Night Markets in Koh Samui

The island's best-known market, held every Friday evening along the old wooden shophouse street at Bophut. Stalls sell seafood grilled in front of you, cocktails, clothes and crafts, and the restaurants along the waterfront open their terraces to the crowd. It is the one market on Samui worth planning your week around, and it gets genuinely busy after eight.

A permanent covered market at Lamai, open every night rather than one night a week, which makes it the reliable option. It trades in cheap clothing, copied goods, lamps, carvings and everyday household things rather than food. Useful for filling gaps in a packing list, and it sits within walking distance of most of the Lamai hotels.

A Thursday-evening street market in the centre of Mae Nam, quieter and more local than Fisherman's Village and considerably cheaper. Stalls sell fresh food, northern snacks and the occasional fried insect, mixed with clothing and local produce. Live music turns up some weeks. Worth the drive if you are on the island on a Thursday.

An open-air food court near Chaweng Lake rather than a shopping market, and the best value eating on the busiest side of the island. Thai dishes, grilled seafood, tropical fruit and desserts sit alongside international stalls, with shared tables in the middle. Open most evenings, and a short walk from the Chaweng hotel strip.

A small market in Fisherman's Village at Bophut, running about thirty metres back from Bophut Beach Road, with souvenir and craft stalls and a courtyard of painted elephant statues. Tables made from repurposed oil drums fill the middle. It is a pleasant half hour rather than an evening, and it works best combined with the Friday market next door.