Ko Samui, Thailand: Gulf of Thailand Island with Jungle Waterfalls and Beach Temples

Wat Phra Yai — Big Buddha Temple — sits on a tiny island connected to the northeast coast of Ko Samui by a causeway. The golden seated Buddha, twelve meters tall and built in 1972, is the central religious and photographic landmark of the island. The causeway markets sell amulets, robes, and snacks; the temple itself is active and free to enter with covered shoulders and knees. The surrounding water gives the hilltop setting a quality of elevation not suggested by the modest height.

Ang Thong National Marine Park, a protected archipelago of 42 limestone islands about 30 kilometers northwest of Ko Samui, is the best day excursion from the island for those interested in natural scenery. Tour boats depart from Koh Samui pier early in the morning and spend the day kayaking through sea caves, snorkeling above coral, and climbing to the saltwater lake on Koh Mae Ko island — the source, according to the tour boats, for the "Similan Islands" lagoon in Alex Garland's novel The Beach. The tour runs in a half-day or full-day format.

Na Muang Waterfalls, in the jungle center of the island, are the most accessible waterfalls on Ko Samui — a twenty-minute taxi from Chaweng Beach. Na Muang 1, the lower fall, is a fourteen-meter drop into a natural pool; Na Muang 2, forty-five minutes up a jungle trail, is smaller but in denser vegetation.

Fisherman's Village in Bophut, on the north coast, is the most characterful street on Ko Samui outside the temple areas — a row of Chinese shophouses converted into boutiques, restaurants, and cafes on a quiet beach. The Friday Night Walking Street market here, if you are in port on a Friday evening, is considerably more local in character than the Chaweng night markets.

Chaweng, on the east coast, is the main commercial beach strip — long, wide, loud, and with every watersport available. It is the default Ko Samui experience and is not wrong for what it is. Sunrise from Chaweng Beach, before the beach chairs and vendors arrive, is worth waking early for.