Places
Markets & villages
🍜Fisherman's Village, Bophut
Two hundred metres of Sino-Portuguese shophouses turned into restaurants and bars, on the sand at Bophut. On Friday evening the street closes and becomes the island's best walking street.
Two hundred metres of Sino-Portuguese shophouses on the sand at Bophut, turned into restaurants, bars and small shops without losing the buildings. On Friday evening the street closes to traffic and becomes the best walking street on the island.
Good to know · Friday from about 5 p.m. Come hungry and eat standing up.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 5.1 km
🍜Lamai walking street
Sunday evening in Lamai: grills, noodle carts, fruit shakes and a stage, cheaper and more local than its Bophut equivalent.
Sunday evening in Lamai is the island's most local walking street: grills, noodle carts, fruit shakes, a stage and a crowd that is more Thai than foreign. Cheaper than Bophut and less polished, which is the appeal.
Good to know · Sunday from about 5 p.m.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 5.9 km
🍜Maenam night market
Thursday evening on the north coast, in the old part of Maenam village. Small, almost entirely Thai, and the cheapest dinner on the island.
Thursday evening in the old part of Maenam village: small, almost entirely Thai, and the cheapest dinner on Samui. Two hundred metres of stalls and no souvenir shop in sight.
Good to know · Thursday evening. The morning market next door runs from 6 a.m.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 8.6 km
🍜Chaweng night market
The stalls along Chaweng Beach Road: skewers, pad thai, tailors and copies. Louder and more touristy than the rest, but open when everything else has closed.
The stalls along Chaweng Beach Road are the loudest and most touristy market on the island — and the one still serving food when everything else has shut. Skewers, pad thai, tailors, copies, massage.
Good to know · Evenings. Agree the price before the fruit is cut.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 0.4 km
🍜Hua Thanon fishing village
A Muslim fishing village on the south-east coast, its painted longtails drawn up on the sand and its fish market busiest before 8 a.m.
Hua Thanon is a Muslim fishing village on the south-east coast, and the part of Samui that has changed least. Painted longtails are pulled up on the sand, the mosque calls, and the fish market is busiest before eight in the morning.
Good to know · Dress a little more conservatively here than on the beach.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 10.0 km
🍜Bang Rak fish market
The morning catch sold on the beach below the Big Buddha, and a row of stalls grilling it for breakfast.
The morning catch sold on the beach below the Big Buddha, with a row of stalls ready to grill it while you wait. It is the best breakfast on the north coast and it costs almost nothing.
Good to know · Before 9 a.m., or there is nothing left to see.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 4.6 km
🍜Nathon old town
Samui's administrative town and its only real streetscape: three parallel streets of wooden Chinese shophouses, a morning market and the ferry pier.
Nathon is Samui's administrative town and its only real streetscape: three parallel streets of wooden Chinese shophouses, a morning market, a Chinese shrine and the ferry pier. It is where the island lived before the beaches were worth anything.
Good to know · An hour is enough. Best combined with the west coast sunset.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 14 km
🍜Thong Krut village & market
The southern jumping-off point for Koh Tan and Koh Madsum: a jetty, a fresh market and half a dozen seafood restaurants over the water.
Thong Krut is the southern jumping-off point for Koh Tan and Koh Madsum: a jetty, a fresh market, and half a dozen seafood restaurants built out over the water. It is the least touristy meal on Samui with a sea view.
Good to know · Boats leave in the morning; the sea in the strait gets choppy after 2 p.m.
Open →From Chaweng ≈ 14 km