Hotels in Koh Samui
On Samui the beach is the booking. The island has a resort for every budget and the differences between them matter less than the difference between the coasts — a room in Chaweng and the same room in Maenam are two different holidays. Pick the beach first; everything after that is easier.
Getting your bearings
Chaweng and Lamai are on the east coast, Chaweng north of Lamai. Bophut, Maenam and Choeng Mon are on the north, with Choeng Mon closest to the airport and Maenam furthest west. The ring road connects all of them and nothing is more than about an hour from anything else.
Chaweng
The default for a first visit and for anyone who wants the island's nightlife within walking distance. The widest choice of accommodation on Samui, from hostels to five-star, and the busiest beach. Loud at night in the central section, noticeably calmer at the northern and southern ends of the same bay.
Lamai
The relaxed alternative, and the best value on the island. Good beach, mid-range resorts, enough restaurants and bars to fill a week and not so many that you cannot sleep. The choice for couples and families who want a real beach without the resort-strip feeling.
Bophut and Fisherman's Village
Boutique resorts behind a row of century-old wooden shophouses, and the most characterful place to stay on Samui. Popular with honeymooners for good reason. The beach is not the island's best, which is the trade-off you make for the setting.
Maenam and Choeng Mon
The quiet end. Maenam is long, flat and family-shaped, with big sunsets and very little going on. Choeng Mon is a small, sheltered bay near the airport with several of the island's more private resorts. Both suit people who want the hotel to be the holiday.
When to come
The island is busiest from December to April, which is also its driest stretch. Book a few months ahead for those dates. October and November are the wettest months in the Gulf, which is the opposite of the pattern on the Andaman coast — worth knowing if you are combining Samui with Phuket.
What to check before booking
- Which end of the beach the resort sits on — in Chaweng that is the difference between noise and quiet
- Whether the airport transfer is included; Samui's airport is close but the taxis are not cheap
- Beachfront or across the road, since 'beach access' covers both
- Whether there is food on site, if you are staying somewhere quiet
Types of place to stay
Luxury resorts
Four Seasons, Banyan Tree and W Koh Samui — private villas, infinity pools and the level of service the island built its reputation on. Mostly on the quieter coasts, which is part of what you are paying for.
Beachfront mid-range
Peace Resort and SALA Samui among them: direct access to the sand without the villa price. This is where most of the island's value sits.
Budget
Samui Verticolor, Lamai Coconut Beach Resort and the guesthouses around them. Clean, comfortable and central, and cheap enough that the money goes on the rest of the trip.
Getting around from your beach
The ring road makes the whole island reachable, and taxis are plentiful and priced accordingly — agree the fare before you set off. A rented scooter is what most people staying a week end up on. Whichever beach you choose, budget for getting off it in the evenings, because the good restaurants are spread around the coast rather than concentrated on any one of them.