Heaven Samui

If you'd rather someone else sorted the boats, the pickups and the timings, this is the kind of outfit worth a phone call. It's a tours and activities operator based in central Chaweng, arranging island-hopping trips, water sports, cultural outings and the more active stuff inland. The value isn't the tours themselves, which you could piece together yourself given enough time. It's that you don't have to.

My advice is to be specific about what you want before you get in touch. Tell them the fitness level in your group, whether you've got kids, whether anyone gets seasick on a longtail. A good operator will steer you away from the trip that doesn't suit you, and that's the whole point of using one. Have a look at the itineraries on heavensamui.com first so you're talking about actual options rather than vague ideas.