Please Please Help! Please!

[sibrown]

Hi everbody...Im visiting Thailand at the end of the January for the first time with my girlfriend...After speaking to a few people we have decided we are going to come to Koh Samui...We will be staying for four months and Im just despearte to know a few things as Ive trawled hundreds of websites and am still no nearer to getting answers Id like to know and really there is no one better to answer my questions than people who are living out there already so Im hoping somebody or even a few people can help me out as Im sure everyone will have different opinions...So, these are the things Id like peoples help with, sorry if they are silly questions but Ive never been on anything other than a package holiday so Im panicking a little lol!

Ok, so we are coming to Koh Samui, we are early twenties and are doing this holiday on a budget so we're not looking to be out partying everynight...We just want to lie at a pool/Beach for four months and chill out...of course we might venture out occasionly but we are not really bothered about being somewhere near a banging nightlife.

1) Where in Koh Samui would people suggest us to go...We are looking for somewhere cheap but also somewhere not in the middle of nowhere..We dont ask for much do we?

2) Are we likely to be able to find a one bed apartment/villa/bungalow etc... for under 13,000 baht a month that has tv, internet, cooking facilities and access to a swimming pool? also, what is the best way to go about aquiring a place eg..do rental offices charge you commission or a months rent for finsing you a place?

3) Are there english speaking tv channels or is it easy to get english dvds?

4) Not including going out drinking as we arent massive drinkers anyway but how much do u think our living costs would be for the pair of us per week not including rent? (price of food etc...)

5) What would people suggest the best way of bringing our money? (travellers cheques, card...is maestro and cirrus accepted)

6) We will need to do a border run during our stay, how much approx would this cost us?

7) Last but not least...I feel like a pest now....What would be the best way to get from Bangkok to Koh samui and roughly how long does this take?

Hope some people can help and thank you very much in advance!

[rfukata]

I am not from K.Samui but can suggest a few things here. (not in sequence order)

1)TV: hotels / lodging catering to foreigners normally have cable/satellite TV; CNN, BBC, etc

2) Border run and your visa: if you intend to come here without a tourist visa, you will get 30 days upon entry. a border run will only

extend you 15 days. depending on the border you cross either Lao or Khmer, the visa cost may vary on country.

Lao is $35 plus a few bucks added for the immigration crooks. (other member can advise you on KHmer visa fee)

3) Money: probably using travelers check will be better as ATM usage will incur a 150 baht service fee against you

for travelers check there is a minimal fee assessed on the transaction but much better than the ATM fee

4) getting to K.Samui, fly there on Bangkok airways or if you want to take a coach ride, just google your inquiry

5) food is cheap if consumed locally - it all depends on your diet and what you crave. your not going to find a lot of

juicy steaks here

[krumme11]

1.Lamai Beach

2.yes I think Aumpai hotel inside Lamai can do it for less than 14000

3.yes

4.1 meal 50 B

5.travellers cheques, credit card, no problem

6. approx. 1500 B / person

7, Direct flight, 1 hour , Bkk air or Thai air, Train or Bus 12 hours( cheap)

[H2oDunc]

1 Chongmon has a nice beach, easy access the night life and is cheap

2 I got my friend a nice bungalow with aircon, kitche etc with free TV and water for 5500 month

3 cable tv has some English movie channels and some American series etc

4 Food is cheap and depending where you drink you can have a couple of beers without breaking the bank. A small automatic motorbike is 2000 a month

5 Travellers cheques or a pre paid credit card or just your Uk ATM card

6 You have 2 choices for a visa run. Malaysia or Burma. Cost around 3000 baht to do.

7 Fly 1 hour, bus and ferry around 12 hours but cheap

If you need any more inf just drop me a PM

[Birdman]

Come by train 2nd class sleeper (all night), go to South Lamai or Menam, stay there at a cheap resort for the first days, rent a motorbike and carefully (traffic is dangerous) look for a house which fits your requirements. There are still cheap ones, but more in the back, eat at restaurants for backpackers, there are still some, and at local and market restaurants. Come with traveller cheques, a little cash and a credit card.

Consider Koh Phangan, there are more people like you over there than on Samui.

Don't worry about a thing, you will find everything you want easily!

[andyandythai]

Hi,

Best thing to to about accomodation is to just get here book into a cheap hotel for a few days and have a good look around and talk to people, there are loads of houses / bungalows with great facilities around the island at good prices for people that rent monthly.

Don't worry about anything, you can get everything you need in Samui....You will love it!!

[Lite Beer]

7. Bangkok Air . I hour expensive.

Fly Air Asia to Surat and get the bus/ferry. A lot cheaper. http://www.airasia.com/site/th/en/home.jsp

Overnight train to Surat and bus/ ferry. Cheap and fun. Book Online

Bus to Samui. Cheap.

[Boo]

There are a lot of small houses, bungalows & bedsitter type apartments for rent all over the island for under 10k a month. We rent a large 2 bed thai style detached house with kitchen (no aircon cause we don't want it) for 9k a month in Banrak. Furnished with fridge, tv, cable, small gas burner, no cooking utensils or kitchen ware though. And in Bophut we found a 1 bed house a 5minute walk from the beach for 8k a month but was too small for us with a toddler.

Just rent a cheap hotel for a week, spend that week driving to different parts of the island, when you find where you like then look for "For rent" signs & enquire. You can always ask for a discount on rent if you pay 3-4 months up front too.

[Samuian]

Variety of options available - but not all of them in a bundle!

Fully furnished Mansion style apartment room under 10K, Chaweng Area!

Mae Nam Area - House from 10K

[PoorSucker]

Apply for a double entry tourist visa at a Thai consulate in your home country.

They are free at the moment.

At arrival you will be stamped for 60 days.

You can extend this entry by 30 days at immigrations for 1900 baht.

There after you have to make a border run to activate your second entry.

If you are going to stay for four month, skip the extension and go to the border after 60 days to activate second entry.

That will make it 60+60 days.

[losworld]

Are you crazy spending four months in one place particularly an island. Transportation is cheap. I would check out Phuket, Chaing Mai, Bangkok with side trips to Hua Hin/Pattaya, Ko Samui, Ko P, Krabi and more than decide how to split up your trip. I can tell you most places are cheaper than Ko Samui.

[koheesti]

Apply for a double entry tourist visa at a Thai consulate in your home country.

They are free at the moment.

At arrival you will be stamped for 60 days.

You can extend this entry by 30 days at immigrations for 1900 baht.

There after you have to make a border run to activate your second entry.

If you are going to stay for four month, skip the extension and go to the border after 60 days to activate second entry.

That will make it 60+60 days.

I thought only single entry were free? No matter, about 35 Euros for 180 days isn't expensive.

[smokie36]

Consider Koh Phangan, there are more people like you over there than on Samui.

Good advuce. Koh Phangan is generally cheaper as well.

[PoorSucker]

Apply for a double entry tourist visa at a Thai consulate in your home country.

They are free at the moment.

At arrival you will be stamped for 60 days.

You can extend this entry by 30 days at immigrations for 1900 baht.

There after you have to make a border run to activate your second entry.

If you are going to stay for four month, skip the extension and go to the border after 60 days to activate second entry.

That will make it 60+60 days.

I thought only single entry were free? No matter, about 35 Euros for 180 days isn't expensive.

Double entries in Vientiane for free.

But don't go there if you have many tourist visas back to back.

[sibrown]

Wow guys...Wasnt expecting so much help...Have posted similar messages on other forums and had little/no response so Im extemely grateful for everyones opinions which are helping immensely!

One of the main factors of our trip is price, We have just over £3,000 to do these 4 months on so will simply just be planting ourselves somewhere and enjoying the sun and culture...We realise we wont be able to go travelling and seeing all the sights on this budget so we just want somewhere cheap accomodation and cheap groceries and eating out now and again.

Am i correct in thinking now that Koh Phangan will be better regarding pricewise? Does this place have lots of ex pats aswel as we would like to have a few of you about to get information off etc... and not feel totally alien in a village of locals (Not meaning to sound arrogant)

Thanks so far for all your help and we are slowly building together our plans for our exciting adventure, Hope to hear more from you

[KwanDean]

Consider Koh Phangan, there are more people like you over there than on Samui.

Good advuce. Koh Phangan is generally cheaper as well.

Only cheaper if not staying on one of the more remote beaches. Close to Chaloklum or Thong Sala are cheap......Lamai on Samui not a bad option.....Cheap digs with good facilities behind the temple on the corner.