Swimming in the sea in Thailand

[superal]

I have swam many times in the mediterranean but swimming in the seas around Thailand does not appeal , why ?  I know that there are dangers such as rip tides and undercurrents . There are seldom any qualified lifeguards and the red flag signs are not dependable for their accuracy . I have even heard that nearby vendors have removed the flags as they discourage people from staying on the beach . Also there is the sea life such as jellyfish and maybe other forms of sea life that are not to be messed with . The presence of lifeguards on European beaches is comforting and assuring in the knowledge that they are trained and manage the safety on their beaches but that seems to be lacking here in Thailand .  Am I alone in thinking this way and are there many regular swimmers from this forum who take to the Thai seas ?  

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Former SCUBA Diver & Strong Regular Swimmer here.

You missed the toxic polluted sea water. Open Beach Sewer Channels typically running straight into the sea at both ends of most beaches, deliberate design of course.

Swim Only in my 17 mtr Home Pool for Daily HIIT Fin Swims.

Open Water & Boat Trips here ( and anywhere) are WAY too Hazardous to Life. Just not worth it.

Will Walk on Beach, with my kid, getting my feet wet in the surf, but thats it.

Kid & Lady BANNED from Open Water (sea, river, lake) & Boats everywhere.

[EVENKEEL]

I wouldn't call what I do swimming. Some sun, smooth seas, a cooler with a few beers. Nothing like floating in the water soaking in the sun, not a care.

[CharlieH]

Toxic soup springs to mind. Of course there will be exceptions but few and far between would be my guess

 

Want to play in the water, use a maintained pool is my advice.

[Kwasaki]

Found the best beach sea water off of islands,  remember Phuket beaches nice over 20 years ago,  wouldn't swim in them anymore.

From memory best sea water beach ever for me was Koh Samet, don't know what it's like these days. 

[marin]

22 minutes ago, superal said:

Am I alone in thinking this way and are there many regular swimmers from this forum who take to the Thai seas ?  

For me yes you are alone. But no I would not and do not swim in the sea  anywhere near Pattaya or Hua Hin.  But starting with Koh Chang and down through all the southern islands I really enjoy it. I have taught my now grown kids to enjoy the beach, swim, body surf, surf, windsurf and scuba diving. Sure you have to be aware of rip tide flags, and jelly fish infestations but for me that's the case most anywhere. Perhaps my kids and I just love the sea too much. Cant wait to be able to get there again and have some fun.

[4MyEgo]

When I first came to Thailand in 2006 I took a swim in Patong Beach, the water was warm compared to the cold water back home where you would have to run in and dive, otherwise you'd look like a weakling walking in, hands slightly raised as you start lowering yourself into the water....lol

 

Put my boardshorts on the balcony to dry and the next day went to get them to go to the beach, for some reason I smelt them, OMG, the stench of vomit on my boardshorts was toxic, that was the last time I ever swam in Patong Beach, I would hire a bike and ride all the way to Nai Harn where the water was clean, well worth spending the day there with a few mates, straw style restaurants a short walk up the hill, a few beers then back in the crystal clear water.

 

Have travelled all around Thailand and unless the beach is out of town for a fair way wouldn't even contemplate it, even when staying at a beach front hotel in Huan Hin, I would use the pool.

[robblok]

I think it really depends where you swim, i swam and snorkeled in the Thai sea for hours and hours and never a problem. So maybe your exaggerating a bit. But pollution sure if you swim near Pattaya or something like that. Dangerous sea animals ? I would not worry too much about those and just wear a rash guard. Its almost never happens that someone gets killed by jellyfish you would be far more likely to die on your way to the beach.

 

Rip currents and under currents ect, again depends where you swim and when plus how strong a swimmer you are. But not sure where you swam in the Mediterranean but when I did there were almost no life guards too. I actually never even cared much about them at all. Even in swimming pools they are often far too late so to rely on them in the sea would be crazy in my book. 

 

Just don't swim too far off shore if your not in good shape. 

[MrJ2U]

I just jump in to cool off.

 

Swim in the pool.

 

The jelly fish problem reminds me of that feeling after watching Jaws years ago.

 

I'm worried one might wash into my face as I glide through a wave.

 

There are sectioned areas.  

 

Respect the warning flags.

 

Use common sense.

[robblok]

1 minute ago, MrJ2U said:

I just jump in to cool off.

 

Swim in the pool.

 

The jelly fish problem reminds me of that feeling after watching Jaws years ago.

 

I'm worried one might wash into my face as I glide through a wave.

 

There are sectioned areas.  

 

Respect the warning flags.

 

Use common sense.

Yes people seem to worry a lot about jelly fish while its really rare for them to kill people. It does happen but compared to the amount of people in the water its rare. So many things are many times more dangerous like the trip to the beach and crossing the road ect. I have been stung by small jelly fish but usually if i wear a rash guard its not bad at all. 

[Doctor Tom]

Just now, robblok said:

Yes people seem to worry a lot about jelly fish while its really rare for them to kill people. It does happen but compared to the amount of people in the water its rare. So many things are many times more dangerous like the trip to the beach and crossing the road ect. I have been stung by small jelly fish but usually if i wear a rash guard its not bad at all. 

its not the jelly fish that bother me, its the turds and used condoms that are a bit off putting. Maybe that's just Pattaya seaside. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Koh Lipe, Koh Tao, Koh Surin and some of the other small islands have excellent beaches and marine life.

Anywhere near urban areas is best avoided, including Phuket.

[robblok]

1 minute ago, Doctor Tom said:

its not the jelly fish that bother me, its the turds and used condoms that are a bit off putting. Maybe that's just Pattaya seaside. 

To be honest i dislike Pattaya, if you want girls bars and party then Pattaya is a great place (pre covid). I like diving snorkeling and so on so I usually end up on an island in the Andaman Sea like Koh Lipe.  I have swam in the gulf of Thailand too but usually near smaller cities where the sea was clean. 

 

 

[ezzra]

I do most of my swimming at night, a huge bath tub in my local massage parlor, no jelly fish no pollution...

[Will B Good]

Not a fan.

 

Was about 50m out once and got stung from the right temple down to the pinky on my right foot.

 

First thought was (obviously) get back to shore.

 

I think there was only my belly button touching the water.

 

Blistered like boiling water had been trickled onto me from head to toe, but it disappeared after about an hour.

[spidermike007]

The West coast has some nice beaches, and some very nice Andaman water. The Gulf coast is horrible for swimming. Sub standard on so many levels. The runoff from the industrial estates upcountry and from Bangkok is tremendous. One has to venture south to at least Pranburi, before you can swim without being in very toxic water. Further south it is ok, but visibility is not great, and in areas like Samui and Phangan there is alot of sewage discharge. In the ten years I lived in Samui, I might have swam 5 times in the sea. Preferred swimming pools. The few tests I have seen of water purity were very scary. Not to mention swarms of jellyfish, including some boxer jellyfish, which can be deadly. 

 

More than half of the cases were unconscious. There were six fatal cases (46.7 %). The wound characteristics had an appearance similar to caterpillar tracks or step ladder-like burn marks.

 

https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-016-1931-8

 

Box jellyfish killed two people off Thai beaches in 2015; the latest being the death of a 20-year-old German woman on Lamai Beach, Koh Samui, in October. Just as alarming, however, are the 11 other, non-fatal attacks in and around Koh Samui and nearby Koh Pha Ngan in recent years.

 

https://iamkohchang.com/blog/box-jellyfish-in-thailand.html

 

 

 

[2long]

As always, the usual negative comments and stories of valour or near-death experiences. ThaiVisa never lets us down! 

As other posters have said, it depends on where you plan to swim in Thailand. Some beaches are awesome and others less so. Any with boats, captained by Thais, should be avoided. 

But the content of the OP's first post would suggest that his/her mind is already made up, mainly from fear of pretty much anything under the surface. Living here in Thailand can be more dangerous on land most of the time. I often feel safer out at sea.

[Mormolin]

Without mentioning the used needles everywhere on the beach. My girlfriend didn't understand why I always wear special water sandal when I go to beach, until we saw 3 used needle in the same day.

 

That's why I prefer to pay a day-pass in a private resort. At least, they do an effort the clean the beach in front of the resort.

[1FinickyOne]

16 minutes ago, ezzra said:

I do most of my swimming at night, a huge bath tub in my local massage parlor, no jelly fish no pollution...

sharks and piranhas only?

[greg71]

49 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Found the best beach sea water off of islands,  remember Phuket beaches nice over 20 years ago,  wouldn't swim in them anymore.

From memory best sea water beach ever for me was Koh Samet, don't know what it's like these days. 

Personally i havent been to Samet since the massive oil spill a couple of years ago . 

[1FinickyOne]

10 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

from the right temple down to the

from the temple down to the 7/11?

 

10 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

it disappeared after about an hour.

I have a GF like that -- 

[ChaiyaTH]

1 hour ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Kid & Lady BANNED from Open Water (sea, river, lake) & Boats everywhere.

Life seems very nice with you. Don't be surprised your kid will do all of it just because you said no lol.

[Will B Good]

4 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

 

 

I have a GF like that -- 

Aren't they the best?

[robblok]

33 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The West coast has some nice beaches, and some very nice Andaman water. The Gulf coast is horrible for swimming. Sub standard on so many levels. The runoff from the industrial estates upcountry and from Bangkok is tremendous. One has to venture south to at least Pranburi, before you can swim without being in very toxic water. Further south it is ok, but visibility is not great, and in areas like Samui and Phangan there is alot of sewage discharge. In the ten years I lived in Samui, I might have swam 5 times in the sea. Preferred swimming pools. The few tests I have seen of water purity were very scary. Not to mention swarms of jellyfish, including some boxer jellyfish, which can be deadly. 

 

More than half of the cases were unconscious. There were six fatal cases (46.7 %). The wound characteristics had an appearance similar to caterpillar tracks or step ladder-like burn marks.

 

https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-016-1931-8

 

Box jellyfish killed two people off Thai beaches in 2015; the latest being the death of a 20-year-old German woman on Lamai Beach, Koh Samui, in October. Just as alarming, however, are the 11 other, non-fatal attacks in and around Koh Samui and nearby Koh Pha Ngan in recent years.

 

https://iamkohchang.com/blog/box-jellyfish-in-thailand.html

 

 

 

Hmmm not sure why you mention the box jellyfish and then post a picture of something that is certainly no box jellyfish ? Lack of knowledge ? lazyness or wanting to make things more dramatic ?

 

Plus your data is a bit old and it does show that it happens rarely. Not sure why people keep mentioning such rare events. As for calling it toxic water instead of polluted water (toxic is far worse and does happen much in the sea as its diluted too far to be toxic)

 

You got a big bias and are a bit of drama queen but then again given your other posts im not surprised. Your as honest in your judgements of Thailand as the TAT but then in the opposite direction.

 

*edit* mistake on my side toxic just means polluted by man made chemicals ect. Thought it just sounded to dramatic so i googled it.

[Tanomazu]

I've never heard of anyone swimming in the sea only if there are life guards. Seems a bit odd. Since I can swim it's not a concern. Yes, it's good to be careful but one can take it too far. Land is far more dangerous in LOS.

 

Beaches in Ko Samui are very nice and okay to swim. I also prefer the pool though.

[spidermike007]

18 minutes ago, robblok said:

Hmmm not sure why you mention the box jellyfish and then post a picture of something that is certainly no box jellyfish ? Lack of knowledge ? lazyness or wanting to make things more dramatic ?

 

Plus your data is a bit old and it does show that it happens rarely. Not sure why people keep mentioning such rare events. As for calling it toxic water instead of polluted water (toxic is far worse and does happen much in the sea as its diluted too far to be toxic)

 

You got a big bias and are a bit of drama queen but then again given your other posts im not surprised. Your as honest in your judgements of Thailand as the TAT but then in the opposite direction.

 

*edit* mistake on my side toxic just means polluted by man made chemicals ect. Thought it just sounded to dramatic so i googled it.

Well then, I double down on the toxic water thing. A drama queen, huh? I do not think I have ever been called that before. Let me digest that. Sounds like a fun designation. LOL. 

[robblok]

Just now, spidermike007 said:

Well then, I double down on the toxic water thing. A drama queen, huh? I do not think I have ever been called that before. Let me digest that. Sounds like a fun designation. LOL. 

Yea you were right about the toxic water, must means there is some human made pollution in water. Nothing more nothing less. Just sounds worse then polluted water. But yea as a non native speaker and the fact that you got UK and US English these things happen.

 

As for the drama queen designation you earned it not just with this posts but many of your posts are to the extreme. Bit like TAT does but then in the negative so I double down on that one. 

[spidermike007]

9 minutes ago, robblok said:

Yea you were right about the toxic water, must means there is some human made pollution in water. Nothing more nothing less. Just sounds worse then polluted water. But yea as a non native speaker and the fact that you got UK and US English these things happen.

 

As for the drama queen designation you earned it not just with this posts but many of your posts are to the extreme. Bit like TAT does but then in the negative so I double down on that one. 

You are a funny guy, and your posts are articulate and well thought out. Keep it up! As far as the drama goes, I admit to being somewhat extreme in my criticism of this regime. However, they deserve it! 

[robblok]

Just now, spidermike007 said:

You are a funny guy, and your posts are articulate and well thought out. Keep it up! As far as the drama goes, I admit to being somewhat extreme in my criticism of this regime. However, they deserve it! 

Sure the current MOB deserves all they get but if you go into extremes too much you lose credibility at some time. Just like the boy that cried wolf. Best to not go that way too often. Like you i think the current MOB deserves the criticism, just don't think that the alternative is that much better. Given the fact that many of the faces are the same (people that switched sides), crooks on all sides. I just think almost all (except future forward) deserve a lot of criticism. 

 

Just don't think Thailand and Thai people always deserve the negative posts like this one. Sure water in Pattaya is not clean but many other beaches are. I think unclean water is a problem all over the worlds. But even water that looks clean can be polluted. 

 

The jelly fish thing is IMHO a bit strange as the risk of encountering one and dying is low just for comparison lightning strike in Thailand killed 6 in 2018 and is more then those jelly fish yet you never hear people worrying about that. I really have made loads of hours in the water in Thailand and I have encountered yelly fish even the ones you shown and i love watching them. The only times i been stung has been by tentacles cut up floating around hurts a bit when contact is made with the face. I wear a rash guard and it really helps but over all i would say stings are not that common.

[MrJ2U]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Yes people seem to worry a lot about jelly fish while its really rare for them to kill people. It does happen but compared to the amount of people in the water its rare. So many things are many times more dangerous like the trip to the beach and crossing the road ect. I have been stung by small jelly fish but usually if i wear a rash guard its not bad at all. 

I like the idea of me and the kids swimming in the netted areas.

 

One sting can ruin your holiday.

 

I've seen tons after the rains in Hua Hin.