Bophut Beach (Hat Bophut)

Once Bophut was the largest town after Nathon on Samui, but progess now seems to be frozen. It was a prosperous and busy town with a fishing port and a harbor full of brightly painted boats, with a pier extending toward Phangan Island in the distance. There were family-run Chinese shops along its narrow streets which ended at a small square. At present, the old authentic atmosphere hasn't changed a bit, but most of shop houses are now restaurants, and scuba diving companies own most of the beautiful painted boats. Tourism still keeps spreading its powerful influence in every nook and corner, not excluding this village which is one of the most genuine on Samui.

The beach is not nice and the water is not great for swimming because there is a lot of seaweed and algae in the bay. If you wish for a little better water, the eastern end of the beach is dotted with resorts spilling onto the sands. One thing to make clear is that Bophut itself, rather than the beach, is the dominant attraction because it is an authentic Thai village.

Bophut is on the north coast, connected with Big Buddha Beach (Ban Ruk) on the east and Maenam on the west. You can access the main village by highway 4171 and many of the resorts are only accessed from the main highway 4169. The village itself is pretty small and congested with shops, restaurants and bars which can be easily discovered on foot.