SAGuy 3,750 #1 Posted December 23, 2019 1-8 December I took 3 LBs to Koh Samet for some R&R. (I had been in BKK and Isaan for 2 weeks). The rationale for Koh Samet was that I wanted a beach break and was tired of flying. Koh Samet ticks the boxes, its a quiet island, about 3 hours car ride from BKK and about 15-20 minutes by speedboat. ***Tip - don't wear shoes, as you may get dropped off on the beach, rather than at a pier, depending on where you are staying. I didn't want to stay at Sai Kaew, which is the biggest and busiest beach, as I had heard reports of hordes of Chinese tourists and non-stop noise from jet skis etc. I chose Ao Wong Duean as it seemed a good mix of some amenities, but not too busy There was a choice of 3 resorts and I chose Samed Cabana. I was happy with the choice and took 2 bungalows on the beach, which was well worth the premium over the bungalows set further back. The resort was about 85% Nordic types and 14.8% farangs with their teeraks, plus 1 farang with 3 LBs in tow! The resort was good value, a little bit tired, but I enjoyed the stay and so would recommend it. Breakfast was a bit repetitive, but the staff were very helpful and friendly. For dinners there are about 7-8 options on the beach. My favourite was a pace called 'Nice and Easy' towards the far end (300 metres away?) as it was the best value and had very good service. They had the usual fire shows on the beach and Chinese tourists were brought in just for dinner at some of the other restaurants. There were 2 mini marts in close proximity, so useful for beer and ice runs etc. ***Tip - take plenty of cash as very few places take cards. We went out a few times. The LBs liked a beach called Ao Phai which had 3 high end resorts. I preferred the laid back atmosphere at Ao Wongdeuan. One evening we went out to Naga restaurant, which is joined to Naga Bar and is very well known. The restaurant is a BBQ style joint, with all you can eat for THB 189/person, which was a great deal. The bar next door was busy with tourists painting themselves with effervescent paint. (Whatever floats your boat?) There's a number of tours you can take. I chose a 6 stops all day boat tour, which became much of a muchness, so would avoid the 9 stops version, as 1 beach becomes like all others after a few hours. The snorkelling was good fun. Getting around is by scooter (THB 100 per day) or the pick-up Songthaews. We rented one for a few hours and rode around the island. THB 1,500 for 2.5 hours. If you go into main town of Koh Samed from a beach resort you will need to pay the National Park Fee - which was THB 50 for Thais and THB 300 for farangs for 5 days. ***Tip - if you go island hopping or travel around on the land, make sure that you take your national park tickets with you. The park rangers jump out from behind bushes to inspect your tickets! If you don't have one, then you need to buy them all over again! In summary, if you want a nice relaxed break, this resort fits the bill. If you want a romantic get away, maybe Ao Phai would make more of an impression. I'd definitely go back to Koh Samet and probably this resort. ***Tip - take a few bottles of booze to drink on the verandah of your bungalow, as the prices on the island are 20-30% higher than on the mainland. ***Tip - take mosquito mats with you. The hotel provides one, but 2 in a room is more effective. ***Tip - ask the beach restaurants for mosquito coils under your table, as otherwise you will get bitten ***Tip - you can get to Ban Phae pier on the mainland by public bus, van or car. I chose the private car option and it was about THB 1,800 each way from BKK. ***Tip - you can get over to the island by public ferry, which only runs when it is full. Speedboats cost about THB 350/person ***Tip - if you don't like fish, then maybe not go! ***Tip - try and avoid weekends and public holidays - it gets noisy as that's when the Thais visit Cheers SAG 5 finklefoss, Wflb, ARI23 and 2 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hkaus72 540 #2 Posted December 24, 2019 Nice report SAGuy, cheers. effervescent paint? Like, it was fizzing? That is bizarre. mosquito coils I know, but what are mosquito mars? I’ve never heard of these. Similar to fly paper? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mad max 0 #3 Posted December 24, 2019 Thanks SAGuy. I'm thinking about taking a ladyboy there next year. This imformation is very helpful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SAGuy 3,750 #4 Posted December 24, 2019 7 hours ago, hkaus72 said: Nice report SAGuy, cheers. effervescent paint? Like, it was fizzing? That is bizarre. mosquito coils I know, but what are mosquito mars? I’ve never heard of these. Similar to fly paper? Hahaha@hkaus Wrong choice of word - I should have written fluorescent, not effervescent. At the Naga Bar they have pots of this stuff lying around and the revellers come in and paint their faces and bodies. The group of Chinese seemed to really enjoy to. The 3 LBs not so much LOL. I asked about this later and they claimed it would take too long to remove at night. (You live and learn!). Mosquito mats are the small blue rectangles that you place in a plug-in receptacle that heats them up and they then dispense the Deet, which then confuses the mosquitoes and prevents you from getting bitten alive at night. I take them everywhere in the tropics and they work pretty well. The obvious draw back is that you need a power supply for them to work! Coils are more appropriate for outdoors due to the smoke. A couple of other tips I just remembered: The beach restaurants on Ao Wongduean close pretty early, so best to get there before 20.00 at the latest. All of the beach restaurants sell the fish and shellfish by uncooked weight, so you choose what you want, they weigh it and then cook it. Avoid the biggest place, where the fire show is. Its the busiest and has a double frontage, but is significantly more expensive than the others and thats also where the mainland Chinese tour parties go, so not conducive to a quiet dinner! I didnt see any LB action on the island, but the receptionist at the Samed Cabana Resort was one, so we manage to blag extra towels each day LOL. Cheers and have a Merry Christmas. SAG Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hkaus72 540 #5 Posted December 24, 2019 Ahh yes fluorescent, got it. Like you, I don't see the attraction, even as a kid I never really got into the fluoro zinc. Mainly cause that shit got everywhere and was a bugger to get off. 1 SAGuy reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
finklefoss 175 #6 Posted December 24, 2019 Thanks SA, Last time I was on Samet was 1992! No idea where I stayed that week, but the mozzies were ghastly. Though waking up to someone cutting your nails was one for the ages! 1 SAGuy reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SAGuy 3,750 #7 Posted December 24, 2019 12 hours ago, mad max said: Thanks SAGuy. I'm thinking about taking a ladyboy there next year. This imformation is very helpful. Hey Mad Max If you plan on taking one to Koh Samet and making a good impression, i.e. lots of selfie opportunities, then I'd recommend one of the 3 higher end resorts on Ao Phrae. They looked very nice, but the beach isn't so nice. However, the 3 LBs I was with all preferred these 3 to Ao Wongduean and called me a "Cheap Charlie" a few times, which made me laugh! Another suggestion for a more romantic getaway way would be Wongduean Resort at the other end of Ao Wongduean beach, which also looked very nice. Cheers SAG 1 mad max reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mad max 0 #8 Posted December 25, 2019 17 hours ago, SAGuy said: Hey Mad Max If you plan on taking one to Koh Samet and making a good impression, i.e. lots of selfie opportunities, then I'd recommend one of the 3 higher end resorts on Ao Phrae. They looked very nice, but the beach isn't so nice. However, the 3 LBs I was with all preferred these 3 to Ao Wongduean and called me a "Cheap Charlie" a few times, which made me laugh! Another suggestion for a more romantic getaway way would be Wongduean Resort at the other end of Ao Wongduean beach, which also looked very nice. Cheers SAG I just looked at those resorts.They certainly would make a good impression. Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikel 2,474 #9 Posted December 25, 2019 I've taken my lb gf to Samet twice. Stayed at Silver Sands and Avatara at Sai Kaew. Decent places (preferred Silver Sands) and the first trip in Oct 2016 was relaxing and peaceful. Went again in Feb this year and it was swarming with Chinese tourists. Also a noticeable amount of plastic pollution in the water and on the shore. A couple of gripes but still a good place for a short getaway. Took a scooter over to Ao Phrae. The beach was deserted and the resorts look good if a little ek-pensive as the gf would say. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites