10 Best Places to Go Shopping in Lamai

Lamai Night Plaza lies at the centre of Lamai resort town, diagonally opposite McDonald's. This bazaar offers a wide range of local souvenirs, including fans, wooden elephants in varying sizes, sarongs, purses, bags, belts, T-shirts, and colourful lamps. Take your time and remember to smile throughout transactions and the bargaining process. Do not pay the original asking price – you’re expected to haggle.

Lamai Walking Street takes place every Sunday on Lamai Beach Road, between the fresh market and the bridge in the northeastern part of the town. For this occasion, the road is closed off to traffic to make way for dozens of stalls selling clothes and handicrafts at affordable prices.

The highlight of Lamai Walking Street is the outstanding choices of delicious street food. You'll find grilled corn, pad thai, kebabs, pizzas, barbecued seafood, and even cocktails. Strolling along Lamai Walking Street is definitely a great way to spend a Sunday evening in a welcoming and local atmosphere.

Samui Hot Club is a long-established and popular fashion boutique that has 2 branches in Koh Samui. The Lamai branch is in the centre of the resort town, about 350 metres north of the Lamai Boxing Stadium.

Samui Hot Club has rows after rows of colourful sarongs, T-shirts, beachwear on display in an air-conditioned small wood-panelled shop. Most of the products come from Indonesia.

The Lamai Fresh Market caters to the local population with its extensive range of fresh produce and street food. However, you'll also find some stalls selling shirts, toys and beachwear at rather affordable prices. The market offers a glimpse into genuine local life and a great opportunity to sample delicious Southern Thai food.

Silvermania is a stylish boutique not far from Samui Hot Club in the centre of Lamai town. It (obviously) sells silver jewellery sourced from all around the world. You can find trendy earrings, rings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and ornaments in this store.

The heaviest and more unusual items usually come from Mexican manufactures, while polished chains and arm hoops come from Italy. Silver and gems quality is thoroughly controlled at Silvermania, though retail prices are determined according to market rates.

Next to the famous Grandmother and Grandfather rocks in southern Lamai is a group of stalls selling a range of goods such as beachwear, T-shirts, and souvenirs. The atmosphere is great fun, with a real 'on the seaside' feeling to it. These stalls are one of the best places on the island to pick up traditional coconut wood carvings and shell ornaments.

Avoid buying coral or larger shells as this encourages reef damage. Bringing coral into your home country can land you in hot water with customs officials, too. 

Buddy Oriental Plaza is a sleek shopping plaza on the Samui Ring Road. With plenty of shaded parking and appealing post-colonial design, it’s all meant to complement the Buddy Oriental Samui Beach Resort. 

Within the plaza, you’ll discover an almost genteel serene-like atmosphere. It hosts stylish boutiques, restaurants and bars as well as a small supermarket. Things to buy include silk products, clothing, bags and accessories. There’s even a kids’ club that takes care of little ones while parents are busy strolling around this charming plaza. 

69 Slam is an Australian beachwear brand famous for its youthful and provocative spirit. Its Lamai branch is run by a young and enthusiastic Frenchman. The shop is designed in a contemporary style, displaying quality beachwear, underwear, bras, swimsuits, T-shirts, boardshorts, footwear, and accessories for men, women and kids.

Lamai Centre is a U-shaped modern plaza hosting a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, massage parlours, tattoo studios,  and clothing and jewellery stores. The central lane of Lamai Centre has lounge-like comfortable sofas, chairs and tables offering a cool people-watching spot, and a pond with Japanese koi fish.

Island Books is a secondhand book shop on Koh Samui. The owner is fastidious about the quality of books he puts on his shelves, so he's extremely knowledgeable about his stock. The bookshop is very well organised and easy to navigate. 

Island Books Samui has a large range of reasonably priced books in English, French and German, as well as a small selection in other languages. You can choose to buy or rent a book from the store.