Lamai Beach is Samui's Second largest resort area after Chaweng. It is quieter and less bustling than its big sister, but still with plenty of accommodation, dining and shopping options to be found, and some great spas and tourist sites to explore. In terms of popularity, the tourist facilities and the quality of the beach itself, Lamai comes a close second to Chaweng, but with a less frenetic ambience.
The general atmosphere is laid back and Lamai has slightly older, and by extention cheaper tourist facilities than Chaweng, although there is some indication that the area is slowly being rejuvenated. Along with the rest of Samui, there is a steady trend away from the 'cheap and cheerful' toward smarter, high-end accommodation and dining facilities and new resorts in Lamai such as The Pavillion, The Renaissance and Lamai Wanta bear testament to this upgrade.
While the central part of Lamai can seem a little 'single-male-orientated', especially at night, there is often a fairly mixed crowd of Westerners hanging out in the town. The older European ex-pat scene centres around the beach-road beer-bars, with backpackers and health-seekers staying on the fringes, catered for by spas and cheap bungalows. Due to its relaxed atmosphere, Lamai is also great for families and some resorts such as Jungle Park and Buddy Beer cater well for kids with good swimming pools and shallow, safe beach front areas.
Lamai is a much more manageable size than Chaweng, so a daytime stroll along the beach or an evening walk on the main strip can take in most of the sights. Lamai is also bordered by lush jungle, with secluded bays, small quaint villages, temples, Spas, mummified monks and phallic rock formations all close by. Lamai is also a living, working Thai village with a tight-nit local community centred around the cultural hubs of the temple and daily market. There are still quite a few old-style wooden houses raised on stilts and local people sell fruit from their garden, take in laundry and do clothes repairs or run small grocery stores from the front room of their house,
If you are based in Lamai, the surrounding areas may be of the greatest interest.
The Beach, Lamai
Lamai beach is lovely - a stunning crescent of palm-fringed powdery white sand that's perfect for whiling away the day sunbathing and a deep central stretch of water great for swimming and watersports. If you are looking for a relaxing few days on the beach, the local amenities can cater adequately to all needs and you wont have to move too much at all.
At the northern end the water is shallow and rocky, however, the calm shallow nature of the sea here makes it ideal for small children. Many vendors patrol the beach selling ice cream, fruit, grilled sweet corn or chicken and Thai papaya salad, cold drinks, jewellery, sarongs. Like in the rest of Samui, the beach vendors are polite and not too persistent and therefore offer a useful service, rather than an annoyance.
Lamai also has a number of massage salas dotted along the beach. Most of the beach masseurs offer Thai and oil massages, as well as aloe-vera body wraps, henna tattoos, manicures and hair braiding. There is also a good range of sports available for the more active beach-goer. In the central stretch of the beach, near Lamai Wanta Resort, you will find a couple of places to rent jet-skis, and kayaks, and there is also windsurfing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, parasailing, and speedboat charters available.
As the sun goes down, some of the beachfront cafes start putting out tables on the sand, and when darkness falls, the candles and fairy lights create a romantic ambience. A cocktail or dinner under the stars is the perfect end to a day on Lamai beach.
Lamai Beach Attractions
If you are based in Lamai, it is worth hiring a jeep or motorbike to explore the surrounding environs, as a lot of the interesting attractions are located on the outskirts of Lamai itself.
Some of the island's most popular tourist sites are located in this locality, such as Hinta HinYai and Wat Khunaram, so if you can drag yourself off the beach, you could easily fill a couple of days exploring the area.
To the South of Lamai, it seems as though the rapid development of the majority of the east coast abruptly ceases, and after the Muslim Fishing village of Hua Thanon you can step back in time to the Samui before mass-tourism, with verdant jungle-clad hills, water buffaloes grazing by the roadside, and little shack-cafes selling soft-drinks and simple Thai food.
Hua Thanon
Just South of Hinta Hinyai, this fishing village is home to a large proportion of Samui's Muslim population, and still retains a quaint, old-Samui feel, with rickety teakwood houses lining the road, as well as some decent seafood restaraunts and ethnic clothing and jewellery boutiques.
Whilst you may not see too many long-tail boats setting off to cast nets these days, its worth checking out the teak houses put to modern usage, with the play station arcades and cars parked in the front rooms.
Lamai Overlap Stone
It is a challenge to get up to these impressive balanced boulders, but the spectacular views on arrival make it worthwhile for the adventurous traveller. The steep, rough, dirt-track road leading to the viewpoint should only be attempted on a dirt bike or with a 4x4, and the last stretch may have to be walked, depending on conditions. Alternatively it is a hard 20-minute climb on foot, but there is a refreshment stall at the top and it is an exhilarating experience. Look for the signs on the right hand side of the ring road 1km south of Hinta Hinyai in Lamai Beach.
Spa Samui Resort
Spread over two locations in Lamai - one beachside and one in the hills, Spa Samui Resort is now famous worldwide for its fasting and cleansing programmes, and kick-started the whole trend for alternative health spas with its opening in 1992. Fasting packages range from one day to seven days and are augmented by reflexology, meditation and yoga classes.
For the passing visitor there's also massages, including Thaiatsu, Aroma Oil and Healing Clay, facials and other treatments on offer. Their mostly vegetarian restaurant (same menu at both sites) was recently voted one of the fifty best restaurants in the world by an international magazine and serves a huge array of salads and health shakes unavailable elsewhere on the island.
Accommodation is available at both locations although the hillside site is much newer and its bungalows are a higher quality than those on the beach. Lamai Beach and Route 4169, Tel. 077 230 976.
Tamarind springs
Our proven recipe for relaxation: Take a tropical island coconut grove in the shade of a gently sloping mountain. Tuck a herbal steam room in between two huge rocks. Nestle a cold plunge pool nearby. Surround with lush natural landscape. Fold in an hour or two (or more...) of soothing massage with essential natural oils. Mix thoroughly. Garnish with a refreshing herbal drink.
Repeat many times. Beautifully designed day spa in a spectacular hillside setting. Treatments are centred around massage (with some skin care treatments) and focus on back, neck and shoulders, as well as some fusion oil massage, hot stone massage and sport massage. All are offered in conjunction with a visit to their herbal steam room, which is impressively set between two huge boulders. There's also a café/juice bar and luxury accommodation available in eight spacious villas. Route 4169, Lamai, Tel. 077 424 221
Lamai Beach Nightlife and Bars
Smaller than Chaweng, the scene at Lamai is slightly older with everything from the ubiquitous bar beers, to discos, music venues, Thai dancing, mud wrestling and weekly Thai lady boxing. (Very entertaining and free of charge at the bar conglomerate in east Lamai).
Lots of foot stomping at consistently busy Bahaus (foam party!!) and Club Remix, while Angkor - a big multi-level wood & stone replica of the real thing, often features Thai bands.
The general atmosphere is laid back and Lamai has slightly older, and by extention cheaper tourist facilities than Chaweng, although there is some indication that the area is slowly being rejuvenated. Along with the rest of Samui, there is a steady trend away from the 'cheap and cheerful' toward smarter, high-end accommodation and dining facilities and new resorts in Lamai such as The Pavillion, The Renaissance and Lamai Wanta bear testament to this upgrade.
While the central part of Lamai can seem a little 'single-male-orientated', especially at night, there is often a fairly mixed crowd of Westerners hanging out in the town. The older European ex-pat scene centres around the beach-road beer-bars, with backpackers and health-seekers staying on the fringes, catered for by spas and cheap bungalows. Due to its relaxed atmosphere, Lamai is also great for families and some resorts such as Jungle Park and Buddy Beer cater well for kids with good swimming pools and shallow, safe beach front areas.
Lamai is a much more manageable size than Chaweng, so a daytime stroll along the beach or an evening walk on the main strip can take in most of the sights. Lamai is also bordered by lush jungle, with secluded bays, small quaint villages, temples, Spas, mummified monks and phallic rock formations all close by. Lamai is also a living, working Thai village with a tight-nit local community centred around the cultural hubs of the temple and daily market. There are still quite a few old-style wooden houses raised on stilts and local people sell fruit from their garden, take in laundry and do clothes repairs or run small grocery stores from the front room of their house,If you are based in Lamai, the surrounding areas may be of the greatest interest.
The Beach, Lamai
Lamai beach is lovely - a stunning crescent of palm-fringed powdery white sand that's perfect for whiling away the day sunbathing and a deep central stretch of water great for swimming and watersports. If you are looking for a relaxing few days on the beach, the local amenities can cater adequately to all needs and you wont have to move too much at all.At the northern end the water is shallow and rocky, however, the calm shallow nature of the sea here makes it ideal for small children. Many vendors patrol the beach selling ice cream, fruit, grilled sweet corn or chicken and Thai papaya salad, cold drinks, jewellery, sarongs. Like in the rest of Samui, the beach vendors are polite and not too persistent and therefore offer a useful service, rather than an annoyance.
Lamai also has a number of massage salas dotted along the beach. Most of the beach masseurs offer Thai and oil massages, as well as aloe-vera body wraps, henna tattoos, manicures and hair braiding. There is also a good range of sports available for the more active beach-goer. In the central stretch of the beach, near Lamai Wanta Resort, you will find a couple of places to rent jet-skis, and kayaks, and there is also windsurfing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, parasailing, and speedboat charters available.As the sun goes down, some of the beachfront cafes start putting out tables on the sand, and when darkness falls, the candles and fairy lights create a romantic ambience. A cocktail or dinner under the stars is the perfect end to a day on Lamai beach.
Lamai Beach Attractions
If you are based in Lamai, it is worth hiring a jeep or motorbike to explore the surrounding environs, as a lot of the interesting attractions are located on the outskirts of Lamai itself.Some of the island's most popular tourist sites are located in this locality, such as Hinta HinYai and Wat Khunaram, so if you can drag yourself off the beach, you could easily fill a couple of days exploring the area.
To the South of Lamai, it seems as though the rapid development of the majority of the east coast abruptly ceases, and after the Muslim Fishing village of Hua Thanon you can step back in time to the Samui before mass-tourism, with verdant jungle-clad hills, water buffaloes grazing by the roadside, and little shack-cafes selling soft-drinks and simple Thai food.
Hua Thanon
Just South of Hinta Hinyai, this fishing village is home to a large proportion of Samui's Muslim population, and still retains a quaint, old-Samui feel, with rickety teakwood houses lining the road, as well as some decent seafood restaraunts and ethnic clothing and jewellery boutiques.Whilst you may not see too many long-tail boats setting off to cast nets these days, its worth checking out the teak houses put to modern usage, with the play station arcades and cars parked in the front rooms.
Lamai Overlap Stone
It is a challenge to get up to these impressive balanced boulders, but the spectacular views on arrival make it worthwhile for the adventurous traveller. The steep, rough, dirt-track road leading to the viewpoint should only be attempted on a dirt bike or with a 4x4, and the last stretch may have to be walked, depending on conditions. Alternatively it is a hard 20-minute climb on foot, but there is a refreshment stall at the top and it is an exhilarating experience. Look for the signs on the right hand side of the ring road 1km south of Hinta Hinyai in Lamai Beach.Spa Samui Resort
Spread over two locations in Lamai - one beachside and one in the hills, Spa Samui Resort is now famous worldwide for its fasting and cleansing programmes, and kick-started the whole trend for alternative health spas with its opening in 1992. Fasting packages range from one day to seven days and are augmented by reflexology, meditation and yoga classes.
For the passing visitor there's also massages, including Thaiatsu, Aroma Oil and Healing Clay, facials and other treatments on offer. Their mostly vegetarian restaurant (same menu at both sites) was recently voted one of the fifty best restaurants in the world by an international magazine and serves a huge array of salads and health shakes unavailable elsewhere on the island.
Accommodation is available at both locations although the hillside site is much newer and its bungalows are a higher quality than those on the beach. Lamai Beach and Route 4169, Tel. 077 230 976.
Tamarind springs
Our proven recipe for relaxation: Take a tropical island coconut grove in the shade of a gently sloping mountain. Tuck a herbal steam room in between two huge rocks. Nestle a cold plunge pool nearby. Surround with lush natural landscape. Fold in an hour or two (or more...) of soothing massage with essential natural oils. Mix thoroughly. Garnish with a refreshing herbal drink.
Repeat many times. Beautifully designed day spa in a spectacular hillside setting. Treatments are centred around massage (with some skin care treatments) and focus on back, neck and shoulders, as well as some fusion oil massage, hot stone massage and sport massage. All are offered in conjunction with a visit to their herbal steam room, which is impressively set between two huge boulders. There's also a café/juice bar and luxury accommodation available in eight spacious villas. Route 4169, Lamai, Tel. 077 424 221
Lamai Beach Nightlife and Bars
Smaller than Chaweng, the scene at Lamai is slightly older with everything from the ubiquitous bar beers, to discos, music venues, Thai dancing, mud wrestling and weekly Thai lady boxing. (Very entertaining and free of charge at the bar conglomerate in east Lamai).Lots of foot stomping at consistently busy Bahaus (foam party!!) and Club Remix, while Angkor - a big multi-level wood & stone replica of the real thing, often features Thai bands.
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