Any clean beaches or islands in Chonburi?

[FarmerJoe]

First. Thanks to all who offered suggestion for my Mae Sot Border run. All the recommendations were excellent. Now, I have a friend coming for a visit and he wants to experience Pattaya nightlife for a long weekend with the wife and I, but also hit the beaches during the day. We will be flying down from C.M. The only reviews I see on tripadvisor are saying any beaches or islands around the province are, as they put it, "disgusting" We will have a rental car to get around, so distance is not a problem. Can any of you living down that way, offer any suggestions on any beaches or islands to visit? Overnight or just day trips.

Thank you

F.J.

[balo]

The Royal navy beach is very clean and it's a white sandy beach. Entrance is 100 baht and they have some nice Thai food there and drinks so you can stay there all day. But you need transportation to get there. Its near Satahip. 

 

https://img.thailandholidayhomes.com/cache/attractions_210-858x571-1.jpg

 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

If distance is no object, Koh Chang for an overnight stay. It was clean when I stayed there, but that was long ago. All the info you need on the internet.

 

Koh Samet, on the other hand, was a vile disgusting rubbish tip end to end.

[thinkingman]

Navy Beach is OK--lots of people however.

 

Ocean Blue Reef does 3 hour snorkeling trips for Bt3500 for 1 to 6 people on a boat, including equipment and underwater camera from Samae San.  They are on Line and Facebook. 

 

Water is (amazingly) clear and clean plus pretty islands. Samae San is located southeast of UTP airport.  Here is the map. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Sort of like Old Thailand.

 

It is well worth the price.  Figure 1.25 hours from Pattaya.  

[fisherd3]

Koh Samet, ferry from Ban Phe Rayong cheap but plenty trying to sell expensive version pay entrance fee to National park about 110kms from Pattaya.

[steve187]

navy beach before sattahip https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sattahip+District,+Chon+Buri,+Thailand/@12.7015745,100.8359349,181a,35y,73.94h,44.99t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x31028da565b60d67:0x303d84ae1b45630!8m2!3d12.6766338!4d100.8967847

 

or drive towards ban chang and at queen sirkit hospital traffic lights turn right, keep driving past u tapao airport and there is another navy beach https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sattahip+District,+Chon+Buri,+Thailand/@12.6154807,100.9022109,3003a,35y,73.94h,44.24t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x31028da565b60d67:0x303d84ae1b45630!8m2!3d12.6766338!4d100.8967847

 

 

[Peterw42]

Lots of those hidden away army/navy beaches, some are just a little checkpoint on a minor road. Some are Thai only but will let you in with pink ID. The Russians seem to know all about them.

Even some of the pattaya beaches, cosy, wongamat etc can be good on a good day. Monkey beach on Koh Larn.

[Just Curious]

Hat Nam Ram Sattahip for sure. 20 Baht per car entry, food and drinks available, toilet shower facilities, deck chair hire. Much quieter week days of course. Check for tides as it's much nicer there at high tide.

 

 

[FarmerJoe]

Thanks everyone. I think Hat Name Ram is the place we'll try.  I saw some recent YouTube videos today and it looks great.  Just an hour away from Pattaya. Thanks so much for the recommendations. I'll give you a trip report upon our return.

F. J. 

[gk10002000]

The one thing I always disliked on all my trips to Pattaya was the lack of decent clean swimmable beach given that the darn city abuts the water!  Jomtien 15 years ago was swimmable, and I never got sick or anything.  I even did Amat once.  The convenience of Pattaya was always a big draw to me. No need to drive anywhere.  Hop on and off a baht bus as needed.  Really was a great place for 3 or 4 week holiday.  I have never driven in Thailand and while those beaches near Sattahip are on my list, it will make me do some changes to my transportation

[leggo]

On 3/1/2019 at 8:26 AM, fisherd3 said:

Koh Samet, ferry from Ban Phe Rayong cheap but plenty trying to sell expensive version pay entrance fee to National park about 110kms from Pattaya.

Koh samet was clean about 30 years ago - it is now one great big rubbish tip with the exception of one tiny beach which is about the fifth beach from the pier - it is full of young tourists partying and it basically '<deleted>'

[ftpjtm]

Looks like you've made up your mind, but another option not mentioned is Koh Phai (aka Bamboo Island) which is an uninhabited island about 30 minutes beyond Koh Larn via speedboat. It is controlled by the Navy and you may (or may not) be asked to pay an admission fee by a Navy park ranger. There are about 5 secluded beaches around the island and most times you can have one to yourselves. There are no facilities so you'll have to bring your own food, towels, tents etc but it's a beautiful, natural setting and only 1 hour from downtown Pattaya by a speed boat chartered from the beach.

 

You would want your chartered boat to wait for you to provide transportation back to Pattaya. You could also ask to be dropped on Koh Larn on the way back if you don't want to wait until arriving at Pattaya for a restaurant and facilities. Koh Larn beaches are crowded and dirty, but it is fun to rent a motor bike and explore the island. There are essentially no cars there so it's much less intimidating to ride a scooter there than in most areas of Thailand. If dropped at Koh Larn you could say adios to the speed boat there and ride the ferry back to Pattaya for something like 30 Baht.

 

And yes, the Navy beach near Bang Saray called "Sai Kaew Beach" is the best in the area accessible by car. It is crowded, but has great facilities, is relatively clean, has nice white sand, and is part of a nature preserve on Navy land. 

[dotpoom]

Had "Nam Rang"...Utapow...Sattahip

[Captain 776]

Find Sai Kaew Beach, not far from Pattaya and across from Nong Nooch Gardens.........it’s on the military base but you can enter just showing your passport.

I have not been in 4 yrs but when we lived in Jomtien we used to go often, nice white sand and the water was nice.

I don’t recommend going into the water in Pattaya or Jomtien.

[Formaleins]

Sattahip is worth a look, if the beach isn't any good they do make some fantastic Oyster sauce and fish sauce though.

[ncc1701d]

On 3/1/2019 at 9:16 AM, thinkingman said:

Navy Beach is OK--lots of people however.

 

Ocean Blue Reef does 3 hour snorkeling trips for Bt3500 for 1 to 6 people on a boat, including equipment and underwater camera from Samae San.  They are on Line and Facebook. 

 

Water is (amazingly) clear and clean plus pretty islands. Samae San is located southeast of UTP airport.  Here is the map. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Sort of like Old Thailand.

 

It is well worth the price.  Figure 1.25 hours from Pattaya.  

Was that B3,500 for the boat? Then you can either go one person or 6? Or is that the price per person?

[YogaVeg]

I read something about a 2 hour ferry ride over to Hua Hin when you are done with Pattaya...

[atyclb]

koh lan. take the ferry/ cheap from pattaya pier.  rent a motorbike and drive around to get away from main 2 crowded beaches.

[Cricky]

Hey, let's keep the Sattahip Naval beaches a secret, we don't want all those foreigners there, let us just keep it for us locals. 

[MadMuhammad]

On 3/1/2019 at 6:25 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

If distance is no object, Koh Chang for an overnight stay. It was clean when I stayed there, but that was long ago. All the info you need on the internet.

 

Koh Samet, on the other hand, was a vile disgusting rubbish tip end to end.

You obviously went to a different Koh Samet than I did 

[chicowoodduck]

If one heads South to Hat Nang Rung Beach you will enjoy some really beautiful beaches and just the locals to get in your way.....maybe an hour drove from Pattaya.....????

[john ianson]

On 2/28/2019 at 7:17 PM, Kim J said:

"Any clean beaches or islands in Chonburi"?

 

In short. Unfortunately no there isn't!

Ban Saray is probably the best bet, but since they extended the road over part of it to provide car parking that has pretty much been ruined.

Unfortunately most days of the week you would not put your foot in the water at Bang Saray due to the fishing vessels moored in the bay

[thinkingman]

Was that B3,500 for the boat? Then you can either go one person or 6? Or is that the price per person?

 

the Bt3500 is for the boat, equipment, and one to six passengers/snorkelers.  A proper fiberglass boat, 90 horse Suzuki outboard.

[FarmerJoe]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 12:39 PM, Kim J said:

Some of the best beaches in Koh Chang can no longer be accessed with ease. Many places I used to go and find virtually deserted white beaches between White Sands and Kaibae are no longer accessible due to development that has taken place on the land between the road and the beach. Also the tourist areas of Koh Chang are unfortunately rapidly becoming the same type of overcrowded s***hole as Koh Samet.

Yeah, Koh Chang was nice years ago. Same with Samet. Won't go anymore.

[FarmerJoe]

14 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

You obviously went to a different Koh Samet than I did 

Is that Ao Nua Beach? I stayed there about 14 years ago. Had the whole beach and resort to ourselves. Beautiful. Now I hear from to many friends, that's it's really gone downhill.

[FarmerJoe]

23 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Looks like you've made up your mind, but another option not mentioned is Koh Phai (aka Bamboo Island) which is an uninhabited island about 30 minutes beyond Koh Larn via speedboat. It is controlled by the Navy and you may (or may not) be asked to pay an admission fee by a Navy park ranger. There are about 5 secluded beaches around the island and most times you can have one to yourselves. There are no facilities so you'll have to bring your own food, towels, tents etc but it's a beautiful, natural setting and only 1 hour from downtown Pattaya by a speed boat chartered from the beach.

 

You would want your chartered boat to wait for you to provide transportation back to Pattaya. You could also ask to be dropped on Koh Larn on the way back if you don't want to wait until arriving at Pattaya for a restaurant and facilities. Koh Larn beaches are crowded and dirty, but it is fun to rent a motor bike and explore the island. There are essentially no cars there so it's much less intimidating to ride a scooter there than in most areas of Thailand. If dropped at Koh Larn you could say adios to the speed boat there and ride the ferry back to Pattaya for something like 30 Baht.

 

And yes, the Navy beach near Bang Saray called "Sai Kaew Beach" is the best in the area accessible by car. It is crowded, but has great facilities, is relatively clean, has nice white sand, and is part of a nature preserve on Navy land. 

That sounds like a nice day trip. I am not locked into any one place and would like to visit a couple places in our short time frame. This sounds good also. Thank you.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 6:39 PM, Kim J said:

Some of the best beaches in Koh Chang can no longer be accessed with ease. Many places I used to go and find virtually deserted white beaches between White Sands and Kaibae are no longer accessible due to development that has taken place on the land between the road and the beach. Also the tourist areas of Koh Chang are unfortunately rapidly becoming the same type of overcrowded s***hole as Koh Samet.

Disappointing news.

Still, the Thais are brilliant at destroying the nice beaches. They don't understand that the beaches became popular because they were nice beaches and not because they were covered with concrete. Soon as Burma sorts the government issues few will even bother with Thai beaches, and all those horrid concrete resorts will be deserted as people go to Burma instead. It'll be like Thailand 30 years ago.

[FarmerJoe]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 8:43 AM, steve187 said:

navy beach before sattahip https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sattahip+District,+Chon+Buri,+Thailand/@12.7015745,100.8359349,181a,35y,73.94h,44.99t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x31028da565b60d67:0x303d84ae1b45630!8m2!3d12.6766338!4d100.8967847

 

or drive towards ban chang and at queen sirkit hospital traffic lights turn right, keep driving past u tapao airport and there is another navy beach https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sattahip+District,+Chon+Buri,+Thailand/@12.6154807,100.9022109,3003a,35y,73.94h,44.24t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x31028da565b60d67:0x303d84ae1b45630!8m2!3d12.6766338!4d100.8967847

 

 

Thank you for the maps Steve. Looks great. Can you also go to Koh Kham for a day?

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

You obviously went to a different Koh Samet than I did 

I'm sure that I could take some photos like that on even the worst destroyed Thai beach.

It's not the water on Samet that was the problem, it was the rubbish tip that covered the entire island. Obviously the park rangers did not use the park fee for garbage disposal.

Perhaps it's changed since.

BTW, I visited Samet a few times and in the 90s it was quite clean, but it was quite undeveloped back then and not a lot of tourists.

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm sure that I could take some photos like that on even the worst destroyed Thai beach.

It's not the water on Samet that was the problem, it was the rubbish tip that covered the entire island. Obviously the park rangers did not use the park fee for garbage disposal.

Perhaps it's changed since.

BTW, I visited Samet a few times and in the 90s it was quite clean, but it was quite undeveloped back then and not a lot of tourists.

 

Agreed that inland from the beach Koh Samet is a pit and there is rubbish everywhere. 

 

However, for a couple of days break its quite pleasant.... Staying at a bungalow or resort on the beach (i.e. Samet Cabana or Sai Keaw Beach Resort) - there is no real reason to stray from the beach front, the beach is always clean and the restaurants plentiful. 

 

I also enjoy that a couple of the restaurants have floodlights onto the beach so the kids can enjoy playing once the sun drops.

 

The Island can be quite busy, so if seclusion is your thing, Koh Samet isn’t... it has life and can get fairly lively. People will moan about Russian and Chinese tourists but they’re not a big issue... its just that any group of tourists en-masse will make more noice and kind of take over a place. 

 

Koh Samet is good for a weekend break because its easy to get to. 

Koh Chang also has similar charms, is quieter, is bigger, you can find more variation from the main beach down to the quieter beaches on the south but it takes much longer to get to.

 

Note: Neither places (Koh Chang or Koh Samet) are in Chonburi - but for an extra bit of travel time while still remaining convenient both are a good option.