Ban Tai Beach - opinions?

We are highly considering the Napasai resort on Ban Tai beach, which is on the western hook of Maenam. I%26#39;ve been told that Maenam is more of a yellow sand and can be course. Is this true for Ban Tai beach - where Napasai is located? Is the water clear and clean there?

Is Chaweng beach really that much better? Everyone seems to like it. We don%26#39;t want to stay in Chaweng because we don%26#39;t want to be near all the bars, clubs, and tourist hot spots. But, I%26#39;d reconsider if Chaweng beach is really that much better than Maenam or Choengmon. I%26#39;ve been told that Choengmon is beatiful, but the three resorts we like there supposedly don%26#39;t have the best beaches, Tongsai Bay, Sala Samui, and the Samui Peninsula resorts.

Thank you

Ban Tai Beach - opinions?

Anyone know anything? Experts and locals please?

Ban Tai Beach - opinions?

The beach at Napasai Resort is okay, a bit better than Maenam and Bophut, Chaweng is however much better. Choeng Mon is also good, Tongsai has a private beach (thus very clean), Sala Samui has a good stretch of beach too, Peninsula has only a small piece. However, if you stay in Choeng Mon, you can walk the whole beach stretch which, in my opinion, is pretty good. Pls. bear in mind that the state of the beaches change depending on the season you travel.

Thanks for writing this. So, in your opinion is the beach at Tongsai nicer and bluer water than Napasai? I know Tongsai%26#39;s beach is tiny pebbles (what I%26#39;ve been told), but is the water better? Cleaner? Bluer? I really appreciate your opinions on this.

In general, which resort do you think is nicer or better? Tongsai or Napasai? Those were the two we were really considering.

We will be visiting Dec 5th through Dec 18th. We%26#39;ll be in Phuket Dec 5th to the 10th and Koh Samui the 10th to the 18th.

If you have any recommendations for the best beaches in Phuket, please share. We are looking at quite a few resorts there. I%26#39;m still researching.

Thank you again,

Nicole

Hi Nicole, if I had the choice I would go for Tongsai since it is in Choeng Mon Bay and thus, specially during December, better than Napasai. The real picture-postcard blue you will not find in either place during this time (it is rainy season after all) but you have more things to do in that area if the weather doesn%26#39;t cooperate. They are both nice resorts for sure.

I am not familiar with Phuket (I live on Samui), thus best to post on that forum and get advise from a local expert.

Bernds: I apologize for writing you again, but you mentioned that it%26#39;s the rainy season on Koh Samui. I%26#39;ve read that the rainy reason ends in November. Do you think the rainy season lasts until Dec 10th? We%26#39;re supposed to be spending more time in Koh Samui, so I%26#39;m wondering maybe I should change it to spend more time in Phuket. I%26#39;m assuming they don%26#39;t have the same rainy season.

I appreciate knowing that you like Tongsai better than Napasai. We were really leaning towards Napasai because we%26#39;ve heard such great things. But, if you really think the beach at Napasai isn%26#39;t nice, then I%26#39;m going to reconsider our plans. Thank you.

Okay, the statement with Napasai and Tongsai is my PERSONAL view, not everyone might agree. But in view of the weather, Tongsai is closer to other things as well.

Now, we cannot forcast the weather, but in my 8 years + on Samui, November and December have always been wet month%26#39;. (one more reason why the prices go down in hotels and only increase on 20.December with the festive season)

Last year 2006 wasn%26#39;t that bad, however, 2005 was a major disaster with flooded streets (the cars actually started to float). 2005 was of cause not the norm, but the rainy season does not stop in November. This year it started to rain a bit early as well, at present though it is very good and dry.

The chances that the weather is better on Phuket during that time are very likely.

Pls. also get feedback from other travelers for added piece of mind.

Bernds: Thank you so much. I know that these are only your opinions, and I really appreciate them. I%26#39;ve done a lot of research and I know what you mean about Napasai being more secluded and out of the way. We%26#39;re going to rent a Jeep for our time on Samui so hopefully we won%26#39;t feel like we%26#39;re stuck anywhere. I%26#39;m going to consider staying more time in Phuket now that I know more about the rainy season. Do the other islands, Phi Phi and Kao Tao and the Ang Thong park also have the same rainy season? We%26#39;re considering going there for three day trips while in Samui.

Phi Phi will be better as its in the Andaman Sea (same as Phuket). Koh Tao is a 2 hour boat ride from Samui and in the Gulf of Thailand, thus weather will be similar/same as Samui. The Anthong Marine National Park is also close to Samui and, I need to check on this again, usually closed for 2 month%26#39; a year during the rainy season.

HI - I am also visiting koh samui in the rainy season (last week of Nov) and considering either choengmon (sala samui) or maenam (the napasai hotel or ban laem sai) - would really appreciate any opinions on which would be better in terms of sea quality and beach quality - a lot of sites say meanam is more sheltered from any wind...is this the case? because that is the only thing putting me off choengmon....

Thanks

Mitali

We spend 7 nights at Napasai for our honeymoon in early December 2007. It is a wonderful resort. I also considered Sala Samui. I didn%26#39;t see Sala Samui but am very very happy with our choice of Napasai. The resort is private, beautiful, has incredible service, great restaurants, lovely infinity pool, etc. We stayed in one of the private beachfront cottages (there are only like 3 of these) so we were removed from most other guests. We had a living room, bedroom, 2 full baths, and outdoor shower and our own front year and beach space. It was fairly reasonable for December too. I think we paid $260 American dollars a night. My only concern with Napasai was that the beach there is not the nicest, but I only say this because we spent out first 8 nights in Phuket at the Twinpalms in Surin Beach and it was the most beautiful beach we%26#39;d ever seen. Thus, Napasai%26#39;s beach didn%26#39;t compare. We traveled the island of Samui by Jeep and found that most of the beaches were the same.. they didn%26#39;t compare to the beauty of Surin Beach in Phuket. I hope this helps. Feel free to email me with questions.