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Lamai

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Ko Samui : Lamai
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Lamai is a beach on the east coast of Ko Samui, Thailand.

[edit] Orientation

The southern third of the beach has the widest strip of sand, is the best for swimming, and has the most nearby eating and drinking and shopping options. To the north, the water doesn't get deep enough for swimming until you're quite some distance out, and the further north you go, the narrower and quieter the beach becomes, eventually becoming rocky towards the headland.

There is a significant number of girlie bars along the main street as well as in some side streets. They are most prevalent in the southern part of town, while the northern part is virtually free of them.

[edit] Get in

Minibus transfers between Lamai and Samui Airport cost about 150 baht/person; a private taxi charter costs around 300-400 baht.

A minibus from the ferry terminal (normally) sets you back 60 baht, but most tourists are asked (and do pay) 100. See the Ko_Samui#By_bus section about how you may try to avoid that.

[edit][add listing] See

Grandfather and grandmother stones
Grandfather and grandmother stones

Hire a jeep or motorbike and explore the surrounding area of Lamai as there are plenty of interesting attractions to see. Ko Samui's most popular tourist sites are in this locality so if you're getting bored swimming all day, try some exploring around the area instead.

The south of Lamai, once you get past the Muslim Fishing village Hua Thanon, is Samui before becoming the popular tourist destination it is now. It gives you a view of lush greenery, livestock grazing in the fields, and little roadside cafes selling drinks and Thai dishes.

Between Lamai and Hua Thanon lies two famous rock formations: Hin Ta and Hin Yai also known as Grandpa and Grandma rocks. These formations look like the male and female genitalia, respectively. What makes these rocks even more strange is that they are close to each other, giving way to a legend explaining how they came to be.

Near Hin Ta and Hin Yai is a small beach. It is not for swimming but it gives you time to cool your feet. Small souvenir shops sell clothes, postcards, drinks and snacks including the local sweet "galamae". Parking is convenient and viewing these popular formations are free.

The Wat Lamai Temple has played host to temple fairs along with weddings, funerals and various religious festivals. It features concerts, fariground games, food and an outdoor cinema. The temple fairs are week-long celebration and are worth seeing if you happen to be in Lamai during one.

The Cultural Hall within the temple contains a collection of artifacts from Samui's past. The collections range from brass and earthenware containers to a 2000 year old metal ceremonial drum dug out from a Lamai village.

Wat Khunaram houses the body of one of Samui's most famous mummified monk, Loung Pordaeng. Loung Pordaeng passed away 20 years ago and, by his request, his body was placed in a glass case. His body has remained in the specially-made glass case since his death and amazingly, shows only a few signs of decay.

[edit][add listing] Do

  • Take a swim in the Gulf of Thailand. The beach is wide and has nice sand.
  • Head down to walking street on a Sunday evening for a wide variety of stalls, live music and activities for children. Located in between the bridge and the local market, walking street is always busy with Thai's and Westerners alike.
  • Check out the amazing Ovada Showband in the Samui Shamrock. The 5 piece live Phillipino band play on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and with a repertoire of over 800 songs in genres such as rock, pop and reggae this is a great night out for everyone and anyone!

[edit] Diving

There are numerous dive shops in Lamai though they all have one thing in common - there is no diving on Koh Samui and so they all travel to Koh Tao for the day.

  • Live & Let Dive Located on Lamai Ring road not far from the Beach Road. This is a friendly place to dive. They offer courses from bubble maker to Instructor and also first aid and technical diving courses. They offer daily trips to Koh Tao on a speed boat, with 2 fun dives including breakfast, lunch, equipment, insurance and an instructor. Returning back to Lamai for approximiately 3pm. [1]
  • Bophut Diving School Located on Lamai Beach road inbetween Churchills and Sri Nuan 2, Bophut Diving School has a well stocked shop of dive equipment. They do 3 times a week trips to Koh Tao and offer courses from bubble maker through to dive master. They have a boat of their own and whilst slightly more expensive than other shops on the island it is worth the extra for the experience.
  • Thai Scuba Divers Located on Lamai Beach road not far from the boxing ring, this is a friendly place to dive. They offer courses from bubble maker to dive master and also first aid and EFR courses. They offer almost daily trips to Koh Tao on a speed boat, with 2 fun dives costing around 4500baht including lunch, equipment and an instructor, returning back to Lamai for approximiately 3pm.

[edit][add listing] Buy

  • Night Market Not far from McDonalds on a side street is a night market which opens from around 6pm-midnight. There are numerous stalls selling all types of handicrafts, jewellery, art and presents. Most vendors enjoy bartering with you and will accept a lower price than they first offer. Although not the cheapest price to buy things from in Thailand it is one of the cheapest places in Lamai.
  • Walking Street Every Sunday, Lamai beach road in between the market and the bridge is now host to walking steet. The whole of the street is closed off to traffic and is full of stalls selling clothes, handicrafts and food. The area is full of Thai people when the market is on so prices are cheap and the food is fantastic.
  • Tesco Lotus Tesco Lotus opened in Lamai in September 2009 and is quite similar to many Western Tesco's. There is a small mall before entering the supermarket with many shops selling clothes, beauty products and electronics and also some restaurants including KFC, Sydneys Fish and Chips and Black Canyon Coffee. Tesco Lotus itself has some clothes at cheap prices and food which is pricemarked - great if you are self catering.
  • Bargaining is always possible when it comes to souvenir and souvenir-like products. Even when a price is indicated a discount up to 50% might be available. As many shops and the often cheaper market stalls sell mostly the similar products ask at several places to get an idea of what is a reasonable price before starting haggling for the product you really want.
  • There are lots of souvenir shops lined up in the main street. It is not uncommon for the shopkeepers to ask 5 times the normal tourist price.

[edit][add listing] Eat

  • Lamai Food Market Located next to the boxing ring and opposite McDonalds are a wide range of stalls open from around 4pm to midnight. Stalls include Thai food, pizza, fish, kebabs, fruit shakes. At cheap prices and locally run this is definitely a place to visit more than once.
  • Kamalaya [2] has three eateries: Soma Restaurant, Amrita Cafe, and Alchemy Bar.
  • Barrio Latino Across from Mc Donald, lovely Tapas, and Mexican restaurant, latin music, serving amazing cocktails, they also have live acoustic spanish guitar player twice a week, definitely unmissable place in Lamai
  • Sri Nuan 2 Located on Lamai Beach road just across from the Mynt Bar Sri Nuan 2 is one of the most popular restaurants in Lamai. It serves a wide range of Thai food and some delicious Western dishes. Fresh fish (including snapper, lobster, crab, mussels and shark) is also served with your option of how it is cooked. With super cheap prices, super friendly staff and also a take away option this is definitely worth a visit.
  • Pizzeria Napoli Also called Boomerang Pizza this restaurant is located not far from the boxing ring on Lamai beach road. The pizzas are the cheapest in town and any topping is possible. With a menu including pastas, breads and also Thai food - and a chef from Napoli this is the best Italian in Lamai. Watch out for Mo as well - the Thai mama boss - hillarious if you have the time to sit and talk to her whilst waiting for your food.
  • Kokomiko - Thai / International restaurant on the ring road between Lamai and Hinta Hinyai opposite the DTAC tower. Serves quality food since 13 years and is well known by the expat community. Homemade Spaetzle, Gulash, Schnitzel & Steaks and the best Thai dishes are available.
  • Krua Mapraw - Thai restaurant on the ring road across from the IT Complex on the way to Chaweng. They serve rice and noodle dishes, soups and seafood for reasonable prices, starting at 25 baht.
  • The Spa - on the right side, on the Lamai to Chaweng road. The restaurant is hidden by the hotel building. Go there along a small path on the right side. The setting is very nice, located right at the beach. The food is among the best on the island. You get health and healthy food in all styles, e.g. Thai, pasta, salads, seafood, burgers, etc. at reasonable prices.
  • RYDA cafe'shop Lamai beach. Good food and cheap price service. Free! internet. phone=""+66817333038 email=""ryda_thailand@hotmail.com

[edit][add listing] Drink

  • Eagle Pub (live rock music)
  • Pocahontas Bar (to get a break from the hello sexy man rat race)
  • Churchill's. The English ex-pat pub. Good for a bite as well.  edit
  • Queensland Pub. The Aussie ex-pat pub. Also good for a bite.  edit
  • Samui Shamrock, (Located on Lamai Beach Road.), [3]. Famous Irish Pub, Bar & Restaurant that shows all premier league football and International Rugby, as well as live music from top bands each and every night.  edit
  • Mynt Bar Located across from Churchills this is possibly the only real looking 'wine bar' in Lamai. With live sports, pool tables, a juke box and friendly staff, it is always a good night.
  • Outback Bar Located opposite Cozy Corner and not far from the Samui Shamrock is the Australian Outback Bar. With Live Sports, good grub, lots of beer and barbeques this is a very popular places with locals and holidayers alike.
  • Rock Bar Located at Hin Tai Hin Yai, the Rock Bar is a chilled out place where you can relax on the rocks or on the beach and watch the sunset. It is also possible to get bamboo tattoo's here and on occasion the Thai Reggae band 'Job 2 Do' play on the rocks.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

While development of Lamai beach have made many places there expensive, cheap rooms still can be found just by walking (or driving) around the streets by any traveller familiar with that process. In the peak season some places may be full - however, it was still not impossible even just 3 days before New Year 2010, you'll just likely end up either walking around more or paying more. The basic rooms start from 150-300 baht, for 350-400 you can have a fan room with a fridge and TV in some places. Online booking is mostly not available for those cheaper places.

  • The Passage Samui, Laem Yai Beach, 57/6 Moo 5, Angthong, Koh Samui, ☎ 077-421721 (, fax: +66 77 421 727), [4]. A brand new boutique hideaway.  edit
  • Langham Place Samui at Lamai Beach, 146/24 Moo 4, Lamai Beach, Maret, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84310, Thailand (Lamai Beach), ☎ 077960888, [5]. Five-star hotel for fun-loving, young-at-heart travellers who enjoy the finer things in life. Prime position beachside and comprises a modern village of 77 villas and suites many featuring personal plunge pools and views over the Gulf of Thailand. 10,000 Baht to 30,000 Baht.  edit
  • Baan Family Hotel [6]
  • Rocky's Boutique Resort, 438/1 Moo 1, Tambon Maret, Koh Samui, Suratthani 84310 (Southern end of Lamai), ☎ 077 233 020, [8]. Lovely Boutique Resort with lush tropical gardens and friendly service. 4,000 Baht to 14,000 Baht.  edit
  • MyQSamui*. [9] : Lamai's newest Boutique Resort is having An unspoiled beach-front setting, protected by the reef, overlooking luminous white sands, it pampers you with the ideal ambience of tranquility and romance. Samuibooking.org (it's sister company) is the resort's major online distribution channel to promote the resort.
  • Samui Beach Resort [10] has bungalows on the beach.
  • Sea Breeze Inn, (Southern end of Lamai). Not the cheapest but probably the best deal overall on Lamai, it's still in the budget category. Rooms vary from huts with fans to modern suites with AC. Decent restaurant and bar. Nice deck hangout area. Right on the beach. Lots of stuff short walking distance away.  edit
  • T&T House, 124/7 M.3 Hat Lami (Southern end of Lamai). One of the cheaper deals with decent rooms, though not at the beach. The reception is at the T&T supermarket. From 250 baht for a bungalow with private bathroom.  edit
  • Varinda Garden Resort 82/3 M.3 Maret, has a great hillside (not on the beach) location that's pleasantly away from the drone of the commercial area, with views of the whole bay from their pool and tower seats, excellent kitchen and wrap-around supports - like massages, mopeds, taxi to airports, and endless tropical garden surprises around the bungalows.
  • Buriraya Resort and Spa, 208/1 Mu 4, Tambon Maret, Surat Thani. 7,200-27,000 Baht.  edit
  • White Sands Bungalows (near Southern end of the beach, near Grandma/Grandpa Rocks), ☎ 077 424 289 (fax: 077 424556). checkin: 24h; checkout: 24h. One of the oldest beach hut places directly by the sea still with the original "Hippie feeling" about it. Managed by an Aussie/Kiwi couple who have been regulars at WS's since 1992. The restaurant (7AM-7PM) used to be better when the Thai owner (Nui) ran it. Still, hard to beat on price. Can be accessed from the main road and is on the left hand side if coming from Chaweng and is on the same road as Green Villa. Beware as it the sign is not lit at night and is easy to miss. 150-350 Baht per hut. (9.455465,100.038275) edit
  • Lamai Villa, Samui Beach Village, Lamai, Koh Samui, ☎ +64 7 865 6625 (fax: +64 9 353 1995), [12]. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms luxury holiday villa with private pool and tropical gardens From US$2675/week.  edit

[edit] Contact

Internet cafes are plentiful and typically also offer international calls, fax services and flight confirmation. The connection and speed is generally good. Expect to pay 60 baht/h for internet in the central locations.

[edit] Get out

  • Your guesthouse and many other places in town can rent you a motorbike for between 150 to 200 baht a day. Bicycles are a bit harder to come buy but also available for about 100 baht per day. As the traffic is left-sided you should be very careful (and wear a helmet) while driving even if you are familiar with driving on the left, other road users might not. Accidents, sometimes with fatalities, are too common despite the light traffic.
  • Travel Agencies can sell you bus tickets with pick-up from your hotel and including the ferry to many destinations in Thailand such as Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi. Booking the same tickets in Nathon or for trains at the Surat Thani station works out to be significantly cheaper sometimes as some agents will attempt to get double the regular price. Check train fares on the website of Thai Railways first. 2nd class sleeper to Bangkok should including hotel pickup and boat should not exceed 950 Bath. Bus to Bangkok 600-650.

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!

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