Koh Samet Travel Guide

Yes, if you're in Bangkok and want a proper beach without flying. Samet has whiter sand and clearer water than anything on the mainland near the capital, and it's small enough that you can try several beaches in a day.

It's not a remote island. Sai Kaew is busy and built up, speedboats work the bays, and on a Thai holiday weekend every beach near the pier is full. It's a beach island first, so if snorkeling and diving are the point, the Andaman islands or Koh Tao are better.

Koh Samet or Koh Chang? Samet for a weekend, with the whitest sand within a few hours of Bangkok. Koh Chang for a week, with a bigger island, jungle and trips to Koh Mak and Koh Kood.

Not really. The nights are beach bars, seafood dinners on the sand and the fire shows on the coves around Ao Phai. There's nothing like a Full Moon Party, and the south of the island is quiet at night.

If you want a night out, stay near Sai Kaew or Ao Phai. If you want to sleep, stay farther south or on Ao Prao.

Two nights suits most people. That gives you a full beach day, the snorkeling trip or the walk down the east coast, and the viewpoint for a sunset. One night is enough to make the trip worth it, and a third night suits anyone who wants to do very little.

A day trip from Bangkok is possible, but it's about ten hours of travel for five on the beach. If you only have one free day, I'd choose somewhere closer.

Every route has two legs, by road to Ban Phe pier on the Rayong coast and then by boat. The cheapest is Cherdchai's bus from Ekkamai, at 07:00, 09:00 and 11:00 for about ฿190, and the easiest is a combined bus-and-boat ticket for about ฿350–670. A private car with the boat included starts at about ฿3,000. From Ban Phe, the wooden ferry takes about 40 minutes to Na Dan pier, and speedboats go straight to the beaches in about 15. All in, it takes 3.5 to 5 hours. Every option, with times and the way back, is in our Bangkok to Koh Samet guide.

There's no ferry from Pattaya. Ban Phe is about 81 km from central Pattaya, a bit over an hour by car, and from there it's the same boats.

Visitors can't bring cars, so green songthaew trucks meet the boats at Na Dan and run to the beaches, for about ฿20–60 a person when shared and ฿200–600 to charter one to the south. They run on set routes and may not turn up exactly when you want one.

The east-coast beaches are joined by a path, so walking works for everything from Sai Kaew to Ao Wong Duean. Scooters rent for about ฿300–400 a day, but the one main road is partly dirt and rough inside the park, so I'd only ride one if you already ride at home.

Samet costs a little more than Koh Chang because of its size and the weekend demand. On my numbers, a budget day runs about ฿1,300 and a mid-range day about ฿3,300, and room prices rise on weekends and Thai holidays.

ATMs are scarce and clustered around Sai Kaew, and the ones at Ban Phe pier charge high fees, so bring enough cash from Bangkok for the park fee, songthaews and small restaurants. The national park bans single-use plastic, so bring a bottle and a bag.

November to April is the best time, with calm seas and almost no rain. December is the driest month, with about 12 mm at the Pattaya weather station, and Samet usually gets less rain than the mainland.

May to October brings showers, heaviest in September and October at about 214 and 224 mm, but Samet stays one of the drier choices in Thailand in those months. The bigger factor is the calendar. Go Sunday to Thursday and avoid Thai long weekends, Songkran and New Year if you want a quiet beach.