Koh Samui travel blog — The ultimate guide for a Koh Samui budget trip, Thailand

Koh Samui (Ko Samui) is Thailand’s third biggest island, surrounded by tiny islands with plenty of lovely landscapes to explore. With an area of 229 square kilometers and all facilities needed for leisure, this site is known as the Oriental Pearl of Phuket. It has a beach with a jade-green sea, white glistening sand, and interesting coral reefs. Let’s have a look at the lovely island via Koh Samui travel blog (Koh Samui blog) and guide — The most comprehensive guide for a budget trip.

Koh Samui blog — When is the best time to visit Koh Samui?

Koh Samui (Ko Samui) is Thailand’s third biggest island, surrounded by tiny islands with plenty of lovely landscapes to explore. With an area of 229 square kilometers and all facilities needed for leisure, this site is known as the Oriental Pearl of Phuket. It has a beach with jade-green sea, white glistening sand, and interesting coral reefs. Let’s have a look at the lovely island via Koh Samui travel blog (Koh Samui blog) and guide — The most comprehensive guide for a budget trip.

Koh Samui trip cost: Is Koh Samui expensive? Some Koh Samui travel costs you should know

Transport cost on how to get to Koh Samui

Flying from Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, or Singapore is the most cost-effective method to get to Koh Samui. There are more than twenty daily flights to this island from Bangkok alone. The cost of plane travel to Koh Samui from Vietnam is from 7 to 8 million (from Noi Bai) or 5 to 7 million (from Ho Chi Minh City) (from Saigon). You may also travel from Bangkok to Koh Samui for between 3 and 4 million.

In addition to flying, you may take a train to Surat Thani, then a bus to the dock, and finally a ship to Koh Samui. This is an excellent option for visitors who wish to combine a vacation to Bangkok with a visit to Koh Samui and the southern regions. The entire cost of travelling by all of these modes of transportation is less than 1 million dong, which is far less than the cost of an airline ticket to Koh Samui but generally takes around 15 hours.

Koh Samui travel blog: How to get around Koh Samui

In comparison to other areas, Koh Samui does not have many public transportation options. To travel to the main island’s destinations, you can take a songthaew or a taxi. Songthaews are often relatively inexpensive, with tickets costing around 20 baht per person. Aside from these cars, there is another option, which is self-driving a rental automobile, with prices ranging from 800 to 1500 baht each rental car. However, the traffic in Koh Samui is extremely complicated, so if you are not sure in your driving skills, you should not attempt it.

Boats are the only method to travel to neighboring islands and beaches that don’t have a connected road. Longtail boats, motorboats, canoes, cruise ships, and yachts are constantly available at the dock to take you to the surrounding islands. However, before boarding the boat, you should inquire about the fee or consult the pricing list.

Accommodation cost

According to the Koh Samui travel experience stated in this post, you won’t have to spend a lot of money to stay here. When visiting Koh Samui, the most popular locations for tourists to stay are Chaweng Beach (which has the largest beach and the greatest infrastructure on the island), smaller beaches such as Big Buddha, Maenam, Lamai, and Bophut fishing town,…

The most costly locations to stay in Koh Samui are the 3-star resorts in the Chaweng region, which cost around 3 million baht per night. The other establishments have quite affordable prices, with the cheapest accommodation costing 200-300 thousand per night and the typical room costing 500-700 thousand per night.

Food cost

The good news is that, despite being an island, Koh Samui’s food and drinks are plentiful. You can select Thai traditional meals such as Pad Thai, Som Tam,… as well as a wide range of European cuisines that have been influenced by foreign visitors and embraced in this country.

Along with that, the seafood is also the pride and the brightest spot in the cuisine of Koh Samui. Based on our Koh Samui travel experience, you will lose only about 300-500 baht for a full meal at mid-range restaurants.

Koh Samui travel blog: Some tips on saving money on a Koh Samui budget trip.

Book the ticket before you depart for Koh Samui

If you visit the beaches of Koh Samui, you will find a plethora of entertainment options. However, according to numerous Koh Samui travel experiences, this also implies that you’ll find it difficult to pick from a large number of suppliers here, much alone the price and dependability.

Therefore, the best solution is to consult and buy the tickets for the entertainment services that you want to enjoy while you’re in Vietnam.

Choosing the activities you desire ahead of time can also help you plan and organize your time more effectively (especially if you want to combine both Koh Samui tour and Bangkok tour). Furthermore, purchasing tickets online will help you save money because online rates are generally significantly lower than most other methods.

Choose the street food

You should taste the delicious cuisine served around. You may not only sample traditional Thai cuisine and choose from a wide variety of foods, but you can also pay a far lower price for a lunch full of street food than you would at a restaurant or a seaside bar.

The eats such as sticky rice, grilled skewers and grilled seafood sold on the sidewalks in Koh Samui will cost you only about 200-300 baht/ person/ meal.

Prepare drinking water and snacks beforehand

When you come to Koh Samui you will have the opportunity to experience the tours to the islets in the vicinity. In most cases, these kinds of tours will also include drinking water and a lunch.

However, if you can’t locate a tour like this or choose to enjoy the trip on your own without the assistance of a travel agency, remember to carry drinking water and food with you. You can buy a large bottle of water and keep it with you for the duration of your travel. This method will allow you to avoid purchasing any costly drinks during your vacation.

Koh Samui blog — Where to stay in Koh Samui?

Koh Samui offers a broad selection of hotels and resorts ranging from affordable to deluxe, each with a distinctive Thai style in a very secluded setting, but in general, it is comfortable and soothing for tourists. You can select the best hotel for you based on your budget, hobbies, and demands. You can refer to the following resorts, hotels, and guesthouses in Koh Samui that are of high quality and reasonably priced.

Saver Guesthouse: 30/4 Moo 3 Chaweng Beach, Bouphut, Koh Samui
Price per night: $9.40 – $15.81 depending on your room needs. The rooms are designed to be comfortable, with fan, wifi, air conditioner, cable TV …

Sunset Resort Samui: 33/4 Moo 4, Bangrak, Bophut Koh Samui
Price per night: $10.68 – $21.36, depending on facilities of room. Visitors can also use the facilities of the hotel such as wifi, hot and cold shower, or other entertainment services.

Fairyland Resort Koh Samui: 73 Moo 6, Mae Nam, Koh Samui
Price per night: $13.67 – $14.95. With its tranquil interior design for 19 rooms, the hotel’s convenient services will provide guests with relaxing moments after swimming in Koh Samui beaches.

Al’s Resort: 200 Moo.2 Chaweng Beach, Bohphut Koh Samui, Suratthani, Thailand 84320, Chaweng, Koh Samui
A premium resort located 0.5 km from central Samui with convenient access to famous tourist attractions such as the Samui Wine Restaurant, Central Samui Shopping Center, and Samui Night Plaza. For $40, you receive great service, spacious accommodations, friendly employees, and an energetic atmosphere.

Samui Verticolor: 19/16 moo 3 Bophut, Chaweng, Koh Samui
This hotel is ideal for your trip and family since it is located in one of the greatest areas for visiting Koh Samui, with easy access to the Samui Institute of Thai Culinary Arts, Petch Bancha Stadium, and Thai Boxing Stadium. The hotel’s pricing is only $27 a night, with complete amenities, gorgeous furnishings, huge rooms, airy, clean…

Palm Coco Mantra Resort: 143/11 Moo.4 Maret, Lamai, Koh Samui, Thailand
Resort is situated in the well location of Koh Samui, is a great place to explore the beautiful island, with reasonable prices from $30. The hotel has a Republic diving club, Live & Let diving center which makes this hotel attractive, charming, with full facilities and perfect services.

You can find, check rates, availability & booking for Koh Samui hotels on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Koh Samui travel blog: Best places to visit and top things to do in Koh Samui: Some experiences you can’t be missed while traveling to Koh Samui

Big Buddha Statue

Big Buddha or Big Buddha statue located on the grounds of Wat Phra Yai, with the height of 12m and bright yellow, you can easily recognize this statue from afar. This is also one of the sites not to be missed when making a Koh Samui travel.

In spite of having lately been known in the recent years by the location adjacent to the Big Buddha statue area, this beach is one of the most pristine beaches in Koh Samui, with the white sand and the clear, blue waters.

Therefore, one of the experiences that visitors should try when coming here is taking a walk or a sunbath on the fine, white sand of Big Buddha beach after many hours of visiting Wat Phra Yai.

Wat Khunaram

This temple is not as well-known as the Wat Phra Yai temple. However, there is a special feature that draws tourists to Koh Samui to this temple, and that is the mummified of a Zen master, which is positioned in a meditation posture; locals think that those who come here will be awarded health and good fortune.

Chaweng Beach

Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui’s main beach and one of the original tourist attractions, is home to the bulk of services and amenities for tourists, from motels to bars and restaurants. The beach is also the location for all of the island’s nighttime entertainment events.

And our Koh Samui travel advise is to pick this location as a place to stay so that you can experience the entire ambiance of a seaside region while also having the opportunity to enjoy the lively nightlife here. If you do not want to remain here, you may still come here at night to engage in a variety of leisure activities.

Angthong National Marine Park

Angthong National Marine Park is one of Thailand’s major nature reserves and national parks. You will be able to view the stunning natural beauty of more than 40 islets in the midst of the sea, the towering limestone cliffs, and the wonderful panorama of mountains and woods if you participate in a trip to this park.

You will also have the opportunity to go trekking and climb to the observatory of this national park to admire the beautiful scenery of the whole park from above.

In addition, the best way to visit Angthong National Marine Park is by kayak. This way will not only help you slowly contemplate the landscape of Angthong but also make you feel the cool and clear water below your kayak.

Or if you have the courage, you should also join the scuba diving here to explore the mysterious and colorful world beneath the clear blue water of Angthong.

Lamai Beach

Lamai Beach is famous for tourists because it’s a miniature version of Chaweng Beach. If you love the excitement but feel that Chaweng beach is too noisy and crowded, Lamai is the destination that you should come.

There is also a system of bars and entertainment services on the beach that are suitable for guests from all over the world.