travelgirlatl

It looks as though we will have several hours between arriving by plane into Koh Samui and leaving on a ferry to Koh Phangan. I would love to be able to at least wander around a little bit in between, but we will have a fair amount of luggage with us (someday I will learn to pack light, but I doubt it will happen in the next month!). Does anyone know whether there are any lockers available at either the KS airport or Maenam pier where we could store our bags for a couple of hours?

Also, any suggestions on the best way to spend our layover? Obviously we won't be able to see much, but any restaurant/quick "must-sees" recs would be greatly appreciated!

And one more--anyone have an idea of the travel time between the airport and pier?

I appreciate any and all input y'all can give--thank you in advance!

Cicerone

I don’t think there are lockers at the airport or a luggage room (it’s a tiny airport and most of it is outdoors) and am pretty positive you will find nothing at the piers. What you might do is hire a taxi for the few hours to take you around, and he can keep the luggage in the trunk; he can then take you to the pier. This should not be too expensive (see below for an idea) and you can get a little tour of the island. If you have time, I would go to a nice hotel for a meal (they can also hold your bags if you don’t want to hire a taxi for the layover; just taxi to say the Four Seasons, have a meal and taxi over to the pier). You could also go to the sort of main drag area of Chaweng south of the airport for much more causal meal/drinks.

Other than the Big Buddha, there are not many must sees (and I am not sure the Big Buddha would be on the list if you are going elsewhere in Thailand). There are some hockey tourist things, but mostly it is beaches and diving. A taxi tour would take you along some of the nicer beaches though, not sure you could circle the entire island, as I don’t know how long your layover is.
I have not driven to the pier for Koh Phangan from the airport, my very rough guess is that it is about 45 minutes. The Four Seasons is north of it and would be quite close to the pier and is on the way from the airport to the pier.

On a very quick search I found this company http://www.samuishuttle.com/ that does van hire by the hour. I know nothing about them, but it might be worth contacting them to at least get an idea of prices so if you don’t use them you can bargain with drivers based on some idea of fees. They appear to charge Baht 350 per hour with a minimum of 3 hours, which is just under US$30 for the 3 hours.

Please do not apologize for not being able to pack light. That is a “skill” admired only by the possessor, not by the people who have to travel with the person who wears the same 3 shirts for a two-week trip!!! God invented luggage carts, porters (and husbands) for a reason…..

Cicerone

Sorry, I just re-read your post and if you are going from the pier at Maenam, that is east of and <i>before</i> the Four Seasons, and would be maybe 20 minutes from the airport. There are several piers that have boats to Koh Phangan. But Menam is closer to the airport so maybe that is why you are going from there. (I would still go out to the Four Seasons which is probably the nicest place on the island, and is still close to the pier. The Baan Taling Ngam hotel is nice too, although further away, would maybe give you a nice tour of the island if you had time to do the drive around and back.)

travelgirlatl

Cicerone,

Thank you so much for your detailed and thoughtful response-so very helpful! I will look into the van tour you suggested--looks like our total layover will be around 4 hours, so that might be perfect.

I got a big kick out of your packing comments. You are so right, especially on the husband part--I sometimes tease mine that the main reason I got married was to have someone to carry my bags!

Anyway, thank you again!

Cicerone

Ha! I’m a single gal myself and my rule is “if I can’t lift it I can’t bring it”, but you would be <i>amazed</i> at the weight of suitcases I manage take with me on trips (and, I have to add, I have no elevator in my flat and I live on the second floor so coming home is no picnic either). When I lived in Europe I traveled with duffle bags and would literally throw them on and off the trains, very easy, I highly recco it.

simpsonc510

I would second the idea of getting a taxi to take you around during your layover.

It was years ago (summer 2002), but DS and I hired a female taxi driver (who we hailed from the street on Chewang) and she took us around the island for quite a long &quot;tour&quot; and charged (or we PAID HER) 1000bt. I saw her the next day as I was walking along the main street in Chewang, many packages in tow, and she dropped me off for free at our hotel! She would not take baht for &quot;saving me&quot; from a long hot walk. Thai people are very kind and helpful, for the most part.

rhkkmk

i might consider taking a taxi to bophut and hanging out there...