Christmas on Samui

[hornetsmad]

Apologies if this would be better off in the travel forum.

 

So, after it becoming increasingly unlikely that we will be able to go back to the UK for Christmas this year we have decided to take a trip to Samui.

 

We have looked at a few pool villas, namingly Pawanthorn Luxury Pool Villa and The Sarann Hotel, if anybody local has ever stayed at these places then would love to know what you think of them.

 

Additionally, looking at flights to Samui seem more than double the price than from Surat Thani so may fly to Surat Thani and then get a bus or something. We will be going from the 23rd to 27th of December.

 

I know it sounds silly but will miss the things from Christmas in the UK such as Bailey's, nice wine, maybe a roast Turkey dinner on the day. I'm happy with Thai food and drink throughout the year but always like having the Christmas stuff around that time. I see there is a Tesco Lotus and Big C on the island, will these have Bailey's and nice wine or maybe there is a Villa Mart that will sell international foods and drinks? How easy is it to get to the supermarkets?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any replies with suggestions or advice. Want to make this trip special as we are both a bit disapointed to not make it to the UK this year and I'll be missing my family there.

[Tropicalevo]

You can buy all of your Christmas goodies on the island.

In past years, there have also been pubs and hotels holding Christmas lunches/dinners. Lots of them are currently open so it would be strange if they did not do the same this year. Wallet alert - hotels usually charge a very high price ++.

You should be able to get a transfer from Suratthani to Samui included in your air ticket. Lots of minibuses if you do not.

If you decide to hire a car at Suratthani airport BOOK THE FERRY - both ways. (Lomrayah/Seatran/Raja ferry companies)

Supermarkets are open every day and are on the main ring road. Also Makro. There is a Tops (Waitrose) at Central Festival in Chaweng.

All well known International brands of alcohol are sold all over the place, as well as some not so well brands! Supermarkets follow the alcohol hours ban. Other usually do not. eg my local minimart (Bangrak) sells Baileys and has two rows + of wines to choose from - 3 to 4 shelves high. It is cheaper than Big C. eg Mussel Bay Sauv. Blanc 600 baht. Big C 695 baht.

Hope this helps.

Edited August 27, 2020 by Tropicalevo

[khunPer]

As @Tropicalevo says, you can get almost everything on the island.

 

Some airlines thatare flying to Surat Thani offers ticket including transfer to a Koh Samui pier in, or near, Nathon town; for example Air Asia.

 

If you re thinking of renting a car in Surat Thani and drive to Samui, including 1½ ferry trip by Raja or Seatran, it might be worth considering flying directly to Samui.

 

There is a public airport bus route running between the airport and Nathon pier...

–you can find more info here (I'm not sure about present situation during Covid-19)...

 

Christmas on Samui can be during the monsoon season – which normally comes at some point between November 1st and January 15th – however we never know in advance when the monsoon hits, so you might experience wind and rain, or it might be very calm and sunshine, with Christmas dinner, and/or lunch, on the terrasse – you're British, we Nordic folks closer to Santa's residence celebrates him during the evening of the 24th and his gift-delivery, and of course again with a huge lunch both the 25th and the 26th...????

 

 

Makro on Samui is mainly targeting hotel and restaurant business, so a lot of stuff that foreigners like are available – apart from 15% Chinese, statistically Brits and Germans are the island's top visitors with 10% each – furthermore BigC has an excellent selection of high quality products – including an import section with for example "After Eight" and other specialities – and also Tesco-Lotus seems in my experience to range a bit higher in variety for foreigners, than similar outlets in more rural areas. All three shops have a wine and spirit selection, Tesco-Lotus includes a "Tesco Finest" booth with normally a nice wine selection after British taste, including port wine, whilst BigC in general has a wider variety in wines and spirits than the other two shops. However, even my local mom-&-dad store sells Bailey's...????

 

Tesco-Lotus, Makro and BigC are close to each other in Bo Phut, and there are also both Tesco-Lotus and Makro in Lamai. You can also find a few specialized wine and spirits stores – one is a few hundred meters from Tesco-Lotus in Bo Phut (Google street-view link) – with a quite huge selection of fine products.

 

If dining out for Christmas many resorts offers a set dinner, but they often in the high end of the price-range – some of the local Thais seems to make face by asking how much one pays for the Xmas turkey dinner, it surprised me my first few years on the island. Otherwise you might find that Christmas here is not that far away from traditional Western Christmas, apart from Samui for hundreds of years has been a coconut producer, so be prepared that some of our Christmas trees might be more like "same-same but different"...

 

For transportation on the island it might be worth considering renting a car – you can rent a nice little car for around 1,000 baht or less a day – than using taxi, which prefers to drive on fixed prices instead of meter, and even a shorter distance of 10-15 kilometers can cost 500 baht, whilst around the corner often is 200-300 baht. Especially if shopping, it might be nice with a car. If you fly directly to Samui you can have a rental car delivered at the airport.

 

Wish you a merry Christmas...????

 

[hornetsmad]

Thank you both for your quick and informative replies. It's good to know that it will be easy to get supplies when here. Thank you also for the other recommendations ????

[johng]

4 hours ago, hornetsmad said:

miss the things from Christmas in the UK such as Bailey's,

You can try  this recipe its quite good   think it is @BritManToo recipe not mine.

 

80ml rum +    (Hong Thong works fine at 250bht/700ml bottle.)
1 tsp red cap coffee +
2 tsp Milo   +   ( malt and chocolate)
2 tbl Carnation sweetened condensed milk
+ ice, all in the blender = Baileys Original (near enough)

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

Tesco-Lotus includes a "Tesco Finest" booth with normally a nice wine selection after British taste, including port wine,

All the Brit stuff has gone from Tesco Lotus since the takeover 4 months back.

Doubt any of it will be back, I'll miss the Tesco Original tea bags and Tesco Onion gravy granules.

[Oldie]

Many bar girls will dress accordingly. You will not find so much atmosphere in Britain. If you need this atmosphere at home on Samui you can rent them and they will be your personal Santa Claus. Much better than singing Christmas songs all night long and fight with the family. 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Oldie

[khunPer]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

All the Brit stuff has gone from Tesco Lotus since the takeover 4 months back.

Doubt any of it will be back, I'll miss the Tesco Original tea bags and Tesco Onion gravy granules.

You seems to be somewhere else than Koh Samui, Tesco Finest is still here – a variety of crackers was filled up last week – but I can of course not say if it will last in the future, or just until Christmas...????

[thaibeachlovers]

Be aware that some resorts have a mandatory Christmas dinner charge, whether you eat there or not. Probably way overpriced for what you get.

They should inform on their website, but if they don't, ask before booking.

[khunPer]

On 8/27/2020 at 10:01 AM, hornetsmad said:

It's good to know that it will be easy to get supplies when here.

If you, OP @hornetsmad – and other interested – are still reading this thread, I just wish to add that Tops Supermarket in Central Festival in Chaweng has been expanded (a lot) and has a very fine selection of interesting products, including a great spirits and wine department...

 

Spirits...

 

Some interesting beers...

 

 

–and many more beers, including both ordinary, and some little more special...

 

Interesting wine selection...

 

–and many more wines, not to forget a proper wine-glass...

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by khunPer

[phetphet]

On 8/27/2020 at 4:00 PM, khunPer said:

You seems to be somewhere else than Koh Samui, Tesco Finest is still here – a variety of crackers was filled up last week – but I can of course not say if it will last in the future, or just until Christmas...????

You might want to take care that some of it is old stock that they are getting rid of. I bought a tin of biscuits there the other week, and they were all stale.

[phetphet]

OP. Tops normally has frozen turkeys over Christmas time, so if you rent a villa, you could cook your own. 

[Tropicalevo]

5 minutes ago, phetphet said:

OP. Tops normally has frozen turkeys over Christmas time, so if you rent a villa, you could cook your own. 

The Tesco ones do not usually got here until January/February ????

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

You might want to take care that some of it is old stock that they are getting rid of. I bought a tin of biscuits there the other week, and they were all stale.

The ones I bought are, and has always been, fine. But they might sell out, as there sometimes are bargains, but down here there has in periods been good offers in Tesco Finest for many years. The last crackers I bought has "Best before 02/2021", I probably eat all – with tasty cheese – before that date...????

[corkman]

Following.

 

Planning a 10 day trip for Xmas and New Year. Similarly hoping for a bit of festive cheer. For me, that means a gathering of a few western folks that are also that way inclined. Recent YouTube videos suggest Lamai might be the place to stay and if memory serves there’s a tesco and makro near there? There might be a few more westerners gathering in that area, and I think there’s a few western bars like an Aussie Bar and an Irish Bar, where their might be a bit of Craig? 

Edited September 27, 2020 by corkman

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, corkman said:

Following.

 

Planning a 10 day trip for Xmas and New Year. Similarly hoping for a bit of festive cheer. For me, that means a gathering of a few western folks that are also that way inclined. Recent YouTube videos suggest Lamai might be the place to stay and if memory serves there’s a tesco and makro near there? There might be a few more westerners gathering in that area, and I think there’s a few western bars like an Aussie Bar and an Irish Bar, where their might be a bit of Craig? 

You should check if the pubs in question are open, as they are mainly based on Western customers. The same Aussie and Irish pubs in Chaweng on the beach road has been closed. I have however not myself been to Lamai's beach road recently, but others have posted that it's quite dead. Many placed mainly targeting Western tourists are closed, whilst numerous places also of interest for Thais – i.e. domestic tourism – have reopened.

 

And yes, there's both a nice Tesco, within walking distance in Lamai village, and a nearby Makro.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 9/27/2020 at 8:29 PM, corkman said:

Following.

 

Planning a 10 day trip for Xmas and New Year. Similarly hoping for a bit of festive cheer. For me, that means a gathering of a few western folks that are also that way inclined. Recent YouTube videos suggest Lamai might be the place to stay and if memory serves there’s a tesco and makro near there? There might be a few more westerners gathering in that area, and I think there’s a few western bars like an Aussie Bar and an Irish Bar, where their might be a bit of Craig? 

5555555555555555 I think you meant to say "where their might be a bit of Craic?"

Unless you mean that Craig is going to be served up as nibbles.

[hornetsmad]

Hi everyone thanks for all of the replies. It's been really helpful. 

 

Our trip is getting closer now and I was wondering if anyone knew of any turkey Christmas Dinners going on or can recommend any? Maybe I need to book ahead. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

[phetphet]

You might try Olivers in Bangrak or Chi, but someone told me they are sold out. But you never know, there might be cancellations. Another option is the Emerald Pub in Fisherman's Village.

I don't think the Shakespeare does Christmas dinner, so other than those you might have to check out some hotels or other restaurants. Depending on which area you are staying.

 

Afterthought...The Irish Times?

 

HTH

Edited December 21, 2020 by phetphet

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

You might try Olivers in Bangrak or Chi, but someone told me they are sold out. But you never know, there might be cancellations. Another option is the Emerald Pub in Fisherman's Village.

I don't think the Shakespeare does Christmas dinner, so other than those you might have to check out some hotels or other restaurants. Depending on which area you are staying.

 

Afterthought...The Irish Times?

 

HTH

Also Angela's on the beach in Maenam?

Look at the Samui Facebook page?

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

Also Angela's on the beach in Maenam?

Look at the Samui Facebook page?

Angela's at Moonhut...

 

Quote

Our Christmas menu.

Choose 1 appetiser, 1 main and 1 dessert, all the sides are included but you can tell us if there is anything you don't want.

If you prefer to bring your own wine or bubbles we are charging 200Baht per bottle corkage.

Please call or message to book.

 

077 427 396

Read more on their Facebook wall HERE.

[khunPer]

Posts about nightlife during Christmas are in the "Any Nightlife on the Island"-thread from page 5 (link below)...

 

 

[evadgib]

The Mynt bar in Lamai is said to be very good too.

HTH