Thailand: Koh Samui Shopping 2011

Koh Samui is the paradise for the shopper. Ranging from the bustling night markets to the large shopping centers you can easily find whatever you are looking for. Bear in mind though that popular destinations like Chaweng or Lamai are more expensive than the other side of the island. We did all our gift shopping in Nathon which is the port city of Ko Samui. We found this location to be the cheapest from every aspect.

In terms of food shopping there are 3 tescos on the island one in Chaweng, one in Lamai and one in Nathon. They are all located on the main ring road so they are easy to find. There is also a shopping center between Chaweng and Bo Phut called Big C, having a cloth shopping section on the ground floor and food shopping and restaurant on the top floor. We usually did our food shopping here. The most popular convenience stores are the seven eleven and the family Mart chains. Both having the same sort of pricing and both can be found literally every corner. The interesting thing was that they are not so much more expensive than the big supermarkets. Usually in Europe you can save even 50% shopping in a large superstore compared to a small convenience store.

Westen food like cheese, milk products, and meats are very expensive though however you can get the local food stuff for very cheap. If you want to buy alcoholic drinks bear in mind that you can only buy alcohol in a shop in the following times: 11.00 am.-2.00 pm. and 5.00 pm.- midnight every day. This could be quite disturbing having to go the shop twice to get your beer if you miss the selling times 🙂 Smaller shops are tend not to follow the regulations 🙂