Single travelling, koh samui/koh phangan advice?!

I am a female travelling alone to Koh Samui for a few weeks at the beginning of July...i'm after any advice anyone can give me really! Where is best to stay? Somewhere cheap (with hot water!), friendly (possibly to meet some like-minded people!) and by the beach. A lot of places seem to be set up for familes/couples and i'd rather meet other groups/single travellers.

I would love to take a dive course out there however have been told Koh Tao may be best for this...there is a full moon party on the 9th July on Koh Phangan which i'd like to go to for a few days before heading back to Koh Samui (is there a ferry??). What are people thoughts on accommodation??!

I'm open to any suggestions.

Thank you!

Dear travelling friend!!

First of all, do not go to Samui!!
Second of all, spend most of your time on wonderful Phangan and stay just a few days on Koh Tao.
Here is why.. Samui is like Benidorm or something like that, a lot of concrete and too expensive accommodations while hanging out with a-relaxt people.
Koh Tao is great but only for a couple of days really, it is small and if you're not under the water all day you'll be bored!!
Hang out on Koh Phangan, ultimate relaxation and great parties it is all there!!
Never a dull moment..

-snip-

Enjoy your holday and ask me more if you need more info, i'm local!!

SomTam

[ Edit: Sorry, no promos please. ]

Im doing a similar trip in June/July. Best thing is to look up hostelbookers.com or similar sites. I always check out the customer reviews, you can get a good feel for the place from these.

You will be travelling in the rainy season (Doesn't mean you'll get bad weather). Apparently there can be problems getting the ferry to koh tao at this time of year.

There are ferrys travelling between all the islands. 300 baht? each way I think?

Hi I am also a lone female traveling, I've been to Koh Phangan but was wondering if anyone is going to be there from the 5th of June to the 9th. I recommend a nice place in Haad Yao called Shiralea backpackers resort. I was thinking of checking out the full moon party but don't want to go alone. If anyone is interested in a travel companion and roomie for a few days, please let me know.

Hi. I am a regular traveller to Koh Phangan. I go almost every 6-months for a week/10 days. This time a few friends of mine have decided to tag along and are quite worried about the weather in July. We will be there from Jul 24-Aug 2.
This is not at all a bad time to travel but keep in mind that you may not be able to go do water sports every day. In any case, you can always sit by the beach - even if the weather is a little choppy. Personally, if you go there, my favorite place to stay is The Colosseo Palace or Al Colosseo. A lovely guy Enrico runs the place single-handedly and is truly home away from home. A cheaper option is staying at the Sunrise Resort on Haad Rin beach. Ferry's to and from Samui go regularly but not past 6 pm. Best option is catching a high speed Catamaran - or Lomprayah. Cheap and fast too.
The Drop Inn club is another cheaper option but stay close to Haad Rin beach because that's where all the action is.
If anyone's there and looking to party you can let me know.
There are a large number of locals - mostly Italian/Israeli who live on the island. They are not the most friendly when it comes to tourists. Most of them think they own the place just because they are settled there. So watch out!

Hi, I am also a female travelling to Thailand alone. Im in Bangkok from 29June-7July then Im going to Koh Phangan from 8-10July (for the full moon party).
I still havent found accomodation in Phangan as of yet (but there is one in Baan Tai that Im interested in). If you'd like, we could go together? Contact me if youre interested.