Koh+Samui

This page is about **Koh Samui**. Look above at **"Discussion"** to post or answer questions.Use the **table of contents** on the right to help you navigate through this page. If you want to **add stuff**, use the edit button on the right (also see tips on the Guidelines page).

=Koh Samui Hotels=

Samui Connection
Holiday house/apartment rental for many budgets toc
 * Location**: All over Koh Samui; Office is at 38/1, Moo 1, Bophut, Koh Samui, Suratthani, 84320
 * Contact**: +66 (0) 844412711; samuiconnection (at) gmail (dot) com
 * Description**: Holiday house/apartment rental service. Also offers other travel services.
 * Price** (approx): From as low as approx. 2000 THB and up, depending on size of home and season.
 * Kid Friendly Features:** Elina, has young kids (1? 2?) of her own, so she is aware of the needs of families.
 * Other Details:** Houses and apartments can be found for a variety of budgets, if you are looking for a place with a kitchen, living room, separate bedroom, pool, etc. They speak English, Thai, and Russian.

Baan Sabai-Samui

 * Location**: Bophut; on Khao Phra Road behind Bophut Hills golf course (near Big C and Tesco Lotus). 5 minute drive to Fisherman's village. 132/2 Moo. 1, Tambon Bophut, Soi Soonling, Khao Pra Road, Koh Samui Suratthani 84320.
 * Contact**: 0818952233, 0800515454, sabai-samui (at) hotmail (dot) com, baansabaisamui (at) gmail (dot) com
 * Description**: 1 and 2 bedroom houses (6 units total)
 * Price** (approx): 2900 THB/night (cheaper with longer stay)
 * Kid Friendly Features:** Kid friendly swimming pool with steps and protected shallow space, houses have full facilities (kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator). Some English spoken. 10-15 minute walk to Big C supermarket and shopping center (with Starbucks, kids art store). Longer walk (prefer car) to Tesco Lotus store and shopping center with movie theater, fast food, coffee, shops, and kids play center (play room + video games... can service large range of kids).
 * Other Details:** Complex is NOT on or next to the beach. This place is good if you are looking for an affordable house with a pool, and something not too far from beach (5 min. by car, or 20-30 minute walk) and shopping (10+ minutes by foot). Wifi and wired internet available. Many people around here use cars and scooters. Bathrooms do not have a bathtub, and baby cribs are not available. However, baby mattresses are readily available at both Big C and Tesco Lotus for around 400-600 THB if you need to buy something and place it on the floor. Homes are basic with simple amenities, which is fine for a short stay. There are just a few plates, knives, coffee mugs, etc. so if you stay for a longer time, you may need to buy more things. Not luxurious, but generally good quality, clean, and nicely decorated. Hard tile floors--keep in mind if you have a crawling child. Some rooms may have a rug which you can move, or cushioned tiles are available at Tesco Lotus for about 400THB. Immediate vicinity has laundry and tiny roadside shops, but a 10 minute walk will put you on Samui's major ring road. It's possible to use strollers, but generally there are no sidewalks and the condition of the road near the sides is poor with potholes, sand, and water. The ring road is a busy road which can sometimes be difficult to cross, esp. at night.

Hotel 3

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=Koh Samui Restaurants=

Karma Sutra

 * Location**: Bophut Fisherman's village
 * Description**: Lounge, bar, restaurant. Early in the day, it's a good stop to get out of the sun. Located near the entrance to Fisherman's village, by the main pier.
 * Price** (approx): around 200+ THB per meal
 * Kid Friendly Features:** High chairs are tough to come by in Koh Samui, so this place at least has sofas and beanbags for the kids to sit comfortably in. Offers french fries, sandwiches, and more.
 * Other Details:** Yes, it seems strange to write about a restaurant called Karma Sutra on a kids' website...

Ad Hoc
Trip Advisor review
 * Location**: Bophut, to the east of Fisherman's village
 * Contact**: +
 * Description**: Beachside restaurant
 * Price** (approx): 250THB per plate... seemed pricier than average (location, location, location).
 * Kid Friendly Features:** high chairs, seaside dining, clean natural facilities, and space for your toddler or crawler to scramble around.
 * Other Details:** No change tables. Parking on road out front. Walking distance from fisherman's village. Good food and expensive kids menu. Great ambiance.

"Walking Street" markets

 * Location**: Bo phut fisherman's village; Mae nam beach
 * Contact**: +
 * Description**: Roads are closed to cars and motorbikes. Pedestrian only for street shop/stalls, food stalls, and some entertainment. See listings for Bophut's Fisherman's village and Mae Nam in "Family Entertainment" below.
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Restaurant 4

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=Getting There and Getting Around=

Flights
Generally flights into Koh Samui come via Bangkok. Bangkok Airways is a common carrier, but there are other airlines too. Bangkok Airways has small planes, and the flight sometimes continues on to Krabi. However, it's a short flight from Bangkok at just over 1 hour.

Transport in Koh Samui
Taxis in Koh Samui generally don't use their meters, so it's important to negotiate a price at the start. Drivers can be inflexible and are not afraid to refuse service whether you have small crying children or not. For a short trip about 2km, they were asking at least 200 THB (that money goes a lot farther in Bangkok). At night, they want 300THB for the same 2km trip. From the Peace Resort (BoPhut), they have fixed prices for taxi services: Lamai is 500THB, whereas Fisherman's village 3 minutes down the road is 100THB.

As a result, many people rent cars and motorbikes. It's not unusual to see families of 3-4 on a bike. Generally a car will run around 1200-2000THB/day, and a motorbike can be around 250THB/day. However, this must be a difficult situation if you have young children, especially if you do not have car seats with you (as generally, no one uses car seats here). That said, having transportation is quite nice to have on the island, as you don't have to worry about finding a taxi and haggling over prices. You will have the freedom to explore the island, and return to places as needed without stress. Driving is easy (left side of road), where the biggest challenge is getting around all the motorbikes on the road. Foreign licenses do not seem to be a problem (apparently international licenses will be better though, particularly if there's an accident). Usually cars will include insurance where the renter is responsible for the first 5000THB.

People also use tuk tuk in Koh Samui, the price for the local is 20 THB/person/2km, and it's 100-200THB/2km/ expat who can't speak Thai.

=Other Information=

Paradise Park Farm

 * Location**: 217/3 Moo 1, Talingngam, Koh Samui, Suratthani 84140... see website. It is up, up, up in the mountains, about 45 minutes from BoPhut (much closer to Lamai).
 * Contact**: Booking number is +6681 255 1222 (domestic, call 0812551222)
 * Description**: This is a farm-style zoo. It is not that exciting in terms of the animals it has (for adults), but it brings great joy to see your little kids get a thrill out of interacting with and feeding the animals. You will have a zillion photo opportunities with your kids, not only for the animals, but for the amazing scenic views from the mountains. There are lots of bird cages (that you can go into), parrots... bunnies, iguanas... and then there are larger areas with deer, chickens, turkeys, goats, emus, horses, and two token Gibbons. It's like a glorified petting zoo with more variety. If you're an animal rights activist, it might not be your favorite place. That being said, the animals seemed to be healthy, living in clean and reasonable sized environments.
 * Price** (approx): Not sure about admission alone, but if you take a "tour" which includes transport from your hotel, it is 800THB per adult for a half day experience (8:30 pick up and 1:00pm departure from park)--1000THB per adult including lunch (worthwhile yummm). Kids under 3 were free.
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Very good playground (slide, swingset) with many rocking horses, tricycles, etc.... great for little kids, including toddlers. Pool has a jacuzzi section in the pool--not exactly a kids pool, but it has a shallow step where non-swimmers can play or hang out. The restaurant also has many (about 10) wooden rocking horses, boats, cars, etc... very nice. Facility is very clean, with many places to wash up, and clean restrooms. No change tables found, but there is plenty of open space, benches, etc. Restaurant did NOT have high chairs (surprisingly).
 * Other Details:** Infinity pool is a wonderful place to hang out after the farm tour but before lunch. Water can be cold, but it is refreshing. Many pool lounge chairs here. View is stunning. Many many many steps, so don't bother with the stroller. The stroller was only useful from the car to the restaurant (about 100 meters), and maybe as a child seat at the restaurant. Otherwise, you will be walking among many steps, so you'll probably be carrying your little one(s). If you do get picked up, be aware that their vehicle is one of those trucks with exterior (covered) bench seating out in the back. There is an extra cab in the truck though, so if there is space, you can sit inside the vehicle. The ride up the mountain can be quite steep and windy, so keep this in mind if you have a toddler that can get carsick, whether you ride in their car or drive yourself.

Fisherman's Village

 * Location**: Bo Phut
 * Contact**: n/a
 * Description**: Small street area near the beach in BoPhut with shops, restaurants, and other services. There are many great places to eat here, though the prices can be a little higher than in other less touristy areas. On Fridays the street is closed to vehicles and there are many many street stalls selling delicious food, crafts, jewelry, drinks, etc.
 * Price** (approx):
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Lots of selection of places to go and hang out. Not much specifically toward kids. There is an overpriced ice cream shop (called -18 degrees) with an ocean view, and tons of restaurants. The Happy Elephant has high chairs and an ocean view. Karma Sutra has loungy sofas and bean bags.
 * Other Details:**No sex trade in this area--just seems to be a nice place to hang out to eat, drink, and be merry by the sea. The beach is not wide, and it is impractical to expect to "lounge" on this beach here. It is mainly scenic. Taxis like to stick to their unfair prices. Drivers were demanding 200-300 THB to go to a hotel literally 5 minutes by car away. The will charge more at night as well.

"Walking street" market on Fridays (meaning the road is closed to cars, and there are many many streetside food stalls, shops, etc.), which means yummy and cheap eats (rice crispy snacks, mango and sticky rice, BBQ ribs, ice cream, seafood treats, crickets, you name it). When eating at this street market, don't forget there are TWO directions you can go from the pier. If you go east (right) from the pier, try eating (and drinking) at Carpe Diem hotel (trip advisor review here), which has a fun vibe, seating so you can watch the people go by, and yummy ribs and mojitos (BBQ ribs 100THB, Mojitos 50THB). They didn't seem to object to external food being eaten at their tables, assuming you bought their stuff too.

Cheong Mon Beach

 * Location**: Cheong Mon Beach, near the airport
 * Contact**: n/a
 * Description**: Small beach with many restaurants and hotels. There are some resorts here, and many hotels. The beach is not long, so there are only a few resorts on the beach. You can walk the beach and visit other restaurants, get massages, etc. Restaurants will let you use their lounge chairs for a fee or if you eat there, in case you are not staying at a beachside hotel.
 * Price** (approx): Varies. Restaurants may charge around 150 THB per plate.
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Decent beach to hang out on, with many services. Many people wander the beach selling items... kids will love the ice cream person that comes around. :)
 * Other Details:** Not the cleanest beach we've seen, but it's not bad. There are many families that come here with children. The beach is not big, so especially at high tide, finding space to lounge or play games could be challenging. You can get a massage at many locations on the beach.

Tesco Lotus Shopping Center

 * Location**: near Chaweng, on ring road
 * Contact**: n/a
 * Description**: This is a major chain department store, but also a mall. Inside the mall, there is a movie theater, bowling alley, many fast food restaurants like KFC (no high chairs though), Swensons, a coffee place, food court, etc., **play center** (arcade games for many age ranges, coin-op kiddy cars, very good soft jungle-gym playground, karaoke booths for the older ones), and some shopping. If your hotel does not have a playground, this might be an additional option for you.
 * Price** (approx): Varies. coin-op rides are generally 10 THB. Soft playground is 30 THB/30 minutes (kids must be 90cm).
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Kids play center. Movie Theater. Tesco Lotus shopping trolleys have an infant seat for babies under 9kg. Tesco Lotus also has a small selection of jarred baby food (Big C down the road did not have any, but they did have rice cereal) and baby cereal. Just about all baby needs you have can be purchased here (diapers, baby bath, baby beds/mattresses, baby clothes, toys, bottles and sippy cups, hats, swimsuits, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.).
 * Other Details:** Did not see diaper change tables anywhere, but the bathrooms are large and there are plenty of seats around.

Arayaburi Boutique Resort

 * Location**: 6/14 Moo 5 Plailam Soi 7 Samrong Bay, Koh Samui ,
 * Contact**: +
 * Description**: Beach resort on the hillside.
 * Price** (approx): 100THB per adult for miniature golfing. We used the pool and beach space for free, but we had lunch (western prices) in the restaurant.
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Very basic but nice and scenic miniature golf course. Swimming pool with steps. Uncrowded beach (waves can scare the kids, but maybe it was this time of year). There is a basic looking playground area with slide and swing, but when we were there they were covered with catering equipment as the property prepared for a wedding that evening.
 * Other Details:** This is a beach hotel. The bungalows looked very nice with some up the hill, and some at beach level. We did not stay here but they looked nice from the outside, each with its own little bungalow and two lounge chairs in front. There are rooms up and down the hill. The walk down can be on a steep road or down steps. There is possibly a golf cart that can drive you down (saw them around, but not in use). Property is in a residential and somewhat secluded area, so services like tours, shops, restaurants are not widely available unless you have a car or motorbike to get there.

Peace Resort

 * Location**: BoPhut Beach; 178 Moo 1, bophut beach, koh samui, suratthani 84320 Thailand
 * Contact**: +66 77 425 357, info@peaceresort.com
 * Description**: Beach resort hotel
 * Price** (approx): Restaurant ranges 150 THB+ pp
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Kids pool (no steps, but whole circular pool was about 50cm deep). Outdoor playground (good for toddlers +) with slide, swing, see-saw/teeter-totter, monkey bars. Very good (but small) indoor playroom (great for babies-toddlers) with plastic jungle gym (slide, tunnel, bridge), bench seating, table and chairs, buckets with toys, paper, crayons, etc., and fan + padded flooring (and doors close so you don't have to worry about your crawler getting out). Restaurant has three high chairs, (but they may not realize it) and several soft and wide bench-like seats. Clean beach (course sand) with very small waves, but there is a steeply sloping shoreline, so not good for a child to go wading in the water.
 * Other Details:** This is listed here and not under hotels because we did not stay here, so we can't speak to the rooms and accommodation. However, it was possible to use the facilities for the day (were told that facilities could be used if bar or restaurant were patronized). Walking distance to Fisherman's village along the beach.

Maenam Beach "walking street" market (Thursdays)

 * Location**: Maenam
 * Contact**: +
 * Description**: Every Thursday the main roads by Maenam's center are closed for street market shops and food stalls.
 * Price** (approx): Eat for as cheap as 10-20 THB for snacks
 * Kid Friendly Features**: lots of shops, people, colors, excitement.
 * Other Details:** It can get crowded at night, and parking can be crazy. There isn't much space to sit down, except near the temple, where there may be music entertainment. You can park on the main ring road or on the side roads across the ring road. It gets more crowded at night (Thursdays).

Butterfly Garden

 * Location**: South part of Koh Samui, across street from Centara Villas Samui. You can park your car at the Centara Villas.
 * Contact**: +
 * Description**: Butterfly Garden
 * Price** (approx):
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 * Other Details:** In truth, we never got a chance to enter because they were closed when it is raining (we thought it might be covered). FYI. If you go, please update this entry.

Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo

 * Location**: South part of Koh Samui, part of the Samui Orchid Resort. 33/2, Moo 2, Maret, Koh Samui, Suratthani, 84140 Thailand
 * Contact**: +66 77 424 017-8, info@samuiorchid.com
 * Description**: Aquarium with Bengal tigers (show with tigers and birds at 2:30pm) and Sea Lions (show at 1:30pm).
 * Price** (approx): 750THB per adult entry (children 450THB, under 3 free). 950THB including a picture with a tiger. No half day tickets, and it's not cheaper if you only go to the aquarium and leave 1 hour later.
 * Kid Friendly Features**: Animals are always cool for kids. You can feed sea turtles and fish (lettuce) for 20THB. Many caged animals on the premises (birds, monkeys, sea otters). Swimming pool and restaurant on the beach, although the beach was popular for windsurfers, so not sure how it would be for children.
 * Other Details:** Aquarium was average. Nothing special, but decent if you are looking for something the kids might enjoy. Be aware of mosquitoes inside. Feeding the sea turtles was fun. Ticket prices were quite expensive, especially if you only wanted to stop by for the morning (if your kids still take naps during the day). You can try and get more for you money by making a day of it--go to the aquarium in the morning, hang by the beach and pool midday (choose a nice sunny day), and see the shows in the afternoon. If you can't do it all in one day, they may allow you to use your ticket over two days. The tigers were seen in their enclosure but they were hiding. You only really get to see them (and the sea lions) in the shows. No diaper change tables, nor playground seen. Plenty of picnic space. Several restaurants on the premises, and a few down the road. Baan Lamom restaurant (on the corner up by the main street) is nice (not "cheap" but reasonably priced), has a vast menu, free wifi, good coffee and playground equipment. If you're active with animal rights, you probably do not want to come here, with the caged animals in the garden, and small uninteresting enclosures.

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