Trip: December 2017
Below is our Top 5 Things To Do in Ko Samui, Thailand, part of the Just Carrying On – Top 5 Things To Do series. These lists are favorite activities, eats, and drinks from our travels around the world—in no particular order.
We spent 3 nights at the beginning of December on the island of Ko Samui, just before high season kicked into gear. The upside was fewer tourists, the downside was it rained about half our time there. We still enjoyed some sun but would probably come back when there is a higher chance of better weather since the main activity on a tropical island, for us anyways, is to enjoy the sun.
Of note, our recommendations are all from the north shore of the island. If you’re staying elsewhere, we wouldn’t suggest traveling to the north just for these spots. They’re more “if you’re in the area” recommendations.
1. Tonkoon Restaurant
This was the local Thai food place right outside our hotel and everything we ordered was delicious and more affordable when compared to the generally inflated island prices. It’s the kind of place you look at and wonder if it’s going to be terrible or awesome and we are happy to report it is the latter. If you’re in the area, we added it to Google Maps 🙂
2. COCO TAM’S Bar
This place lured us in with its beautiful wooden bar, playfully surrounded by swings. We walked up as the sun was starting to set and decided to plop down into the oversized bean bar bags on the beach to drink our cold Thai beer. We were in search of a good place to watch the sunset and this was perfect. It is easy to imagine that in the high season it turns into quite a scene but it was perfect for our shoulder season needs.
3. Hotel with a pool
Our main recommendation is to stay at a hotel with a nice pool. Lounging by the pool, doing yoga on our porch and alternating between napping and reading and slow walks along the beach were our main activities on the island. It rained off and on when we were there in early December and being in a place to soak up the sun whenever it came out was perfect.
We stayed at Saboey Resort and Villas and enjoyed the room, service, and the pool of course.
4. Antica Locanda
Much as we loved Thai food, we were ready for a little break and so visited this Italian restaurant. They served really good (for an island in Thailand) wood-fired pizza that we devoured, along with a crisp green salad and house bread. We would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for some Italian food on the island.
5. Bangrak Night Market
There was a night market in the the area in front of Coco Tam’s that was quite touristy and we were so happy to find the Bangrak Night Market instead, a much more local market selling a wide range of delicious Thai meals and desserts. We went on a Saturday night and there was some funky local music being played.
Google Maps / Not on Trip Advisor
Honorable mentions
The Big Buddha: We visited the Big Buddha, which was cool and ok. But near the end of our time in SE Asia, it wasn’t that cool. But it is big.
Top 5 Things To Do in Ko Samui, Thailand is part of Just Carrying On – Top 5 Things To Do series, which offers our best travel recommendations from around the world.