I'm coming to ko samui for a vacation with my girlfriend in january and we're leaning toward staying at Chaweng. I've never been to samui, but have been to lots of other places in Thailand. My question is what should we expect out of this area? To what other beach is it most comparable? Phuket..Karon?patong? Krabi..aunang? pattaya? We like to have lots of options for eating/drinking/shopping within walking distance, but at the same time want a beautiful beach to swim at, meaning deep enough to immerse yourself in, not shallow, clean, meaning no sewage trickling into it from 6 to 8 am each morning, and not SO crowded you can't get a chair at noon, like in pattaya(noklua).

Also, how do the prices of meals and drinks compare to other places?

I think our favorite beach up to now has been karon on Phuket.

Any advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance.

I guess you could compare Chaweng to a mini Patong...

The beach is good, but busy with the usual plague of beach sellers, jet ski's etc.

The resort itself has all you could want...and plenty that you wouldn't ;-)

Pricewise I haven't found it any cheaper or more expensive than any other holiday resort.

On the food front I always like having the odd meal at The Ark Bar...

Use Chaweng as a good, cheapish base from which to explore.

Enjoy your trip.

Chaweng beach is different as most other beaches in Thailand, since the hotels are straight on the beach. In order to get to the beach, you don't have to cross a street, like in Pattaya, Phuket etc.