Ko Samui, Honeymoon!

hc

Hey!

Would appreciate any comments / advice about Ko Samui as a honeymoon destination in general!

Thinking of staying in the Tongsai Bay and Cottages on Koh Samui for my (our!) honeymoon next year.

Have read some really good reviews but just wondering has anyone been there. What are the good / bad points? I have a feeling it might be quite isolated, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but on holidays we usually like to eat outside our hotel quite a bit so is there anywhere nearby?

Thanks!

GeorgeBailey

I (we) went to KOH Samui for our honeymoon and stayed in Tongsai Bay. It was nice and the staff were really friendly but to be honest, it wasn't really our cup of tea. I mean you can get whatever you want there but it wasn't idylic or natural as opposed to say the likes of Phi Phi.
We stayed at Phi Phi Island village for a few days before going to Tongsai Bay for 10 days and really wished we had done it the other way around.
Of course Phi Phi is possibly still ruined because of the tidal wave but if not, it's well worth the visit. We'd like to go back there sometime in the future if possible.

mikedragon32

Koh Samui is pretty well developed and for years was a packpacker favourite. It's a beautiful place but I don't know how commercialised it is now.

Enjoy the honeymoon

emma-ry-ah

GeorgeBailey wrote:

Of course Phi Phi is possibly still ruined because of the tidal wave but if not, it's well worth the visit. We'd like to go back there sometime in the future if possible.

Phi Phi is still beautiful, although a tad more expensive since the tsunami, giving them the money to rebuild. You wouldnt even notice there had been anything wrong with the place. I was there before and after the tsunami and its still just as beautiful.
As for Koh Samui, I was only there for a couple days when I had a pretty serious motobike accident which put an end to my trip.
I'd take a look into Koh Tao too... Its so nice there, lots of great diving and very unspoiled!

kraggy

samui has become more and more like costa del sol in recent times.

overcrowded which is fine for a backpacker but if it's for your honeymoon i would recommend not going there at all.

phi phi is lovely. as close to paradise as you'll get. a bit more expensive than other islands in thailand but still cheaper than ireland.

shame about samui, would be lovely if it wasn't so popular. the popularity has crammed the island full of resorts which has in turn led to more people visiting the island thus contributing to the likes of chaweng where all you see is tourists drinking and puking.

there are nice parts to samui but if you want something extra special for the one-off that is your honeymoon, i would advise against.

hope this helps.

best of luck, and with the holiday too!!

vibe666

depending on what you're after Koh Samui can be great, but for a realxing, unspoilt honeymoon it's probably not the place to go. that said, we stayed there for 4 days in a lovely spot right on the bach called papillion www.papillonsamui.com. it wasn't exactly 5 star, but it was nice and quiet and had everything we needed, right on the beach and close enough (but far enough) from the main strip in the main part of the island that it was easy enough to just decide there and then what we were doing.

for an unspoilt quiet part of thailand try either Phi Phi or Koh Tao, but you might find Koh Tao a little too quiet, as you're lucky to get so much as a tarmac'd road outside of the main street, but it's a lovely place to stay off the beaten track.

hc

Thanks everyone, you have certainly given me plenty of research!! Oh well, beats working!

empirix

"phi phi is lovely. as close to paradise as you'll get. a bit more expensive than other islands in thailand but still cheaper than ireland."

What an understatement, Phi Phi is beautiful and no where near as expensive as Ireland, the main top hotel was smashed by the Tsunami but there are still one or two nice places left although there not 4 star etc.

Phuket (near Phi Phi) has top hotels with their own secluded beaches etc, there are lot of bar girls there in the main strip but its not that bad and you probably won't have to go near that way anywya - only iout of curiosity, there is probably a few small islands that speacialise in luxury getaways - check with a tourist operator

Actually now that i think of it when i was in Phi Phi in december a nice looking hotel/apartment place opened, wasn't in it but it looked nice from the outside

Wouldn't be into Samui myself. a lot like Phuket, i'd prefer Phuket myself - more to do

hc

We were looking into Phuket and Phi Phi but the problem is we are heading in June so weather is a major factor to consider! I know that The East coast is meant to be a lot better than the west in June....

empirix

Rule out Phuket and Phi Phi so, showery weather(still humid), could get lucky and it will be sunny but is that a chance your willing to take. Go for a luxurious resort on Samui.

fruitcake

I am on ko sumai at the minute in the lamai beach area, it is lovely! beaches quiet and clean, great choice of restaurants and the night life isn't half as hectic as Chaweng(which was a hell hole!) but not too dry either! loads of activities to suit every taste too:)

davidoco

hc wrote:

We were looking into Phuket and Phi Phi but the problem is we are heading in June so weather is a major factor to consider! I know that The East coast is meant to be a lot better than the west in June....

The west coast of Phuket in June will be one windy spot and you will not be able to swim in the sea. Also any village outside of Patong will be very quiet and possibly a lot of places will be closed during June. I have pictures somewhere to prove it. Phuket in my opinion is not a honeymoon area unless you are going to hole up in one of the very fancy resorts where you don’t step outside the grounds after that.

The swimming beach on Phi Phi Island (opposite side to the pier) as other posters pointed out is sheltered and the island is paradise. Two full weeks booked into an island resort might not suit everybody.

Depending on your age group (I'm in my early thirties) but my honeymoon in Thailand would be

Samui any good hotel stay for 3 or 4 nights and live it up a bit. Arrange a pickup from the airport in advance. Then take a local boat over to Koh Phangan and stay on Thong Nai Pan Noi OR Yai or even Hat Khuat (electricity only at night, no road out and nothing to do all day but sun bathe) for as long as your holiday allows. You can take a speed boat from Phangan to go over to Ko Tao (one hour) for some diving or snorkelling. Give yourself one night back on Samui down in the main town Chaweng to reacclimatise.

(you can get a flight only to Bangkok and then get a flight down from there). Samui has the coolest open air airport you have ever seen.

http://www.phangan.info/index.cfm?action=island.map

Aura

I'd second Thong Nai Pan Noi plus a sejourn on Phi Phi.
Both are stunning, chilled and very relaxed with Thong Nai Pan Noi the sleepier and probably the more coupley of the two.
Stayed in Baan Panburi for five nights in one of the cheaper huts and though basic, they're lovely. There are more luxurious ones available but I haven't seen them...

Food's yum too!

http://www.baanpanburivillage.com/

Happy planning,


A

davidoco

You will probably need to fly between Samui and Phuket (100 euro return) to go to Samui, Ko Phanghan and Phi Phi Island on the one trip (14 days)

You would be better off deciding on the Samui area or Phuket area and sticking to that, for a two week break anyhow.

Aura

Depends how energetic you're both feeling I suppose. Flew Bangkok-Samui, boat to Koh Phangan - Thong Nai Pan Noi, then back to Samui for flight on to Phuket and from there the boat to Phi Phi....and all in approximately a two week period.

Sounds hectic but the boat trips are actually really lovely in themselves and I'd definitely do again!

davidoco

my favourite thailand pic from Phi Phi Island.

Aura

Cool picture, thanks for awakening some lovely memories.
It's so beautiful there, would love to be heading off myself!

A.

empirix

davidoco wrote:

my favourite thailand pic from Phi Phi Island.

Is that the swing at Hippie's bar?

davidoco

empirix wrote:

Is that the swing at Hippie's bar?

yeah, just behind the square open air bar. Those guys were so chilled out (or stoned) that a couple of times during the day we used to have to get our own beers out of the drawer. Photo attached of view through the bar.

empirix

yeah happy days...was back last December, will be back in January/February/March depending on how India/Tibet goes, looking forward to it, my favourite place in the world, chilln on then beach with a cold bottle of suds