Koh Samui with baby and toddler 🏝
We travelled to Koh Samui at the end of my maternity leave in June. We chose Koh Samui since we wanted to go to Thailand, and it was not rainy season there yet. However, I would say that it was still too hot for the baby and toddler even though it was partly cloudy most of the time and it rained every other day. Not for full day, but mostly late afternoon or early evening. Only one day it rained in the morning. We stayed there 3 weeks, so it was fine to have some cloudy days.
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| Definitely worth visiting - overlap stone! |
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| By hotel pool lounge! |
My husband is originally from Thailand so he can speak Thai. It made some things a bit easier but overall, everybody was speaking English, so language is not an issue. Before traveling I also did A and B hepatitis vaccine for myself and for Nolan who is 3 years old. It was not possible to do the vaccine to Logan who was 5 moths old, since too young. I think it is possible from the age of 1. I had been Thailand 2 times before and once when I was 5 months pregnant and then did not do any vaccines. I guess overall better to be safe than sorry! 😎
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| Travel crew! |
FLIGHT
We flew with Thai Airways to Bangkok and then to Koh Samui. The flight was pretty smooth but ofc not so convenient with a baby. I especially hated the flight back since it was night flight, and I could not sleep on those airplane chairs. It was good though for our toddler since he slept almost the whole flight. We even got the special baby food! I was a bit in doubt if we should buy the front seat where you can put the baby to sleep. It was quite expensive, and our baby would only sleep in a baby carrier. We bought Stokke luggage for our toddler that you can make it as a bed but that was not allowed in Thai Airways.
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| Flight fun! |
Not all our luggage arrived at Koh Samui on time. Luckily, I had mixed the luggage so that in every luggage there were somebodies' clothes, otherwise we would have been doomed! 😀 We received the missing bags about 10 hours later, so it was not that bad. We also had a travel stroller with us but did not take it to the airplane.
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| The vacation with kids' expectation picture 😀 |
HOTEL
I was actually quite in between if we should book a hotel or apartment. I knew that we do not want to camp around with small kids, so I had to choose a place for the whole time and as convenient as possible. I also wanted that there is a swimming pool for the kids, that was the reason why I went for the hotel. Not many apartments have kids swimming pool. Plus, I wanted to have some kind of indoor kid's club. So, I choose the same hotel we stayed at Maldives - Amari Koh Samui. Overall, it was nice hotel with amazing breakfast and friendly staff, but they end up having some maintenance during our stay that I was not happy about.
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| This is the bed appreciation picture 😀 |
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| I could travel there just because of breakfast! 🙌 |
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| Second swimming pool at our last day |
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| At least our hotel area was good for strolling around! |
Another thing was that their second swimming pool that was closer to where our room was, was closed for maintenance and the opening was delayed. In the end I managed to swim there maybe last 3 days of our stay. Kevin told me that we probably would have either way stayed more at the pool by the bar, but it was actually still quite nice to be able to swim in the pool closer by. In addition, they started to remodel the bar and lounge area by the main pool so there was quite some noise and not so nice view anymore. We got a coupon for free 3 course dinner thanks to my complaining. At some point I just let it go since I did not want this negative energy to ruin my nice vacation so overall it was nice stay. Always worth visiting because of the breakfast! 🥰
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| Our drive from room to main pool if sb was tired! 🤪 |
Hotel had its own beach but there were actually some plants in the water. It was still perfectly light blue water but had to watch out where you walk. During the afternoon the water was so hot in both sea and the pool that it was not really cooling down. I was quite concerned about getting sunburn but having small kids really help to avoid it since you either way cannot stay long at direct sunshine. Luckily Kevin was not so obsessed about the sun and water, so I got about 1 hour every day just to chill myself by the beach/pool that was amazing! 😍
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| The main pool by the beach! |
LOCATION
For the location it was the main city. I was just worried that I might not get diapers from other places. 😀 In reality every other bigger place would have been fine since it was easy to get around by taxi. It was 15min walk to the biggest supermarket but in this heat and with small kids it was not really doable. Plus, the walking area is super small and often scooters are parked there so with stroller it is nearly impossible to avoid walking on a car road and the traffic is not the best. I saw plenty of people with strollers and small children, but it is not really a location for nice evening stroll! At least not the Chaweng Beach area where we stayed. However, it was nice to walk to the center along the beach in the evening and many restaurants & bars had tables there.
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| Baby swimming paying off! |
TRIPS
We did some smaller halfway trips with taxi. I would have love to go to small island trip that Koh Samui is famous for, but it would have been too hot for children since there is no air-condition option and I was still breastfeeding Logan, so could not just have gone alone, so need to go back one day! I would have love to also explore more beaches around Koh Samui, but since Nolan was not so obsessed about the sand and beach and it was super-hot so either way would not have managed to stay at the beach more than 30 minutes (unless there is a shade), so will leave this also for next time!
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| View to the beach! |
We usually ate breakfast at the hotel around 10 when Logan made his first nap (if we were lucky). He did not really like to sleep in the stroller, first I think it was because it was so hot, but later on we discovered that he just sleeps better on his belly at the wagon. So, most naps he made in our room at the moon boon that we took with us. The trips usually took place during afternoon, so Logan also had one of his naps then in the airconditioned car at the baby carrier.
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| How you make sure your child´s face does not get burn by sun! 😀 |
The main roads at Koh Samui are pretty good quality so it would be fine to rent a car or scooter. Just might need to watch out the roads in the jungle, where bigger car would be better. We usually communicated with the taxi driver via WhatsApp and in all cases, they also came to pick us up, so it was pretty convenient!
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| Playground at the hotel! |
The Jungle Club
It is a hotel on top of the mountain inside the Jungle. We went to the restaurant there that had a great view. The drive there is quite steep so not recommended to go there with a scooter. We drove there with taxi. Since it is mainly for the hotel guests then I had to book a table couple of days before. The food was a bit more expensive but not that bad.
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| Chill with the view |
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| The crew! |
Big Buddha Temple
It was also a short taxi ride from the hotel. When visiting the hotel, then it was polite to cover the legs. Up at the Buddha you can try to throw a coin to the hands of the Buddha. I guess it brings luck! 😀 I did not manage to succeed.
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| Kevin was on a baby carrier duty! 😀 |
Wat Plai Laem
This was actually a row of different Buddhas on a lake. I quite enjoyed these. Looked a bit different than the rest of the Buddhas I have been visiting in Asia. Not so far apart, so it takes approximately 30 minutes to walk around there.
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| This is the money Buddha. |
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| 👌 |
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| Temple |
Overlap Stone
This was my favorite place. It is a Stone in the jungle and there is a very nice view to the island. We went there by taxi. There is a ticket fee and they have built nice staircase and row up to the viewpoint. It can be a bit slippery though when it is raining. My 3,5-year-old was happy to walk up there and baby was in the baby carrier. Kevin was also talking with the owner there and the idea is to develop this place further.
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| 🥰 |
Elephant Sanctuary
I think there is 2 different sanctuaries in Koh Samui. We went to the one recommended for the children. This was the only official trip with smaller van. The rest of the trips organized we ourselves by taxi. There was possibility to prepare food for elephants and feed them later. We could also feed bananas up on the sky walk. It was pretty fun experience. My toddler was just a bit scared of elephants. 😀
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| With elephants! 😊 |
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| Getting hugged by elephant! 🥰 |
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| Skywalk where you could feed elephants! |
Playrooms
We went also to 2 different playrooms. One is in the middle of the big shopping mall at Chewang. There is also smaller playground that is free. The one where you pay it is recommended to have socks on and there are grown-ups who can watch after your kid. We left Nolan to paly there and went to eat food court next to it. There is no air-condition in the paly area but the ventilations are working.
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| Temporary play room at the hotel (I usually was sunbathing 😀) |
The other playroom was also in Chewang but more like in a random area. I think it is called Fun House Samui. It is possible to eat there while the child is playing.
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| The big playroom at the shopping mall! |
Fisherman´s village Night Market
We went to the area a bit before the sunset, and it is super nice area. There are many nice restaurants by the beach. The night market is only once a week, and it is one of the biggest in the island. Great place to buy all the souvenirs and try all kind of food. It gets quite crowded, and it is not the most convenient to get around there with a stroller. The food is cheap and delicious though. There is also some like music. It was a bit challenging with small kids since it was quite hot and crowded. We got a table and Kevin went to buy food and then my toddler announce that he needs to pee. I then just took all the staff and baby and went somewhere close to the fence and ofc did not manage to assist properly this little penis. 😁 Pee was everywhere but luckily, I had change of clothes.
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| View at the bar by the beach |
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| Waiting for the sunset |
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| Nightmarket |
FOOD
Food is cheap in Thailand. For Logan we had just started with solids, so we took all the tube food with us and also some porridge. I was still breastfeeding but sometimes we also gave him formula and that we took with us. So, I did some demand planning to make sure to have all the food with us. In the store I saw Nestle Nan formula and I think also some baby food. They also have diapers that are mainly the pants version. I would say that the diapers in Denmark are cheaper. 😀
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| Freshly grilled shrimp and toy gun (toy at the restaurant 🙄) |
Breakfast was part of our hotel package, and it was so delicious so first days we actually did not even eat lunch. Later on, we sometimes had some fries or snacks by the pool. That kept Nolan occupied while I enjoyed pool and sunshine! 😀 At the beginning we went out for the dinner in one of the local restaurants close by. At some point Kevin discovered the Food Panda app that you can use for ordering the food. It was super cheap and actually in English. Just had to pay in cash. I mean with small children it is a bit easier to eat in the hotel room than out. I mean it is nicer to eat out but easier to eat in! 😀 The staff in the restaurants were super helpful so even took Logan to hold so we could both eat and found some toys to play with for Nolan.
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| Both kids sleeping during dinner 😀 |
I must also mention that there was super good Italian restaurant next to our hotel. A bit more expensive than local places but food was delicious. Thailand is one of those countries where it is actually cheaper to eat out than cook yourself. If you are staying close to night market, then it is especially cheap. And even I did not complain about food! 😀 I am not obsessed about Thai food and do not like spicy food but still found some go to dishes and the coconut water is a must, plus all the fresh exotic fruits - my always go to is mango!
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| Dinner by the beach at the hotel! |
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| Me and the boys! |
MASSAGE
One of the best reasons to travel to Thailand is cheap and great massage. I had a goal to go have massage once a week. Looking back, I should have had massage every other day! 😀
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| Walk at the hotel premises! |
Since we stayed there 3 weeks, I also had to wash clothes. The service was super easy and cheap. I found online a place, and they had a WhatsApp number. So, I asked when you can pick up dirty clothes and they said now, so it was super-fast, and we got clean folded clothes back next day. It was one of the only trips from where I came back home with luggage full of washed clothes.
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| Would not want to stand there during thunderstorm! 🙈 |
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| Nolan with his best friend - cannabis is legal to do in dedicated shops! |
TOYS and CLOTHES
I bought all the summer and swimming clothes before the trip. Did not want to spend time going through the stores and find the right clothes. We did take some baby toys with us and some small cars for Nolan, but not so many. So, in terms of beach toys and swimming equipment we bought from there. Also, some toys for Nolan to play with. Everything we took back home! 😀 It was actually quite difficult to make Nolan wear summer clothes, so we actually had to lock all his long clothes to the hotel room seif. 🙄
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| Good that Logan did not crawl yet! 😀 |
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| A rare picture of Nolan playing with sand 😀 |
HEALTH
Luckily none of us got seriously sick during the trip. The only thing was that Logan and I got eye infection. The local pharmacy gave some drugs to clean the eye and it went away in couple of days. A bit annoying but doable. We also kept the air-condition in our room as high as possible in order not to get sick.
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| Local Baywatch! 😘 |
Overall, it is more challenging to travel with children and you do not have so much time to enjoy the new place but looking back I think it was still considered as vacation since I did not need to cook or clean and still got to swim and sunbathe and have good massage. Of course, not as much as I would have wanted but still better than nothing. Now looking all those pictures make me really miss Thailand! Until next time! 🥰
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| Literally carrying the whole business on your shoulders! 👍 |
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