Koh Samet, Thailand

City Guide
Introduction  |   Beaches  |   Entertainment & Eating Out   |   Tourist Information Office   |   Shopping   |   Cyber Samet  |   Getting from A to B    |   Tours   |   Events

Introduction
The National Park island of Koh Samet is surrounded by the Gulf of Thailand and boasts clear turquoise waters that teem with underwater life and coral reefs. For many city folks this laidback island, accessed by a 30 minute ferry from Rayong, has the closest and nicest beaches after the renowned but more developed Phuket and Krabi.

Being only 3½ hours from Bangkok most resorts are full during the weekends. Visitors don't come with any particular agenda other than feast on succulent sea food, read a stack of books, have a cool drink or six and just chill out.

The island is state owned (there is an entrance fee for Koh Samet at 200 Baht for adults and half price for children) so developments are strictly controlled by the government. Unfortunately many establishments have been built cheaply and do not spend enough on maintainance. Their unsightly presence is a menace but soon forgotten once you sink your feet into the powdery white sands, smell the salty air and relax.

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Beaches

Rocky Ao Phang beach

The entire island of Koh Samet is made up of a string of connected beaches. If you're up for the walk you can start from the Eastern end of Sai Kaew Beach and keep going until you get to the last accessible beach of Ao Wong Duean. The passage will take you through a range of scenery some really pretty and peaceful and others just down right overrun.

The lively Sai Kaew beach has a very commercial atmosphere that is packed with restaurants, resorts and vendors selling all sorts of island tours and banana boat rides. That said it is still the nicest beach with fine white sand and a long and very broad beachfront.

Not too far away is Ao Phai Beach also known as the "Khao San" of Koh Samet. There are plenty of cheap guesthouses here all meshed up together with restaurants and bars. It's a fairly small beach that is rather untidy and messy with beach chairs all over the place but it's the fun zone where people come for all night music and bars that open till late.

Ao Phutsa and Ao Tub Tim are next to each other . The beach is small but there is more greenery here and it's not as crowded with vendors. Ao Wong Duean has a long and broad beachfront which is actually quite nice but it's rather developed, unkempt and there's just a certain unsmiling ambiance about it.

At the South end of the Island is the very secluded and picturesque Ao Kiu this beach can only be reached by a boat.

Ao Prao to the West of the island has a nice tranquil setting with lush greenery and fine sands that is not white but rather dull beige. On the upside the few resorts in the area maintain the beachfront and keep it nice and squeaky clean.

The small but charming Ao Noi Na is another favourite. There is a sleepy fishing village feel to this area and the ambiance is quite peaceful and tranquil yet not too far from the excitement in Sai Kaew.

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Entertainment and Eating Out

Bars alongside the shore

There are not many independent restaurants available instead you will find most come from the resorts on popular beaches such as Sai Kaew and Ao Phai. The choices are quite limited when it comes to nightlife and dining out but what is available is pretty good.

The Mook Samed floating restaurant is high on the list for a unique dining experience. Getting to this rustic restaurant located in the sea is already half the fun. It's an amusing and somewhat wet 2 minutes ride on a simple raft pulled by a rope tied from the restaurant to the beach. The restaurant is very simple, modest and quite a mess but it has unusual bottomless tables where you sit on Thai cushions and dangle your feet way above the waters (regular tables are available if this freaks you out). They also run a fish farm so seafood cooked Thai style is the specialty here. The food is good but simple, price very affordable and the setting is just charming.

Ploy Samed located not too far from the Mooban Talay Resort is a scenic restaurant by the beach. It's a nice restaurant and the menu is better but a little pricey (by local standards). More cheap and good Thai seafood can be found right on Sai Kaew Beach at Sin Samut.

For something a little more upbeat head over to the outdoor restaurant of Jep Bungalow on Ao Phai Beach. Here good food is accompanied by favourite reggae tunes.

If you have your own transport and would like to go to a fancy place than the upscale Le Vimarn Resort has a nice and intimate restaurant by the beach. The food is nothing to rave about but the ambiance is one of the best.

The place to be for nightlife is Silver Sand on Ao Phai Beach here you can dance all night long on the beach under the stars and the moon.

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Further exploits near Koh Samet

Tourist Information Office
Upon arrival in Koh Samet there is a Tourist Information Center at the pier. It's more a travel agent than anything else where you get mainly tour and accommodation brochures. For starters a good map is all you need and you'll get better information from hotels or local taxis.

Alternatively if you have time in Rayong there is a Regional Tourism Authority of Thailand office near the Tapong Fruit Market (about 30 minutes from the pier in Ban Phe). Don't expect too much but you're likely to end up with better maps and some nice and colorful travel guides.

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Shopping
Shopping is definitely not a pastime here but the lively beach of Sai Kaew is where you will find most of the stalls which are more provision shops than trendy boutiques. There are basic beach items like flip flops, swim suits, beach mats and may be a few souvenirs.

Along the beach there are also pirated CDs and DVDs for sale and tattoo parlors.

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Cyber Samet
Internet services are available along the popular beaches of Sai Kaew and Ao Phai. They are purely functional and are not fancy internet cafes but the dial up speed is tolerable and it’s cheap.

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Boat tours around the island

Getting From A to B
Like most resort destinations in Thailand, motorcycles are cheap to rent and they are the best way to zip around. But not all the roads are well paved so watch out for the bumpy dirt roads.

The local taxis or “Song Thiao” are utility trucks fitted with bench like seats at the back. They are the next best thing to travel on but they are not easily available and mostly hang out on the popular beaches. They also tend to overcharge so bargain hard and set a price for a return trip as well.

Most travel agents in Bangkok offer good value return trips to Koh Samed and will get you there in time to catch the boat. The trip includes a 3 hours joint van transfer from Bangkok to Rayong and 30 minutes boat ride to Koh Samet.

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Idyllic nooks

Tours
There are boat tours that go around the various beaches of Koh Samet some which are hard to get to by land transfer. These tours are not very informative and basically will drop you off on the beach for a couple of hours to swim or snorkel before moving on to the next beach.

A better option would be to venture further and explore the island of Koh Man Nai, where a turtle conservation station is set up by H.M. Queen Sirikit. This is followed by island hopping to the virgin islands of Koh Talu and Koh Kudi well known for their underwater coral reefs and fishes.

The islands surrounding Koh Samet are pretty good for diving with some sighting of turtles, tiger sharks and manta rays.

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Events
There are no events specific to Koh Samet but being somewhat of a party island some of the bars will find a reason to celebrate with a beach party just because it’s Friday or its half or a full moon.

The most significant calendar events celebrated is Songkran or water festival in April. For two whole days the Thais usher in the New Year with water splashing fun.

Another tradition that brings good luck is Loy Krathong in November where small lotus basket lit with candles is set into the ocean under the full-moon night.

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