Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 784

by staying at the quiet extremities of the
bay, where there's still a decent selection
of beachside backpackers' resorts. he
nightlife action is concentrated behind
the centre of the beach, where you'll also
find supermarkets, banks, ATMs, clinics,
internet outlets and vehicle rental. he
small rock formations on the bay's
southern promontory, Hin Yay
(“Grandmother Rock”) and Hin Ta
(“Grandfather Rock”), never fail to raise a
giggle with their resemblance to the male
and female sexual organs.

Ko Tao (see p.794) and from Chumphon (see p.783) all
offer the same service in the return direction.
Lomprayah Catamaran to Na Thon (Na Thon T 077
950028, W lomprayah.com): twice daily; 45min; B450
including bus from Surat Thani, B500 from Phunphin. Both
continue to Ko Pha Ngan.
Seatran vehicle ferries to Na Thon (Samui T 077
426000-2, W seatranferry.com): hourly; 1hr 30min; B270
including bus from Surat Thani, B320 from Phunphin.
Raja vehicle ferries to Lipa Noi aka Thong Yang
(Samui T 077 415230-3, W rajaferryport.com): hourly;
1hr 30min; B270 including bus from Surat Thani, B320
from Phunphin.

10

Na Muang Falls
About 10km inland of Lamai, off the
round-island road, lie Na Muang Falls .
Each of the two main falls has its own
kilometre-long paved access road off
Route 4169: the lower falls splash down a
20m wall of rock into a large pool, while
Na Muang 2, upstream, is a more
spectacular cascade that requires a bit of
foot-slogging from the car park (about
15min uphill); alternatively, you can walk
up there from Na Muang 1, by taking the
1.5km trail that begins 300m back along
the access road from the lower fall.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
BY PLANE
Flights to Samui are among the most expensive in
Thailand, so you might want to consider flying from
Bangkok to Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat; Nok Air
and Air Asia offer good-value through-tickets via either
of these airports, including flight, bus and boat to Samui.
You can get to Ko Samui direct from Suvarnabhumi Airport
with Thai Airways (2 daily), or with Bangkok Airways
(about 20 daily), which also operates flights from Chiang
Mai, Hong Kong, Krabi, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket and
Singapore. A/c minibuses meet incoming flights (and
connect with departures, bookable through your accom-
modation), charging B130 to Chaweng for example.

BY LONG DISTANCE BUS
Ko Samui's government bus terminal (Baw Khaw Saw) is
on Th Taweeratpakdee towards the north end of Na Thon
( T 077 421125 or T 077 420765). It handles bus-and-
boat services (via Don Sak and Lipa Noi), for example from
Bangkok's Southern Terminal (some also stopping at Mo
Chit bus terminal; 9-10 daily; 13hr), which cost from B608
on a basic a/c bus to B1066 on a VIP bus - these are far
preferable to the cheap deals offered by dodgy travel
agents on Th Khao San, as the vehicles used on the latter
services are often substandard and many thefts have been
reported. The Baw Khaw Saw also sells through-tickets to
Nakhon Si Thammarat (roughly hourly; 4hr), which involve
catching the ferry to Don Sak, then changing on to an
a/c minibus.

GETTING AROUND
By car and motorbike You can rent motorbikes (from
B200/day) at all the main beaches, though note that
dozens are killed on Samui's roads each year, so go with
extreme caution and wear a helmet. You can also rent four-
wheel drives (from B800).
By songthaew Songthaews, which congregate at the car
park near the southerly pier in Na Thon, cover a variety of
set routes during the daytime, either heading off clockwise
or anticlockwise on Route 4169, to serve all the beaches;
destinations are marked in English and fares range from
B40-50 to Maenam to B80-100 to Chaweng or Lamai. In
the evening, they tend to operate more like taxis and you'll
have to negotiate a fare to get them to take you exactly
where you want to go.
By taxi Ko Samui sports dozens of a/c taxis. Although
they all have meters, you'd be wasting your breath trying
to persuade any driver to use his; instead, you're looking
at a flat fare of around B500 from Na Thon to Chaweng,
for example.

BY BOAT
The most obvious way of getting to Ko Samui is on a boat
from the Surat Thani area, the main piers being at Don Sak,
68km east of Surat. The main port on Samui is Na Thon;
Thong Yang pier is 9km south of Na Thon. Buses leave
about 1hr 30min before boat departure from Surat Thani
centre and 1hr 45min before from the train station. The
night boat leaves Ban Don pier in Surat Thani for Na Thon
at 11pm daily (6hr); tickets (B250) are sold at the pier on
the day of departure. Boats to Ko Pha Ngan (see p.790),

INFORMATION
Tourist information TAT runs a small but helpful o ce
(daily 8.30am-noon & 1-4.30pm; T 077 420504,