3 Day Itinerary & Travel plans for what to do in Koh Samui

Before we delve right into our 3 Day Koh Samui Itinerary, here’s the basic logistics of Koh Samui you need to know:

How to Get to Koh Samui

Read our Koh Samui Transportation guide on how to arrive to get to the Island and how to get around the Island once you are here. Koh Samui is Thailand’s 2nd largest Island and is quite large so you will want to know how to get around.  There are no tuk-tuk’s or public bus transportation on this Island, so find out how to catch the most affordable taxi or Songthaew. The airport is Thailand’s only privately owned airport, so it some people prefer to skip the expensive flights and take a ferry.

Choose your Accommodation close to your favorite Beach

Before booking your hotel, it is important that you should be booking it close to your favourite beach. In order to help you with this we created a video of the most popular 8 beaches on Koh Samui by Drone to decide for yourself.  These beaches include Chaweng Beach, Choeng Mon, Lamai, Lipa Noi, Maenam, Silver Beach, Boput and Bang Po.

Best Time to Visit Koh Samui

What time of year should you visit Koh Samui?  The high season for Koh Samui is December to March, the rainy season is from September to January. During this time you will notice a fluctuation in the prices of hotels.  If you want to know what monsoon season is like, find our article here to help you make the decision.

We were always exploring new places and even acted as guides touring several of our friend around this island. While doing so, we realized that many of the places we went were the same route that the tour companies were also on. That’s why we call this day the DIY (Do it Yourself) tour.

If you have your own transportation it is much more enjoyable doing this on your own time schedule. The best way to do this is with a scooter or rent a car for a group of people. If you are comfortable driving, for some fun, rent a scooter. A tour is about $40 usd for the day and takes you to many of the items we listed below. If you are renting a scooter, rent the scooter the night before. It is approx 200 Baht for 24 hours with a discount for longer rentals of 3, 7 or 30 days. We highly suggest downloading Maps.me to search for attractions and directions offline. Similar to Google maps, but works offline.  We have had some of our best adventures by Scooter and it can be quite fun.  Here’s a video of what it is like motorcycling in Koh Samui.

We have packed this day full of lots of activities and if you are ambitious we have started the day off at Sunrise.   Let’s begin your Koh Samui City Tour! We have put together a map to pre-load in your phone. You can click on the numbers to see information on the attraction.

Koh Samui has spectacular sunrise and sunsets.  Get an early start to your day at Lad Koh viewpoint. This enchanting view is located between Chewang and Lamai on the main Ring Road (Route 4169). You can walk along the rugged coastline down the stairs and stare off into the glowing blue water and clear skies along the Chewang coastline.  The beautiful view is no wonder that everyone that drives by stops to take in the scenery.  It has lots of parking and is easily accessible right off Ring Road especially if you are in a hurry. Regardless of what time of day it is absolutely stunning and definitely worth a stop on your Island tour.

Believe it or not, this is Trip Advisor’s number one attraction to do on Koh Samui.  Yes, number one is a penis rock. There is an interesting long folk story about the legend of the Grandfather & Grandmother rocks. But if you are like us will find it much more entertaining all the people taking selfies by this and the enjoying the breathtaking views.  We do however think Fraser stole the show with this one.

While you are at Hin Ta and Hin Yai, while you are walking back to your Scooter, look for the Lamai viewpoint sign.  The viewpoint costs 10 baht and is a very short staircase to the top, but absolutely worth an amazing viewpoint.  It’s also worth it to be at a viewpoint away from the crowds. Because this viewpoint access is slightly off the main shopping and it costs 10 baht, hardly anyone goes up here.  Back in the mini shopping village at the Hin Ta and Hin Yai there are lots of confectioneries and coconut icecream to enjoy.

If you aren’t too tired by now, the last activity of the day can be a lot of fun.  If you are feeling adventurous then you need to motorbike through the island. After you checked Wat Plai Laem you will need to backtrack about 10 minutes near Maenam. There are a few good hills and winding roads and you do have a good viewpoint at the top of the mountain. Your end destination will be near Lamai. The road really makes you feel like something out of Jurassic Park and definitely not on the Island of Koh Samui.

On one of our adventures through middle road we even stumbled upon an illegal Buffalo fight which was quite exciting. Yes you heard right an organized underground water buffalo fight. As brutal as it is, it was packed with hundreds of locals and is a big deal. In fact, when we stopped to see what was all the commotion we literally jumped off our bikes to hide behind a van. Within seconds the water buffalo were running across the road and knocked over 5 bikes directly beside ours.  Another chapter of our Thailand story!

As fair warning this is not an easy afternoon ride so if you are not confident on a bike do not do this.  We also highly suggest only doing this route with a minimum 125cc bike. To get here, the roads starts on the same road in Maenam as the Thai Consulate.  We have marked this on the Google maps above.

After an adventurous day yesterday, it’s time today to unwind at a beach.  You are on a tropical Island of Thailand after all.  To choose your beach, first ask what kind of mood are you in? We suggest choosing from the most popular beaches are Choeng Mon, Chewang, and Lamai.  Silver Beach is also rated as the Top 7 Trip Advisor thing to do on the Koh Samui Island. The quieter beaches we preferred were Maenam, Bang Por, and Lipa Noi and are wonderful to explore if you have more than 3 days on the Island.  Discover most popular beaches on Koh Samui that we made while we were living on this beautiful Island with our drone.

At many of the beaches, you can choose a Restaurant with sun chairs and umbrella’s and make this your hangout for the day, as long as you buy lunch or drinks.  We enjoyed Bamboo Restaurant on Lamai Beach.  You can take a break from the beach and walk along the main road to see some stores or get a massage.

Here’s a map of where each of the beaches are located on Koh Samui:

Day 2 – Enjoy a Thai Massage

While in Thailand, you can’t miss getting a Thai massage or a relaxing oil massage!  You will find great Thai spas in most of the popular areas. Don’t worry they are always close by. Grab a massage at the beach of go to an air conditioned professional massage parlor close by on the main street just up from the beach.  For your expectations, the Thai massage is more of an “active” massage where you might find yourself getting stretched in this or that direction.  It’s definitely worth having if you like a deep tissue massage.  One of our favorite things to do is to grab a nice cold beverage and enjoy a nice foot massage together. You can get a great message for as little as 200 baht for a 1 hour message, or 300 baht if you want coconut or tiger balm.

Thailand is famously known for having huge markets.  Koh Samui doesn’t offer the biggest markets of Thailand but it does offer some wonderful walking street night markets.  Each night from Wednesday to Sunday, a different street in a popular area of Koh Samui is transformed into a large and bustling night market.  One of our favourite things to do was attending some of the popular Koh Samui Night Markets. Usually they start at around 6pm normally staying open till around midnight. At the night markets you will find lots of shopping including clothing, artwork, souvenirs and much more.  Make sure to negotiate with the vendors and remember to have fun in the process.

On Wednesday it was at the Central Festival Mall where the parking lot was transformed into a large night market.  On Thursday, this is the smallest walking street wandering the U shape walking street in Maenam by the Maenam Pier.  Friday night is one of the busiest with bands and lots of restaurants happening at the already busy Fisherman’s Village.  On Saturday Chaweng offers another popular Walking Street down the main Road.  Sunday night it is hosted on Lamai and and besides Friday night is the second busiest. It is our personal favourite.

Koh Samui offers a central location among the Islands. If you do not have time to spend on Koh Tao you can take a snorkeling tour direct from Koh Samui.   The 2 most popular tours are the Koh Tao Snorkling or visit AngThong National Park. All tours offer pick up and drop off from your hotel and will include lunch during your tour.  The snorkeling tour of Koh Toa is amazing, you get lunch and snorkeling at the famous Nang Yuan and a couple other snorkeling spots.  I’m sure you have seen Nang Yuan in a Thailand postcard or two.  We took our full Scuba Diving Course on Koh Toa and found the snorkeling and diving to be unbelievable.

After you return from your tour for the day, start your night off with dinner.  Koh Samui offers too many great places to list. There are options for everyone from elite clubs on the hills to local pubs.  If you are out on a Saturday night, consider Lamai and the Muay Thai fights that start at about 10:30 pm. Chaweng is the popular area for a night out on the town. Our friends called this area the “Vegas” of Thailand.  You will find many bars and restaurants on the main road of Chaweng or you will also find a bunch of hoping beach bars.  Ark Bar and Cha Cha Moon are two of the largest parties directly on the beach.  As the clubs do not really start getting going until 10 you may want to check out one of the Lady Boy Cabaret.  There are two main spots in Chewang and both put on a great show, Starz Cabaret and Paris Follies Cabaret. They are both free to enter but it is required you purchase a drink and the prices are inflated.  At Paris Follies Cabaret all drinks, even a soda, is 390 baht.  At Starz Cabaret the price starts at 250 bath.

Koh Samui is a surprisingly large for an island and very spread out.  This is important when choosing the best hotel as you do not want to have to worry about travelling too far. If you are able to rent a scooter this opens up a world of opportunities and will also find cheaper rates.  If you choose to stay off the tourist areas you will probably find yourself driving their each day. Taxi Cabs are very expensive and there are no tuk tuk so be careful where you choose.

Odds are when you travel that you are not spending too much time at your hotel. You are looking for a nice place at a moderately low budget.  We are not talking about dorms or shared accommodations but something quiet, with a pool, and of course at a bargain.  The spot we recommend for most visitors is Lamai Beach Area.

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