Three Days in Koh Samet

So, you’re in Bangkok for a short while and want to get away to the beach for a few days. Phuket and Samui are out of the question because it’s just too far away for a two to three day excursion. What to do now?

Well head off to Samet (or Samed) of course! Here’s Thailand Musings guide to “3 Days in Samet” to send you off on a well deserved break from the traffic and congestion of Bangkok. Spend the better part of three days lying about on the beach, basking in the warm waters of the Gulf and partying island style at night. And all of this is just 3 hours from Bangkok.

For those of you who haven’t heard about Koh Samet, it’s a small island off the coast of Rayong Province (Ban Phe) in the Gulf of Thailand. It’s quite popular with the Thai’s and since it’s also part of Khao Laem Ya and Mu Ko Samet National Parks it is still mostly undeveloped and unspoiled. It’s also a great place to go to relax and get some beach vibes going close to Bangkok. Since it is a National Park you’ll need to pay an entrance fee when you arrive, 40 baht for Thai’s and 400 baht for foreigners. Sorry and welcome to the dual pricing structure of Thailand. Anyway, it’s worth the cash so pony up and don’t complain.

Day 1: Getting to Samet is fairly easy. Head off to Bangkok’s Eastern bus terminal Ekamai and buy a 1st class bus ticket to Ban Phe. Bus’s leave every hour from 4:00am until 8:00pm. Tickets cost just 276 baht and the bus ride is a relaxing 3 hour ride mostly through Samut Prakhan. The bus will let you off directly opposite the ferry pier where you can get your ferry ticket. The ferry ride is about 40 minutes so if you leave early you can easily be on the island by 10:00am. If you want there are also 1st class bus’s direct from Suvarnubhumi to Rayong available. Once you arrive in Rayong you’ll need to take a songthaew or tuk-tuk to the pier in Ban Phe.

Once on Koh Samet you can take a short songthaew ride to the park entrance for 200 baht and in most cases will be able to find a place to stay simply by walking down the beach and enquiring at the hotels. Alternatively you can book online or by phone at many of the hotels. My personal favorite is Jep Bungalow where you can get a room for 1200 baht during high season and the food at the restaurant is some of the best on the island. Other good places are Sai Kaew Beach Resort and Mooban Talay which is a bit more expensive.

Once you’re situated in your room it’s out to the beach you go. Spend the day relaxing in the sun, get a full body massage for just 300 baht an hour, and play in the water. When you get hungry there are plenty of hawkers up and down the beach where you can get fresh fruit, BBQ chicken wings, dried squid, papaya salad (very spicy, even for Golf) and even ice creams at reasonable prices

At night the beach comes alive with almost all of the restaurants setting up tables right on the beach. I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad meal at any of them so take your pick and chances are you won’t be disappointed. One good way to choose is look for the ones that are busy. After dinner head up the beach to Ploy Talay where they have fire shows every night at 8:30pm and 10:30pm. They also have the only indoor nightclub I’ve found on the island and occasionally have live bands there as well.

No matter where you end up at night make sure to drink the local specialty, a SangSom bucket, which is a toxic mix of Thai whiskey, red bull and coke, served in a kids sandbucket with lots of straws.

Day 2: After breakfast look into setting up a boating trip. Both full day and half day trips are available starting at 600 baht. These trips feature snorkeling, fishing and usually a trip to the local fish zoo. It’s a fun way to spend a day and both active and relaxing at the same time. When you arrive back you may have time for an hour or so on the beach before sundown so take advantage of it by getting a massage.

Nightime will pretty much be a repeat of last night with dinner at the restaurant of your choice, the fire show and finally SangSom buckets and dancing (if you like that). Remember you’ll need to be up the next day by around 9:00am for breakfast and checkout from your hotel.

Day 3: You’ll be heading back to Bangkok today and it’s up to you whether you need to go early or late. The rooms are so cheap Golf and I usually just keep the room for the day even though we know we’ll be leaving in mid-afternoon. This gives us plenty of time to pack and also a place to clean up and shower before heading to the ferry. Spend your last bit of time enjoying the beach and having a nice relaxing lunch at one of the beachside restaurants. Can I recommend Jep’s Bungalow again? Can you tell how much I love this place?

Again ferries leave every hour with the last one departing at 5:00pm and bus’s leave Ban Phe until 9:00pm. Golf and I usually shoot for the 3:00pm ferry which gets us back to Bangkok around 7:30-8:00pm for a late dinner.

So there you go, three days in Koh Samet including travel time. I know this is a bit rushed, but if you don’t have much time it’s an ideal solution. You’ll be surprised how refreshed you’ll feel after this quick getaway. Hope the information is useful and if you have anything to add or any questions please leave me a comment below.

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