nearby attractions

Samui Night Life

Nightlife in Koh Samui is beautiful, wild, and diverse. You can find, alongside cheap beer bars, gourmet restaurants that serve the best of Thai cuisine. Thai boxing arenas won’t be far away from classic Thai dance stages. And in addition to numerous discos and clubs, there are Transgender Cabaret Shows that have been a highlight of the nightlife in Thailand.


Na Muang Waterfall

There are other waterfalls and little secrets that this island has purposely kept hidden, and the Na Muang Waterfall has an intriguing charm of its own. It has two breathtaking waterfalls, with one being 18 meters high and the other 80 meters. Na Muang, or “Purple Waterfalls” is so aptly named because the rocks surrounding this body of water projects a purple shade. This area creates a perfect mix that excites the senses, making it the best place to rest and relax.

Wat Phra Yai

Big Buddha temple sits majestically on a small rocky island off Koh Samui’s north-eastern corner. Known locally as Wat Phra Yai, its golden, 12-metre seated Buddha statue was built in 1972 and remains one of the island’s most popular attractions. Set on Koh Faan, Big Buddha temple is reached by a causeway that connects it to the main island. The Big Buddha can be seen at a distance of several kilometres and is often the first landmark people see when arriving to Samui by air.

DIVING IN KOH SAMUI

Clearly staying on Koh Tao itself would entail shorter journeys to its dive sites. However, if diving every day is not your holiday priority and you prefer Koh Samui as your base, then you get the best of both worlds. Dive trips leave Koh Samui around 9 am returning around 3 pm, having made two dives. One silver lining is that Sail Rock, which is one of the premier sites in the gulf, lies closer to Koh Phangan and, therefore, closer to Koh Samui than it does to Koh Tao.

samui walking street

It’s hard to imagine shoppers in the West sipping on cocktails while out shopping but at Chaweng Walking Street Market you can do just that, and for very little money, too. Chaweng Walking Street is a riot of colours, sounds and scents.
This is where you can haggle for items such as T-shirts, sunglasses, knockoff watches, beach dresses, lamps, sexy cutoff jeans; copied Ralph Laurent polo shirts, flip-flops, bags of all shapes and sizes, carved wooden souvenirs, kids clothing and cosmetics.

Wat Chade Leam Sor

The Laem Sor Pagoda sits right at the end of the somewhat rocky beach of Bang Kao. The pagoda has a golden glowing appearance, especially in the sunlight, when the contrast with the blue waters of the ocean make for some beautiful images. Actually, the pagoda is not gold but built from yellow colored tiles that make it look golden from a distance.



Wat Khunaram

Although the Wat Khunaram is not one of Thailand’s most beautiful or impressive temples, it is well worth a visit because of the remarkable mummified monk. This is an active temple, local Buddhist people come here to make merit and prey. Several items, like Buddhist amulets can be bought here.
Wat Khunaram is located West of Hua Thanon and South West of Lamai beach on Route 4169 on Koh Samui island. You can get there by chartering a songthaew public bus from one of the beach resorts.

Butterfly Garden

Samui Butterfly Garden (aka Na Tian Butterfly Garden) opposite in Natien, in the south of the island offers a kaleidoscope of colours provided by hundreds of spectacular butterflies. For bug enthusiasts there's also an Insect Museum as well as a bee house.
The beautifully landscaped garden features many colourful tropical flowers so, along with the multihued butterflies, it’s a must that you take your camera.

Hin Ta & Hin Yai Koh Samui

Hin Ta and Hin Yai are located along Koh Samui’s eastern coastline of Lamai and are coincidentally right next to each other. These rude rock formations have been naturally formed over 1000’s of years most likely due to glacial deposition and coastal erosion of the granite boulders. There is a beautiful view stretching along the coastline of Koh Samui and out to sea that is worth a photo. The market lining the path to the rocks is somewhat unique being one of the few places on Koh Samui to sell a traditional Thai sweet called galamae, made from caramelized coconut.