What do you think? Koh Samui or Phuket?

by Dennis
(United States)

Gary, help.

I was all set to go to Koh Samui for four days of a longer trip through Asia. My travel buddy was first thinking Phuket but trusted me on Koh Samui. Then a friend asked if the water was blue in April.

He thought I'd like Phuket more...although it seems way more touristy. We want to snorkel, kayak, dive, etc. What do you think? Koh Samui or Phuket?


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Wow, Dennis, you raise a tough question.

Well, I was enamored with both, but I don't think you can go wrong with either Chaweng Beach in Koh Samui (http://youtu.be/ewH0i7p1XS4), or Patong beach in Phuket (http://youtu.be/f37pK0F8MQg), the 2 places I visited.

You're right about Patong Beach being touristy, especially Europeans and in particular Germans. But Phuket might be your best bet for snorkeling & diving, although I've heard you may need to get out to one of the outlying islands, like the Similan Islands or Phi Phi Islands, where Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Beach" was filmed.

Chaweng Beach has a special charm of its own, and I've never seen so many bars and restaurants set up right on the sand of the beach as I saw there. That was quite a sight to see, and Chaweng's nightlife didn't seem to be as sleazy as Patong's. Of course, if you're a single guy, that might not be a concern. :-)

I don't know whether it helps, but the Google search terms "Koh Samui snorkeling kayaking diving" returned 180,000 results & "Phuket snorkeling kayaking diving" returned 372,000 results. :-)

I hope you have a great trip!

Cheers,
Gary