A Koh Samui / Koh Phangan travel itinerary

Thinking of spending a few weeks on these two Thai islands - here's a tip...keep moving around. We did and we loved it. Here's the places we stayed...you could do worse...

For photos check out this Flickr set.

Beach Republic

For a little luxury after a long flight this fits the bill. The rooms are really ‘serviced apartments’ so you get a full kitchen complete with crockery and cutlery. Price reflects the quality of accommodation (and the amount they clearly spend on advertising in every glossy magazine going), but although the food is good (paper-thin pizza bases just melt in your mouth) you might want to save a little money by eating out at one of the other nearby restaurants. No view as such from room balconies, but the beach is only a minute away. Great pool parties at weekends with top UK DJs. Choose from eight different pillows from the room-service menu.
Restaurant Tip : Turn right onto the main road and walk past the cashpoints. First roadside restaurant on the left is cheap, cheerful, tasty and clean.


Lighthouse

Getting here can be interesting. Make sure your cab drops you on the beach access. If you get left to walk over the hills then be prepared for a proper hike! But the views and the peace and quiet make it worth the trek. Food is simple, but cheap and wholesome. Rooms are basic, but ours was clean and well maintained. No more mosquitos here than anywhere else you will be pleased to know. Couple of good beach restaurants and bars just ten minutes walk. If you love going to sleep with the sound of waves on the rocks and waking with the sunrise streaming through the window then this is the place for you. They trust you to write down any drinks that you take from the fridge if there is nobody on reception - don't abuse the system!
(If you get a water taxi at high tide they can drop you at the jetty right next to the reception)

Secret Beach

The secret beach bungalows are quite a new addition to this quiet stretch of beach but they are easy enough to find. Just look out for the signpost off the main road. With just two rooms available you may need to book early though once this ‘secret’ gets out. Check in at the friendly beach bar (although don't arrive early as they don't open until lunchtime it seems) and enjoy one of the two great little rooms. Air-con is efficient, the fridge is a blessing and overall it’s a well-done mix of western comfort and Thai beach living. The best sun spot is to grab a couple of hammocks on the end of the pier next door. And if you enjoy an evening sunset meal then that's also where you will find the best table in the restaurant. Our room had a drainage issue in the bathroom, but they promised that will be fixed soon – it just needs a new hole drilling in the floor so that the shower water runs away properly. For cheap eats pop up the hill as there are a few places up there with great panoramic views.


Mae Haad Cove

This is a simple and no-frills experience; so don’t book expecting anything other than the most basic accommodation. It’s also a long walk down a soft sand beach if you are dragging a heavy suitcase – so be warned. Mae Haad is a great place to come for a few days if you are touring around Koh Phangan – but there’s not much here apart from a nice beach and a few bars and restaurants, so it might not be the best spot to spend more time than that unless all you want is somewhere cheap and cheerful to top up your tan. We went for the beachfront bungalow option and got room number one. It’s the closes to the bar though, so you get kitchen noises early and late, which might be an issue for some people. Watch out for mosquitoes as we got some nasty bites here – but if you take a decent repellent you should be OK. If you need cash then the nearest ATM is at the SevenEleven in the next village along the northern coast. You can walk it, but it’s a bit of a hike.

Cookies Bungalows

For the serious kiteboarder this is a dream. The days we were there there was a steady wind most of the day and the angle of the beach means you can scream in and out to your heart’s content. Sailboards, hobie cats and jet skies are other fun options. The bungalows themselves are cheap and cheerful and lack any frills – or indeed anything that resembles proper plumbing in some instances (our sink had no waste pipe and just splashed onto the floor). The walls are also paper-thin (just a rattan screen really) – so if you are a light sleeper and there is a heavy snorer (sorry!) or amorous couple nearby then prepare for the worst with some earplugs. The bar and restaurant is informal but has a great view and the food tastes better than the kitchen looks (and smells). The older of the two women running the bar is a bit scary (make sure you take off your shoes), but with a bit of effort you might coax a smile from her eventually. For free wi-fi cross the road and climb up to the Top Rock bar. Great sunset cocktail location.

Panviman Resort

Great staff at this lovely hotel resort. Sitting perched on the peninsula between twin beaches, Panviman shows the attention to detail that helps justify its price tag. Our room (510 – top right in the deluxe block…recommended because it has only one neighbour and keeps the sun on the balcony longer than the other rooms) had everything we could need and offered great views to the southeast, meaning that waking to the sunrise was a spectacular moment. The bathroom has a window to the living space and balcony so you can soak and take in the view at the same time. There are four bars/restaurants to choose from at different times of day and the pool area spreads up through well-maintained gardens, with the water running down through plunge-pools before hitting the main swimming area. Breakfast delivers fantastic coffee and a good selection of breads, fruits, juices and cooked fare. The bacon is tasty and the omelettes and crepes are made to order and worth a try. The resort was quiet while we stayed – possibly a sign of the recession – and we extended our stay by a night by grabbing an Agoda last-minute booking (which was a better rate then the hotel could offer itself). A meal on the beach is definitely worth it in the evenings – the live band are great – or if you walk into the village (5 minutes away) then you don’t need to go further that ‘Better Than Sex’ (great name for a restaurant) or just across the road for the rather wonderful ‘Luna’. Of the two I’d certainly go back to Luna in a snap. It’s a great vibe and the Lamb Mussamum is to die for. Slow-cooked and rich, it’s maybe more like a stew than a traditional curry, but somehow all the better for that! If you are leaving to go to anywhere reasonably nearby then it’s worth asking at the desk about a transfer. Their driver took us down the coast to Mai Pen Rai bungalows as a courtesy…but maybe that was because I re-wrote their English language welcome letter for them to iron out some of the bigger grammatical howlers that had slipped in. If you are a sun-worshipper then get up early to take advantage of the morning and remember that because the sun sets on the other side of the island you will lose the light a little earlier here than on the west coast. Downsides? The WiFi in the rooms costs a little too much and was somewhat flakey at times (you may have to hunt for different routers if the one you pick first time drops out). Remember if you buy 24 hours access then that will last more than a day if you remember to log out each time (ie you can spread the 24 hours over a week's stay). Also - don't pick this hotel as a base to explore the island. Best to use it as a short stay treat to relax after doing the cheaper bungalows on the opposite coasts.

Mae Pen Rai

These bungalows are some of the best value rooms on Koh Phangan. You can choose riverside, beachfront or ‘on the rocks’ – and each has it’s advantages. We chose to go up on the rocks again (our second stay here) as the views are great. We were lucky to get one of the newer rooms (43) which has a solid floor and a really nice bathroom – although take a torch because the power is on a generator and it goes off after midnight most nights. You’ll not want to navigate the bathroom floor in the dark I promise you as it is comprised of large loose pebbles and stones – some of which are quite sharp! Thansadet os somewhat off the beaten track – so don’t come here for nightlife. However it has peace and quite in abundance, and a nice walk up the waterfalls. When you arrive you’ll find the Mai Pen Rai bar and restaurant at the far right end of the beach (as you face the sea) – although a lot of people use the water taxis to get here, in which case its on your left. The staff are a real family, and you’ll get well looked after. They operate the normal system that is popular in a lot of Koh Phangan bungalows where you just get everything written down in your room book as you order food and drink so that you can pay at the end of your stay. Remember you can get cheap water refills here from the barrel in the bar. WiFi is available, but you pay for a password each day (150B). The power comes on around 10am each day and then goes off at about 4pm until around 6pm. Remember that this is the sunrise side of the island, not the sunset side – so take advantage of the sun at the start of the day before it drops behind the mountains. Try the prawn crackers and the Thai style cashew nuts – delicious!

Bay Lounge Resort

This is a relatively new boutique hotel resort with just 17 rooms. You get the choice of ‘beach view’ rooms that are on the beach level or ‘sea view’ rooms that are up behind the pool on the hill. Arrival off the road is interesting. The approach road is so steep that you could fall off it, and taxis probably won’t want to take you down. However you can call the hotel for a lift – or if you make arrangements in advance they will have someone pick you up from town. The ‘lounge’ is the centrepiece of the resort – a big airy space with a pool table, bar and lots of comfy sofas all looking out over the private bay and beach. ‘Bay View Lounge’ does what it says on the tin! The rooms (we had a beach view one) are quite simple, but nicely done. There’s more-than-adequate air conditioning, a small fridge and a basic metal wardrobe with room safe. The bed is comfortable with good pillows. A nice touch is the small stereo (tip: it turns on with a power switch on the back at the right) that has a USB stick loaded with a selection of the hotel’s favourite chilled out tunes. Someone unscrupulous with a laptop might ‘borrow’ those as a souvenier…The service is good overall, and the room and ground staff always seem busy. However you may find yourself waiting for a cocktail a little longer than might seem necessary at times – and don’t be to surprised if what you get isn’t what you ordered. Saturday night is a good time to stay – they do a great all-you-can-eat buffet with two glasses of wine for a very decent price. And the food is a full selection of what the hotel’s rather good chef serves up off the main menu, so it’s a good way to decide what to order on later nights. Breakfast is OK. The French toast with honey is very nice here, and you do get plenty for your money. The coffee and tea idea of presenting you with a hot cup of water and a sachet of Nescafe or a teabag and a packet of creamer could do with revision though. A walk along the beach at low tide in the evening is a nice way of getting into town (about 30 minutes gentle stroll) and you can check out the locals digging in the sand for whatever it is they dig in the sand for. If you like dogs then the hotel has some great four-legged friends to keep you company too.

Pandora

This hotel has taken simple rooms, given them a little colour-twist, added some great computers and come up with a winning formula that balances comfort with relative value.
A classic ‘boutique’ hotel with just a small number of rooms and a courtyard pool and bar, Pandora is at the quiet northern end of Chaweng beach road. Walk across the road and through the pool area of the neighbouring hotel and you are on the busy stretch of beach that will take you fifteen minutes to walk along if you want to go down into the main shopping district.
However the beach restaurants scattered around near Pandora are perfectly good, and some looked exceptional – although were only there for two nights so did not get the chance to eat around.
If you are going to stay around the hotel then the pool is comfortable for a dip to cool off, but it’s not really a swimming option as it’s to small for that. But there is a ‘swim-up’ bar if you do want to have a cold drink at the same time as getting out of the sun.
Our room had a hammock and table outside – but I think we were lucky on that count as the others didn’t seem to have any private outside space.
The computer in the room had a huge screen and was loaded with films (if you have the time to watch any) and the internet access was blazing fast.
The colour-changing lightbulbs and under-bed mood lighting was a neat touch – but don’t try and go to sleep with them set to strobe because it’s like trying to snooze in a disco!