Ko Samet Things to Do

The most popular pier in Samet Island or it's where usually the boat will drop off the visitors is in "Na Dan" which envolves into a small village which is the Koh Samet Village but mind you there were lot's of 7-Eleven stores to the area. Quite a little island that the roads are very bad! Well, it's the closest point from Ban Phe, Rayong Province. Though, there are also other available piers in the island such as the Vongdern and the Ao Prao Beach Resort.

In Na Dan, as said earlier in my tips that are several pick-up trucks that are ready fro transporting visitors to the diffrent beaches around. The cost varies the distance but when we got there as we arrived around 7pm.Not much of visitors so, we paid 200baht/ride. It was alot but can't complain as it was getting dark and the road is as bad as it gets! Iwonder why didn't work that one...

Anyhow, the closest beach from "Na Dan" is the Saikaew Beach Resort which about 10 minutes ride to the rocky road. There are quite alot of beautiful beaches around the island...It depends on your budget and of course the availability of the place. When we went we didn't prepare of bookings so, we stayed in a small though a bit okey guest house!

Most bungalows on Ko Samet can sell you a ticket on one of the numerous boat trips around the island. There are two main options: a speedboat trip covering more islands, or a slow boat trip, which is more relaxing. Both tend to go for a full day (11:00 until 16:00 or 17:00) and include either a pre-packed lunch or a BBQ, snorkelling gear and all the water you can drink. A speedboat trip to Ko Thalu, Kud, Pateen and Kham along with a visit to the fish farms should cost around 600B. A slowboat trip to 11 beaches on Ko Samet costs 350 to 600B, depending on the duration and your beach of origin. Overall the speedboats are better value as you get to see some of the other islands for just an extra 100B. Night-boat trips to go fishing for squid cost around 500B.

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After we got into town, we were slightly confused and weren’t sure which road to take. It appears that there are several piers (see pics) & also more than one way to get to Ko Samet. To add to our confusion, there were a few instances where a few motorbikers tapped on the car window offering to help. Hate to be negative, but in truth we were kind of wary - from previous experience in Bangkok and Phuket, some people would try to attach themselves to you under the guise of being an impromptu guide, and then lead you where you didn't actually want to go in the first place.

From what we had read on the internet, Ban Phe Pier offers ferry services throughout the day at fairly regular intervals. Per the internet, fares range from 40 baht per person to Hat Sai Kaeo and 50 baht to Hat Wong Duen.

Warning If you are very pressed for time and are late for an important appointment (or get conned!), you may end up getting a speedboat to make the transfer, at 10 times the ferry price. Well, it is your choice, but let the buyer beware.

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The pictures here show scenes taken around Ban Phe Town. Ban Phe is the main embarkation port to Ko Samet National Park. As you can see from the pictures, this fishing town had lots of fresh and dried fishing produce being sold everywhere. Apart from that, there were shell based handicraft and souvenirs, fishy snacks, fresh fruits and brightly coloured toys for children. (check out my shopping tips)

We hired a car from Bangkok town and it took us approximately 2.5 hours to get to Ban Phe town. The cost of transfer from Bangkok to Ban Phe Pier is approximately 2,500-3,000 baht per car. The road itself was pretty good and our car traveled at between 100-120 km per hour most of the way. Traffic was initially quite heavy getting out of Bangkok, but smooth flowing once we were out of Bangkok and there were a lot of trucks and larger vehicles on the highway. Bangkok is a sprawling city and you'll know you are leaving Bangkok city when you start to see the signs that indicate the Exit to the new Bangkok airport.

Once off the highway, at about 19 km from Rayong town, there will be signs indicating "Ban Phe". Turn left at a set of traffic lights into Ban Phe town.

If you don't wish to hire a private car, you can also take the public bus from Bangkok but be aware that the journey will involve stops along the way and takes 4-5 hours.

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It's beach fun & more beach fun on the narrow strip of beach front. If you get tired of romancing in your room, or catching a tan on the beach chairs just at your doorstep, seek out the ubiquitious tour operators who have advertisements along the beach. Contact them for a deal-whether it is a kayak you're seeking or a speed boat to take you on a around-island trip, or perhaps a jet ski or two-if you want it, the friendly people at Samet will have it. Do shop around a bit & ask the right questions to make sure you get a good deal.

Since Ao Prao is rather secluded, those who really want to party & need to have lots of action and people around them, should make their way over to the other side of the island. There's certainly more choices over there.

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If you like a peaceful and quiet beach, Hat Sai Kaew Beach is really not your choice. This is more like a party beach day and night! From the name of beach which mean crystal sand beach but as the beach has a lot visitors visit so I saw garbage on beach in the afternoon, look not really nice. Anyway I saw people clean the area of beach in the morning, picked all garbage so beach turns out to be beautiful in the morning, no garbage, less people, so peaceful. Hat Sai Kaew Beach is long, I enjoyed a walk north end to south end. There is some activities provided for visitors, apart from sunbathing and swimming you can enjoy jet ski and banana boat. At night don’t miss a meal by beach, you can find a party place or a romantic place just by beach, sit on a mat, close to the sea, romantic under the moonlight :)

If your boat landing at Nadan pier you can walk around 5-10 min to the beach or take local bus (the green one) for 10 Baht. The local bus will drop passenger in every beach and Hat Sai Kaew Beach is the first beach (first stop). If you have energy and have not many luggages, walk is better!

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If you want to really relax in Thailand then there is no better place than here on Vong Duen beach in Koh Samet.
You can have all the beach water sports you want or just sit back with a beer or a great meal.
The jetski's are fast and the Banana boats are popular ,but the sun lounges on the beach are just the best, especialy if you have good company.

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The main reason to come to Koh Samet is to enjoy the beach. That's all we did! Sometimes it's nice just to relax, swim around and do nothing much else. The beaches aren't crowded, but they have all the facilities you'd expect.

Sure, you can go water-skiing, paragliding and other activies... we chose to enjoy the beautiful clean warm waters of the Bay of Thailand.