Soi Green Mango beer bars

Soi Green Mango is in Chaweng, on Koh Samui's east coast, off the busy beach road. Chaweng is the island's busiest beach and nightlife center, so most bars and clubs are within walking distance. Stay in Chaweng and you can walk there and back.

It is Chaweng's party soi, with beer bars and clubs packed into one lane. Expect loud music, bright signs and bar staff calling you in. It is the quickest way to see what Chaweng nightlife offers, because so much is in one lane.

Nearby are The Green Mango Club, Hush Bar, Moby Dick Irish Pub & Guesthouse, Chica loca, UNDER BAR and Sin by Night. That is a mix of clubs and ordinary bars, so a crawl from door to door is easy. The Green Mango Club is the big one the soi is named after.

Yes, it is the main place on the island for it. The women working the beer bars are bar girls and the usual bar fine rules apply, and the clubs draw a mixed crowd. Samui has no gogo strip on the scale of Bangla Road, so this lane is where most of it happens.

Soi Green Mango is Chaweng's busy party soi, with clubs and beer bars together. Lamai's bar plaza is smaller, more relaxed and has an older expat crowd. Pick Soi Green Mango for a big night, and Lamai for a quiet one. Both are a short ride apart.

Pay as you go or check the bill line by line before you settle up, agree what a lady drink costs before it is poured and count them against the chits. Watch your drink, keep your phone in a front pocket and take a Grab home rather than a taxi with a high fixed fare.

It builds as the evening goes on, and weekends are busiest. Samui's weather differs from Phuket and Krabi, with the heaviest rain usually from about October to December, so January to August is generally better. Hours vary by bar, so check on the night.

Eat first, walk the soi once and choose a beer bar with a visible price list. Start there, then try The Green Mango Club later if you want a dance floor. Settle your chit before you move on, keep your cash light and plan a Grab home.