Say within four hours by car.. I would like to avoid island ripoffs. Thanks! 

NO Hua Hin, No Jomtien, No Pattaya......well then the closet beach after that would be Rayong which has lots of beaches. Hat San Chaeng, May rum phung etc.. Aprox. 2 hours away....good clean water  although at this time of year the beach's may be a little dirty with refuse.

10 minutes ago, beachproperty said:

NO Hua Hin, No Jomtien, No Pattaya......well then the closet beach after that would be Rayong which has lots of beaches. Hat San Chaeng, May rum phung etc.. Aprox. 2 hours away....good clean water  although at this time of year the beach's may be a little dirty with refuse.

Worse than Patts? I was interested in Rayong... anything easy to get to by bus? 

57 minutes ago, moontang said:

Say within four hours by car.. I would like to avoid island ripoffs. Thanks! 

Koh Larn, 30 baht ferry, 55 baht cold beers on an empty beach, hardly a rip off. Was there this week ????

 

I live in Pattaya, but go about once a month now for a few days to Bang Saen.

The beach and water are much better then before. Plenty of beach seat vendors around.

Massage shops, coffee, restaurants close to the main beach.

Plenty of street foods on the beach walk.

Later, very nice seafood restaurants with live music along their "Walking Street".

I usually stay at The Tide hotel.  Really nice hotel and great breakfast.

4 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I live in Pattaya, but go about once a month now for a few days to Bang Saen.

The beach and water are much better then before. Plenty of beach seat vendors around.

Massage shops, coffee, restaurants close to the main beach.

Plenty of street foods on the beach walk.

Later, very nice seafood restaurants with live music along their "Walking Street".

I usually stay at The Tide hotel.  Really nice hotel and great breakfast.

Plenty of seat vendors?  Is that a good thing? 

chao samran, empty weekdays, but also can have sandflies. Difficult by public transport. Further down cha am, can get by train.

 

rayong beach (the east side, near the national park) or little further in Ban Phe. Both have good bus connections. 

 

1 hour ago, internationalism said:

chao samran, empty weekdays, but also can have sandflies. Difficult by public transport. Further down cha am, can get by train.

 

rayong beach (the east side, near the national park) or little further in Ban Phe. Both have good bus connections. 

 

Had a great meal in Chaam last month, but economic situation is as bad as any I mentioned.  It was cold that day, and that sure didn't help. Serious dog issues. 

Haven't been to Ban Phe for about 17 years. I didn't see a foreign tourist there then. The accommodation was pretty basic with some beach shacks selling food and drinks and not a beach chair in sight. I remember there was no transport to our hotel at night and we hitched a ride on the local fire truck. Can anyone update on how much it has changed?

On 2/26/2021 at 11:00 AM, dodgybros said:

Koh Larn, 30 baht ferry, 55 baht cold beers on an empty beach, hardly a rip off. Was there this week ????

 

Cheap day out if you,re in pattaya

Chanthaburi has some good beaches, 3 hours from Bangkok via the 7 road, stayed in a place on the beach in Laem sing for a few days early in Feb, hardly anyone there, resorts everywhere

10 hours ago, Hugh Lao said:

Haven't been to Ban Phe for about 17 years. I didn't see a foreign tourist there then. The accommodation was pretty basic with some beach shacks selling food and drinks and not a beach chair in sight. I remember there was no transport to our hotel at night and we hitched a ride on the local fire truck. Can anyone update on how much it has changed?

up to 10 guesthouses still opened, but not many on agoda, so you have to ask around. The closest to the suan som beach and the most interesting is resort with bungalows next to tesco. There are also guesthouses on the east side of suan som and here are also beach restaurants.

In the town are many scandinavians, including swedish shop and restaurant.

I would rather go for an east side of rayong beach, mae ram phueng

 

On 2/26/2021 at 5:02 PM, moontang said:

Say within four hours by car.. I would like to avoid island ripoffs. Thanks! 

Try the Samuts south of you, I hear the beaches are almost empty.

On 2/26/2021 at 6:01 PM, bkk6060 said:

I live in Pattaya, but go about once a month now for a few days to Bang Saen.

The beach and water are much better then before. Plenty of beach seat vendors around.

Massage shops, coffee, restaurants close to the main beach.

Plenty of street foods on the beach walk.

Later, very nice seafood restaurants with live music along their "Walking Street".

I usually stay at The Tide hotel.  Really nice hotel and great breakfast.

Sounds great, unless your looking for peace & quiet.

Chantaburi, Google it ????????

Bang Saen. Very cheap, and lots of great overnight cottages...

We go to Namg Ram Beach south of Satthahip and the beach inside the navy compound just south of Bang Saray I think the name is Sai Kaew Beach. Both of these beaches have clean water. Nang Ram Beach have cottages for rent and Bang Saray have many resorts.

2 hours ago, perconrad said:

We go to Namg Ram Beach south of Satthahip and the beach inside the navy compound just south of Bang Saray I think the name is Sai Kaew Beach. Both of these beaches have clean water. Nang Ram Beach have cottages for rent and Bang Saray have many resorts.

 

I was at Namg Ram today, it was packed. 

On 2/26/2021 at 6:01 PM, bkk6060 said:

I live in Pattaya, but go about once a month now for a few days to Bang Saen.

The beach and water are much better then before. Plenty of beach seat vendors around.

Massage shops, coffee, restaurants close to the main beach.

Plenty of street foods on the beach walk.

Later, very nice seafood restaurants with live music along their "Walking Street".

I usually stay at The Tide hotel.  Really nice hotel and great breakfast.

Good choice, i live in bkk and pattaya and when i go from one to the other i almost always stop in Bang Saen for a day or two . 

I went to Chao Lao beach in Chantaburi some 15 months ago on my way back from Koh Chang. Huge disappointment. Big beautiful beach ..... full of plastic refuse. Lots of Thai tourists enjoying the beach among the garbage as if there was nothing the matter.

 

Near Bangkok Koh Samet had a good beach by the name of Ao Cho. Hotel Grand View Hideaway. No idea whether the island (or the hotel) is open for business.

Jump on the 8am train to Ban krut - arrives about 1pm. Cracking spot for decent seafood and beach. Nice feel to the place if slightly quiet but a few westerns kicking about a couple of places to drink late if thats your thing. 

5 hours ago, JackGats said:

I went to Chao Lao beach in Chantaburi some 15 months ago on my way back from Koh Chang. Huge disappointment. Big beautiful beach ..... full of plastic refuse. Lots of Thai tourists enjoying the beach among the garbage as if there was nothing the matter.

 

Near Bangkok Koh Samet had a good beach by the name of Ao Cho. Hotel Grand View Hideaway. No idea whether the island (or the hotel) is open for business.

How was the dog problem? 

On 3/1/2021 at 5:55 AM, moontang said:

How was the dog problem? 

Stray dogs. Last time I was on Kho Samet (early 2019) they'd taken care of that, to my surprise.