Ko Samui - How to get there and what to do?

I have tentatively scheduled my next trip to thailand. A heterosexual female friend of mine wants to tag along for a 2 week trip to Asia. She wants to visit Ko Samui. The plan is for her to visit her son in Singapore and then we will meet in Ko Samui for 10 days.

I looked on the Airasia website..and it looks like they do not fly directly to Ko Samui? Is that correct? Flights directly to Ko Samui seem quite spendy.

Where should we stay? I want gay night life and she wants a bit of nature.

Can we keep ourselves entertained for 10 days? My thought was to have a friend from BKK accompany me and I would be fine but can she keep herself busy for 10 days?

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Originally Posted by kittyboy

A heterosexual female friend of mine wants to tag along for a 2 week trip to Asia.

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Ohhh, for me that would be the kiss of death to any holiday in Asia as far as I'd be concerned with just about any "girl friend" I can think of - even my most favourite.

AFAIK, the airport in Koh Samui is owned by Bangkok Airways (?) and only they fly in and out, and prices are quite high.

Alternatives are bus or train to Chumphon and ferry from there, or bus or train to Surat Thani and ferry from there [Don Sak port, which is another hour by bus or van from Surat Thani]. All rather lengthy trips (12 hours?).

The gay night life is limited to some kabarets. No gogo bars any more.

Unless you enjoy lying on the beach, there is not much to do for 10 days. The usual stuff (book a tour to go around the island to visit some temples, waterfalls, use of monkeys to harvest coconuts, snake show - I disapprove of using animals for entertainments) can keep you busy for some days. I would get bored after 3 days. In addition, public transport is poor and taxi/tuk-tuk is grossly overpriced, if you want to get around on your own you should rent a motorbike (or not - there seem to be a lot of accidents of tourists on motorbikes).

Based on one trip in Feb 2011 and reading on the internet and in books.

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Originally Posted by christianpfc

AFAIK, the airport in Koh Samui is owned by Bangkok Airways (?) and only they fly in and out, and prices are quite high.

Alternatives are bus or train to Chumphon and ferry from there, or bus or train to Surat Thani and ferry from there [Don Sak port, which is another hour by bus or van from Surat Thani]. All rather lengthy trips (12 hours?).

The gay night life is limited to some kabarets. No gogo bars any more.

Unless you enjoy lying on the beach, there is not much to do for 10 days. The usual stuff (book a tour to go around the island to visit some temples, waterfalls, use of monkeys to harvest coconuts, snake show - I disapprove of using animals for entertainments) can keep you busy for some days. I would get bored after 3 days. In addition, public transport is poor and taxi/tuk-tuk is grossly overpriced, if you want to get around on your own you should rent a motorbike (or not - there seem to be a lot of accidents of tourists on motorbikes).

Based on one trip in Feb 2011 and reading on the internet and in books.

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Our original plan was to go to Phuket or BKK which would be a more interesting trip as there are more things to do and see. I will be in SE Asia for 2 months so I don't mind hanging out with an old friend for 10 days. Ko Samui was not my first choice..or second or third choice. My friends son is flying out from Singapore to where ever we decide to go and I think he wants to go to Ko Samui. He would stay for a long weekend and then my friend and I would be there for the rest of the time. As I said she is a dear friend but damn..this might end up being a languid 10 days... and I was hoping for less languid and more lewd.

I was in Ko Samui 30 years ago..before the airport was build and as I recall it was quite boring...mostly strolling along the beach, windsurfing, etc. As I recall I rented an A frame hut on the beach..the kind of place that had a palm frond roof. I am older and am looking for a less rustic experience. My budget is about 1000 baht a night.

If we end up going does anyone have a recommendation on where to stay?

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Originally Posted by kittyboy

I have tentatively scheduled my next trip to thailand. A heterosexual female friend of mine wants to tag along for a 2 week trip to Asia. She wants to visit Ko Samui. The plan is for her to visit her son in Singapore and then we will meet in Ko Samui for 10 days.

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She's a fag hag? then no. If however she's offering to fix you up with her son I guess that might be worth the effort

You can fly to Surat Thani and use combined ticket to Koh Samui from airport there - bus + ferry

There are few gay places on the island https://www.travelgayasia.com/destin...and/gay-samui/

Koh Samui has one advantage over Phuket et al; its location means that its climate is different, resulting in the June-September months being less wet.

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Originally Posted by kittyboy

I was in Ko Samui 30 years ago..before the airport.... My budget is about 1000 baht a night.

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You’ll be lucky! I’ve been quite a few times and end up spending 2 or 3times that amount. Ok it’s on the beach but really nothing special. A large wooden hut basically.

Three to five days max for Mo Samui. Send the lad to KoPan Phan! (Sp).

Bangkok Airways, as already mentioned, is ridiculously expensive as they own/control the airport. From here in Chiang Mai, I fly direct to Surat Thani on AirAsia for a fraction of the Bangkok Airways price and at a more convenient time. From Bangkok you have more options to Surat and it's cheaper. (By buying during a seat sale the return flight CNX-SRT-CNX cost a shade under Bht1800) Picked up a rental car and spent the night near Don Sak, before taking the ferry the following morning. The outbound ferry was a standard RoRo, but the return was a side-loading ferry.... different.

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Originally Posted by gerefan2

You’ll be lucky! I’ve been quite a few times and end up spending 2 or 3times that amount. Ok it’s on the beach but really nothing special. A large wooden hut basically.

Three to five days max for Mo Samui. Send the lad to KoPan Phan! (Sp).

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Thanks for the post. I am not keen on Ko Samui. I will try and redirect my friend towards a more interesting location.
She retired last year and wants to travel and see the world. I think that is a great idea but her idea of travel is more resort travel..go someplace spend 200-300 USD a day and get pampered. I told her that my style was much different and she has agreed to rough it as it were. I suspect I am setting up a conflict where she wants a high end travel experience (though she says she does not) and my style of travel which is more going to local sights during the day and going out at night. I wanted to go to BKK so that she could go on excursions during the day but she wants a more relaxed experience.

Oh well.
Maybe Hua Hin? or Chiang Mai?

As others have pointed out... Some would go stir crazy on Ko Samui after 10 days
My first trip was 2 nights solo, second was 3 nights with BF... He has officially banned us from going back there!
Why not Spend the first 5 days with your friend and her son on Samui, and then fly over to Phuket for the next 5?

I note that the Akwa Guesthouse on Chaweng/Samui has closed down.... good riddance!
We booked there after advice on this forum and ended up moving out and forfeiting our prepaid rooms 6-7 hours after checking in!

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Originally Posted by Moses

You can fly to Surat Thani and use combined ticket to Koh Samui from airport there - bus + ferry

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Or fly to Krabi, spend a couple of days there (Ao Nang), then take a bus up to Surat Thani & the ferry from there. Obviously not as direct as the previous proposal, however if you want to see a little more of Thailand, it's an option.

Hey -

Thanks for the comments.
Ko Samui sounds like a 2-3 day trip at the very most.
I will try and direct my friend to more interesting travels.