Just Chillin on Koh Samet

Many first time visitors (or even second and third visitors) to Thailand want to know which is the best island or the best beaches. Thailand has hundreds of islands so choosing the best one is at best a subjective practice. :>)

Certainly the islands on the Andaman Sea have the clearest water and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Think of Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phi Phi and the Similan Islands and you’ll certainly have images of crystal clear water and limitless white sand beaches.

However, the islands in the Gulf of Thailand are quite nice as well. In addition, they are closer to Bangkok and less touristy. I’ve already written some posts about Koh Chang which is near Trat. Today I want to let you know about the little gem known as Koh Samet (or Samed).

Koh Samed is a small island just 30 minutes boat ride from Ban Phe which itself can be reached by bus from Bangkok in just 3 hours. Not bad that you can go from the congestion and pollution of Bangkok to this wonderful little natural hideaway in just 3 1/2 hours.

Compared to other Thai islands it is a bit quiet on Koh Samet thanks to the fact that it was declared a National Park in 1981. Khao Lam Ya - Samet Archipelago Maritime National Park to be excat. While it is popular with locals and expats it doesn’t get nearly the tourist traffic of other Thai islands like Koh Chang and the islands near Krabi, Phuket and Surat Thani - which is just fine by me.

What is there to do on Koh Samet? Obviously there is swimming and sunbathing. You can charter fishing boats, take a snorkelling or scuba trip or even parasail. Beach massages and pedicures/manicures are cheap as well. All of the restaurants we tried were great, if a bit expensive for Thailand. A good alternative is to get the food from the streeet vendors or from the restaurants outside the park. I had some of the best bar-b-que chicken EVER from them. The island is fairly small, so walking the beach can be fun and it doesn’t take long to get to most of the popular places. And at night there is a decent selection of bars, some quiet and some a bit more party oriented to pick from. One thing I definitely recommend is the fire twirling guys at Ploy Talay. They were great and one of them is only 13 years old!

We had a great time on Koh Samet and plan on going back many times in the future. The closeness to Bangkok and the laid back beach atmosphere combined with good food and just enough partying makes this a top pick for a weekend away from Bangkok. I’ll post more in the future including some of our own pictures.

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