Koh Samet

[JD1]

A lot of posts here are saying to avoid the weekend if possible. We arrive on a Sunday and have not booked accomodation in advance. Do you think we'll be OK just rolling up and finding somewhere?

 

I have been to Samet once before but paid over the odds by booking a nice hotel before we travelled to Thailand.

 

Cheers.

 

 

You should be OK as long it is not a Thai national holiday or anything that that. I think your best bet is to hire a bike and just have a look at accommodation on the way round the island. My advice would be to avoid the places straight ahead from the boom gate check point I had a look at them and they were way overpriced and not that good.

 

Have a good trip

JD

[Lcc]

Thanks a lot JD, we keep hearing different things about how you should book ahead, or we shouldn't and be fine just turning up.

 

The latter seems to outweight the former so hopefully we should be reet.

 

Cheers.

[lynott]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HdD55LHwsNU" frameborder="0"></iframe>

 

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xm4DeRODpp4" frameborder="0"></iframe>

 

Thanks for the video!

[Mark Bergen]

Thanks for the video!

Thanks from me too!

I plan to stay a few months in Ban Phe, the little town on the land, next to Koh Samet (will be working at the famous school in Rayong city probably)

Any advice for a nice enough place to stay a few months? (in Ban Phe that is!)

[bnjmnkrs]

Where do you plan on working in Rayong, Mark? REPS? Assum.? St. Jo?

[Mark Bergen]

At TEFL school Rayong and in Ban Phe at a new general IMPEX company of my own.

I prefer though to live , as in having a house, in the Ban Phe area, still quite affordable, with beautiful beaches and clean compared to Patts etc.

Someone´s got an offer on a house (detached, big) or knows reliable Banking institutions or the like?

 

PM is welcomed!!

[kantutero]

just back from WongDeuan resort. Stayed Sunday until Tuesday, reasonably crowded but they did have empty rooms. Resort has its own boats included for free with prebooked room (about 2000Baht on Agoda for a standard)  .  Last boat leaves Ban Phe at 130pm. Never had to pay the National Park fee.    Driest island in Thailand so good bet for rainy season.  Seafood restaurants on the sand and proximity to Bangkok and Pattaya are the plusus.  Crowds, mosquitos  and poor snorkeling conditions are drawbacks.  

[Sexy Baldman]

if you want quiet on Samet go further south..some of the boats go to the mid point of the island...walk down a few beaches and teh prices + number of people drop...if ya need 7-11 for some reason just rent a scooter 

[Sexy Baldman]

...BTW to rent a scooter just ask at the joint you are staying at...one of the owners/neighbors will gladly rent you

their scooter for a couple of hours for say 100-200 baht [200 baht is expensive ...but hey it is only $6 still!] ...you could bargain for $200 for the day

[Little Evil]

I stayed in Samed Villa last year. Had a beach facing unit. It was great. Maybe no idea for guys in their 20's looking to party hard and non-stop night life, but idea if you just want a bit of relaxation with little to no stress. It is BYOG (bring your own girl) as far as I could tell. You can easily resort and restaurant hop down most beaches, and there were a couple 7-11's in the main town, if you could call that a town. Here are a few things to note:

1. Mosquitoes were pretty crazy right around dusk. I bought some spray they sold at the resort, but my blood must be too sweet. I'd get at least a dozen or so bites on my legs and arms each day. They actually fogged the resort on my second day which helped a bit. Same day, I was walking around and a spider the size of my hand dropped from a tree, dead. No exaggeration at all. My hand, big.
2. Ferry boats: I was completely ripped off by a promise of a high speed boat just for us. Paid a premium for it. I got on the boat, then I had to wait 20 minutes for about 6 other people to get on as well. Most were Thai. I wonder if I paid their way over. On the up shot, no police to greet us when dropped off right on the beach at the resort, so no 400b fee.
3. Fire show is cool, but gets old after seeing it once. Seems unavoidable, as the crews go resort to resort. Not really a big issue, but makes things seem a little formulaic and monotonous. 
4. Snorkeling tours: Pretty reasonable as far as these things go over seas, but be warned about two things. 1) Food: they promised lunch, and while they did deliver, it was just fresh fruit and som tam. If you don't like Thai food, you'd starve. I love som tam, so no issue for me. 2), there is little to no direction, supervision or instruction while snorkeling. I geared up and jumped over the railing. I landed about 1 foot away from coral that was covered in black spiky sea urchins--the kind that you go to the hospital if you accidentally step on one. The coral, while beautiful, was dangerously high in the area they brought us, to the point that the fairly strong current knocked me into it and I ended up cutting my foot after all. I also saw some barracuda. Would have been nice to get a heads up about those being in the area. Some novice will end up trying to touch one some day. 
5. Money: exchange is typically handled by your hotel and their rates aren't as good as the mainland, so change money ahead of time. 
6. Segregated resorts? Well, not really, but there's like a whole block of resorts of what I'm guessing are either Chinese or Korean people. Hundreds of them in the same resorts. Kind of like the tour buses and flag parades you see in Pattaya. I saw one group landing on the beach in several boats. It made me laugh because it looked like an invasion. In any case, it isn't a bother at all. 
7. Night life: There are a few bars that look like they could get lively, but again it is BYOG. If you go alone, the pickings appear to mainly be european women--some of whom are actually pretty damn hot, but may be there with their guys or family. I actually saw one bar during the day that had a blacklight board outside that simply said "Let's get fucking wasted!". I guess that would be the spot for the hard partying people. I also noticed that the beach facing units, while scenic, also meant that you could heard club music late into the night/early morning.
8. Overall, it was decent food, nice beach (much, much cleaner than Pattaya), and a relaxing time for adults. That being said, it would bore the hell out of me past a week. It is also a little pricier for everything. You're a captive audience, so they can toss 10-15% on top of mainland prices for things. I think 7-11 prices are the same, but resort prices for things like beer are higher.  I only stayed 4 days, which I thought was just enough. If you need a detox weekend or a few days to get your head straight after a week of ripping it up, then this just might be the place. 

[Scouser1987]

So what would be the best area of Samet to stay in for fire shows, buckets and nightlife but not too far from a quiet place to chill when hungover?

[Little Evil]

So what would be the best area of Samet to stay in for fire shows, buckets and nightlife but not too far from a quiet place to chill when hungover?

 

Depends on how much you want to spend. The very north west and very south parts of the island are more private, quiet, and more money. I think those are geared towards spa style vacations. The area I liked was the south facing beach on the eastern side of the island. If you look at it on Google Maps, its the section from Samed Villa Resort to Sai Kaew Beach Resort. The middle to east part of that stretch of beach seems a bit livelier at night, but you can see fire shows at just about every resort or even just walk the beach until you find a restaurant or bar you want to hit up. The beach fronts are typically set up with dining tables and tiki torches as the sun is going down, so you can literally walk the full length of that stretch until you find whatever you are interested in. The end closer to Sai Kaew Beach Resort is closer to the main street that goes from the main pier on the north to the south beaches. That's basically the only reach "town" part of the island.

 

I stayed at Samed Villa last time. It was at one end of that beach area, so it was on the quiet side. Kind of a older and family crowd. When I got bored at night, I'd just walk over a few resorts to where they had this bar/disco set back from the beach. Oh, and by "fire show", it is typically 3-6 guys twirling sticks and chains with the ends lit some something akin to diesel fuel. Sparks shoot out in these cool patterns and you can physically feel the heat from several feet away. They'll toss them up 30+ feet in the air and catch them (95% of the time).  It is entertaining the first time. Kind of mesmerizing thereafter, but quickly loses its "wow" factor. Read that as, I wouldn't make the trip just to see that. 

[Scouser1987]

Depends on how much you want to spend. The very north west and very south parts of the island are more private, quiet, and more money. I think those are geared towards spa style vacations. The area I liked was the south facing beach on the eastern side of the island. If you look at it on Google Maps, its the section from Samed Villa Resort to Sai Kaew Beach Resort. The middle to east part of that stretch of beach seems a bit livelier at night, but you can see fire shows at just about every resort or even just walk the beach until you find a restaurant or bar you want to hit up. The beach fronts are typically set up with dining tables and tiki torches as the sun is going down, so you can literally walk the full length of that stretch until you find whatever you are interested in. The end closer to Sai Kaew Beach Resort is closer to the main street that goes from the main pier on the north to the south beaches. That's basically the only reach "town" part of the island.

 

I stayed at Samed Villa last time. It was at one end of that beach area, so it was on the quiet side. Kind of a older and family crowd. When I got bored at night, I'd just walk over a few resorts to where they had this bar/disco set back from the beach. Oh, and by "fire show", it is typically 3-6 guys twirling sticks and chains with the ends lit some something akin to diesel fuel. Sparks shoot out in these cool patterns and you can physically feel the heat from several feet away. They'll toss them up 30+ feet in the air and catch them (95% of the time). It is entertaining the first time. Kind of mesmerizing thereafter, but quickly loses its "wow" factor. Read that as, I wouldn't make the trip just to see that.

Thanks mate great info. Koh Samet is really interesting me at the minute and I can't wait to spend atleast 3-4 days there.

Won't be looking to splurge, will be looking to hook up with some of the backpacking type of scene to party but also be able to have my own semi peaceful place to relax when it gets a bit too much.

Is silver sands the main party resort of the island?

What are the sunsets like from silver sands do you know?

Also would I be able to find tour offices in pattaya that could organise van to the pier and a ferry ticket combined?

Thanks again.

[ozz1]

Just got back from koh samet nice island but its been spoiled by rubbish everywhere and they charge farang 200 baht to go on the island i stayed for 2 nights it was ok but not as nice as koh chang in my opinion and koh chang you can take your car on the island and there's no motorbike rippoffs stayed at the Malibu resort cheap and quiet but you pass a big pile of rotten garbage on road to get there cheers

[strangertnt]

Koh samet is nice to just laze around. No night parties or fire shows now.

Stayed at Vong duean this year (pictures below.). Probably one of the best stretches of sand on the island. Has a number of bars on the stretch.

Vong duean Resort has its own ferry service for guests right to the resort from the mainland and back.

Scooter is highly recommended to get around. Songthews are unreliable and expensive.

Some of the other beaches are just rocks and many disappear at high tide.

 

[Hunter99]

On 6/11/2017 at 2:49 AM, strangertnt said:

Koh samet is nice to just laze around. No night parties or fire shows now.

Stayed at Vong duean this year (pictures below.). Probably one of the best stretches of sand on the island. Has a number of bars on the stretch.

Vong duean Resort has its own ferry service for guests right to the resort from the mainland and back.

 

Drove myself crazy trying to find the best hotel for my January stay.   I booked Vong Duean then found out the cottage I booked has another cottage on the back end attached and you can hear the other people...That drives me crazy..lol...Agoda reviews are helpful but if you read all of them you will never stay at any hotel..lol...so cancelled vong.

Decided being near the action is where I want to be so Sai Kawe beach area I zeroed in on.   The ones on beach were too expensive at 130 and up USD...

So finally decided on Lima Bella Resort.   Its off the main beach drag in Sai Kawe and 5 minute walk to beach....seems quiet at night with a pool.   About 80 USD range for a balcony bella room they call it overlooking pool.   Think this suits me better in that seems more lively with bars near there.   Vong seemed too far away.

Now if I have wifey with me will to be determined in BKK....Heading here between BKK and Pattaya...so I could just chill and recharge the little head...lol...