Choeng Mon Beach in Koh Samui, Thailand

Choeng Mon Beach is located in the far northeastern part of Koh Samui Island, just south of the northernmost tip. It is considered to be among the, if not the, most beautiful beach on the island, but it is also considered remote and difficult to get in to and out of. Even though, as the crow flies, it is not so far from the island airport, and is only roughly a 15 minute drive from Chaweng Beach.

It is located in some very hilly and steep terrain which almost comes right down to the ocean. Thus, the area is not well developed and the roads don't seem so good. Also, most of the area has been given over to residential development so the types of places tourists would usually enjoy are not to be found there, restaurants, bars and the like.

Because of these reasons, taxi songthaew drivers don't like to go there. There are some excellent five star resorts in the beach area, however, as well as a few more affordable places.

The beach itself actually consists of four or five small beaches. The two ends, particularly the southern end – which is opposite Koh Farn Noi Island - are considered best. They are wide and sandy and the water is clean and calm, although the area is a center for water sports. More than one traveler has commented, however, that the beaches can be extremely hot at midday. Beach goers should take precautions against overexposure to the sun.

Quiet Choeng Mon Beach

Acommodation - Hotels - Resorts

Choeng Mon Beach is primarily a high end resort. The life of the beach centers around the five star resorts. The best of these is considered to be Sala Samui, which occupies an 80 meter stretch of the beach.

The resort consists of walled private cottages most of which have private swimming pools. Fees range from 8,000 baht to 13,000 baht a night. Beachside there are two swimming pools and the Western style restaurant. The grounds are described as being spacious and open, different from the usual tropical resort motif.

Just north of Sala Samui Resort – located in the hills above Samrong Bay, are the luxury resorts Sila Evason Hideaway and Spa at Samui, and The Tongsai Bay. Most of the accommodations are cottage style and most of them have their own private pools.

Other "top range" places on the beach are the Samui Peninsula Spa and Resort, which is located in the hills over the beach and has prices in the range of 14,000 to 18,000 baht a night

The Imperial Boat House, which has beautiful grounds, a cannon shaped swimming pool, and many rooms designed around the motif of an old rice transport boat (prices are between 6,000 to 8,000 baht a night)

The White House Hotel, with rooms between 4,000 and 6,000 baht a night.

There are a few midrange and lower end places to stay on Choeng Mon Beach.

Samui Honey Cottages is new, secluded and highly recommended. Rooms range from 3,200 to 4,200 baht a night, and all rooms have satellight TV, a safe, and minibar.

Choeng Mon Bungalows has a range of bungalow styles, with all having hot water and air conditioning and the more expensive ones having TV and minibars. The more expensive bungalows are priced at around 2,500 baht a night.

Bungalows on Choeng Mon are for rent on a long term basis.

In the lower end range are the O Soleil, which rents bungalows near the beach, and the PS Vila, which rents bunglows on the beach. Many of the bungalows at both PS Vila and O Soleil are fan cooled.

A step up in quality and price from O Soleil and PS Vila is the Choeng Mon Hotel, which is located five minutes by foot from the beach. Rooms are priced at between 700 and 1,000 baht a night.

A big strength of the Choeng Mon hotel is that almost all of the few beach restaurants are located around it. Contrary to its promotional brochures, however, no rooms have ocean views.

Restaurants & Dining

Visitors to Choeng Mon Beach will not go hungry. All resorts take steps to ensure that their guests are well fed. The larger resorts have Western style restaurants and basically can compete with the best restaurants anywhere. The guest house restaurants will probably serve Thai style food at a reasonable price.

Unfortunately, there are few opportunities to eat outside of the resorts at which one stays. There are some food stalls around the Choeng Mon Hotel but that is about the extent of eating opportunities.

Entertainment & Shopping

Entertainment and shopping opportunities at Choeng Mon Beach are severely limited. Upscale resorts like the Sala Samui bring in Philippino bands and entertainers to perform at their restaurants and bars at night but that is about the extent of the nightlife.

There are no beer bars, discotheques, go-go bars and so forth. There are no shopping opportunities, except in the shops of the resorts. Those desiring nightlife or shopping need to go to nearby beaches.

The most logical place to go would be Chaweng Beach, which is only a short distance south of Choeng Mon Beach. It is the largest beach on Koh Samui and has one of the loudest and largest entertainment areas on the planet.

While the shopping there is not exactly, "world class", there are lots of places to shop including modern Western department stores such as Big C and Lotus-Tesco. There are also some, although far fewer, entertainment and shopping opportunities in Big Buddha Beach to the east.

Transportation

Drivers of taxis and songthaews – Thai style buses – do not like to come to Choeng Mon Beach so this makes travel difficult, especially at night, when the songthaews are not in operation anywhere on the island. Those desiring to travel will have to locate a taxi and negotiate rates. Taxis going in and out of Choeng Mon Beach will absolutely not use their meters!!

Generally, the resort where one stays can be of some assistance in this matter, at least they can help locate a taxi. Because of the difficulty in securing transportation, some visitors to Choeng Mon Beach rent a motorbike or a car. These can't be rented at Choeng Mon Beach although, once again, the resort where one stays may be of assistance in this matter.

Video of Choeng Mon Beach