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Well, if you have checked my other pages from my Thailand trip you will see that I came here in Dec 2006 for a 20 day break from China, it's weather and it's people and I had one of the best holidays of my life! So much so that we are actually in the throes of planning our next trip back this coming March (2007) for a quick 10day fix! This time we are going with two other friends so it will be fun in a different way and I am so excited! So to get you up to speed (in case you don't have time to look at the other pages and just want to concentrate on Koh Samui), here's how we got here!
To get to Koh Samui from Bangkok like I did, you need to take a combo ticket, either bus and boat or train and boat. We took a bus through Lomprayah Travel Agency situated on Rambuttri Road, just behind Khao San Road which took about 8 hours to get to the pier at Chumpon via Hua Hin. Once at Chumpon, you need to wait 2 hours till 7am for the catamaran to leave for Koh Tao. It took about an hour and a half to get there. The first stop, Nangyuan Island, with a triple-connecting beach is an amazing sight. You need to pay 100B just to land and you're not allowed to take any plastic containers of any kind onto it. There is only one dive resort there catering to all budgets though. You stay on the boat and then head off to Koh Phangan, which is another one and a half hours away and then finally onto Ko Samui which is a half hour away. So a pretty long journey considering you left Bangkok the previous evening at 2130. But it is well worth it, I promise you!.
Another route you may be interested in looking into is a train/bus from Bangkok to Suratthani, then a bus to Don Sak and a ferry over to Koh Samui. You can look at up-to-date train/bus timetables or pop into a travel agency once on Khao San Road in Bangkok, but the times I found for December were as follows:
Bangkok-Suratthani (Train)
1820 - 0610
1915 - 0650
2250 - 0800
Suratthani-Bangkok (Train)
1125 - 2040
1749 - 0605
2226 - 0935
Bangkok-Suratthani (A/C Bus)
1900 - 0600
Suratthani-Bangkok (A/C Bus)
1900 - 0600
Bangkok-Chumpon (Train)
2250 - 0552
You can find Combo tickets for around 800Baht second class train to Suratthani, Bus to Don Sak (ferry pier) and express boat to Koh Samui Island. So all the different options are worth considering.
I had planned the Koh Samui part of our Thailand trip the most not realising that we would also go to Koh Tao and fall in love with it, but I'm glad I did as the place is huge compared to the other two islands on The Gulf Coast and there was so much to see and do there that I felt well prepared. If you are not the type of person to plan your trips, don't worry as when you arrive, even if you don't have any idea where you are going to stay, the Lomprayah people will pick you up in a shuttle bus and take you somewhere they think you would like. Samui is a big island and can be a little daunting and expensive to get around, so make use of the free Lomprayah shuttle. I recommmend heading to Chaweng Beach if you want a crazy nightlife atmosphere and busy beach or Lamai Beach if you still want some nightlife but a more peaceful time on the beach!Wherever you decide to end up, each corner of the island has something different to offer you.
Reviews (7)
Seatran Discovery (A more upmarket way...
Things to Do
(4)
Another leaflet I picked up about The National Marine Park, but this was too pricey for us and didn't look as enjoyable... more travel advice
Samui Island Tour (Kayaking -...
Things to Do
(4)
Another option if you want to go with Samui Island Tour is to do their other programme which involves kayaking as well... more travel advice
Samui Island Tour (Snorkelling -...
Things to Do
(4)
I didn't go with this company but picked up their leaflet and can tell you what they have to offer. Most companies going... more travel advice
Lomprayah (Snorkelling and Kayaking!)
Things to Do
(4)
We had decided that we had been very good with our money so far and hadn't taken extravagent trips anywhere so Samui... more travel advice
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Comments (8)
Thanks for your Koh Samui tips, we loved it there. Did a lot of exploring on a bike!! Lots of snorkelling too.
Hey Vic, HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! in advance.. Dun wanna miss it!!! Cheers B-out
Hi Victoria..........thanks for your comments on my homepage! Will check your pages out later today and jen up on Thailand!! x :-)
Looking forward to more photos of your adventures on your third visit to Thailand is less than a year!!!
love the tips. haven't been back for more than 10 years. :-)
Hi sugarpuff: You ended up having a wonderful Thai adventure didn't you! I was there about the same time you were! Thanks for the story's and pics. Brian ;-)
"samui" when spoken by Japanese people, is the word they use to describe conditions that are "cold" or "chilly" ... therefore it's no wonder that this island has also become popular with Tokyo tour groups!
.... and this one too.
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