There are plenty of bars and clubs to choose from for the real deal party goers, and here are to mention a few...

Beach Parties

Take your ease with tribal harmony! Once upon a time...it was The Full Moon marathon over at Koh Pha Ngan (pronounced " pan gan"...unless you have watched "The Beach", when you will call it "pan-yan" for some odd reason)Now there is The Black Moon Party, The No Moon Party and The Freedeom Beat Beach Party. All have the same basic theme: get stoned, paint something on your body, interact with humankind, wriggle about, crash out and go home. Two problems. You have to get to Koh Pha Ngan by boat. Come back this way too. First boat back is at 6.00 am. so if it is raining or you are NOT a happy bunny, youre stuck! Second problem: the place is crawling with police (many in plain-clothes)...and others (particularly ladyboys) who are just waiting for you to get so stoned that they can remove your money/watch/camera/Walkman etc. The Black Moon Party is another alternative...held on the tiny (and closer) island of Koh Som, near to Big Bhudda Beach. Maybe better still, the Freedom Beat is here on Samui, on a lovely strip of beach close to Chaweng at Choeng Mon. This is well-organised, with open beach pavilions to crash/shelter in, toilets, food and drink stalls, proper parking for cars and bikes and a cheap and regular set of taxis running from Chaweng. Try this before you decide to go across the water.

Lukes Black Jack Bar

In the narrow alley alongside The Deck, this is a small British style pub, with two floors. Nice atmosphere but gets a little too claustrophobic when the live sporting events are on.

Fawlty Towers

Soi Green Mango. A spacious, laid-back bar and restaurant, open to the street, taking as its theme the John Cleese / Fawlty Towers motif...and as you may have guessed, an English menu! All major sporting events on a big screen.

Christys Sports Bar

End of Soi Green Mango. Mark Cookson, owner of Christys Cabaret originally opened this as a second ladyboy cabaret, but found it easier to run at as a "sports bar". 2 excellent slate-bed pool tables, darts, table football, big-screen TV, modest drink prices.

The Islander

Chaweng Beach Road, close to the Soi Green Mango. Canadian owner Dennis Hodgkinson has successfully repeated the winning formula that he used in his Phuket "Islander". An excellent restaurant serving enormous amounts of very good food. The "Daily Menu" is outstanding and incredibly good value for money. Check out the fish and chips and prepare to be amazed. This place also doubles up as a bar and shows all the live sporting events from around the world. Unlike many, the service is fast and polite! One place you can not go wrong with.

The Green Mango Disco

This one of the most famous discos/bars in Samui. It opens at 8 pm but the disco does not get lively until around midnight, and then it gets VERY busy. The DJs are great, often coming from leading clubs around the world.

The dance area is large and very lively, especially on the stage area, where people like to show off. If you fancy a game of pool before the dancing starts then they have the best-quality pool tables in Samui and it only costs 150 Baht an hour ! Once the disco does get going they play popular dance tracks through to techno. As with all clubs in Thailand now, it closes at 2 am. One word of caution, there are a lot of katoeys (ladyboys) here who normally hang about near the pool tables, on the opposite side of the bar as you walk in.

Marios Austin Powers Dance Bar

Just outside the Green Mango, there is a large paved area, forming a big triangle, with the bar itself at the far side. Marios often attracts as big as crowd as the Green Mango...and it can be quite a struggle to elbow your way through the leaping bodies! Music is loud n funky and the atmosphere is beach-party. Very popular !

Sweet n Soul Bar

Just across the narrow street is a smaller bar, no dance area (people do it standing up!) but open onto the street. Cosy, intimate, dark, popular and crowded! The music is generally more laid-back, (Dire Straits, Chris Rea, Dido etc) and if you can find a seat, it is a good place to land after youve worked up a sweat dancing.

The Deck

The Soi Green Mango is actually U-shaped, and if you wander all the way round it and back onto Chaweng Beach Road (must be all of 300 metres!) you land on The Deck! Well...outside it actually. This narrow 3-floor building is one of the coolest places to hang-out in the town. It has a lot of space and even Thai style seats where you take your shoes off and lie on the raised floor It would be absolutely perfect if they offered the equivalent of finger bowls so that people could wash there feet - but until they do, please do us all a favour and do it at home ! The Manager Khun Jep is the sweetest lady and all the staff go out of their way to ensure a relaxed time. This is a must. Only one small problem now...The Soundshaft disco right next door.

The Full Circle Disco

Right on Chaweng Beach Road, a few months ago The Full Circle could barely be seen from the street. This disco began about 2 years ago named Full Circle, failed, closed, expanded and modernised, failed again, closed, opened again as The Soundshaft, expanded again and failed. Until someone had the idea of making it Chawengs THAI disco (as the old Santa Fe is no more.) and called it The Full Circle again. Which it now is. So this means that few tourists go there. SO...to attract the farangs, there is now a live resident band playing each night in the narrow entrance area, which is the size of an average bathroom. Unfortunately, they are not exactly...erm...crowd-pullers. Due to the tiny space and the high volume...the opposite in fact. And...the tranquility of The Deck is disrupted each night by the row from next door, much to the irritation of everyone. Still, things change quickly on this island, so check it out when youre here.

Christys Cabaret Bar

This is a must! A few years back, ladyboy shows had a kind-of seedy reputation. Now the customers at Christys are mainly couples, plus a lot of women, who come to gaze in amazement at the astonishing transsexuals who cheerfully display themselves on stage and off! The bar is now much bigger, seating 120 inside, with room for another 80 standing. The show starts each night at 11.00 pm, but by then it is usually packed, so it is advisable to get there before 10.30 and watch the frolics behind the bar. The sound system is expensive (disco quality) and the new stage and lighting come as close to "professional" as you can get without being in a closed aircon theatre. Amazingly this is still a free show, and the drinks prices are very reasonable with beer at 80/90B and cocktails starting at 120B. When the show finishes...hang about. This is the time that the ladyboys show-off and strut their stuff! The idea is to keep the customers for a while longer, so the action behind the bar hots-up, with some curious and revealing antics, and much running about and shrieking! In low season when they are not many tourists around, the place is still packed, as this is the bar that the residents and other bar owners come to "relax" (if you can call it that!). NOTE: Christys Cabaret Bar / Show has now moved across the road to an air-conditioned bar - we will be reviewing it and will post here soon. In the place of Christys Cabaret Bar / Show is Taeng Cabaret Bar / Show which is basically exactly what is described above - more to come.

The Club

Sigh. Not so long ago, the routine was that you went to Christys, then thrashed about at the Green Mango until 3.00 am, then wobbled off to The Club until they threw you out in the morning light. Not anymore. The Club is physically a GREAT place, in its design and decor...lots of dark little nooks and crannies, comfortable seating, low intimate lighting, 2 bars and modest drinks prices. It used to be so full at 4.00 am that it was a hassle moving around. Now...its almost deserted. There is a sprinkling of tourists who find The Green Mango too crowded and noisy, but thats it.

Great music...mellow environment...and definitely worth a look, because things change fast here.

The Rock Pub

Down the Beach Road in the other direction is the Rock Pub. (Near to The Central Hotel) A small but vigourous bar, with a live-band each night, it makes a change from the bustle round the Soi Green Mango. Worth a look.

The Reggae Pub

Samuis first and oldest disco. Alas, now not so popular as it was a few years ago. This rarely gets going till about midnight, and, as its name suggests, before this time plays reggae. Midnight, the sounds switch to house and techno and it starts to fill. More popular now with older visitors and those that read old copies of "The Rough Guide". Hipsters and those in the know stick to The Green Mango and the Beach Parties!

The Secret Garden

On the main road at Big Bhudda Beach. Sunday afternoons only! This is a little bit special. Live music, jamming sessions, visiting bands, food stalls, crafts, gifts, souvenirs. Its where the locals get to to meet-up and relax, and the atmosphere is easy and the music is usually excellent. Many a famous performer has jumped up on the stage here (including a certain guitarist for a certain Grateful Dead). Call ahead of time and they can book you on one of their free shuttles (one at 3pm and another at 4pm). There have been times where the pub has hosted thousands. Not exactly "secret," but highly recommended. Well worth a look if you are jaded from all that partying !