koh samui advice
 

I will be going in June as I was able to book the conrad at the lower points. was looking for some advice after reading here, tripadvisor, and wikipedia.

Trip from BKK to Samui. I see different posts about plane, train, or ferry. I see the air is about $280 right now on kayak for this summer. assuming it holds would be okay. What airlines/CC can you use miles for air? I saw flying blue, any others?

Car. Any recommendations on company. Read some negatives of some of the big names on island. Also saw some saying get the larger cars as the roads are hilly. not sure if talking about power, and need that much to get over hills or unsafe roads.

Price seems a little high for 5-6 day. was wondering if renting a car in another location and ferry in is good idea as some mentioned. Is it that much cheaper, and worth the trouble?

Any good deal sites for cars? (chase ultimate rewards does not show any). Would you rent for the whole trip to go out as I see some negative reviews on the dining on property. Would like to wander as well.

Sightseeing. Any good recommendations on places to go? It will be my wife and I. Any areas you need to be cautious of while wandering around?

Any good recommendations for dining in the Conrad area, or are you stuck driving a ways to get to good dining.

As well as clubs or nightlife. Anything in that area?

Boat trips from the hotel or other places? Snorkeling to other islands, or is there decent snorkeling on the island. hearing both in reading.


thanks for any advice.

There is a bit of information in the comments at the bottom of this blog post: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...rad-koh-samui/

I think the summary is- no nightlife near there, there's an off-resort restaurant or two near there, one is called green talay.

We rented a car there last year when staying at the W Retreat. The rental isn't really cheap, but we still more than made up for it's cost by not dining at the resort at least once each day. It was pretty liberating to be able to pop out to Tesco whenever we wanted to stock up on food/adult drinks. Didn't find driving there particularly stressful, just have to watch out for the crazy number of motorbikes.

Heading back to BKK tomorrow and Samui a few days later. Can't wait!

I travelled most of Samui, including the hilly parts on a rented motorbike, so I presume a small car should be just fine. Ofcourse nothing says going local better than a muddy Toyota or Isuzu pick-up truck.

Last year, I had a rental from Krabi and went to Samui for few days. No problem at all, good roads, big island. We had economy car, no issues. Two ferry companies from Surat Thani, with service each hour or so. Can take train down south and then rent a car. Can combine with other places. There are many options, it's all up to you.

As for airlines, forget Expedia. Look at AirAsia, Bangkok Air, Nok Air.

Not sure if you already have everything booked or not since it's June but when I went to Koh Samui in March I flew on TG so if you have *A miles you might be able to find a flight on them.

I see you have a UA MP account so check united.com to see if any award flights are available on the days you want to travel.

IMHO, not worth wasting the miles on 1 hour flight for which low cost alternatives are available.

It is June 2014. I booked hotel in advance before devalue of points. Now waiting for air availability with AA-Cathay in July.

Is there any site I can look for others that may be there at the same time, and have others to travel the island with. My wife and I will be at the Conrad June 15-21, 2014. We are planning on renting a car for the week at this point to see the island.

Any recommendations on reputable rental car companies, and excursions? (snorkel, elephant, etc.) Is the island pretty safe to drive from the beaches to Conrad in the evening if going out, as it looks like a good distance to go out to clubs/restaurants.

thanks for any help.

IMHO, island is quite safe to drive, there are not that many roads, very easy to navigate. As I said, I rented a car from mainland and used the ferry, so I can't recommend a car rental.

There is not that much to explore on the Island. You will find lots of farangs there, so I don't think you need to look for someone in advance. But you can try some expats forums - there are 2 that are quite popular.

I'd strongly suggest "Crystal bay beach". It's somehow a secret beach, as you won't get many hits on google if you search for "koh samui" beaches. However, it's by far the most stunning beach on the island.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2881/9...371d845d_c.jpg

View of the beach from the north end:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7347/9...2a19e5d4_c.jpg

and if you go around the rocks on the south end, you will end up on a tiny top secret beach - the blue spot in the middle is my shirt on :DDDDDD

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/9...a6d2d3e4_c.jpg

which hotel did you stay at to access crystal bay beach? was it this hotel: www.crystalbaykohsamui.com/? also, hotel recs in the <200 range? many thanks.