Information Overload, Need Advice On Beach/Hotel In Samui :)

[familyinbkk]

We (wife, kid and myself) have been living in Bangkok for a while, and have been to Cha Am/Hua Hin few times. Didn't like the beaches there (nor the water, and also couldn't swim because of perpetual jellyfish 'season'), so we are planning to go to Samui. After reading too much about beaches and hotels in Samui, I've ended up being completely lost.

So many hotel reviews talk about silly things (pool, room size, whether they got flowers on pillow or not, blah, blah), but it is actually really hard to find some meaningful information about beaches. Hotel photos also rarely have nice shots of the beach, it's as if they expect people go to resorts to watch gardens and rooms and restaurants. Sigh.

Basically, beach is the most important thing for us, and I would like to see what locals would recommend. Things that I am looking for:

• quiet area/beach/resort, where one can relax and let his kid run around a bit without worrying whether jetski will hit him in the water, or whether he'll get ran over by people running on the beach; also an area where one won't be haunted by loud music from neighboring resort(s)
• (crystal ) clear water, with nice sand (both outside water, and inside) - not a rocky beach

From what I've read so far, Chaweng beach is supposed to be the nicest one, but mostly crowded. I am not sure if there is a resort or nice area on that strip which is quiet.

What are the opinions on Bophut and Lamai beaches? I would assume that Bophut area is quieter, but is considered as a nice beach as well?

Any recommendations for resorts are welcome as well (planning for around 4,000 - 5,000 THB/day). We will be going to Samui at the beginning or mid of August.

Also, is it common for resorts to have nets on their part of the beach (which will hopefully prevent boats and similar things from entering)?

Thanks

P.S: sorry for the silly formatting of the post, but seems like WYSIWYG editor doesn't like Opera

[Tropicalevo]

Look into Choengmon beach. (NE of the island.)

In August it is sheltered from the winds. Very safe beach - gentle slope so safe for children, and no rips.

There are only rocks at the far ends of the beach - easy to avoid.

There are jet-skis, and there are no nets, but the skis are well managed from what I have seen. It is easy to avoid the part of the beach that they use.

Lots of choices for hotels - from 400 baht to 6,000 baht. There are also a lot of restaurants to choose from.

All in all a good beach for quiet enjoyment and family living. For a beach with lots of facilitie, it is the best on the island in my opinion.

There are other good beaches - but not much choice of things to do, hotels etc. More for the 'Robinson Crusoe' types.

[Tropicalevo]

For hotelsat the top end - look at

http://www.samui-hotels.com/hotels/choengmon_beach.htm

Make sure that you look at those on Choengmon beach. Top of the range - Sala Samui very nice but expensive.

Imperial Boat House and The White House are good at the higher end.

Others are Kirati, Choengmon Beach Hotel and Honey Cottages.

Hope that this helps

[familyinbkk]

Going to look into these places now, thank you very much for all the information.

[ZKL142]

If you want quiet and family friendly, Choengmon like previously suggested or the west side: Taling Ngam, Lipa Noi but be prepared to take a 30+ minute cabride into Chaweng from these two locations.

[Rooo]

You can also look here:

http://ajaxsearch.partners.agoda.com/asia/thailand/samui.html?cid=1433122&urltogo=http://ajaxsearch.partners.agoda.com/asia/thailand/samui.html&header=http://hotels.thaivisa.com/header.html&backlink=http://hotels.thaivisa.com

[sketcher]

I'd agree with previous posts that Chong Mon is probably the best beach with some excellent high end hotels. If clear water is really important you may struggle on Samui but I have always found that Coral cove / silver beach between Chaweng and Lamai is pretty good. Decent kid friendly beach I dont recall any jet skis but I havent been there for a while. Couldnt recomend any hotels as havent been in any but maybe a help to narrow the field!

[brd]

happy to share a secret with you for an excellent family life by the beach in centre Chaweng called Long beach lodge resort, Khun Neng can assist you there with large excellent value bungalows offers we only go to in Samui for years. Have a good time and do not over pay especially in Lamai not at all to our taste.

[sscsamui]

Chaweng Noi is a very nice beach to the south part of Chaweng... it is not as crowded and good swimming. I can only remember one hotel there... First bungalow, and it is nice but you can internet search it for more and in your price range.... Just be aware that the Songtao's and taxi's will stick it to you. alway ask the price before you get in.... Cheaper to rent a car....

Have Fun

[smokie36]

Maenam is another good option. You could try here.

[Mole]

I would also recommend Chaweng Noi.

You can check out samuifirsthouse com which is far south end of Chaweng inbetween Chaweng and Chaweng Noi beach. (Which by the way means "Little Chaweng")

The Chaweng Noi beach is not so crowded as main Chaweng beach and the beach is a bit shallow so it's good for Children. Not so much jetski traffic there either since people tend to cruise around Chaweng main beach.

There's a strech of 100 or so meters of walled off abandoned construction area. This area of beach is most of the time empty of people and they tend to cluster in front of the hotels on sunbeds etc.

It's also not so far out of town so you're in a walking distance to shops and there are songthiew transportation all the time to other places around the island.

[PoorSucker]

Also recommend First house / First bungalow.

You have easy access to both Chaweng beach and Chaweng Noi beach.