1. Get comfortable in a family-friendly resort
If you don’t want to blow your budget on accommodation, the cheerful World Resort Samui (below) is a great option – its family bungalows have interconnecting rooms, while there’s also a kids pool and babysitting services. Older families who love to soak up the local culture can check in to the luxurious Zazen Boutique Resort, which has a shop selling one-off Thai antiques and local art. It’s not surprising, considering that its 65 sq m garden villas – king-size beds and day beds included – showcase art and artefacts from across the region. If you’re feeling restless, the resort can arrange activities ranging from Thai cooking classes to sailing trips to Ang Thong Marine Park on a traditional Burmese junk boat.
SEE ALSO: How to keep kids entertained in Bangkok, Thailand
2. Enjoy some quiet couple’s time while the kids play
While the young ones are living it up at your resort’s kids club – the complimentary one at Shiva Samui is packed with activities from volleyball to diving lessons and beachcombing excursions – treat yourself and your loved one to a massage at Sala Samui Choengmon Beach’s spa (below).
3. Dine on fresh seafood
Tuck into delicious Thai seafood at Krua Chao Baan, a favourite with local families. It’s reassuringly casual and ideal for a leisurely lunch. If you’d like something a little fancier for dinner, head to Hansar Samui’s H Bistro Restaurant for fresh Maine lobsters, deep sea red prawns (below) and oysters flown from Canada, under the stars.
4. Get healthy together
Here’s how you can bond with your restless teen. Drop into Vikasa Life Cafe for an insanely healthy breakfast – think chia pudding and raw buckwheat pancakes – with an invigorating view. It’s just what you need to fuel your active day out.
5. See the sights – both cultural and natural
Introduce your young ones to Thailand’s incredible culture with a visit to the Big Buddha Temple (4171, Tambon Bo Put, Amphoe Koh Samui). The glistening gold monument will leave them agape, and you with a feeling of peace. Then charge up your adrenaline by ziplining 2,000m through Koh Samui’s Secret Falls with Canopy Adventures. The rainforest ride will give you a true bird’s eye view of the island’s spectacular natural wonders.
– TEXT BY HANNAH STUART-LEACH
PHOTOS: KAMALAYA KOH SAMUI, HANSAR SAMUI, SHIVA SAMUI, SALA SAMUI CHOENGMON BEACH, WORLD RESORT SAMUI
This article was originally published by Singapore Press Holdings.
