Why should you go there and how do you do it right?

Maenam is my beach of choice on Koh Samui if you're looking for peace and quiet. It stretches along the north coast as a long, sandy beach, between 4 and 7 km long, depending on how you count the ends. It's lined with coconut palms and unobtrusive resorts, and Koh Phangan lies opposite. It's a 15-20 minute drive from Samui Airport and about 10 minutes from the fishing village of Bophut – close enough to grab dinner without getting lost in the vibrant nightlife of Chaweng.

During the dry season, the water is usually calm, and you can walk on clean sand without stones or coral. However, the seabed drops off more quickly than it appears, and an adult will be chest-deep in water after about 5 meters. Therefore, be sure to keep small children close. At high tide, the beach narrows considerably, and some sections accumulate more debris than others. It's best to walk a few hundred meters until you find a stretch of sand you like.

The village of Maenam is the convenient part. Lomprayah's Pralarn Pier, from which boats depart for Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, is within easy walking distance of the beach hotels. Red songthaews operate on the ring road behind the beach. A small market takes place in the village on Thursday evenings from about 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and the Maenam morning market, which opens as early as 4:00 AM, is the ideal place for breakfast and fruit.