Choeng Mon Beach

West to east along the bay

West end

Rockier, with boulders along the shoreline. It is the weakest part of the bay for swimming.

Center

The widest and sandiest stretch, where most of the resort sunbeds and beach restaurants are. This is where to swim, because the sea deepens gradually and the islands offshore break the swell.

East end and Koh Fan Noi

The small island of Koh Fan Noi sits just off the eastern end, with the larger Koh Fan Yai beyond it. At low tide a sandbar lets you wade across, but rocks and coral are exposed on the way, so wear water shoes and check the tide so you are not cut off coming back.

The calm is the draw here. A small island sits just offshore, maybe 100 meters out, and the waves wrap around both sides of it and meet in the middle, folding against each other over a sandbar. People wade out to watch it happen. The water itself is often flat as a lake, the seabed mostly smooth sand with the odd rock to watch for, which makes this one of the easier beaches on Samui for families with small swimmers.

It's a wide, open stretch rather than a snug cove, so if you want the enclosed feel of somewhere like Silver Beach, this isn't that. Bars and restaurants line the back of the sand, and sunbeds or beanbags go for a token amount. The trade-off is crowds. On a busy day at midday it can be a wall of umbrellas and legs with nowhere decent to sit, let alone photograph. Sunrise is the answer, with quiet sand, good light, and the wave pattern easy to see.