Information on ko Samui most popular beaches:

Chaweng Beach: This beach is approximately 7km, or a little less than 4.5 miles long. Chaweng is seen as the most popular and well-developed beach of Koh Samui. Accommodation can be found along its entire length, and while there is now a distinct leaning towards more upmarket hotels and resorts you can still find a few budget bungalows left over from the islands days as a backpacker haven. Chaweng is also home to a lot of the islands nightlife as well as featuring the highest concentration of shops and restaurants.

Chaweng deserves its reputation as the place to party on Samui. There is a huge range of venues to sample on a night out, everything from relaxed lounge bars to full-scale dance clubs. In the warm-up to a night on the town, a stroll along the main beach road offers ample choice of European style pubs and bars where you can while away the after-beach hours, grab a bite and a drink, watch world sport or just let the world go by.

Choeng Mon Beach is located at the northeast corner of Koh Samui.  The beach is still very peaceful and unspoiled. A small but magnificent bay, it features wide sandy beaches with a rock formation on one side and a small undeveloped island on the other.  The island can be reached on foot or by kayak, making for a fun activity.  It is the best spot for people who like to spend a quiet and relaxing holiday on one of the best beaches of Koh Samui and still be only a 10 minute drive to the busy Chaweng beach.

Choeng Mon have some of the most beautiful and exclusive hotels on the island.  The only welcoming public access to Choeng Mon beach is from the Choeng mon beach hotel.  Most of Samui long term resident come to enjoy the beach at this spot, swim a bit and relax on the beach chairs provided free of charge by the hotel beach restaurant.

Lamai Beach: The beach at Lamai is shorter than at Chaweng and generally a little less crowded. The water is excellent for swimming as the water water is deeper then most samui beaches. The best beach-experience at this location, we recommend the southern part of this beach as the northern part has more rocks and corals washed ashore. Although slightly less developed than Chaweng, Lamai still has its share of nightlife, restaurants and shops as well as more mid range accommodation options. Smaller than Chaweng, the scene at Lamai is slightly older with everything from the ubiquitous bar beers, to discos, music venues with lots of foot stomping, classical Thai dancing, Thai lady boxing.

Bophut Beach is one of the island’s more recently developed villages and as such has managed to retain some of its traditional Thai charm and values yet still has a slight Mediterranean feel. The limited traffic along this stretch of road gives the feeling of a more relaxed ‘walking street’, something which is increasingly difficult to find on Samui. Many of the converted shop-houses offer romantic beach side dining.

Maenam Beach on the North coast still offers a wide selection of budget accommodation however there are now a number of top end luxury resorts located there, with a number of restaurants and shops springing up on the main road to cater to visitors. Maenam is also home to many of the new villa developments on the island, and was one of the first areas to feature such development.

Big Buddha Beach is located on the North coast close to the airport and the island’s most famous landmark – the Big Buddha itself. Like Maenam it still offers a number of more relaxed and relatively low priced resorts. There are also a surprising number of excellent dining options in the area, and it is also home to the weekly Secret garden music festival.

Ko Samui Weather condition & When to Go!

The best time to visit the island is without a doubt late December through October. Ko Samui weather is quite different from the neighboring island resort of Phuket on the Andaman sea. Since Ko Samui is located in the Gulf of Thailand and faces the east, its weather is modulated by the Northeast monsoons.

The Northeast monsoon does not affect Ko Samui until the end of November and last for 3 weeks or so.  This is what happens normally but it can change from year to year. Ko Samui is almost not affected at all by the west monsoons that prevent traveling by boat to many destination at the Adman sea from May to late September. 

If you go with the advice of travel guides, then the best time to visit Ko Samui is between the months of February and April. The months of January and February are generally pleasant, with temperatures hovering around 26°.

The end of February is the onset of the hot season. This lasts from March to May. Ko Samui remains mainly dry during this season and temperatures reach as high as 40c From June to October, one comes across sharp occasional downpours that last an hour or so and clears up fast. Locals like this as they say it helps to cool down and wash the dust away. The showers get more frequent from October to December. The sun starts smiling on Ko Samui for longer durations around mid December.

There are several fabulous festivals that will greatly highlight any visit to Ko Samui. One of the biggest events is the Thai New Year or Songkran on the second week of April. On Songkran day, people everywhere douse each other with water, if this doesn't sound fun to you, the parades and feasts taking place should make up for it.