Chances are if you have dreams of visiting Thailand that the beautiful images of places like Phi Phi Island and Railay Beach have caught your attention at some point. While places like these are now pretty touristy and crowded I will say that there is no shortage of gorgeous Thai islands to choose from when deciding on your next beach vacation destination and there’s something to suit every taste. For our honeymoon I really wanted to go to Koh Lipe and I had a couple other islands in mind as well but since we decided to also visit Sri Lanka during our honeymoon we were a bit short on time. We decided to go to an island that was very easy and fairly quick to get to as well as affordable. Since we were going in June which is the start of rainy season, we first looked at the Gulf of Thailand islands (Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, Koh Samui) which a lot of articles recommended for decent weather with less rain compared to the Andaman Sea Islands during that time of year. We were interested in splitting time between Koh Samui and Koh Tao but since Bangkok Airways is the only airline that flies to Koh Samui those plane tickets are quite high especially when compared to what plane tickets normally cost getting around Thailand.
After a little research we decided to go with Koh Samet as it is actually the driest island during rainy season and we could easily fly into Bangkok from Chiang Mai (and at a very cheap price!) and then take a 3 hour Grab or taxi ride to the ferry terminals in Ban Phe. The grab ride/taxi option is a little more pricey (about $60 USD if I can recall correctly) but the fastest and most comfortable way to get to the ferry terminal. There is also a much more affordable option to take the bus from Bangkok to the ferry terminal but this does take a bit longer. When you arrive to the ferry terminals you have a few options to choose from depending on how much you want to spend. You can take a slower wooden ferry (45 minute ride), a fast ferry (about a 15 minute ride), or a private speedboat. Here are some very helpful links below that helped me in my research and has a lot of information on ferry costs, time tables, different ways to get to Ban Phe, and some general information on the island such as the National Park fee:
Koh Samet Ferries and Basic Island Info
Bangkok to Ban Phe Transportation Information
Some of the hotels on the island also have their own private piers and will offer a free ferry shuttle service to their guests which leads me to my next topic…where to stay on Koh Samet!
Koh Samet has a decent amount of accommodations for being a smaller island, but I would still book sooner rather than later and especially if you’re going during peak tourist season. We went in June which was low season and you could definitely tell during our time there as the beaches, restaurants, and bars at night were not very crowded at all. After scouring Booking.com and Airbnb we decided to go with Mooban Talay Resort and it did not disappoint! We felt like it had the most bang for its buck in terms of quality, service, amenities, and being right on the beach. The hotel also offers a free ferry shuttle service leaving at 13:00 from Nuan Thip Pier to the resort and leaving at 12:00 from the resort to Nuan Thip Pier daily which is perfect since check-out is at 12:00! You can also pay to have a private speedboat take you directly to the resort’s pier if you miss these times or just take the normal ferry and arrive at the islands main terminal (Na Dan Pier) and have the resort arrange pick-up there.
Mooban Talay Resort has 3 different styles of rooms, a standard garden room, a superior sea view room, and a deluxe beachfront room. We booked the cheapest option which is the standard garden view room, however when we arrived they generously upgraded us to a superior sea view room which was awesome and we really appreciated it! The room was very clean, super comfortable, and cute. We also had our own private deck and the A/C and WiFi worked very well. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of the interior of the room. I ended up doing a room video tour on my Instagram stories and forgot to take pictures after but the pictures on the website are an accurate representation of the rooms! The resort also has its own white sand beachfront area and the water was clean and calm to swim in. There is also a pool and a restaurant on site as well as a cute coffee shop. The resort is located at the very north end of the island and is the last resort on that side so it’s very quiet at night in terms of traffic from other places. The staff there was very nice and super accommodating and I really liked the food at the restaurant and the coffee shop. The prices are a little higher but you’re paying for the convenience and the food is actually really good. In June of 2019 we paid 13,680 Thai Baht for 4 nights which came out to $371.47 USD according to my bank account. The price also included free breakfast each morning which was really good! They had some really great savory options to choose from of both Western style and Thai style dishes. Our suite was also upgraded as mentioned earlier so we truly did get the most bang for our buck in my opinion and if you’re visiting during low season you might get lucky and get an upgrade too! Here are some links below to book a room at the resort:
Our time in Koh Samet was really all about relaxing and enjoying the beaches. We knew that our time in Sri Lanka was going to be very busy and that we were constantly going to be on the go and also driving around a lot since it is such a big island. That being said our days started off later than normal and once we found our favorite beaches we pretty much just spent a lot of time at them as well as lounging in our room and at the resort. It was really nice because we are pretty adventurous when we travel and hardly ever enjoy the accommodations we stay at to its full extent. Koh Samet is pretty small so it really is easy to see all the sites and drive around the island in just a few hours. It’s a great island to go to if you’re looking to just relax since you can get all the major sightseeing out of the way in one day. On our first day that was exactly what we did! We scootered around the entire island and stopped at every beach on the map as well as some scenic points around the island. I’m not a huge fan of crowds so the popular beaches with nightlife and lots of restaurants wasn’t really my thing although we did stop by all of those beaches as well. If you’re a more extroverted person and enjoy those things then my recommendations might not be for you but below are some of our favorite beaches and sites that we spent a lot of time at and that I highly recommend:
Ao Wai Beach
This beach was hands down our favorite beach on the island! The beach is located on the south side of the island which tends to be a lot quieter and less touristy than the north side where most of the hotels are. The beach is big with plenty of space for people to spread out and enjoy some privacy. The sand is super soft and white and the water is clear, warm, and a pretty turquoise color. I loved that it was calm enough to swim in safely but had enough waves to make it fun. We made sure to spend some time every day at this beach and there was hardly anyone there in the mornings when we would go. We only saw a couple tourists each day and mostly swam with some pretty friendly locals! I also liked that there weren’t a ton of boats at this beach. There’s usually only 1-3 boats and they’re far enough away from the shore. Make sure to bring some water and snacks if you’re planning to spend most of the day there as there isn’t really much nearby in terms of food.
Ao Nuan Beach
This little cove was my 2nd favorite beach on the island because it is very private and almost feels like a secret. It is located on the central east side of the island. We only went to this beach twice because the steep rocky dirt road is pretty rough on the scooter but I imagine that’s why there was never a lot of people here. It’s well worth braving the road down if you have a scooter just drive careful! This white sand beach is small but beautiful and there are also some bungalows you can stay at (Ao Nuan Bungalows) as well as a very small restaurant. This beach is a little rockier than Ao Wai but still a fun place to swim at. Definitely recommend this beach if you’re looking for some peace and quiet.
Ao Prao
This beach is located on the northwest side of the island and is very long with plenty of space to accommodate a lot of people. For how long the beach was I was surprised to see that there was hardly anyone there when we went (I know the low season contributed to that but it was still surprising!). The beach was very quiet and peaceful and there are some more expensive hotels in this area. The sand is not quite as soft as Ao Wai and Ao Nuan but the water is calm enough to swim in and I loved the jungle-y setting. I read a lot of articles stating that this beach is also the best for sunset. You can’t park down at the beach and have to park in a lot area up the hill but the entrance to the beach is free. In fact entrance to all the beaches on this island are free!
Sunrise/Sunset View Point
Located at the southernmost point of the island is a great scenic place to enjoy sunrise and sunset. Google Maps GPS will take you directly to the spot if you look up Sunrise/Sunset Point on Koh Samet. When you arrive and park there are two short walking paths you can take and I definitely recommend going down both of them and seeing the rocky coastline and ocean from both sides. On one side there is a cute swing and also an Instagram photo sign. I preferred the other side more because there was more room to walk around. I really loved the ruggedness of this area and how quiet and peaceful it was during that time of year. Definitely a nice place to reflect on life.
Fireshows/Nightlife
Koh Samet is known for its fire shows on the beach and the best place to see them is at Ploy Talay Restaurant located on Hat Sai Kaew Beach which is the most popular/touristy beach on the island. It can get pretty crowded there and tables can fill up fast. Even during low season this beach was pretty packed! There are tons of restaurants lining the beach that you can eat dinner at instead and just walk towards Ploy Talay when the fireshow starts. Honestly though I wasn’t very impressed with the show. I think because it was low season they just didn’t put as much effort into it. The show was very short and they didn’t seem to do many tricks. I think they probably put on longer and better shows during high season. I also saw that some clubs that had their own beachfront area also did their own mini fire shows during high season.
In terms of nightlife, during low season the clubs and bars were not very busy at all. Honestly when we travel we aren’t huge nightlife people. We’ll have a long dinner and some drinks but we rarely go out to the bars and clubs. We decided to check it out since we knew we wouldn’t be getting up early the next day but there really wasn’t much going on. Naga Bar and Silver Sand Bar seemed to be the most popular choices while we were there and the drinks are pretty affordable too, especially the buckets. We started off at Gecko Bar which was actually a pretty cool and chill spot but we were the only ones there when we went. After that we spent the rest of our night at Silver Sand Bar which definitely had the most people out of any bar we passed. It’s actually a pretty cool spot with a beachfront area with tables, a big bar area with a lot of tables to sit at, and a fairly large dance floor area. The bar is also very LGBTQ+ friendly and plays the best dancing music on the island.
Banana Bar
There are plenty of restaurants and cafes to eat at on Koh Samet with varying price ranges, however one of our favorites on the island was Banana Bar. The family that owns it is super nice and the Thai food is very good with reasonable prices. I love that the restaurant was shaded and cool and that you take your shoes off before entering the building. They also have a cute friendly cat there who will probably sit on your chair behind you when you eat. I loved that cat!
Helpful Tips:
*There is a National Park fee of 200 Thai Baht for adult foreigners and 100 Thai Baht for children. Thai Nationals pay 40 Thai Baht for adults and 20 Thai Baht for children. Some websites say this is a one time fee (until you leave the island) while other websites say this is valid for 5 days only and then you may have to pay again. Don’t lose the ticket they give you because as you leave the main town to go to the beaches there will be guards that check the ticket. When we were there (and I’m not sure if it was because it was low season) they didn’t really check the ticket closely. As long as you flashed it at them while driving out they were okay with that. They almost didn’t charge me though for a ticket so maybe they thought I was local (which happens anytime I go anywhere in SE Asia haha). Also if you do take a ferry to your hotel’s private pier you likely won’t pay the fee right away. However when you leave the main town and meet up with those guards that is where you’ll pay for the ticket.
*There is a plastic bag and foam packaging ban on the island which is a great step in the right direction! I did notice a lot of trash on the island while driving around on the roads (which is pretty common with a lot of small islands in SE Asia unfortunately) and while the ban doesn’t solve the trash problem it is at least reducing the amount of plastics that could potentially end up in the ocean.
*The weather during rainy season is often a big fear for tourists visiting the islands. I’m happy to report that we didn’t experience any rainfall at all on the island during mid June of 2019. Weather is unpredictable though so you never know but I would think the earlier in the rainy season the better. I read a blog post during my research of someone who went to Koh Samet in late July/early August and got rain pretty much the whole time so you just never know but here’s to hoping for the best!
*Restaurants close pretty early during low season so make sure you get dinner at a reasonable time and stock up on snacks at the store! Most restaurants seemed to close around 9 or 10, sometimes earlier.
*It’s pretty easy to rent a scooter on the island and your hotel can arrange this for you. I always encourage my readers to make sure you have the proper paperwork and licenses/endorsement to ride a bike and to practice safe driving. When we rented a scooter they did not check any of our licenses or have any special paperwork to fill ou (though we had all the proper documents). It was a very relaxed process compared to other places like Chiang Mai. We also didn’t get helmets here! We even asked for them but the lady said that it’s no problem and that nobody really uses them there! We really would have preferred helmets but sometimes I guess you just gotta do what the locals do?! It helps that the speed limits are pretty low and that the island is full of these really annoying large speed bumps. You can’t really go for a joy ride and get a breeze going because the speed bumps are constant.
*If you’re visiting during low season and are seeking nightlife you might be disappointed. The bars and clubs are still open but a lot of places were pretty dead except for maybe 3 or 4 clubs and bars we passed. I hear it’s pretty crazy during high season though!
Personally out of all the islands I have been to on my travels thus far I have to be honest and say that Koh Samet was not my favorite island. I definitely have been to better beaches and islands with a bit more to do but it’s definitely pretty and is a great choice if you’re short on time. It’s more than worth it since it is so easy to get to. I think going in the low season also made it even more enjoyable because it’s such a small island that I honestly can’t imagine how it is in high season. I think it would be way too packed for my taste! Anyways, I hope my recommendations help if you’re headed to the island soon! If you’ve been to Koh Samet let me know in the comments if you enjoyed your time there. If you’re headed there soon and visit any of these recommended places, let me know what your opinions are in the comments as well!
Until next time,
Kelsie