Zen holiday villas Koh Samui island.

The days are long gone, when the Island of Koh Samui in Thailand only attracted backpackers and hippies and that this Thai paradise island could only be reached with fishing trawlers transformed into passenger boats. Nowadays, modern car-ferry's, high powered air conditioned passenger boats and daily flights connect Ko Samui with the mainland and the rest of the world, transporting thousands of holiday seekers to this once so remote piece of Thailand paradise.

Koh Samui is one of Thailand's larger islands, measuring a good 25km on 22km. The main road, that forms a complete circle around the island is a modern double lane in very good condition, never more than 500 meter from the crystal clear sea. If not exploring Ko Samui with your own vehicle, then private taxis, songtaews (shared taxis) and motorcycle taxis are evident everywhere and easily hailed to take you to any tourist destinations or attraction on the island of Samui.

However, to make the most out of your holiday stay on Koh Samui, renting a motor car, a jeep or even a simple motorcycle is very advisable. Most rent operators on Ko Samui offer mainly Suzuki jeeps, with some of the international vehicle renting companies, such as Budget and Avis, offering a wider and more modern range of cars and comfortable sedans.

Prices for renting a vehicle range from 800 up to 3,000 Thai Baht (US$ 20 to 75) a day and third-party insurance, which we highly advice, can be bought at a modest extra daily cost. Exploring the whole island of Koh Samui is relatively easy by using the excellent guide maps that are available, for free, everywhere on Samui.

Over the years, many new forms of holiday formulas have seen the daylight on Koh Samui and one of the newer experiences is owning, during your stay, your own private holiday house with the tropical crystal sea at your doorstep. The days of bamboo shacks on the beach have long gone and there are now many beautiful, modernly equipped holiday villas with stunning sea views located on prime beachfront land all over the island.

Most of those superb villas have been built in typical Thai style but following western building standards, including all modern European facilities you can dream about. Those holiday villas are spread over the island of Ko Samui in harmony with the surrounding tropical nature, most villas come with their own tropical garden and private swimming pool including stunning views of the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Siam.

During our holiday stay on Ko Samui, last year, I had been fascinated by the beauty and the location of some of these holiday villas that we had seen during our trips around the island. When I heard from a friend that these private holiday villas on Koh Samui could be rented by week and even by day, I knew it was time to try out a new holiday formula on the island.

For less than the cost of staying at our usual beach hotel, this year, during our holiday on Koh Samui, we enjoyed the luxury of one of those beautiful holiday villas, complete with air-conditioned bedrooms, spacious living and dining spaces and large open air terraces overlooking a tropical garden with private swimming pool. More personal than any deluxe resort we ever stayed in Thailand or Ko Samui before.

We were happy to discover that our new Koh Samui lifestyle came with all the modern comforts we were used to in our own home. This was a complete upgrade from our usual deluxe hotel suite, which now seemed small and impersonal after discovering those Koh Samui holiday villas.

Our holiday villa came included with an optional service packet, including delivery of succulent local dishes from nearby restaurants plus domestic maid services such as washing the dishes (after we made a mess by cooking Thai food ourselves), cleaning the house, daily fresh linen and towels, handling the laundry and maintaining the garden and pool. This was really "Paradise Found" in the paradise of Koh Samui I thought I knew.

We had booked our Koh Samui holiday villa through a European managed company called "Zen Holiday Villas", which had been recommended to us by a close friend who lives in Bangkok. "Zen Holiday Villas" seem to maintain a high standard of personal service with a very selective portfolio of only the best holiday villas on Koh Samui, all houses being situated in prime locations and meeting the highest standards of comfort required by the holiday guests.

Their rates start at US$200 a day for one family holiday villas, up to US$2,000 a day for holiday villas that resemble palaces. "Zen Holiday Villas" does not list normal houses for rent, but only carefully selected holiday villas in dream locations, ranging from smaller family villas up to huge holiday villas that can accommodate very large families or groups of friends. All villas are equipped with all Western amenities and standards as nowhere else to be found in Thailand.

We arrived by air with the Bangkok - Koh Samui flight on what is probably the most beautiful airport in the world and were greeted on arrival by one of the "Zen Holiday Villas" hostesses, who escorted us to our holiday villa. "Zen Holiday Villas" had arranged to fill the huge refrigerator with soft drinks, fruit juices and my favorite beer and the kitchen pantry was stocked with coffee, tea, eggs, bread, butter and some snacks for our breakfast the next morning, before doing our own shopping in the modern supermarket just down the road.

As "Zen Holiday Villas" had promised, all bathrooms were well supplied with soap, shampoo, toilet paper and the linen in the bedrooms was impeccably clean. A surprise "Welcome Pack" containing fresh tropical flowers, an up-to-date Koh Samui guide and a new road map of the island were gracefully, Thai style, offered to us by the charming hostess of "Zen Holiday Villas". Even the car we had booked throug "Zen Holiday Villas" was waiting near the house, completely fuelled up and ready to roll. Pinch me, said my wife, I think I am dreaming !

We truly enjoyed each minute of our new discovered Koh Samui experience, that offered us so much more freedom and comfort than staying in our usual deluxe hotel on the Paradise Island of Koh Samui in Thailand.

Highly Recommended:
Zen Holiday Villas in Koh Samui, Thailand
Their Website: Zen Holiday Villas - Ko Samui