Koh Samui, Thailand

by Kirsten on June 23, 2013

After spending our first week in Thailand in Bangkok, we popped down to Koh Samui for a week.

Of course we had to go the cheap (read: stupid) way which involved flying AirAsia from Bangkok to Surat Thani, picking up our bags and boarding a van to a bus terminal then boarding a bus to Donsak Pier (a 2.5 hour trip). Then we had to board a ferry for the hour+ long journey over to Lipa Noi Pier on Koh Samui, before hiring a taxi (at an outrageous price) to drive us 45 minutes to our resort. It was an incredibly long journey made worse by the fact that we were carting all 4 big suitcases and all 4 carry-ons with us.

BUT after an entire day of traveling we finally arrived at our resort, the Ibis Samui Bophut. I picked this resort for a few reasons one of which was they allowed all 4 of us to stay in the same room (a feat in Asia) in a family room with bunk beds. The price was right and the location was near the Fisherman’s Village and not too far from the main town. Also, since it’s situated on the north shore, its closer to the diving spots in Koh Tao.

The resort worked out great. The beach was nice and sandy, however, the water had a green, mucky bottom so we mostly avoided the ocean but spent lots of time in the pool.

So many people we know told us they LOVED Koh Samui but we were left underwhelmed. I think living in Hawaii for 2 years has spoiled us.

That said, we had a great week on the island and it was a nice transition to Thailand and softened the blow of leaving Hawaii.

Some of the highlights of our trip were:

I went out scuba diving 2 different days and Chuck went scuba diving one day.

Our resort:

Chuck also took the kids to the Coco Splash Water Park:

On Friday night, there was a street market in the Fisherman’s Village that we went to and it was our first real street market. We gorged ourselves on smoothies, roti, Pad Thai, sushi and more.