• Thailand Guide

  • Introduction to Thailand
  • Weather
  • Things Not to Miss
  • Getting around
  • Money
  • Public holidays
  • Entry requirements

• Explore Thailand

  • The central plains
  • The north
  • The east coast
  • The northeast: Isaan
  • Southern Thailand: the Gulf coast
  • Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
  • The deep south

• Cities

  • Bangkok
    
  • Chiang Mai
    
  • Chiang Rai
    
  • Chumphon
    
  • Hat Yai
    
  • Kamphaeng Phet
    
  • Nakhon Si Thammarat
    
  • Pattaya
    
  • Phitsanulok
    
  • Surat Thani
    

Thailand Guide

The east coast

Ko Samet

Blessed with the softest, squeakiest sand within weekending distance of Bangkok, the tiny island of Ko Samet, which measures just six kilometres from top to toe, is a favourite escape for Thais, expats and tourists. Its fourteen small but dazzlingly white beaches are breathtakingly beautiful, lapped by pale blue water and in places still shaded by coconut palms and the occasional eponymous cajeput (samet) tree. But they are also crowded, developed to capacity with tourist bungalows, a disfiguring number of which pay scant attention to landscaping and rubbish disposal.

It's a sobering state of affairs considering that much of the island's coastline is protected as part of the Khao Laem Ya – Mu Ko Samet national park; all visitors are required to pay the national park fee on arrival (B200, or B100 for 3-14-year-olds), and most hoteliers also pay rent to park authorities, but there's little evidence that this income has been used to improve the island's infrastructure.

Samet's best beaches are along the east coast, site of most bungalow resorts. The trend is upmarket: in high season it's hard to find an en-suite bungalow for under B700. The most backpacker-oriented beaches are Ao Hin Kok, Ao Phai and Ao Tub Tim, with Ao Hin Kok and Ao Phai both quite lively in the evenings; the travellers' vibe at nearby Ao Nuan is more alternative, with Ao Thian and north-coast Ao Noi Na also worth investigating. Hat Sai Kaew and Ao Wong Duan are the biggest centres on the east coast, dominated by upper scale accommodation aimed at families, package tourists and Bangkok trendies. Samet's super-deluxe accommodation is on west-coast Ao Phrao and southern beauty Ao Kiu. Most islanders and many resort staff live in the northeast, near the island's main pier, in the ramshackle, badly drained village of Na Dan, which has small shops and cheap foodstalls. Much of the interior is dense jungle, home to hornbills, gibbons and spectacular butterflies. Samet is however an unusually dry island, receiving only scant rainfall – a plus point for tourists, though it means water has to be trucked in from the mainland.