Nathon Beach, Samui

Nathon Beach, Samui

Nathon beach is a beach Ko Samui. It is located on the south-western shore and hosts the port with the ferry to Surat Thani. The small island of Samui has only one place that is officially a town - Nathon (all the other places, including Chaweng, are villages). Nathon has a pier where the ferries from Surat Thani on the Thai mainland arrive and also houses all the government agencies of Samui - the police office, the immigration office (which is where you have to go if you want to extend your visa), and the post office.  Several banks and currency exchanges and lots of shops and simple restaurants can also be found.

Fishing Boats in the Harbour of Nathon

Along the harbour road opposite the ferry pier are a lot of small travel agencies that offer diving tours, tours to Ko Phangan and Ko Tao, as well as tours to the beautiful Anthong National Marine Park, an enchanting archipelago of dreamy little islands about 30 kilometers west of of Ko Samui. If you have the time this side trip is very much recommended, not just for divers (it offers some of the most beautiful submarine scenery in Asia) but for everybody who loves the blue sea and picturesque rocky islands with cozy beaches and crystal-clear lagoons. There is a regular daily boat from Nathon to the National Park that starts in the morning and returns in the late afternoon and there are, as already mentioned, in addition lots of travel agents who offer their own schedules tours.

Taweeraj Pakdee Road

After you have made your boat trip arrangements, if any, you can take a little walk in Nathon. This small town does not offer any terrific sights or elegant shops but it has in its own unspectacular, peaceful way a kind of sleepy charm. If you walk at the ferry pier to the right past the bus station and the lighthouse to the next side street and from there walk straight ahead you reach a (relatively) big road, named Taweeraj Pakdee. Stay on the same side of the road and walk left and you will find Nathon`s Wet Market. This is a typical East Asian market that offers fresh fruit, vegetables, seafood, as well as a large selection of Thai spices and cooking ingredients. The market is, as all Thai markets, best in the morning but it stays open until the afternoon. On Taweeraj Pakdee Road you will also find the Thai Farmer`s Bank and the Thai Military Bank (if you need to cash traveller checks) as well as some supermarkets and a lot of small shops with souvenir articles and clothes, some of them very nice. Local handicraft can be bought in Anthong Road, a narrow street that runs parallel to the sea between Taweeraj Pakdee and the harbour road. Besides the batik and souvenir shops a number of simple restaurants are also located here. If you have not come with your motor bike or a rental car and need transport back to your hotel, go back to the harbour road. The buses to Chaweng and the northern beaches leave from the stop north (i.e. left) of the ferry pier; the buses to Lamai go from the stop to the right of the lighthouse.

Accommodations

• Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui- Very expensive but so good. Rates start at around 680 USD a night in the low season

• X2 Resort Samui, 442 Moo 1, Hua Thanon, Maret, Koh Samui, Suratthani, Thailand 84310, Tel:+66(0)77 233033, [1]. X2 Koh Samui is located on Hua Thannon beach. The general area is peaceful with the only a few high-end residential villa projects sharing the beach. The resort occupies 5 acres with 27 villas. Most have private swimming pools, and outside areas. The 100 meter beachfront and 50 year old trees help provide the X2 atmosphere and gave designers the background on which to recreate the resort. The resort has a spa and impressive outdoor massage pavilion. The Pavilion houses only two beds and is situated on 1 acre featuring 30 meters of beachfront. This extravagant use of prime land provides an unbelievable sense of space and freedom so typical of X2 Resorts. 

• Sea View Hotel 175/4 Moo 3 Hat Na Thon, Ko Samui (Tel: 0 7742 1481), 17 rooms: 300–480 baht

• Win Hotel 366 Moo 3 Hat Na Thon, Ko Samui (Tel: 0 7742 1500-1), 33 rooms: 450 baht

• Wangbua Home Guesthouse 212/7 Moo 3 Na Thon, Ko Samui (Tel: 0 7742 0976, 0 7742 0977), 22 rooms: 400-1,000 baht

• Chai Thale 152 Moo 3 Na Thon, Ko Samui (Tel: 0 7742 0237), 24 rooms: 400-700 baht

• Chao Ko Bungalow 29/4 Moo 3 Tambon Ang Thong, Na Thon, Ko Samui (Tel: 0 7742 1157, 0 7742 1214), 20 rooms: 200-500 baht

• Damrong Town Hotel 349/6 Moo 3 Hat Na Thon, Ko Samui (Tel: 0 7742 0471), 30 rooms: 500-1,200 baht