sergun Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Hi, I'll be travelling soon to Koh Samui, and I need advice from people who know around here. I'm trying to figure out what is the best beach for swimming (tranquil, clear waters and no wind). So far, my 3 top contenders are Maenam, Bang Rak, Lamai. However, I read mixed reviews on internet about them, - some people say Maenam has calm waters, some say its very windy. Same about Lamai. Can Samui travel veterans clear this question for me? Which of these beaches has the calmest waters with the least wind? I'll be in Samui from April til June. All answers are greatly appreciated!!! Sergio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 In April til June the tides is at it's lowest in the year so you can't really swim on many of the beaches. I would actually recommend beaches on the west side of the island such as Taling Ngam or Lipa Noi. The water is much calmer on that side. The problem is that right now, it's excellent for swimming because the tide level is higher. In April-June the water will be average less than 1 m deep on most of the entire western side. You have to go out pretty far to get to deeper water. In the laguna of north Chaweng, the water is usally quite calm, but it won't be deep enough in April-June either. Out of the 3 you mentioned, I would say Bang Rak is probably the calmest. It's also not so crowded. I think Choeng Mon is also worth checking out. Which beach is calmest at a given time can also depend on what direction the wind is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Oh, just remember Chaweng Noi should be quite good for swimming as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boater Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 The best beach on the whole of the island is crystal bay , between lamai and chewang , perfect for what you are after 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boater Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Crystal Bay is the best beach in Koh Samui and both travelers and expats agree! I lived on the other side of the island for 6 months and would come swimming and snorkeling here every weekend. Before leaving the island we spent a couple nights here and absolutely loved it! Not only was the service superb but the facilities were... More http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g293918-d604203-Reviews-Crystal_Bay_Resort-Koh_Samui_Surat_Thani_Province.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuiWebcam Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 The best beach on the whole of the island is crystal bay , between lamai and chewang , perfect for what you are after Agreed. We have a live feed from Crystal Bay from our site: http://www.samuiwebcam.com/ It's a little bit rough this morning... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuibruno Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 you need to let us know what dates you are on samui to inform you better of choices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 1 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 you need to let us know what dates you are on samui to inform you better of choices Please read his post and you will know the dates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmine Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 The best beach on the whole of the island is crystal bay , between lamai and chewang , perfect for what you are after Yes thats a very good shout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuibruno Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 yep im blind today winds change direction about may so you can go west side before and east side after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) Yes, I forgot about Crystal Bay again. Despite being a stone throw from my office, this beach was the last beach that I visited on the island and when I did it I was blown away by the spectacular view. I've walked around the island 4 times now and visited every beach (walked each beach both directions and during extreme low and high tides) of the island and Crystal Bay definitely gets my vote for being the "best" beach on the island. You can find a bit of everything there. Swimming is good and parts of the beach is shallow and child friendly. There's also some cliffs nearby with corrals you can snorkle. Since it's in a bay, the water is usually a bit calmer. However, there is another small beach on the southwestern side of the island, just a bit north of Pang Ka. That one is my favorite because it's the only beach on the island which is totally devoid of any buildings. If you stand in the waters and face the beach, you can see and hear all the sounds of the jungle. Edited December 24, 2012 by Mole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuijimmy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) A number of beaches are nice / calm in April Because the tides drop about then and usually calmer, than say now...as tides are higher ... but on good days swimming good too!! This is Ban Tai Beach in April.... Around Lamai (Grandfather and Grand Mother rocks ) Good for snorkeling.... (Below) Sliver Beach is going to be nice too as mentioned.... (no April image!!! Check the web cam closer to that time!!) But generally most of the beaches will be nice, seas are usually calm and clear in your time frame !!! Except you may have to walk out a little, in shallow water to get to swimming depth... Edited December 24, 2012 by samuijimmy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Agreed. We have a live feed from Crystal Bay from our site: http://www.samuiwebcam.com/ It's a little bit rough this morning... Thanks for this one, now I can have a look before I take my son for a swim. Not today it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuijimmy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Agreed. We have a live feed from Crystal Bay from our site: http://www.samuiwebcam.com/ It's a little bit rough this morning... Thanks for this one, now I can have a look before I take my son for a swim. Not today it seems. Wow .... that's sure rough waves down there today!!! Looks like it's going to be non beach weather around the island, for a few days to come! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Wow, hehe, only the suicidal would swim today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropicalevo Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Crystal Bay is the best beach in Koh Samui and both travelers and expats agree! I lived on the other side of the island for 6 months and would come swimming and snorkeling here every weekend. Before leaving the island we spent a couple nights here and absolutely loved it! Not only was the service superb but the facilities were... More http://www.tripadvis...i_Province.html Well done Boater - now the cat is out of the bag! It's gonna get crowded down at Crystal Bay now - have to find another quiet beach. Dammnn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuijimmy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Crystal Bay is the best beach in Koh Samui and both travelers and expats agree! I lived on the other side of the island for 6 months and would come swimming and snorkeling here every weekend. Before leaving the island we spent a couple nights here and absolutely loved it! Not only was the service superb but the facilities were... More http://www.tripadvis...i_Province.html Well done Boater - now the cat is out of the bag! It's gonna get crowded down at Crystal Bay now - have to find another quiet beach. Dammnn. Ha! Funny!!! it was about the last "secret" beach I found, and that was recently!!! ..... but hey, there are lots of nice "secret" beaches around the island .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Wow, hehe, only the suicidal would swim today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergun Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 Wow! Many thanks to all of you for the answers! Let me ask you few more questions: From what month low tide starts, and when it ends? Does it affect West side the same way as East side? During months of low tide, does water level goes from low in the morning to higher into the evening, or stays low all day? If I need to walk few hundred feet into the water to be able to swim, does sea floor gets steep at some point, or it keeps declining gradually? Thanks again, and Merry Christmas to you all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marstons Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 you need to let us know what dates you are on samui to inform you better of choices I'll be in Samui from April til June !!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marstons Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Choneg Mon was always my favourite. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fasteddie Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Wow! Many thanks to all of you for the answers! Let me ask you few more questions: From what month low tide starts, and when it ends? Does it affect West side the same way as East side? During months of low tide, does water level goes from low in the morning to higher into the evening, or stays low all day? If I need to walk few hundred feet into the water to be able to swim, does sea floor gets steep at some point, or it keeps declining gradually? Thanks again, and Merry Christmas to you all! You might want to try here for beautiful sunsets and calm waters. nikkibeach.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 It depends on the beach. Maenam is quite steep and you can swim year round. Lamai is also fairly steep and you can swim, but the waters are usually not calm and there are dangerous currents if you go too far out. Chaweng will gradually slope. As far as I remember, during low tide seasons the tides are usually extreme low in the very early morning then gradually rise. The problem is that on some of the beaches, the level of water will be too low to swim even at high tides during the low water season. Some bays are even completely dry. But that's mostly on the west and southwestern part of the island. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I live at southern Chaweng and there's no problem swimming year around (except right now) I usually go snorkelling at my home reef between Chaweng and Chaweng Noi. It's about 40 meters out from the beach and 3 meters deep. See my last post the reef is where the high waves break. http://www.thaivisa....s/#entry5959429 Shall be interesting to go out again when the weather cools down. The reef changes after each storm. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergun Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share Posted December 26, 2012 Thank you all for replies! I can't wait to go to Samui... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now