Is Koh Samui that expensive? I plan to travel for 2 weeks to Koh Samui. Would like to find a Hotel close to a quiet Beach. I looked at some online booking sites. It looks very expensive. 80000-250000 Baht for two weeks. I don't need a 5 star hotel. Are there decent hotels / bungalows available for 1000 - 2500 baht per night?

I still have to figure out which beach i would prefer. Nightlife is not that important. Quiet, close to a nice Beach and some Restaurants in the neighborhood. If access to the songthaew taxis is possible, great. Rooms should have AC.

Not sure where your looking BUT Lamai Inn 99 Bungalows goes for $40/night.....try looking at Agoda

Thank you, 40$ would be ok. I will have a look at agoda. I just found this webpage: http://www.under1000baht.com/samui.html

Lucky mother in chaweng beach have 3 types of rooms no fan, fan, and aircon. Has best cocktail bar on the beach and a short walk to main street.

First residence in southern Chaweng, under 1000 baht

2 min walk to the Beach, songthaew going to Central Chaweng and Lamai every 5 min.

http://www.samuifirsthouse.com/First-Residence/

Plenty of sub 1K particularly low season.

I stayed in a bungalow just outside Chawang, 880 a night, the bungalow was a steep walk up from the road, nice pool a further seep walk up the hill, apart from the fact the hotel was behind on the maintenance schedule and over run with cats, it was a very nice place to stay, very friendly staff.

P.S. I do like cats and these were very too friendly, but many needed a proper home and veterinary attention, they also needed neutering.

As an alternative The Lodge in Bophut around 2000-2500 depending on time of year.

sawasdee.com gives a pretty full picture of what's available where.

Cheers.

Quiet beach - Maenam Bay is an option, where you can find nice beachfront or 2nd row bungalows for around 2,000 baht – downscale demands will be cheaper, I've seen 800 baht (fan only). Many areas are with numerous restaurants, local shopping, and either end of Maenam Bay has some bars at the Ring Road (or Ring Road end of sois leading to the beach).

In Lamai there are also numerous possirbilties - not beachfront, but only some 5 minutes walk (or less), and in area with restaurants, shopping and nightlife (number of bars and an after-party disco); you can find fan-bungalows from around 500 baht (little old and warn-out for that price, but usable), and acceptable nice aircon bungalows for around 1,000 baht (last I stayed there, it was 800 baht w/o breakfast, but it's a few years ago). Lamai has a nice beach, but can be with some waves. It's a cosy village – in my opinion a bit more like an expected Thai holiday-destination like Kata- or Karon Beach at Phuket, than the other beach-villages at Samui.

Young party-life with disco and beach-parties; trendy cafés and restaurants; and brand name shopping, is Chaweng Beach. There are some cosy (and I presume still affordable) places by the beach both in the Northen and Souhthren end.

Thanks guys. A lot of useful hints. Much appreciated.