides of Samui are reduced by sediment from coastal runoff. The best diving is at Koh Tao, about 65km off the mainland and 3-4hrs from Samui — far enough from shore to be well away from the sediment. There are two types of dive sites near Koh Tao: relatively shallow dive sites around the inshore boulders and coral gardens; and deeper dives around offshore rock pinnacles. The jumble of big granite boulders along the shore create fascinating underwater environments, including numerous swim-throughs and caves. The rocks are covered in coral, and home to a vast variety of fish. The submerged rocky pinnacles in the area offer dives as deep as 40m (though the most interesting parts of the dives are shallower than this). Larger fish such as barracuda, jacks, grouper and even the occasional whale shark congregate around these spires. Diving is year-round, and this small island is now swarming with dive operators offering all kinds of deals.
BOARDSAILING: JUST CRUISING
Koh Samui is a good place to learn boardsailing, but advanced boardsailors will find it disappointing. Bophut and Mae Nam are the best year-round beaches for wind, though Chaweng Beach has the best selection of rental gear. On both Bophut and Mae Nam the winds are sideshore which makes for comfortable cruising out and back. There are certainly days when the wind can pick up and blow here, but if you’re looking for a real boardsailing holiday with strong, consistent winds, this isn’t the place.
HIKING & BIKING
Samui is a big and very beautiful tropical island. Although there are no big towns on the island, there are many rural communities, farms and coconut plantations — and foot trails that link them. These are ideal for walking or mountainbiking. There are several waterfalls on the island, all well-documented with mapped-out trails, and these make for pleasant walking destination. The interior of the island is hilly and covered in thick scrub, so if you want something a bit more strenuous try hiking up the gullies and stream beds till you get to the ridgelines. The reward is superb views over the island.
Biking is also a good way to see Samui. The island is circled by a sealed coast road, just over 50km long, and the interior is webbed with trails and dirt tracks. Mountain bikes are available from some hotels and motorcycle hire shops.
SEA CANOEING: THE EXOTIC ISLANDS
A number of resorts on Samui have sea canoes for hire, but if you’re really into paddling head for Ang Thong Marine Park. This is a cluster of some 50 small islands that are conveniently close together, making for superb short-hop paddles. The islands are virtually deserted, and the environments intact. The overall impression is like a mini-Phang Nga Bay —though you’ll see even fewer people around here. You can pull up on deserted beaches, and feel worlds away from mainstream tourism.
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