Monday, January 12, 2015

Koh Samui Sightseeeing: a Tour Around the Island

While on our honeymoon in Ko Samui, Nick and I spent the majority of the time relaxing along the beautiful beaches, just enjoying each others presence. After two weeks of this, we decided it was high time for us to take a tour of Koh Samui, seeing all of the beautiful sights that the island has to offer. Here are just some of the sights and things we were able to experience!
Koh Samui honeymoon
viewpoint of Koh Samui
The tour we took picked us up from our hotel and then began the exploration of the island. One of my personal highlights was how throughout the trip, you had access to stunning views of the island and the ocean surrounding. At many points, the gorgeous blues of the sky and ocean colliding were indistinguishable. So many terrific landscape photos to choose from!

temples of koh samui
Wat Phra Yai
Big Buddha koh samui
Wat Phra Yai up close & personal
tourist tips koh samui
Nick with 'Big Buddha'
One of the stops on the tour was to check out Wat Phra Yai, or Big Buddha. Big Buddha is named so because of the size- visitors throughout the island of Ko Samui, and especially the Chaweng Beach area, can see Big Buddha in the distance. Big Buddha is over 12 meters tall, and is situated on a platform with stunning views of the island. A couple of traveling tips while in Thailand and visiting temples: you are not allowed to wear shoes in the temples, so plan on wearing shoes that are easy to take on and off. Secondly, it is important to have your shoulders covered or you will not be allowed entrance to many of the temples. For this reason, I carried a light scarf with me that I could drape around my shoulders.

Thailand honeymoon
Lamai Beach of Koh Samui
 During our honeymoon, Nick and I stayed on Chaweng Beach. We were happy that one of the stops of the island tour was to check out Lamai Beach and the Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks.

mummified monk temple
Wat Khunaram
koh samui tourism
mummified monk
The next stop after Lamai Beach was to visit the mummified monk housed at Wat Khunaram. The mummified monk dedicated his life to religion at age 50, becoming ordained in 1944. Legend has it that he could foresee his own death in 1973 at the age of 79, passing away in this exact meditative position.

Nhatrang waterfalls
Namuang Waterfall 
Another stop on our tour of Koh Samui was a visit to Namuang Waterfall, where there are actually two waterfalls. The first one is a short 20 meter fall, and after hiking to the second waterfall you are greeted with an 80 meter fall. In order to reach the waterfalls, you must hike through the jungle- and it is definitely a hike, so I would recommend tennis shoes and a water bottle! 

honeymoon in Koh Samui
more island views
After a busy morning, we headed for lunch at a lookout point of the island. As stated before, all of the views are simply stunning!

house at the Magical Garden
the Magical Garden or Secret Garden
Another stop along our tour of Koh Samui was the Magical Garden or Secret Garden. The garden was built in 1976 by a 77 year old fruit farmer. It features stone statues of animals, gods, and demons.

Koh Samui coconut plantation
coconut plantation
 One of the last sights on our tour of Koh Samui was a coconut plantation. Before the tourism industry took off in Koh Samui, coconut farming was the largest industry for the island. The coconut plantation we visited was high up in the mountains, allowing us more views of the island and sea. At the coconut plantation, we had the opportunity to purchase fresh coconuts for coconut milk, as well as products such as coconut oil.

Koh Samui spiders
biggest wild spider I have ever seen
Of course, no tour of Koh Samui would be complete without some wildlife. Between destinations, our tour guide stopped the truck, hopped out, and disappeared into the forest. A moment later, he came back carrying the largest wild spider I have ever seen. Glad this wasn't at my hotel!

elephants in Koh Samui
hanging out with the elephants!
I was pleased that at one of the temples we visited there were elephant statues. After my previous experience with the elephants, I knew this was the only picture with elephants from my trip I would be happy about!

Koh Samui honeymoons
one last gorgeous shot of Koh Samui
Our day tour of Koh Samui was overall a great way to explore the island, visiting all of the main sights and attractions in just one short day. It was a terrific way to leave Chaweng Beach, taking a break from sunbathing and swimming. If you are in Koh Samui and looking for a one-day excursion to knock out all of the most popular attractions, a tour of the island is definitely the best way to do this!

45 comments:

  1. 2 weeks of lounging on the beach followed by a single day of sightseeing sounds fantastic to me! My husband is more of a touring/sightseeing kind of traveler so our honeymoon was non-stop, with a tiny bit of lounging :) That spider is terrifying and the legend of the mummy is really interesting. It sounds like you guys had a pretty great honeymoon in Koh Samui!

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    1. Jamie, it was definitely a great honeymoon! We loved Koh Samui. Most of our vacations are non-stop, so I wanted this to be relaxing!

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  2. What an absolutely breathtaking spot to go on your honeymoon! I haven't heard of that place in Thailand before, but I am loving your photos. As cliche as it sounds, the country is on my bucket-list to visit. :)

    I don't think I would've liked to see that ginourmous spider. Those things can jump, and even looking at the picture gives me the creepy crawly feeling right up my spine haha.

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    1. Koh Samui was perfect for our honeymoon! And yes, the spider was definitely creepy- but the only one I saw all trip!

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  3. Wow, this sounds like heaven. The photos are gorgeous! That elephant statue looks awesome, I would love to see that. Actually, I'd love to visit Ko Samuel period. It looks amazing. I will be honest - I haven't even heard of this before. I need to look up more photos and info because this looks like a place I would enjoy! I need to travel more I think:)

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    1. Ko Samui was so beautiful, and perfect for our honeymoon. You should definitely look into it Jeanine!

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  4. What a beautiful part of the world!! I would not have been pleased to have the guide bring a huge spider out like that, that is huge!! Your photos of your trip are absolutely breath taking! What an amazing experience for you both! Congrats on your wedding!

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    1. Jennifer, it was the perfect spot for our honeymoon. We loved Ko Samui and would go back in a heartbeat! Thank you!

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  5. What a beautiful honeymoon destination! The sights are breath-taking in your photos. I am ready to pack up and head to Ko Samui now (especially with this cold, yucky weather we’ve been having!). This is definitely being added to my bucket list of places to visit before I’m 40. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Michelle, that is exactly why we picked it. So beautiful, and definitely an escape from the cold!

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  6. This a very, very cool place. I love how your personality shine's through on each photo. The viewpoint looks amazing and I think it would take a lot from me to get me to come down. This looks like a cool place to put on my bucket list as well.

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    1. Thank you Tamika! Koh Samui was the perfect place for our honeymoon!

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  7. What a fabulous place for a Honeymoon! You look like such a cute couple and it looks like you totally enjoyed yourselves! I would love to visit here one day!

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  8. These pictures are amazing, breathtaking! Looks and sounds like you had an amazing honeymoon! That magic house looks really cool!

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    1. Savanna, our honeymoon in Ko Samui was absolutely perfect!

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  9. You were able to see great site in Thailand. There are a lot of natural wonders and temples and Buddha structures to appreciate.

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    1. Franc, the temples were so stunning. Amazing how many hundreds of years they have survived!

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  10. What an amazing honeymoon trip! The views look spectacular and that waterfall, wow! I would love to be able to see sights like this someday.

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    1. Echo, Koh Samui was so beautiful. You should definitely go!

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  11. How gorgeous! I can't think of a better place to have a honeymoon. Everyday must have been an adventure!

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    1. Jennifer, it definitely was. Koh Samui was perfect for our honeymoon!

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  12. Omg what a fabulous place to have a honeymoon!!! Your pictures are seriously awesome!!!!!

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  13. Wow, how beautiful. Looks like a lot of fun!

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  14. Wow what a beautiful place for a honeymoon! Looks like you two had a great time exploring!

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    1. Eileen, Ko Samui was the best honeymoon destination!

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  15. What a great place to visit. It seems like they have some great scenery and attractions available. I love how nice the weather seems to be too, it makes me jealous with all of the cold weather that we are experiencing right now.

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    1. Victoria, that is exactly why we picked Koh Samui. Perfect weather, and definitely not cold!

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  16. Wow, are those pictures beautiful! What a great place to visit and such a neat experience! I love the elephant picture! Much safer than a real one :)

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    1. Cindy, the elephant statues I saw were the only ones I wanted to get close to after the abuse I saw previously.

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  17. This looks like a trip of a lifetime. Your pictures are incredible. The perfect place for a honeymoon for sure. I'm so glad that you had a good experience and I wish you many years of marital bliss and continued travel and adventures!

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    1. Melanie, it really was the trip of a lifetime. Thank you so much for your warm wishes!

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  18. Wow, that looks like so much fun, and HOLY COW is that guy HOLDING THE SPIDER?!?!?!? lol

    Anyhoo, I found your blog through a fellow blogger, and just thought I would stop by and say hi! It would totally make my day if you did the same... or better yet, keep in touch!! <3 - www.domesticgeekgirl.com

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    1. Hah- he was holding the spider! Very creepy! I follow you on bloglovin :)

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  19. This sounds and looks like you had an amazing time. I would love to see all these sights. It is so beautiful there. and I didn't they had a mummified Monk there which I find interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. It was an interesting sight to see, thats for sure!

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  20. Wow how absolutely stunning, looks like an amazing place to visit!

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  21. Looks like an amazing place to vacation! I would love to see all the temples. The lookout point was really beautiful too.

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    1. April, all of the lookouts were so beautiful- I hope to go back one day!

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  22. The place totally looks wonderful and it seems paradise and kind of spiritual to me. I love going into temples - they are just lovely. I wish to be able to go to this place next time along with my friends!

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    1. Aisha, Ko Samui was so beautiful and perfect for our honeymoon!

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