KunMatt

If I may ask what may seem stupid questions (mitigation: I've never been to Koh Samed).

How do you set about looking for a suitable place on the island?

From where to whare would you take the boat?

What and at what cost would you hire the transport to take you around possible hotels?

How straightforward or pre-bribed are the taxis?

Would the hotels give you a good price knowing you are right there already, or the opposite?

If I want to void the noisier or more crowded places which parts should I just skip and thus save time?

Having in mind the first half of October, can I find a beach-side or beach-view room for 1000/1300 baht? (The quieter the beach the better.)

1. The only places to stay are the various beaches around the Island, I believe. We just picked the most popular one. One night we took a taxi to the second most popular beach and it was dead, not a soul in any of the open bars and restaurants and this was holiday week.

2. You get the boat from Raylong on the mainland, 150Bt each and you can either get off at the main boat station, or there might be one which takes you to your hotel's beach if you book at the same time.

3. Taxis are pickup vans that have benches in the back types. All prices are written on a board to where you want to go and are set at either privately hiring the taxi, or waiting for enough people to fill it up before it leaves and you share the fare between you. Private hire is 300Baht at most, I think.

Once you are at the beach location there is no real need for any more transport unless you want to venture to another beach. You can hire scooters (400Bht/day) or ATVs to get around the Island on your own.

4. Taxis drivers have a "like the price or walk" attitude and don't seem to be barterable (sp? / word??).

5. We couldn't get any discount on any of the big hotels but this may be because it was holiday week and they were expecting to be flooded with guests (they weren't). The place we ended up staying at went down from the holiday price of 1500 to 1200 because we pre-paid for 8 days. They said if we ever go back there we can stay again for 1000bht (which is what I imagine is the "real" price).

6. The noisy parts are the bars on the beaches which stay open and bang out loud music until all hours. We could hear the music from our room until about 4am. I'm not sure if there other beaches are as noisy as Diamond Beach, I would hazard a guess that they are much quieter.

Hi all , I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who has an opinion on Koh Samet ..

Me and my gf stayed at the main beach Hat Sai Kaew at the end of June for the first time for 10 days. We just did the usual rock up and find a place to stay which always seems to work out. All of the hotels we tried along the beach were awful, and because it was Buddha's birthday on the Thursday the prices were hiked up for the whole week which meant that some of these places were expecting 4k to 6k Baht a night. I always say that I don't mind paying 4 or 5 star prices if we get that level of quality but this was another case I found of hotel owners unrealistically expecting European prices but offering crap standards and then not understanding why they are 90% empty. Thailand destinations have becoming very prone to this in my experience. Every room we were shown in about 5 of the hotels was disgusting, dirty and reeked of damp and were very, very basic. One of them was just one room wth two double beds in it and a shower room, I think that was 7k for four people!

We ended up finding a really decent hotel just close to that roundabout about 2 mins walk from the beach. It was run by a older couple who lived in one of the larger hotel rooms and they were abosolutely genuinely lovely and looked after us the whole time we were there. One time we didn't come back until about 5am and they were waiting up for us like worried parents to make sure we were ok! The room was only 1200 a night and was 5 times better than the bungalows we had looked at on the beach. I can't remember the name of it, but it was on the left side as you walk up that road, the yellow three storey building.

There is one main boat station at the north of the Island which is about 30 mins from Raylong but boats stop at various places on the Island depending which hotel or company is running the boat. I wish we knew this before as our boat sailed past the boat station which is 5 mins from our beach, past the beach we wanted to stay and about an hour later stopped offshore for another boat to come out and collect us to take us to shallow enough water for us to jump into the sea and walk to shore. We, and our bags, were soaked, pissed off and a 20 minute 300 baht taxi from where we wanted to be, all because, unbeknownst to us, the rep where we brought the boat tickets from could only get us a boat put on by this hotel on the southern side of the Island.

Samet can be beautiful and very nice if you just want the beach life as there's pretty much nothing else to do but be prepared to pay Island prices which are a minimum of 20% more than you find anywhere on the mainland. And the service and level of hospitality in most places is a lot lower than you'll have been accustomed to elsewhere in Thailand. I don't know what the reason for that is. Also, neither of the girls who work in a travel shop gave me any correct information regarding the Visa runs they were selling or the times of the boats and connections that they sell EVERYDAY. It was too frustrating having to explain things to people that they should already know as they do it for a living. In the end we found out he owners of our hotel also arrange tours and tickets and they were golden.

Dogs are a problem. There are about 20 or 30 of them on that one beach that just wander around in different packs and shit all over the beach, most of them fight throughout the day and night but I never saw any tourists getting attacked when we were there. They need to be culled (maybe a bit harsh, perhaps newtered) or at least taken and left in another part of the Island if they want to be offering this place only as a tourist destination.

All in all, it's a nice place to get away, especially as it's only about 4 hours from BKK and you cannot even compare Pattaya's beach to Samet's. I think the pros outweigh the cons and we're already talking about going back there again sometime.

So after all that waffle my advice is;

Make sure your boat disembarks close to where you want to stay.

Check the room before you commit to stay anywhere.

Look around and check out all the hotels, they are all close together.

Don't pay 5 star rates for a 2 star room.

Don't expect Phuket or Koh Samui standards cuz they're just not there in most places.

Hope this helps someone.

OK, thanks for that because I'm pretty sure my gf was going to use a shop.

I have 6 weeks leave starting October, I'm planning to come to BKK but I don't plan to go to Pattaya this time, how can I use ThaiVisaExpress, or is it worth coming to Pattaya for a couple of days to arrange a visa?

How long would it take to get a visa, i.e, could we get it in time to go to the UK for October, or is it best to arrange it for Xmas?

And to add to your woes, if your GF gets anything less than a 12 month visa (e.g. six month visit visa which is the norm) then she won't be able to visit Gib without another visa. I thought I'd take the Mrs (in the UK on a settlement visa) and her sister (6 months vv) to Gib. Mrs OK, but sister needs to apply for a visa. That canned that idea. Good eh.

Yeah, that's exactly why I wanted to get a 12 month Visa to visit my mum in Gibraltar. I can't imagine a Thai getting a Gib Visa seperately will be any easier!!!

Thanks to the people who replied, appreciate the help.

I have been a sponsor for a previous gf to visit the UK a few years ago, she was from Turkmenistan and the process was 10x easier for her, coming from a poorer, much worse off country than Thailand, than it is going to be for my well off Thai gf to apply for a Visa.

I don't know why it is so hard for Thais to get a UK visa and yet for a jobless young Turkmen girl it was a doddle to get a 1 year multi visa first time. Nothing was needed from me apart from a letter saying that I would fund the entire trip and be financially repsonsible for this Turkmen girl.

We just filled in one application, paid like 80 bucks, she got one interview with the British Embassy and I got a phone call from them to confirm I wrote the letter. Visa granted.

Anyways, thanks for the advice.

So,

1. What is the easiest way for her to get a UK visa to travel to the UK for one month. Get a visa on her own or a sponsored visa with me?

You must sponsor her unless she has funds herself and accommodation ?

2. What visas are available for her? Ideally I'd like to get a 1 year as this would let us go to Gibraltar in the future if we want to visit my mum, and multiple entry would be good so we don't have to worry about doing this again in the next year.

You will struggle to get a 1 year visa first time a 6 month multi entry is your best bet.

3. If I sponsor her do I need to fly to/from the UK with her?

No

4. I'm a freelancer so I cannot provide any certificate of employment or employer details that they are asking for and I also don't get paid every single month, is this going to be a problem?

You must show you have sufficient funds to maintain and accommodate her whilst in the UK to fund the trip.

5. Could I just put, say, 1m baht in her bank account and let her apply for a visa on her own?

Are you going to write a letter explaining that you have deposited this amount for the trip they will obviously want to see the funds if she is sponsoring herself.

6. What are the chances of her getting a visa? I don't want to go through all of this, give a shop and the embassy all details about my life and financial affairs just to be knocked back over some small technicality they choose to use

Reason to return and her economic ties to her host country are all taken into account with each application.Why should you be different to anyone else everyone has to supply personal details about their background etc. This is the UK/BA you are dealing with gaining entry clearance is becoming more difficult as I'm sure you are aware.

If you require professional help feel free to pm me or contact myself we are not a shop we have an office both in the UK/Pattaya.

Thanks very much for the advice. I'll bear that all in mind.

By 6 months bank statements does that mean how much is in my bank each month, or a list of all my transactions??

I have more than enough money in my account now to support us both for longer than the trip we plan to take so can I just provide them with them my current bank statement and thats all?

Cheers.

I'm sure I could have found the answer to this by trawling through the archives but it's easier just to start a new topic.

I want my gf to come to UK with me in October, or if it's not possible to get a Visa for her by then, then for Xmas. We've been together since April, both same age, travelled all around Thailand together etc so lots of photos together and proof of relationship. She doesn't have a job, owns a load of land and her family are well off. She has no relatives in UK or anything like that, I own a house in Enlgand where we'd stay.

I'm now on a job in Oz so I don't have any paperwork such as bank statements etc and I can't be there to help her with anything. The plan is the next time I have leave we will spend it in UK instead of Thailand as I've been doing, so when I go back to work she goes back to Thailand, I could travel with her if it helps.

She's got a list of what we need to apply for a visa from a shop who would arrange the visa for us but the things they are asking for intrudes far too much into my privacy for my liking, i.e. photos of my house, my birth cert, a death cert (??? no idea whose!), and 6 months of my bank statements etc.

So,

1. What is the easiest way for her to get a UK visa to travel to the UK for one month. Get a visa on her own or a sponsored visa with me?

2. What visas are available for her? Ideally I'd like to get a 1 year as this would let us go to Gibraltar in the future if we want to visit my mum, and multiple entry would be good so we dont have to worry about doing this again in the next year.

3. If I sponsor her do I need to fly to/from the UK with her?

4. I'm a freelancer so I cannot provide any certificate of employment or employer details that they are asking for and I also dont get paid every single month, is this going to be a problem?

5. Could I just put, say, 1m baht in her bank account and let her apply for a visa on her own?

6. What are the chances of her getting a visa? I don't want to go through all of this, give a shop and the embassy all details about my life and financial affairs just to be knocked back over some small tecnicality they choose to use.

So that's my case, I'm sure a lot of guys here have been through this before and I'd appreciate any advice and help.

Thanks.

Unless you can do it online??

I wish

KL should be no problem, plenty of reports of opening/collection times, try a search

Vientiane is also good, they will currently do a 2 entry tourist for free and have a same-day service (pickup is quite late though).

Oh ok. Thanks very much for your help, I'd seen that Visa office at the airport the last two times I arrived and wondered if it was there for the 60 Tourist Visa.

I have to say that things like this are making me not want to come to Thailand as much any more. I had planned to move there in the future but seeing how rules can just dramatically change on any single day like this has made me very apprehensive about doing anything serious there now. I'm sure I'm not the only tourist who will just not be bothered with all the hassle of worrying about visas like this and just go somewhere else instead.

Do you know what is the thinking behind the 15 day visa on land border entry? And why can't we just pay money at the embassy in BKK for any length of extension (this is all you have to do in the Philippines)?? Why make it so hard??!!

Nope, no visas are available at the airport except the Visa on Arrival (not for UK nationals), you will however get a 30 day visa exemption when you fly in.

Where are you now, may be better to get a free 60 day tourist visa from a consulate in your current location

I'm offshore so no possibility of going to any consulate before I fly directly to Thailand when this job is finished. I might go to KL for a couple of days before to get the Visa sorted.

Unless you can do it online??

After having to do two Cambodian Visa runs on my last visit to Thailand for a paltry 15 days extension I'd like a 60 day visa for my next visit.

I'm from the UK. and currently out of the country, so my question is this; can you apply for the 60 day Tourist Visa at the Visa office (which is before the immigration) when you arrive at Bangkok airport?

Thanks for any help.

Khundon - Thank you for your comment - in fact in teh UK I am a millionaire an dwatch the pennies - maybe that is how I got rich - I am not a sad man but a rich one! You ar eobviuosly at a bar at present so I hope you have a good night.

What a strange thing to say.

And you are the same guy who recently posted about making your missus pay 50% of all your living costs! If you really are a millionaire as you just stated (without even being asked) I hope it's only in Baht.

I don't know what your problem is but the way you talk to people who have sincerely tried to help you is disgusting, you don't deserve anything from anyone when you behave like that.