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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Choeng Mon
เชิงมน
Base here 3–4 nights if you want a quiet family beach with resort comfort; skip it if you want nightlife or cheap rooms — those are in Chaweng.
Choeng Mon is a crescent of bays on Ko Samui's northeast coast, 15 minutes from the airport and 5 minutes from Big Buddha. It is a resort strip first and a village second: a handful of upscale hotels between a 500 m beach and Highway 4171, with almost no budget beds left. Come for calm water, kayaks to the Ko Fan islets and easy family days; go elsewhere for bars and street food.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- เชิงมน
- Best months
- Feb–Sep (Gulf coast dry season)
- Avoid
- Oct–Dec (northeast monsoon, choppy water)
- Stay
- 3–4 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿1,200–2,000 excl. bed · Mid ฿2,500–4,500 excl. bed · High ฿6,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance 1669 · Tourist police 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Beach massage, 1 hour | ฿300 |
| Thai main dish, local restaurant | ฿100–180 |
| Grilled chicken skewer from a street stall | ฿20 |
| Beachfront restaurant main | ฿250–500 |
| Draught beer / cocktail at a beach bar | ฿90–150 / ฿200–300 |
| Kayak hire, 1 hour | ฿200–300 |
| Grab, Choeng Mon to Chaweng | ฿250–400 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- USM · Samui International Airport
- About 15 min by car; Choeng Mon sits outside the flight path.
Typical fares
- Samui Airport → Choeng Mon
- about ฿400–600 by taxi, 15 min (check)
- Grab, Choeng Mon → Chaweng
- ฿250–400, about 15 min (check)
- Ferry, Bang Rak → Ko Tao
- about ฿600–900, 1.5–2 h (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The area is small enough to walk: beach to main road is about 100 m. Songthaews rarely pass because Choeng Mon is off the island loop road, so use Grab or a metered taxi, or rent a car or motorbike for your stay. Distances: Big Buddha 5 min, Chaweng about 15 min, Nathon about 45 min.
See and do
Known for
- Quiet crescent beach
- Kayaking to Ko Fan Noi and Ko Fan Yai
- Upscale family resorts
- Beachside massage tents
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Big Buddha (Bang Rak) | Taxi or Grab, 5 min | About 15 min |
| Chaweng | Taxi or Grab, about 15 min | About 20 min |
| Bophut and Fisherman's Village | Taxi or Grab, about 20 min | About 25 min |
| Lamai | Taxi or Grab, about 30 min | About 35 min |
| Mae Nam | Taxi or Grab, about 20 min | About 25 min |
| Ang Thong Marine Park | Day boat from Bang Rak or Nathon, hotel pickup | Full day |
Sleep
- Beachfront strip (west end)
- Kimpton and Sala Samui side; walk straight onto the sand, highest rates.
- Beachfront strip (east end)
- Melia and the road to Cape Fahn; family resorts with pools and kids clubs.
- Highway 4171 side streets
- Set back about 100 m from the shore; cheaper rooms, walk 2–5 min to the beach.
- Tongsai Bay
- Separate bay north of Choeng Mon; quiet, but every trip out needs a taxi.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดีsawatdee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
| How much is it? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Not spicy, please | ไม่เผ็ดmai phet |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ไหนhong nam yu nai |
| Can I pay by card? | จ่ายบัตรได้ไหมjai bat dai mai |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Songthaews are rare here — do not plan on flagging one down.
- East wind makes the water choppy and snorkelling visibility near zero.
- Do not walk above the high-tide mark on Ko Fan Yai: most of the island is a private resort.
- Beach restaurants charge a view premium for mediocre food; the main road is better value.
- Budget and midrange guesthouses closed in large numbers after 2020; book ahead.
Very safe for a beach resort; the real risks are motorbike accidents on Highway 4171, rip currents in the monsoon, and unmarked taxi fares — agree the price or use Grab.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Choeng Mon yet. Suggested stay: 3–4 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Quiet crescent beach
- Kayaking to Ko Fan Noi and Ko Fan Yai
- Upscale family resorts
- Beachside massage tents
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand — Ko Samui: www.tourismthailand.org/
- Samui International Airport: www.samuiairportonline.com/
- Wikivoyage: Choeng Mon, revision 5212638 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5212638
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/choeng-mon). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.