I was in Koh Lanta this January working out of KoHub and would definitely recommend it. Its a great island with lots to do and KoHub’s atmosphere makes it really easy to make friends and have socials.

Lots of people work during the day and there is always someone going out in the evening for dinner and drinks… Pair that with a laid back island, its truly an amazing life style.

I was also in Goa unfortunately internet was a struggle and no where near as tourist friendly as Koh Lanta.
Koh Samui is a nice island and close to a few other so you can hop around. Not sure about how digital nomad friendly it is. Internet 4g was great.
Koh Pha Nang seems to be picking up… theres a coworking space which opened on the beach earlier this year if I’m not mistaken. One to check out for sure.

Thanks for your replies. What about Ko Pha Ngan? I heard that it’s becoming increasingly popular among digital nomads these days.

Thought I’d throw our hat in the ring, we might interest you @Spacer. @Edumadic run 12 week programs for people exactly like you. Our next program visits Goa, Sri Lanka, and Bali. You can check us out at www.edumadic.com

Thanks anigupta. It seems that I’ll be going to Ko Lanta and Chiang Mai in the end

Thanks kevinohashi. Ko Lanta would be more suitable for me I think.

Let’s see if someone can share their experiences with Goa and Chennai! I’m very interested to know about those too.

I can only speak for Koh Lanta and Koh Samui.

Koh Samui is a much bigger island than Koh Lanta. More people, more everything. If you like modern amenities and enjoy a more city feel at the beach with access to everything you could want, it’s probably the better pick. I think the internet was fine most places.

Koh Lanta is a much smaller, relaxed island. Since you’re talking about January, that is high season (until around april/may). So it is more crowded, but it’s still not that crowded. It’s more of a family island, rather than a party island. Although there is generally a party or two every night somewhere if you want it. It also has a fantastic coworking space KoHub (http://kohub.org) which has very good internet (100mbps + 50mbps backup line - from which I’m writing this now).

Any new co-working spaces & cafes since this thread was opened (in dec '14)?

Info on Ko Samui & Ko Phangan is great, but also on other islands having new co-working spaces.

Thanks

Hi there

We are launching the first beachfront coworking space that I know of and it is on a beautiful beach on the west coast of Koh Phangan.

Send us an email [email protected] for more info!

@DavidSidhom we are looking a house in Ko Phangan with my team (trampolinn.com a home swapping community) we are 5, do you have any plans? My email is [email protected] or through whatsapp on this number +33641461589! Thanks mate for the advice (low bugdet unfortunately). Hugo

1. So sorry for replying this late. Was kind of offline over the holidays and family was a rare distraction.

2. Thank you all so much for the quick and useful replies. I look forward to checking out all of those places. @David, I might take you up on the offer and give you a call soon.

3. This forum rocks! Thanks everybody also for all the other great posts! Look forward to learning from you & giving back soon.

Safe travels,
Rich

A good friend of the Ninjas hacker collective (Loren aka 6Q) owns a hostel on Koh Samui. It is called Backpacker Hostel. Here are the details: https://www.facebook.com/BackpackerHostelSamui?rf=582099511858459

This is a great place to use as a starting point because it’s very cheap, is a super friendly crowd, and (being hacker owned and operated) has fast reliable Internet (inasmuch as this is possible, bearing in mind that you’re on a small island in Thailand, a country currently governed by the army who recently took power in a coup). If you want to enjoy the Full Moon Party, 6Q also owns another hostel on Koh Phangan and it’s very easy to bounce between the two.

There are plenty of places to stay on Koh Samui, but landing in a friendly, laid-back place that is hacker owned and operated, with an American owner who knows how to organize everything you’ll need and can solve essentially any problem you’re likely to have is invaluable. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.

hey rich!

If you go to Ko Samui, check out Son F Beach! It’s a bar-coworking space owned by a Russian designer. It’s small but cozy, with coworking upstairs and bar downstairs. Mostly Russian expats or travelers work there.
The price is 200THB/day, drink included.

I prefer coffee shops, however. I’ve been “nomading” mostly at The Islander in Chaweng, Ko Samui. It’s in a crowded street, ~17Mbps internet, although it goes down for a few seconds sometimes.

@DavidSidhom, thanks for the links! I just arrived on Phangan, and can’t wait to check you computer-keyboard-banging fellow travelers

Hey Rich,

I’ve been working remotely on Koh Phangan for a few years now. There are co-working spaces starting to set up, the first is set to open soon and I can imagine more will follow!

http://kohspace.com/ (set to open mid January 2015!) Is located in Ban Tai area.

Theres a few groups on Face-a-book worth following for updates on this right now…

As for internet cafes and other places to work around the island, I can suggest a few places on your visit. Of course it is also possible to find suitable housing / rent with wifi for longer stays…the quality of internet varies of course.

I would recommend getting one of those AIS pocket wifi’s too.

UPDATE
If anyone would like some insider info on Koh Phangan and best places to work / rent / play - I’m happy to help, you can call me on +66 (0) 990 028 714 or send me a PM

Chok dee na krap good luck!

David

It’s been a few years since I rented in BKK, but last time, I took an Airbnb for a few nights and negotiated with the owner for longer term. They were happy to give a significant discount to not pay the Airbnb tax and have a stable tenant.

in vietnam if someone makes it then you can get it - not sure if the same in thailand. basically i’m saying the state doesn’t get involved when it comes to prescription meds. it’s simply a market-based economy. if you can reach someone in country they can just wander down to the local shop and see if they can get it. yes doctors in vn prescribe things, but it isn’t like in au/nz/us where a doctor needs to write on a piece of paper to authorise you getting it, you simply need to know what you want so you can then go and actually purchase it.

I went to Koh Lanta last year and it had great wifi even in remote areas. I stayed at the Ozone resort and the internet was stable at around 20mbps for download speed. Also went to Kohub but I really didn’t like it as the place wasn’t clean to me (the toilets were clogged but perhaps they have fixed them now).
One of the big downside on this island to me is the road, there are gaps everywhere and sometimes people drive like crazy, I think the road destruction is due to the 2004 tsunami.

Apart from that the island is awesome, I really liked it there and if you’re the kind of person who’s looking for a peaceful island and great people you’ll enjoy it (nightlife is also very present on the island).

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on both islands and like they both for different reasons.

But Koh Lanta wins currently for digital nomads, we had the Nomad Summit island retreat there after the conference this year.

Ko lanta is alot of tourists

Both islands are nice. They are less mainstream compared to Phuket, Samui etc. but still have pretty good infrastructure. Probably the optimal combination to get things done

Ko Lanta is smaller than Phangan.
Wi-Fi should be good on both (depending on venue), and you can use mobile internet from telecom provider (such as Ais, True etc.)

PS: Usually March-April are the hottest months in this region.

Ah same question here! I know that koh phangan has for sure good WiFi, but I would like to see ko lanta this time.
I’m arriving in Thailand on the 7th what about you?