What is the best way to get from the airport in Samui to my hotel on Chongmon beach-The White House? Do they have taxis at the airport? What about transportation around Samui without renting a car ourselves? Do they have tuk-tuk and red trucks or is taxi better and are they metered? Any recommendations for eating and shopping in the Chongmon beach area?

i had the hotel pick us up....it was very cheap....there are lots of trucks on the main roads which you share with others...hop on, hop off and pay...

personally i rented a jeep for a couple of days....rented it at a travel agency very cheaply... 1/2 of what hotel wanted to charge....its the very best way to get around...

there must be some taxi types available at the airport but i did not see any

There are taxis as well as shared vans - similar to the shuttle services available in most US cities. The shared vans are of course cheaper than taxis, which tend to be expensive on Samui. There are no tuk-tuks on Samui, than I can recall ever seeing. By red trucks, I assume you mean sontaews / Baht buses. They do have them on Samui, but I don't think they're allowed in the airport. Be aware that even songtaews cost 50 Baht per trip on Samui.

If I recall correctly, the taxis do not use meters. The price is negotiated before the driver takes you anywhere. The idea of renting your own car/jeep/motorbike is good (but they drive on the other side of the road) and since there is more or less one main road around the island, it is pretty hard to actually get lost... haha.

I'll be on Samui next week, so I can try to report back!

Carol

Carol, the taxis in Samui DO have meters, it's just that they don't like to use them. There was talk recently that maybe they should. Even if they use the meter, it starts at 200 Baht, as I recall, rather than the 35 Baht Bangkok taxis start at.

We're staying at the White House resort in Sept. I booked it through sawadee.com and their site says "Round trip transfer Samui Airport - hotel - Samui Airport is complimentary".

I was able to get airport pickup from hotel at no charge. Thank you for all the good information about transportation. Any favorite restaurants? I am looking forward to hearing from Carol about her live report about Samui.

One of my 'finds' on my last stay there earlier this year was Antica Locanda. It's run by a couple of Italian brothers, and the place was packed - mostly with expat Italians - so I think it would probably be considered 'authentic'. It's on the main ring road in Bophut. The web site is anticasamui.com