Wat Phra Chedi Laem Sor

The reason to make the trip south is the pagoda itself, gold and heavily detailed, sitting almost on the waterline with the bay and the islands beyond it. Most of Samui's temples come with a car park full of minibuses. This one doesn't. Reviewers keep using the same words for it: quiet, authentic, relaxed, and that lines up with where it is, out near Bang Kao and well off the usual circuit.

Give yourself an hour. There's a boat hall holding a large vessel with a monk's statue inside, surrounded by small model boats left by people whose wishes were answered, and that's worth as much of your attention as the pagoda. There's a pavilion to sit in, crabs on the rocks, a sea breeze that keeps the heat honest, and dogs that wander the grounds and go splashing about in the evening. Photographers do well here. If you've got the legs for it, some people carry on up to Wat Khao Chedi afterwards.