Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [495]
Siddharta ( Map; 0 7724 5014; Bo Phut; 10am-9pm) A French import company brings its globetrotting treasures from Bali and Nepal to the shores of Samui. The racks are filled with cool geometric beach cover-ups and flower appliqué skirts – fashionable replacements, if you grow tired of the contents of your suitcase.
Suzy Nina ( Map; 0 7724 5221; Bo Phut; 11am-9pm) Samui’s version of Pier One is an interior-design shop selling silk and natural cotton bed-linens and custom-made drapes. Finger through the fabric room loaded with elegant Thai and Burmese silks.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Samui’s airport ( Map) is located in the northeast of the island near Big Buddha Beach. The monopoly that Bangkok Airways had on flights into and out of Samui ended in early 2008, and Thai Airways International has begun a Samui–Bangkok service. Other airlines are expected to follow.
Bangkok Airways (www.bangkokair.com) operates flights roughly every 30 minutes between Samui and Bangkok (2000B to 4000B, one to 1½ hours). Thai Airways (in Bangkok 0 2134 5403; www.thaiair.com) operates between Samui and Bangkok (5600B, twice a day). Both airlines land at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
There is a Bangkok Airways office ( Map; 0 7742 0512-9) in Chaweng and another at the airport (0 7742 5011). The first (at 6am) and last (9pm) flights of the day are always the cheapest.
Bangkok Air also flies from Samui to Phuket (2000B to 3000B, one hour, three daily), Pattaya (3000B, one hour, three daily), Krabi (1600B, one hour, three times a week) and Chiang Mai (4500B to 6500B, 2½ hours, twice a week). International flights go directly from Samui to Singapore (4200B to 5400B, three hours, daily) and Hong Kong (12,000B to 6000B, four hours, five days a week).
During the high season, make your flight reservations far in advance as seats do sell out. If Samui flights are full, try flying into Surat Thani from Bangkok and taking a short ferry ride to Samui. Flights to Surat Thani are generally cheaper than a direct flight to the island.
BOAT
The ferry situation is rather convoluted: schedules and prices are always in flux, and there are tons of entry and exit points on Samui and the mainland. Your exit and entry point will probably depend on what’s available when you arrive in Surat Thani (after all, you probably don’t want to hang around town). The four main piers on the mainland are Ao Ban Don, Tha Thong, Don Sak and Khanom. On Samui, the three oft-used ports are Na Thon, Mae Nam and Big Buddha. Service quality can also vary greatly within the same ferry company – some boats are rusty and rundown, others are much more modern and are even outfitted with TVs.
There are frequent daily boat departures between Samui and Surat Thani. The hourly Seatran ferry is a common option. Ferries cost between 110B and 190B, and take one to three hours, depending on the boat. A couple of these departures can connect with the train station in Phun Phin (for an extra 100B to 140B). The slow night boat to Samui (150B) leaves from central Surat Thani each night at 11pm, reaching Na Thon around 5am. It returns from Na Thon at 9pm, arriving at around 3am. Watch your bags on this boat.
There are almost a dozen daily departures between Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan. These leave either from the Na Thon, Mae Nam or Big Buddha piers and take from 20 minutes to one hour (130B to 250B). On Ko Pha-Ngan there are two piers (Hat Rin and Thong Sala). The boats departing from Big Buddha service Hat Rin, and the other boats land at Thong Sala. Ferries from Mae Nam slide up Ko Pha-Ngan’s remote eastern coast. From the same piers, there are also around six daily departures between Samui and Ko Tao. These take 1¼ to 2½ hours and cost from 350B to 600B.
Car ferries from Don Sak and Khanom land at Thong Yang, about 10km south of Na Thon. There are no car ferries from Samui to Ko Pha-Ngan or Ko Tao.
BUS & TRAIN
A bus-ferry combo is more convenient than a train-ferry package