Lamai Beach — Attraction in Ko Samui

Lamai beach is about 3 miles long and generously wide. It's a popular tourist spot as there are many hotels and beach bungalows to stay at plus most also have a beach restaurant or bar that can be used by their guests or anyone that is passing by. Most places also provide sun beds on the beach solely for their guests but some places will let you use their sun beds if you eat or drink there. It's a great beach to walk on as the sand is soft underfoot, there are some places where it's a bit rough with shingle and also quite a lot of pieces of coral that have been washed up. Swimming and cooling off in the sea is also very popular and with a gentle slope you can still stand up a reasonable distance out and the waves a fairly gentle. Jet skis can be hired at certain points along the beach. Quite a lot of hawkers as well selling food, ice cream, kaftans, silks, bikinis and sunglasses as well as ladies offering manicures and pedicures, generally they are not too persistent. Lots of places to get a massage along the beach as well. You can get to Hin Ta and Hin Yai rocks by walking to the end of the beach and then walking up to the road through one of the hotels. If you walk in the other direction, after you cross the wood bridge over the Lamai river, the beach is a lot quieter with places to stay tending to be more spaced out. The further you go you also notice how much cleaner and clearer the sea is and if you are lucky enough to walk when the tide is out your walk can be extended further along the coast where you will discover small coves, more coral fragments, large rock formations, crystal waters and stunning views looking back at Lamai and the green hills behind. It can feel like you have the island...

We stayed at a hotel on this beach for 9 nights. I also walked and ran along it. It's not the most pristine of beaches largely due to the number of people who go there. It hasn't been busy whilst we've been here but there is a steady turnover of people who leave their mark. Most of what could be thought of as wrong about this beach is due to people either leaving rubbish or using motorised stuff like boats and jet skis which can leave oil in the water and a smell of petrol. I'm not complaining about this, it's just that people enjoy the beach in different ways and there is clearly a demand on that beach for activities other than sitting and swimming. The water has been clear apart from when heavy surf stirred up sand. It is a steep beach near the waterline which means you'll be in deep water quickly. If you aren't confident in surf don't go in. I've seen several people knocked over or rolled over in the surf there. It's easy to get to and there are lots of places to get food, drink and massages along the beach. There are plenty of trees for shade along the beach and many people just brought towels and sat under the trees. There's a steady stream of people selling stuff along the beach but they aren't too intrusive and some are selling really nice stuff that you might actually want like beach towels. And it's fun to haggle with them. Yes, there is some plastic on the beach but on the days I was there maybe 3 or 4 bottles on a 500m stretch, so not too bad. It's by no means a perfect beach but compared to most in the UK it's...

BE CAREFUL READING WHAT OTHERS SAY!

Reviews DON’T mention the fact that the town surrounding Lamai Beach is nearly completely abandoned - literally almost every building has “for sale”, “for rent”, or is being torn down. We visited this area in 2018 and it was a bustling part of Koh Samui…and not anymore. It is the LEAST busy part of the island, and not in a good way. It looks completely run down, and NOT a “nice, secluded part of the island”.

We were going to stay at Thai House, but after walking for over an hour around the area we decided to cancel our reservation. Yeah, we lost our money for 2 nights, but it was that bad of an area. We walked all the way down the main road from north of where Thai House is, past the 7/11, and even further down to Ammatara Resort…and there was not a SINGLE restaurant open! Not even McDonald’s - that was temporarily closed! How can you even stay in a place where no restaurants or stores are open aside from a couple of tailors and taxis hassling you and like 2 street vendors selling fake clothing and bags?!

All I’m saying is to be careful when deciding where to stay in Koh Samui. Visit here first BEFORE you pay for a hotel. See if you like it. We could have hit the area just at the wrong time, but please don’t make the mistake we did and pay online ahead of time. I think you’ll find areas like Bangrak Beach and Mae Nam...