A Guide to Ko Samui

I only had ten days in Thailand to cram in as much as possible with Ina, a close friend from Salzburg, who I had met up with earlier in Phuket. We focused on the southwest part of the country, starting in Ao Nang before crossing the Krabi Peninsula and taking a ferry to the little island of Ko Tao, far and away our favourite spot of the entire trip.

We were then due to catch the same ferry back down to Ko Samui, one of the neighbouring islands of Ko Tao. Having had such a phenomenal time on Ko Tao, we were truly enthusiastic for our next island destination. But, as I always strive to be honest on my blog and in my travel guides, we didn't like Ko Samui as much as Ko Tao. It's much more touristy and developed and we found ourselves craving the quiet island life we had left behind.

However, we still made the most of our three nights there, based in a hostel on the beach. Our highlight of our time in Ko Samui was the afternoon we spent on Silver Beach. If you find yourself on Ko Samui, I highly recommend spending a day out here.

HOW TO GET TO KO SAMUI

From Ko Tao, we had pre-booked a ferry to Ko Samui. It was the same ferry we had arrived to Ko Tao with; it islands hops between the Krabi Peninsula at Don Sak Pier to Ko Samui, Ko Phang Ngan and then Ko Tao, before returning the same route.

The ferry company also arranges island transfers to all accommodation around the island which you can sign up for before boarding. It costs 150 baht per person, and they'll assign you to a minivan with other travelers staying near you on other end. You can also sign up on board.

There is also an international airport on Ko Samui; we flew out of it to get to Bangkok and took a taxi from our hostel for 500 baht (approximately €12.65).

We booked all our ferries on 12Go which meant it was a bit more expensive but we had peace of mind that we'd get where we were going on time.

Where to stay on Ko Samui

We had originally planned to stay elsewhere at a beach resort for a few quiet, relaxing days. Unfortunately, an issue with Booking.com and our credit card not working internationally the way it normally does, meant they canceled our booking the day before which was...frustrating to say the least.

So last minute we didn't have many options left, and ended up checking into the Pi3 Hostel on Lamai Beach in southeastern Ko Samui.

They call themselves a Beach Resort online but please don't be fooled; it's really an inexpensive backpacker hostel. The staff don't seem to do a ton of maintenance around the place, but it has tons of potential. And we made some really great friends in our dorm.

We were so disappointed in the upkeep of the place, that we ended up turning it into a fun mission and spent an entire day reorganizing and cleaning all around the hostel. The two staff members were profoundly grateful and rewarded us with coffees and smoothies, and we ended up having a lot of satisfying fun and having a positive impact on the other guests.

I think, given how big and touristy Ko Samui is, you'll have no trouble finding nicer accommodations if you book far enough in advance but we made the most of our unfortunate last-minute cancellation situation!

Things to Do on Ko Samui

We enjoyed wandering around the Lamai region where our hostel was, exploring the different night markets, going shopping, having countless mango banana smoothies and getting a massage with our new hostel friends.

Our highlight of our time in Ko Samui was the afternoon we spent on Silver Beach. If you find yourself on Ko Samui, I highly recommend spending a day out here. We grabbed an open-back taxi from Lamai out to Silver Beach and waved one down to get us back again later in the afternoon.

My bikini top was gifted by Aurelia Intimates.

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