Koh Samui Travel Tips

We spent just over two weeks in Koh Samui, staying in three different parts of the island and documented our daily activities. If you are planning a holiday to Thailand this post is full of our experiences and tips on what to do, and shows you what a holiday in Koh Samui, Thailand is really like!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story 2019 – Day 1

Malaysian Airways, how to get from Koh Samui Airport, Lamai Wanta Hotel and what to do in Lamai.

After an early 0400 wake up call we headed to London Heathrow.
Our flight on the Malaysian Airways A350-900 took off on time and Paul was already starting film 1 Bohemian Rhapsody, when I realised I had forgotten to put my flight socks on. The last few long haul flights we have done have resulted in me arriving with hobbit type feet so was hoping the application of the socks would prevent this! It took me a while and a few contortionist moves but eventually pulled them on. Lesson 1 learnt today – remember to put your flight socks on in the airport!

We flew economy with Malaysian Airways and normally the long haul from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur is on one of the A380 airbuses but this time it was a new A350. Even though we received great service and the food was excellent, the space around you did feel a lot smaller and the 12 ½ hours did go very slowly!
We were so glad to get off when we reached Kuala Lumpur, and after only a wait of an hour we were straight on our Bangkok Airways flight to Koh Samui.

Going through immigration in Thailand can take a while and take a while it did! The airport is only tiny and seemed to be struggling with the amount of flights landing at the same time. It also took longer as a few of the booths were closed and now everyone has to have both hands biometrically scanned.

After a considerable amount of time our cases greeted us and we headed straight to the taxi desk. There are two options here, a limousine service where you pay per person and when the mini bus is full it heads to that area of the island or you can pay for a private taxi. There were so many people around and with our sleepy heads we thought we had payed for a private taxi but that was not the case so was herded to wait for the next limousine. Unfortunately by this time Paul had left his patience on the plane and had turned into Mr Grumpy. After another considerable wait we were on our way to our first hotel a 20 minute drive to Lamai. It cost £4 each so we can’t really complain!

After a travelling time of 24 hours we were very pleased to reach our first hotel the Lamai Wanta. We have stayed here before and it is a really good choice, right in the centre and with a pool leading straight to the beach. After a very efficient check in we were shown to our rooms which had everything we needed including two towel elephants on the bed! Absolutely knackered we decided a nap was definitely needed.

I thought I had been asleep for hours when we were rudely awoken by the sound of a sledge hammer breaking up the concrete path below, in fact we had only been asleep about 20 minutes! Finding it impossible to get back to sleep we decided to go for a wander. The Bamboo Bar is just down the little beach road and before our bums had hit the seats Paul had already ordered his first plate of Tempura Prawns!
Here we met our friends and family and had a lovely time catching up.

After a fabulous meal of Larb Moo (spicy minced pork) and Massaman Curry we wandered up to the main street of Lamai to see if one of our favourite bars Cocktails with Pic was still there, and there she was! With all beers 50 baht (£1.20) and cocktails 70 baht (£1.80) you can’t go wrong! You can’t miss it as there is a huge incredible hulk at the front.

Enjoying our drinks we were approached by a couple who recognised us and have been following our Facebook Page, how cool is that! Even though our airport experience hadn’t been great Heather and Keith had had worst luck and were still waiting for their luggage which had somehow stayed in Bangkok! If your reading this it was lovely chatting to you both and fingers crossed your luggage arrives soon!

From previous experience we know that as hard as it is you need to stay up as late as you can on the first night so that you can resume a decent sleep pattern but by 2000 we were certainly flagging!

Feeling a bit peckish we decided another meal was in order and went next door to Popeye’s. Prices do not seem to have gone up since our visit last year with the majority of main meals between 80 and 120 baht (£1.90-£2.80) and 20 baht (50p) for steamed rice. These are restaurant prices and obviously street food is cheaper. A green curry and a chicken massaman was consumed then we really did hit the wall! Even with our friends and family insisting on one for the road, bed was definitely calling and we walked back to the hotel. We had managed to last until 2130 so was pretty chuffed with that!

We are so tired after a long journey but so happy to be back on this beautiful island and looking forward to tomorrow. Fingers crossed we don’t wake up at 0300!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story 2019 – Day 2

Lamai beach, bars and restaurants.

As predicted awake at 0300 but eventually got back to sleep at 0500, Paul however slept like a baby! When we next looked at the clock it was 0920 so really pleased we had managed to get a decent few hours in! Up for breakfast that is included here at Lamai Wanta. Buffet style with a fair selection and the customary egg station. We enjoyed a bacon and egg sandwich and omelette whilst admiring the sea view. Back to our room to get our swimmers on and to film our daily stories for our You Tube Channel. The maid must think we are a bit weird with a tripod positioned at the end of the bed! The Wifi here is strong near reception but not so good in our room, luckily we bought our WiFi Extender with us that improves our signal and enables us to post.

With filming complete we got ready for the pool, with the majority of sunbeds already taken with towels we did find a couple spare. This is a big bug bear of ours, people who put towels on sunbeds then wander off and don’t return for a hours, such selfish behaviour but there you are rant over for the day!The pool at the Lamai Wanta is right on the beach and was very refreshing. We all cooled off and had an impromptu self directed water aerobics session! After a lengthy time and starting to get more wrinkly from the water we all went for a walk on the beach.

Last year we found a lovely bar restaurant called No Stress and we wanted to see if it was still there and it was! A fabulous lunch of yellow curry and chicken and cashew nuts was consumed on the beach.We are feeling so chilled already and decided it was time for a nap. The weather here has been so good, very sunny and very hot 29° which we are really enjoying but that feeling of walking into an air conditioned room is so good.

After a significant nap we walked down the beach road and stopped at the New Nordic Bar, here it is a little more expensive with a glass of wine 180 baht (£4.50) and Singha 90 baht (£2.20) so we quickly moved on!Back to the Bamboo Bar where the prices were more palatable with 100 baht for a glass of wine, we met the group ready for Saturday night in Lamai. Paul disappeared to watch his beloved Tottenham Hotspur Football team take on their arch rivals Arsenal. There are plenty of places to catch up on sport if that is your thing in Lamai, kick off was at 730pm as we are 7 hours in front of the UK. A very tense game finished in a draw. We had to put up with a very happy Paulie Morgan singing Harry is one of our own.

After another meal consisting of you guessed it, tempura prawns, yellow curry and and massaman curry. We walked to the centre square to watch the Thai Boxing. Free to watch if you want to stand on the outskirts, however, if you do want a seat then you must buy a drink from one of the bars that surround the ring, with 100 baht for a beer. There are also plenty of street food available if you fancy a nibble too. Even though we are in the land of the most spectacular food, we both do love a Sunday Roast Dinner. The Gow Badger opposite the Billabong bar street is very popular with all the expats here so we knew if we wanted our gravy fix we would need to book. The girls at the Gow Badger are always fun and after some comical banter our meals for tomorrow were booked.After a visit to Cocktail”s with Pic and a few more one for the road’s we called it a night. A short walk back to the hotel and we were tucked up in bed by 0130. Here’s hoping I don’t wake up too early!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story 2019 – Day 3

Thai massage, where to find a roast dinner, and Lamai Sunday Night Market.

Up for breakfast where we joined the group, at the Lamai Wanta it is served until 1030 which is very civilised.

Our first stop today was for a massage, I chose a foot massage with tiger balm and Paul decided on an oil massage. At 300 baht (£7) each for 1 hour it really is a bargain! So relaxed managed to wake myself up with a loud snore much to the amusement of everyone in the shop!

Feeling very chilled and relaxed we walked to the Gow Badger for our pre booked Sunday Lunch. Costing nearly as much as the massage it went down a treat, absolutely delicious. Well seasoned with a Yorkshire and a crisp and juicy piece of crackling. No wonder all the expats come here it really is that good! Another search followed for the elusive curry pastes with only a few were found.

Very full and satisfied it was time for another snooze this holidaying is hard work mind!

We all arranged to meet at 1630 as tonight it is the Sunday night market in Lamai. Starting at the bridge the market is laid out in a cross configuration with clothes and souvenirs one way and food and drink the other. Food wise we enjoyed potato on a stick, pork scratchings with a chilli dip and obviously a portion of tempura prawns. We could of also had a bag of bugs for 40 baht (£1) however we previously experienced a bag of grasshoppers which can be best described as shredded wheat with soya sauce. Best to have a toothpick handy too as the legs can get stuck in your teeth! In the centre of the cross different acts perform and during our visit this guy doing beat boxing was there and provided a very entertaining show.

Walking back towards our hotel we stopped at Marina Bar then on to Cocktails with Pik. Happy to see that wine was only 70 baht on our bill, however when the final bill came the 70 baht and been crossed out and 120 baht written in its place. After a tense discussion he denied it had been changed and got very nasty. We just paid and left but we will definitely be taking our business elsewhere.

After another visit to the various Family Marts and 7:11 the battle for yellow curry pastes continued we are currently ahead with 13 and Norm and Chris with 11. Victorious we retired to bed.

SAVE TO PINTEREST

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story 2019 – Day 4

Lamai local market, Amenity Apartel accomodation, Lamai Wanta Hotel and the bed hoggers, and a fabulous beach bar!!

After a leisurely breakfast we decided to do some shopping. Plenty of clothes and souvenir shopping in Lamai including a traditional Thai market on the main Chaweng Road.It Wasn’t the most successful trip as we just returned with 2 bags of garlic!

Stopping at the Moonlight Thai restaurant on Lamai walking street we enjoyed a yellow and green curry and obviously the obligatory tempura prawns!

Next door to the restaurant is the Amenity Apartotel where our niece’s boyfriend is staying. Being the nosey pair that we are we went and had a look around. Really large rooms and balconies with a small swimming pool too. Very reasonable at £40 a night, you can book your stay here. Come and have a look around.

Back to the pool and all the sun bed hoggers had disappeared for the day but unfortunately so had the sun. So nice to have the pool to ourselves though and enjoyed an hour cooling off.

Out for dinner at the Bamboo Bar and a feast was ordered. Our chicken in ginger, mixed vegetables in oyster sauce and deep fried spare ribs went down very well. This is a great beach bar and restaurant and would definitely recommend a visit.

Off out for a few beverages in the evening and we found the Dolphin Bar with very good prices. 50 baht (£1.25) for a beer and 80 baht (£2) for a vodka and diet coke. A nice bar with friendly staff and we were so busy chatting before we realised the bar was empty and we were the only ones left!

Another day was over and already this holiday feels like it is going by far to quick!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story 2019 – Day 5

Infinity pool, Thai food and bar recommendations.

Woke up at 0900 thought let’s get up for breakfast then before we knew it, it was 1130!

Last day today at the Lamai Wanta Hotel so decided today to have a lazy day by the pool and that’s exactly what we did. The bed hoggers were out in force but we managed to find somewhere to lay our towels. Lunch here was more expensive than out on the streets, with most main meals 180 baht. However it was very good with a massaman curry and beef with vegetables. We have really enjoyed our stay at the Lamai Wanta, it is a great hotel in the perfect location, come and have a look around in our video here.

Book your stay at the Lamai Wanta here

The weather continues to be very hot and we enjoyed some pool time and chilling on the sunbeds. Not sure if it is the weather or just being so chilled but got very sleepy again by 1630 so we had another nap!

Showered and ready for a night out we needed to change some English money. There are plenty of banks in Lamai to do this and it is very easy. You just need to take your passport with you and the rate was actually better than the UK.

Out for dinner we decided to try Mr Phu’s not the most appetising name but the food was excellent and had the most decorated toilet too! Yellow curry, beef in oyster sauce and the obvious tempura prawns that went down very well!

A couple of night caps at the Dolphin Bar and we headed off to bed.

Tomorrow is a big day as not only are we moving hotels but we are visiting the Marella Discovery Cruise Ship and so looking forward to that!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Diary Day 6

Visiting the Marella Discovery Cruise Ship, visiting Nathon and moving to Chaweng Noi.

Up early well for us early 8am as we were moving hotels and going to visit the Marella Discovery Cruise Ship.

Getting taxis is easy using the App Navigo which can be downloaded from Apple store or Play store. Very similar to Uber it works very well. In our video here we show you how to use it.

We dropped our cases off at our next hotel Baan Sukreep and then went straight to the cruise port.
Arriving in Nathon there were three cruise ships tendering the Marella Discovery, AidaBella and the Norwegian Jewel. We found the right pier and it was good to see our names on the guest list. We jumped on the tender and were soon on the ship. It was so good to be back on board!

We stopped in the Atrium to have a drink and Captain Hugh joined us too. Such an interesting group to talk to it was so good to catch up. Since our cruise in October one of the lounges has been changed from the Venue to the Squid and Anchor Pub so we went and had a look around. Done out very tastefully in light blues, pub stools and other comfortable seating it looked a very inviting lounge. Our video on our Youtube Channel is below, and if you do want more information about the Marella Discovery do check out our full ship tour too! Lunch in the 47° restaurant was excellent as always and we also had a walk around the open decks that were being well used in comparison to when we were cruising around cold Norway! Before we knew it was time to leave and head back to our hotel. We had a great visit and would like to say thanks to Demetris, Claudia and Daran who were the perfect hosts! Hopefully it won’t be to long until we are back on board!

We flagged a taxi down and met up with our friends at Baan Sukreep our group has now grown to 15!
After a good meal of crispy pork and green curry we enjoyed a fun night and kept the lovely barman busy at Baan Sukreep! It is so good to be back!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 7

Baan Sukreep Resort. Chaweng Noi Beach and party time in Chaweng.

Had a good lie in today, breakfast is on until 1100 at Baan Sukreep so very civilised!

Decided that we would have a few hours around the pool. The pool is lovely here very refreshing with a Jacuzzi area and an elephant waterfall. Perfect place to chill with background music from the bar and restaurant which is just the right volume.

A short walk down the lane and past some buffalo having a bath and you will find Chaweng Noi Beach. Taking about 10 minutes from Baan Sukreep you come to the main road, just cross over and you are there.

There are a lot of big hotels here but you can find a couple of bars one called the Bistro and the Sunshine Bar. We chose the Sunshine Bar and had a lovely lunch of yellow curry, fried basil leaf and of course tempura prawn!

A swim in the sea was so refreshing, the colour of the water here is so blue it really is beautiful. Very shallow with a few rocks but our beach shoes did the job!

Into Chaweng and we met one of our party Joe who is a talented musician at home and had been talking to the band who were playing at the Hard Rock Cafe. Next thing we knew Joe was up on stage playing guitar with the band, fair play! We had a few in Hooters as it was ladies night so the girls made the most of the free margaritas.

With time ticking along we found a restaurant called Sao’s who managed to nearly sit us all together. Another fantastic meal of spicy noodles and a chicken massaman went down well.

Chaweng is a very lively place and the area by the Ark Bar and Green Mango does get pretty mad! We enjoyed a few beers witnessing the madness before returning to the tranquillity of Baan Sukreep!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 8

Lamai Wanta Hotel, Chaweng food and bar recommendations.

Another leisurely breakfast and time around the pool, no bed hoggers here and we have the pool to ourselves which is wonderful.

After a few fun ball games and chilling in the shade we decided to head back into Chaweng to see it in the day too.

We booked a taxi van to carry 8 of us to Chaweng again using Navigo which only cost 300 baht so much cheaper than using the yellow and burgundy taxis. There are plenty of opportunities for shopping and cheap food on Chaweng. Another fabulous meal was had, stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce, yellow curry and of course tempura prawn. We found the Islander pub which was a great spot for people watching. I left the group in the Islander Bar and had an hour’s foot massage for 260 baht, so wish treatments like this were this cheap at home!

Hard rock cafe has live music but there is also Palms Bar on the corner of Green Mango which is really popular and always packed with music until 0200 and all sorts of genres covered.

A fun evening at Vikings, Happy Bar, and we did have a good jump around at Green Mango which made Jodie very happy! One for the road in backpackers where we played Jenga not something we generally do at 2 in the morning!
Arrived back safely at Baan Sukreep but somehow don’t think we will be making breakfast!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 9

Facilities at Baan Sukreep, Lamai sports night, and fun with friends!

Not a lot to report today as we are truly into chill out mode and spent the day relaxing in our air conditioned room or in the pool. It is surprising how much fun you can have with a flat ball!

Lunch at Baan Sukreep consisted of Tom yum shrimp soup and a Massaman Curry both very good. We have enjoyed our stay at Baan Sukreep, come and have a look around!

Paul and the sports fans headed into Lamai taxi on Navigo costing 400 baht as it is a bit further away than Chaweng. They stopped at Yam thai for food a tempura plate consisting of shrimps but also a selection of cabbage, french beans and onion rings with the chilli sauce arriving in a gravy boat! Mains of massaman curry, curried fish, pineapple and shrimp fried rice, and a sizzling chicken plate. Saturday night in Lamai so the Thai Boxing was on and also Paul’s beloved Tottenham Hotspur. Unfortunately they were not on the best form but thankfully the England Team were and romped to victory against Italy in the 6 nations.

I stayed with the rest of our friends and family and we enjoyed a chilled evening on the party veranda at Drina and Phil’s. A night full of fun banter and a hysterical ‘Don’t show us your teeth Keith game’ 🤣🤣 Trying to speak without showing your teeth is not so easy as it seems! Simple things can sometimes make the best times!

Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 10

Chaweng Noi Beach restaurants, and another visit to the Lamai Sunday Market.

After another very long lie in and another missed breakfast we wandered down to the beach. The weather has been consistent all the time we have been here, sunny and hot and it continued today. Getting in the sea is just like getting in the bath it is warm but does give some relief from the heat.

There are not a lot of options of where to eat on Chaweng Noi beach unless you go into the large hotels though the Bistro Samui right at the southern end is an excellent choice. Our Mango shakes were served in a jar and a fabulous meal of chicken in ginger, vegetables in oyster sauce and pineapple rice followed.

Sunday in Lamai is night market time so we decided to pop in for some more shopping and street food. With some successful shopping done and a rather spectacular potato on a stick we retreated to a bar to get out of the heat, it does feel particularly humid tonight.

After a few beverages and a stop at Cozy Corner we ordered a Navigo taxi and were home at a very civilised hour just after midnight. It is now the start of Alan Green’s birthday and we have a visit to the Samui Elephant Sanctuary booked so time to get some shut eye and we look forward to what tomorrow will bring!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 11

A visit to the Samui Elephant Sanctuary and birthday celebrations at Hooters, Chaweng.

We made it for breakfast today so fuelled up ready for our trip to the Koh Samui Elephant Sanctuary. This sanctuary is aligned with the ethical sanctuary that we visited in Chiang Mai a few years ago and has only been opened for 18 months. We were very interested in seeing what work was going on in Samui looking after the abused elephants that are used in the trekking parks.

We booked this trip on line before our holiday and was very easy to do. We were picked up promptly and all jumped into the back of a Ford Pick up and arrived at the sanctuary within 20 minutes. We were greeted by some very happy staff and given tea, coffee or water with a selection of biscuits and treats.

We then watched an educational film explaining how you should behave with the elephants and the history of the sanctuary.

We were given a bottle of water and a bag of bananas and introduced to our group guide Smile. We were then taken around the sanctuary and introduced to all the elephants and told their sad individual stories of their lives of working in the logging industry, the circus or at the trekking camps. You could see the old wounds from the bull hooks and chains, and some of the elephants were also blind from being abused with sling shots. At last they were living a life without abuse and it was so lovely to see. We fed the elephants with lots of bananas and were only allowed to touch their trunks. It was such an amazing experience being so close to these magnificent intelligent animals and hearing their stories

If you are visiting Samui and want to support responsible tourism then this is the place to visit. Smile and all the staff were lovely and we really enjoyed some fun banter and a fabulous vegetarian buffet on our return.Without any prompts from us they noticed it was our nephew in law Al’s birthday and produced a birthday cake when we returned from our tour and serenading him with Happy Birthday, a fabulous end to a fabulous day!

We had an amazing afternoon here and would thoroughly recommend that you visit. It costs 3000 baht per person (£75) so it isn’t cheap however we felt it was worth every penny and very happy to support such a good cause.

Al’s birthday celebrations continued and we headed into Chaweng for another night out. A few beers at Hooters buy one Chang and get one free deal on, another fabulous meal at Sao’s obviously with tempura prawns, and a couple of night caps at the Islander seen us through to the early hours once again!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 12

The best place for a meal on the beach in Chaweng Noi.

Missed breakfast again and decided as it was our last day near Lamai we would pop back and do some shopping and have a massage.

Feels really humid today so after buying more bags of garlic and pastes, we decided to cool off and stopped for a massage. Must admit we have had some excellent massages since we have been here but this one could of been a bit firmer, can’t complain though as it was only £5 for an hour! We do like a wander around Lamai, lovely beach, interesting markets and also love watching the local life.

Back to Baan Sukreep for our last night and our friends had arranged for us all to have dinner at Samui Bistro on the beach in Chaweng Noi to celebrate Norm”s birthday. A fantastic evening was had by all, a spectacular venue and fabulous food. A duck and pineapple curry, shrimp pineapple rice and a massaman curry, accompanied by the biggest glasses of wine we have ever seen!

An excellent evening and only a short walk up the hill and we were back in Baan Sukreep. We went to bed very contented indeed!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 13

Our move to the north of the island, exploring Plai Liam, the best tempura prawn on the island and some local brew!

Up for breakfast as it is moving day today we have enjoyed our stay at Baan Sukreep and are looking forward to moving to Baan Plai Liam as it is a part of the island we have not stayed on before.

We arrived at our new home the Honey Tara Suites and received a very warm welcome. First impressions very good with a large covered bar area and pool, chickens roaming freely and a very friendly dog called Buddy!

Exploring the area we walked to the end of road turned right and found a 7:11, trying to find the beach, we found Tides a hotel with an amazing infinity pool overlooking the beach. After some refreshments and a dip in the pool we walked up the beach and it was the first time we had seen signs not to go into the sea due to box jelly fish 🙄
Resisting the urge for a paddle we walked up the beach and back on to the road.

Paul and I had talked about the best tempura prawns we had had last year at Mama Dang’s in Choeng Mon a few kilometres away and how we must go back. As we walked down the road towards our hotel we spotted a restaurant with a sign Mama Dang’s and couldn’t believe that she had moved to here. We stayed for a meal and the tempura prawns were just as good as we remembered!

Back to the hotel for a sunset swim, the pool area is great here and again we have had it all to ourselves. Very rural with lots of wildlife around here, so lovely sitting in the pool and seeing a cockerel, chicken and their chicks just walking by!

For a full tour of the Honey Tara Suites then do watch our video here and if you like what you see you can book your stay here.

After drying off we headed to the bar for a few games of pool and some banter with the owner. Next thing we knew the owner gave us a round of black ginger shots on the house which we all agreed was what we could only imagine was like licking the devil’s bottom. The barman then bought a large jar as best can be described of as full of wood and whiskey, I declined but some did try it which apparently was a little more palatable. Next up was a large jar full of whiskey and black honeycomb which we all agreed was not the best combination lol!

There are so many reasons why we love Thailand and one is you that you never know what is going to happen next. Another entertaining and fun night was had by all!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 14

Honey Tara Suites, Big Buddha, Bangrak and Choeng Mon Beach.

We don’t have breakfast included in this hotel but do have a little kitchenette area. Must admit we haven’t done any cooking as happy with some biscuits and snacks from the 7:11 just down the road.

Up early today as we wanted to visit Big Buddha and walk around Bangrak an area we have stayed in a few times previously. A guy from the hotel was heading that way so we jumped into his truck and he dropped us off at Big Buddha.

Wat Phra Yai the 12 metres high Big Buddha statue is located at the top of a wide staircase decorated with dragons, it dominates the landscape. The view from the top of the staircase is brilliant. As with all temples if you are visiting do make sure you dress appropriately.

Friends had recommend we stop at the Big Buddha Coffee Shop and we enjoyed Mango and Passion Fruit Shakes with some banana bread. Great little spot with fabulous views over big buddha beach towards Bangrak.

We walked up to Bangrak past the local market which is always an interesting experience, to see if our favourite restaurant was open All My Family. Unfortunately it was closed and we were disappointed that we wouldn’t see our friend Tip and sample her fabulous food!

Walking up through Bangrak a lot of new places have opened and some old favourites sadly gone. The Office is now the Doghouse and we stopped to get into the air con and out of the heat. Noticing it was a special offer on rib Thursday we decided to try some and must say they were excellent!

Back to our hotel the Honey Tara Suites for a dip in the pool and some sangsom. Dressed and showered we headed to Choeng Mon beach for the sunset and what a lovely one it was too!

Another fabulous Thai meal had at Garlands and we headed back to our hotel very full and very contented.

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 15

Fisherman’s Village, Bophut, Honey Tara Suites and a night out in Choeng Mon.

After another leisurely lie in we arranged for a Navigo Taxi to spend some time in Fisherman’s village. This area in Bophut is quite up market with some good shopping and plenty of bars and restaurants on the beach. The prices do reflect this and it can be more expensive. We enjoyed a Mango Shake at the Frog and Ghecko on the beach with views over to Koh Phangnan, the island that holds the famous full moon parties.

After a good wander and needing to retreat from the heat we walked to Happy Bar right at end of village towards Bophut. A very old school thai bar/ restaurant with very cheap food and drink, some excellent snacks of chicken satay and banana fritters were enjoyed.

Back to the hotel for a cool in the pool was very welcoming. We have really enjoyed our stay at the Honey Tara Suites, fab rooms, great pool area and really relaxed bar area, and not forgetting Buddy the dog!

Tonight we were meeting friends Mark and Julie a lovely couple we have spent time with in Koh Samui before. Off to Choeng Mon to find the Orange Peel Bar which initially was a bit challenging, but we got there in the end. A great bar with very reasonable prices we enjoyed catching up with friends and had some really fun banter. A meal at the Long Table followed which was superb, excellent tempura prawn, tamarind fish, and the best sticky sweet and sour pork we have ever had!

A great night out and so good to catch up with Mark and Julie we returned back to our hotel. We headed to bed at 2230 as unfortunately we have a very long day of travel tomorrow!

Our Koh Samui Travel Tips and Story – Day 16

Our last swim, Mama Dang’s Prawns, Koh Samui Airport and our long trip home.

Today is the day we leave this beautiful island and head back home to England. With our flights not until this evening Beata the lovely lady at the Honey Tara Suites let us have a room at no extra charge until we needed to go to the airport at 4pm.

Our group is now down to 5 with some family and friends already back in the UK and others flying to Bangkok and Malaysia to continue their holidays. We are very jealous about that, as we are definitely not ready to come home!

For our last few hours we decided that the two things we wanted to do was have more pool time and a visit to Mama Dang”s.

The weather continues to be superb and a last dip in the pool was enjoyed. A short walk down the road and we reached Mama Dang’s which is situated across the road from the Deva Beach Resort. Tempura prawns were had that were so delicious and Paul tried again to get Mama Dang to reveal her secret recipe but she was having none of it!

Back to the hotel for showers and our final bit of packing and just as we were ready to leave the hotel my sturdy travel bag I have had for approx 20 years broke! Gutted as it is perfect for travelling I resorted to one of our dry bags, and we headed to the airport. If you have any recommendations of a good travel bag with a long strap to cross the body then please do let me know!

Our Navigo taxi took us directly to Koh Samui airport where we checked in without any issues, and happy that the next time we see our luggage it will be in Heathrow.

Koh Samui airport is the prettiest airport we have ever been to and also serves complimentary drinks and snacks, so it is a very civilised place to wait!

Our flights were prompt with a short stop over in Kuala Lumpur and an overnight flight back to Heathrow. We had a much better experience than going and I managed to sleep for most of the flight which was a great result. Paul did his usual back to back watching of films. Long haul night flights are definitely the best option and we were able to capture some great sunset and sunrise shots too.

Our taxi home from Heathrow was on time and before we knew it we were walking back through our front door!

Our trip is now over and we must say we have loved our time back in Koh Samui. It has been a great holiday with our lovely family and friends.

We hope you have enjoyed our story too and found the information entertaining and hopefully useful too. Now it is time for some much needed sleep, so we can get ready for our next trip which is only 6 weeks away!