The Complete Koh Samui Guide 2026: Why I Might Never Leave!

Phuket is one of Thailand's most popular islands, but over the last few years it's gotten absolutely crazy with tourism. So what if I told you that I had found a new destination that was just as good but with better prices and no crowds. Coastal movie number one. Sawasdee krap my friends and welcome back. Today we are exploring Thailand's island paradise of Koh Samui and this place has it all. I'm talking about gorgeous beaches, beautiful water, jungle waterfalls, stunning sunsets, and a nightlife that will keep you dancing till the sun comes up. I'll be taking you through the three main towns here, Phuket, Chawang, and Lamai. Each with a completely different vibe and each one gives Phuket a run first money. So make sure to stick around to the end so you don't miss out on any of my tips and advice to get the most out of your trip here. Now let's get into it. We are starting our day on the beautiful beach here in Boput, but before we get into it I wanted to tell you how you get here. And that's actually one of the great things about the island is that just like Phuket there is a direct flight here from Bangkok so you can be here in less than 45 minutes. Now I got a pretty good deal and paid $100 for a one-way ticket but I've seen them for as expensive as $300. So if that's outside of your budget there is another option. You can fly into Suratani, the town right on the mainland over here, and hop on a ferry out to the island that takes about two hours. Now it's only about $30 or $60 to get a flight to Suratani and another $30 for the boat. So if it's not in your budget to do the direct flight you have the option of getting here for much cheaper. It just takes more time. And that's one of those great things about this island is there are so many options and there is something for everyone. Now let's hit that beach. Boput beach has the kind of easygoing charm that hits you the second your feet hit the sand. It is so calm and relaxing here and probably the most chill beach that we are going to be visiting all day. When you come down here there are chilled out cafes, great places to sit in the sand. The water is nice and calm so it is a great place to go out and do some kayaking, supping, or even hop on a jet ski for a little bit. Pretty nice right? I mean it is just so relaxed here. And unlike the other beaches that we're going to today where people go there to go to the beach this is really like more of a place that you stay. And all along the ocean here are some amazing villas and hotels with private swimming pools and beautiful little areas in the front with umbrellas and beach chairs. But they are a little bit outside of my budget. Oh, oh thank you so much. Thank you. And my iced coffee arrived just in time. Let me just get a quick sip. Nothing like a nice iced americano sitting on the beach with a view. Where was I? Oh yeah, so those hotels are a little bit out of my budget but they look absolutely amazing. So if you can afford them definitely spend a few nights here and just enjoy this amazing place. But as I mentioned before there are lots of options here on Koh Samui. So I'm staying just a five minute walk up the road at the Village Fisherman's Village. And for $26 a night I get a nice comfortable room with a TV, a balcony and they even have a swimming pool which is just perfect on those hot days when you don't want to make it all the way down to the beach. So Samui's just been blowing me away. I can't believe I haven't been here before. It's one of those places I always heard about and I was actually planning on going to Phuket and one of my Thai friends was like why don't you go to Koh Samui instead? And I am so glad that I did. And when you're done chilling on the beach or you just need a little break right behind it is the main walking street in town that is lined with hotels, beach bars, restaurants trendy shopping and you can even head through one of the massage places and get a beautiful foot massage right on the water. And at night every day they close it down from six to 10 and that's when it really comes alive. I mean they close it down for traffic they don't close down the road. And one of the other reasons why I chose to stay here as opposed to the other places is that they have a famous night market here on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays where it is absolutely massive and you can do some really good shopping for souvenirs and lots of other things as well as find some delicious food and they have pop-up bars and live music. It is so cool and even if you're not staying in the town it's definitely a place that you want to take at least one of those nights to come and check out for yourself. Right now we are heading back to my accommodations to grab my motorbike and head over to Chau Wang but before we get there there's going to actually be a couple of other stops that we're not going to be making but are definitely worth doing while you're here. The first one is the big golden Buddha that is absolutely beautiful against the blue sky and a restaurant called Mr. Dam which is an authentic Thai eating experience. It is Mugatha or Thai barbecue and it's one of those places that's kind of like The Sizzler but you cook for yourself. They bring you these two big bowls of coals that go on your table and you get unlimited seafood, meat and other little snacks. It's way more fun with friends and luckily I had a couple of my Thai lady friends there to cook for me and the food is great. It's one of those things that you have to do while you're in Thailand and I highly recommend it. So now we are going to trade the peace and serene of Boput for the beating heart of the island over in Chau Wang which has the biggest beaches and the greatest nightlife. So I will see you over there. All right. We have arrived at Chau Wang beach and this is a totally different vibe than we were having just a few minutes ago in Boput. Look at this. So many people here and the water is so beautiful. I am coining this Samui Bluey. I have patent pending on that but man this is a totally different vibe than we just had. You can hear the music pumping. There are people everywhere and it's also a much younger crowd. I feel like we were just in Boput it was probably more like my age early 40s maybe mid 40s and up whereas here it is like teens to 30s and people are having such a good time right now eating, drinking, going jet skiing and just enjoying this amazing weather. Look at that. Man so so nice. And this beach is actually the biggest one on the island. It's seven kilometers long. I think that's like five miles and it's just so gorgeous and there's different entrances to get onto it. Right now we are on the more southern side so there are less people. If you head to the middle it is like beach club heaven down there. There are just so many of them with pools right on the water, bean bag chairs, DJs playing music and you can even float in some bean bags if you want to which is so cool. And if you continue down a little bit farther you come to Ark Bar which is one of my favorite places to go here during the day and at night. They have this really cool pool and seaside area with a pool bar that you can go into for free as long as you buy drinks or something to eat which is so good. They do some really good Thai food there and at night that's when it really comes alive down there. Now I've mentioned that this is the nightlife hot spot and I'm telling you that the Ark Bar is the place that you want to start every night if you are looking for a party. It is so cool. Honestly, it's like one of those beach dance parties that you see in the movies there and it is just going off all the time. People dancing, DJs and they have an amazing fire show there. It's not quite as good as the one that I show in my Best of Krabby video which you should definitely check out if you haven't seen it but this one is definitely up there and it goes on for like 35 minutes. It is so cool. Then when you're done there head over to the Green Mango for some open-air dancing and just amazing music. I also saw one of my new idols there this 86 year old or 86 years young man just dancing his face off like nothing else in the world mattered and it was so cool. Then when you're done there you can head over to the Sound Bar. Now this place doesn't open until 10 and I think it stays open until the sun comes up but it was crazy there. The DJs are off the hook and the atmosphere is just mind-blowing. People are dancing their faces off. There's bottle service going out with the fireworks on them and it is such a great place to end every evening down here. And this town in general is probably the most convenient town here on the island. It has the most bars, the most restaurants. They have multiple shopping malls including a Samui Central that have a market every day out front where you can go and hang out and listen to live music and enjoy some food. And on your way into town you actually pass by the White Market which is an afternoon night market that happens every day. That's another great place to enjoy some delicious Thai cuisine. And that's pretty much Chawang in a coconut shell. It is the longest, liveliest, and easily the wildest stretch of sand here in Samui. So if you're looking for that constant action nightlife and that boom, boom, boom, boom kind of music down on the beach then this is definitely the place for you to come and stay or at least hang out. But there is one more section of beach that I want to take you to right now that I think might just be my favorite. It's called Lamai and it is the perfect balance between the action and relaxation that you just might be looking for. So let's go and hop on the motorbike and head over. I will see you there in a few. And finally, welcome to Lamai Beach. This beach is four kilometers long making it the second largest beach on the island and you can just wander along the sand all alone find yourself a little isolated patch of beach. But if you want to be around people there are lots of beachside bars and restaurants as well. It's also a great place to come down to at night. They set up tables on the sand and you can sit with a little candlelit dinner and enjoy yourself. I'm more down towards the end where all of the very cool little bungalows are. And that's something else about Lamai. The prices are a little bit cheaper here than you will find at Chawang or Boput. So you can be beachfront for as little as I want to say I saw a place for about $35 a night and it looked really great. Unfortunately, they were booked up when I was finally there to press the button but it's all good. I like where I'm staying in Boput. And if you go about halfway down the beach you will come to a series of restaurants and the one that I go to frequently is called Bamboo. You can just sit with your feet in the sand and get some delicious Thai food. There are vendors coming by very gently trying to sell you things and you can even get yourself a little pedicure while you're having your meal. It was so nice. I really needed it. If you go all the way down to the end you will come to the Hin Hat Hin Yai which is one of the landmarks here that is really great to go and take photos with. It may or may not look like a phallic symbol coming out of the rocks but it's beautiful either way and I definitely recommend going down there. Right next to it you will also find yourself a really cool little reggae bar with a view of the ocean. Such a chill place to go. And the town itself is actually super chill and like an exact midway between the Boput and Chawang. There are lots of bars and restaurants. They have a really great daily night market right at the beginning of the town and one restaurant I've been to like five times is called Annie's Sweetery and Eatery and they do some amazing vegan food. Now you know I'm not a vegan but the food is delicious. Their breakfast bowls, smoothies and their salads are just wow so so good. And it's starting to get to that time of the day. You can see the blue water isn't so blue right now because the sun is starting to go down and I really want to take you up to the highest point of the island to get some amazing views for the sunset. But along the way there are actually a bunch of things that you can do. So when you leave the Hinhat Hinyai you will be driving down the road and on the left you go past the Snake Stone Temple which has this beautiful golden Buddha inside and then some views of the ocean. Then just down about 10 minutes past that is the Na Muang Waterfall which is gorgeous and a great place to go and take a swim and just relax in nature. Then when you leave the waterfall head back towards Lamai and you will come to Wat Khanaram where you can see a mummified monk that is meditating in a glass case. I know it sounds weird or crazy it's definitely the only place I've ever seen this. Apparently he was a master meditator and his last will and testament was that when he passed on to the next life he wanted to be kept in his meditative state and put where people could go and see him for inspiration. It's really cool either way. Then directly across the street you start to head up the mountain and you will come to this very cool free viewpoint that has some sweeping views of the island and some cool little places to snap some photos. From there you continue up and you go by the Buddha Park where they have a plethora of Buddhas along the river that is so peaceful and a great place to just go and relax in some more nature. Then from there you continue up and I do mean up, up, up until you get to the top where you will emerge at a temple and head up the winding staircase to get up to the top to get those views that I cannot wait to show you. Wow, gorgeous. You can see the moon right next to the stupa. Wow, all the little Buddha heads. So nice. What a time to be up here. So we've arrived at the Golden Buddha and I love the ride up here. I mean after you do those activities all those activities I just told you about there is just riding through the jungle and it is so nice for most of the way. The last kilometer or two are pretty rough so if you're not an experienced driver I would say either get a tour up here or take a taxi because man I've been riding for 20 years and I almost spilled a couple of times so be careful because I care about you and I don't want to lose you on the way to go and see a Buddha for sunset. But anyway, right now the sun is setting and the colors are amazing. We are at the highest point of the island where the Golden Buddha stands. We are 600 meters up and you just look out and see all of the bays and the mountains and the forest and it sweeps all the way over to the Golden Buddha that looks oh so golden right now because of the time of the day that it is. And while the sun is setting here you really can't get a good sunset here because it goes behind the mountain. So last night I went to Lipa Noi on the west coast and wow it blew me away. So red, so orange, the palm trees, the waves coming in absolutely stunning. Let's talk about the tips that I wanted to give you about the island. So getting here there are two options primarily and the easiest one obviously is what I did it was flying in but I booked early and it's the shoulder season right now so I only paid $120 for it. During the high season it can be $300 for the same ticket so if you don't have the money and you have a little extra time definitely go with the Suritani flight that normally costs between $30 and $60 and then take the four-hour ferry over that only costs I think $10 or $12 I forget what it is exactly but yeah it's great. You have options for everyone. And the second one is I love that there are so many options for places to stay so if you want something that is chilled out that is a little more fancy Boput is the way to go. If you want to stay where the partying goes on go to Chawang and if you are going to Chawang make sure that you hit the bars that I showed you there especially the Ark Bar for the fire show that is so freaking gorgeous. Absolutely loved it. It's not as good as the one I showed you in my best things to do in Krabi video which you should definitely check out if you haven't because it's not that far away it's another great beach destination out here. And Lamai. The next time I come here I'm definitely staying in Lamai. It's just like that perfect mix it's like Goldilocks and the Three Bears you know one bed was too hard one bed was too soft and one bed was just right and I think Lamai is definitely just right so again it's up to you what you want. The third one get a motorbike if you can it gives you that freedom to go around the island and see all the things I've been telling you about but you do need to have an international driving permit and at the very least you have to be wearing a helmet while you are on the road. I've been pulled over twice and thankfully I was wearing my helmet because it's a thousand baht fine so that's $30. The motorbike only costs 180 baht a day so definitely be careful and be safe. You know things can happen and I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt and safety is sexy so don't be worried about looking like a fool with your helmet on because I'd rather have you alive and happy than dead and looking good. I don't even know if that makes sense and remember I only got to show you a little taste of all the things that you can do here. Koh Samui is actually pretty big and you could be here for weeks and not see all of the things it has to offer especially all the waterfalls because I feel like every time I turn a corner there's another waterfall so take as much time as you can here. Remember that this is part of the three island chain that includes Koh Tao and Koh Phangan so there is so much and each one of them is completely different and like I love Koh Tao it's one of my favorite islands in Thailand. I have a great video from there if you want to check it out right here but you can actually just take a day trip over there and go scuba diving if you want to so you can get the best of that and still have this place and I guess that kind of brings me to the end of our comparison of Phuket versus Samui. Now I'm not talking bad about Phuket I mentioned that before I love Phuket but I just think it's gotten so busy and so crazy that it's lost a lot of its charm and it's so big that it can take you hours and hours and hours to get around whereas here the longest thing you're going to be driving even if you went all the way around the island would be an hour and a half so most things are only a 20 minute drive which is just so great and so convenient and they have all the things that Phuket has just with less people you still have the shopping mall the movie theater the doctors the hospitals the beaches all the different international cuisines and so many options for places to stay and I just think that for me in the future I will be picking Koh Samui for my trip and I think that you should too I mean definitely experience both if you haven't been to Phuket before you hear that shooting there's also shooting ranges here so if you're into shooting you can do that as well wow that sunset is gorgeous right now sorry you're looking at me not the sunset I'll flip it around in a second but yeah I think that I was really impressed with Koh Samui I can't believe I haven't been here before I've been so many places in Thailand and I feel like I was avoiding this one because I figured it would be more like Phi Phi where it was going to be crazy with people but it's really not it's just so nice it's so fun and the people are so nice here honestly I love it I'm so happy to be back and I think this is a good time to say farewell for this video so if you enjoyed it please give me a big thumbs up comment subscribe and don't forget to khob khun kap my friends I will see you next time and I hope you have the best week