Thailand - Ko Samui, Phangan and Tao.

Vanilla

Vanilla

Vanilla

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
9,540
Hi all,

I’m going to Thailand with some friends in April. Apart from a night in Bangkok either end we have about 7 days for Ko Samui, Phangan and Tao.

I know these are popular destinations so hoping people can share their advice and experiences on these islands. We are all late 20’s early 30’s so not backpackers but still looking for a party a bit.

So far we are thinking:

- A single night on Ko Samui
- 2 nights on Phangan
- 3 Nights on Tao for diving and relaxing before returning for Samui for the flight out.

Can anyone share their experiences? Good places to stay? Activities, etc? Everyone has a different experience of the islands.
 
That's a lot of traveling around and not much else in my opinion. In your 8 days you will spend 11 hours traveling to BK, say 4 hours for hotel door to door to Samui, an hour door to door to Phangan, 2 hours door to door to Tao. Then for return journey repeat all of this. Maybe that sort of itinery suits you guys and if so thats cool, but personally I'd do something like miss Tao out completely, do 1 night BK, 4 nights Samui, 3 Nights Phangan.

I'm quite keen to hear what advice people have in this thread as I'm off to Thailand for the first time in August. Doing 2 Nights in BK, 8 Nights in Samui (do a day trip to Phangan mid way), then 1 last night in BK on return then fly back.
 
Lima said:
That's a lot of traveling around and not much else in my opinion. In your 8 days you will spend 11 hours traveling to BK, say 4 hours for hotel door to door to Samui, an hour door to door to Phangan, 2 hours door to door to Tao. Then for return journey repeat all of this. Maybe that sort of itinery suits you guys and if so thats cool, but personally I'd do something like miss Tao out completely, do 1 night BK, 4 nights Samui, 3 Nights Phangan.

I'm quite keen to hear what advice people have in this thread as I'm off to Thailand for the first time in August. Doing 2 Nights in BK, 8 Nights in Samui (do a day trip to Phangan mid way), then 1 last night in BK on return then fly back.
Click to expand...

We have 11 days total, the 7 days is just the islands.

If anything Tao is our number 1 goal unless anyone has any bad things to say? Most say get off Samui quick!
 
Went to Koh Tao and Koh Samui in 95 as a backpacker. Enjoyed KT most, Samui was more built up. I imagine it is all very different these days. I wouldn't worry about the travel between the islands, chilling on deck with a knotted hanky on your head watching the flying fish... a pretty relaxed experience.

PS Keep an eye out for burning airliners above the Gulf of Thailand.

edit: poor choice of words
 
Last edited:
Dude I went for a month to Thailand last year (going again this July) and all I can say is DON'T DO TOO MUCH TRAVELING!

We flew from Dubai to Bangkok, stayed in Bangkok for a few nights, then went down to Samui, then to Pha Ngan, then all the way over to Lanta (Phuket region), then up to Chiang Mai, then back to Bangkok. It was exhausting... And that was over the course of a month, so I can't imagine 7 days.

You are right everyone has a different experience. For me the food in Samui was incredible. Found a couple of restaurants which literally served the best food of my life, but it was over touristy (I'm sure many people will tell you that). Pha Ngan was a disaster for a few reasons... Firstly because I had serious sun burn over a large portion of my body whilst there, but also because the main road to our hotel (which took an hour to go down) was just awful. Very dangerous and very very bumpy. Made exploring anything near impossible.

Lanta was okay, but the journey there kinda ruined it (all day in a car). And to be honest there wasn't much going on. Chiang Mai was probably my favorite place. SO much stuff to do, insanely cool hotels. I remember on my birthday not only did I go to Tiger Kingdom and a crocodile show, but I also rode my own buggy through the jungle and had dinner on the top of the tallest building in the city.

Just keep in mind just because somewhere is "2 hours away", doesn't mean it actually works like that. When you add up all the time packing, going to and from the airport, checking in and out... Basically a 2 hour flight becomes 1/2 a day of messing about.

Sorry for the ramble...

Anyway this year we are going to Doha (Qatar) and using that as our connection to Asia. A few nights in Doha on the way there, then Doha to Singapore (looks like a truly incredible city), stay 4 nights in Singapore and just hop over to Thailand for 2 weeks. I'm not sure exactly where in Thailand, but I'm planning just keeping it to 1 or 2 places... Possibly renting a villa in the Phuket region and exploring there more.

Hope that helps, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have
 
Lima said:
I'm quite keen to hear what advice people have in this thread as I'm off to Thailand for the first time in August. Doing 2 Nights in BK, 8 Nights in Samui (do a day trip to Phangan mid way), then 1 last night in BK on return then fly back.
Click to expand...

Samui is great, but it depends what you're looking for and where you're staying.

Little things can make a huge difference. When we arrived in Samui we got very lucky with our hotel (Briza). Had practically our own villa close to the beach, within a few seconds to a great restaurant and breakfast.

There were people we met there who had terrible experiences with hotels... Really crappy and I could see how that could very easily ruin a 1 week stay (1 week goes fast).

Also (and not to put you on a downer) but bear in mind August is bang in the middle of the rainy season. We were there in August too and whilst we got lucky and it didn't rain too much, it was hardly clear sunny skies. In fact most days were over cast.

If you're staying at a nice hotel then I can't recommend enough to hire a car through them and explore the island. I was so grateful to be in a nice big SUV when the monsoon rain started. Scooters are no fun in rain.

Depending how much you care about Internet I'd also recommend you pop to Tesco there (yeah they have Tesco) and get yourself a 3G dongle. Internet was out at least 50% of the time we were there (apparently it's common due to the weather) and the dongle saved our ass since we both run online businesses.

Oh and if you have a craving for Western food whilst there check out a restaurant called Coconut Willy's. I cannot recommend it enough
 
I'll try to shut up now, but one last thing... If you're renting a scooter please be careful :(

The number of people I saw fall off and hurt themselves whilst there was just silly. I remember one guy fell off literally 3 times in a row. It's like all sense goes because they're on holiday and riding a scooter.

Having said that there's nothing quite like pulling up to a 7-Eleven, getting an ice cold glass of coke, then exploring random roads on your way back to your hotel. It's great fun.

Also watch out for shady renters. Find a place with nice people and a big range. Little back street holes with only one or two scooters could very easily "lose" (steal) your passport or create other problems for you
 
Osprey said:
Highly recommend Koh Phi Phi, the place where they shot 'The Beach'. It's simply idyllic.
Click to expand...

Agreed, stunning place but would only do a day boat trip for it and make sure it's the AM one :)

Tbh the best place I've been to in Thailand has to be Chiang Mai, absolutely loved it!!
 
I'm flying out to Thailand TODAY. Cannot wait, I shall let you know how I get on, we are doing BK, Chang Mai / Rai, Sukhothai, The Islands and Phuket all in 3 weeks. We've been recommended Pai near Chang Mai too..

Yes it does sound exhausting, but we are flexible on the booking inbetween the first and last week so we shall see.

Will be interesting to experience BK during the election's (dodging grenades?) but we have a friend there to guide us so we should be groovy :)

SO EXCITEMENTS! :D
 
SS-89 said:
Tbh the best place I've been to in Thailand has to be Chiang Mai, absolutely loved it!!
Click to expand...
I agree with this!

I did not like Phuket, particularly Patong. Touristy, tatty and full of the Australian planks. The nice Australians must go elsewhere. Some decent food, though - especially in the side-alleys off the main street where the locals eat.

Chiang Mai was awesome - it was so easy to go from night-market, to relaxing bar (a friend of mine runs a place over there) and over to more.....err, traditional places if needs be - and there's plenty of nearby touristy spots. They had a pretty cool rock bar with live bands when I was there. Cheap hotels, great food and really chilled. The zoo made me sad though :(

I spent quite a few days in Bangkok too, which I found to be a brilliant city - not just a gateway. Soi Cowboy was an eye-opener for a new visitor to Thailand :D
 
Osprey said:
Highly recommend Koh Phi Phi, the place where they shot 'The Beach'. It's simply idyllic.
Click to expand...

Not really, it's lovely but full of boats and tourists. Staying the night there camping would be a far better way of seeing it.

Anyway, enjoy Thailand, done BKK a number of times and the West Islands, but stayed away from the East due to the stigma and amount of tourism.

Apparently some lovely areas on Phangan, but it's away from the horrible Full Moon Party area.
 
In my experience, pha ngan is crap. It's dirty, noisy and has too much stigma around it from the full moon parties. and Samui is way too touristy but there are some nice spots still. Tao is the best if you want unspoilt and quiet. The diving is decent too.
 
your plan is about right, 1 samui , 2 phangan, 3 tao

i lived there for a year and a half , and to be honest one week isnt enough to really explore everything but will give you a good taste
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom