Beach recommendations

[Gottfrid]

9 hours ago, susanlea said:

That is not the case at all. You can stay anywhere and access the beach via various sois.

I know they have some decent beaches. Otherwise I have found a lot that are very short and limited with a fence stopping the water. However, I haven´t looked at all so maybe I missed a lot too.

[charleskerins]

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

No of course I have not been to many islands. Just talking a lot of BS, and totally missed that during my 25 years in this country. Are you for real? Also complaining about the food. Might you just be one of the many foreigners in Thailand that can´t be without their food menu from home?

Sentence 4 guilty

[susanlea]

7 hours ago, stoner said:

 

trang is worth it for the peace and quiet. Don't count it out. Koh Lanta is good. Closer to you worth it is Koh Chang (airport close). lots of peace and quiet there. great beaches and some really nice resorts. i stayed at siam bay resort a few times. beach isn't great but everything else is awesome. go further down the island to bailan beach (i think) and its almost a throw back to the old thailand. very limited still and not too built up. 

Lanta is not good at all unless you want to be surrounded by lots of Russians, similar to Phuket. Chang would be better but coming into wet season.

[susanlea]

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

No of course I have not been to many islands. Just talking a lot of BS, and totally missed that during my 25 years in this country. Are you for real? Also complaining about the food. Might you just be one of the many foreigners in Thailand that can´t be without their food menu from home?

Hard to find good Thai food on islands apart from Phuket, Samui and Chang. The minor islands aren't known for good food and mostly cater to western taste which means bland Pad Thai and things like that.

[susanlea]

If you want to visit a few places then Cha-am, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ban Krut, Bang Saphan, Chumphon can all be visited by train at low cost. Going to multiple islands is more difficult. 

[EVENKEEL]

10 hours ago, susanlea said:

That is not the case at all. You can stay anywhere and access the beach via various sois.

Why not stay at a nice place on the beach with beautiful pool, great buffet breakfast. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment.

[susanlea]

5 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Why not stay at a nice place on the beach with beautiful pool, great buffet breakfast. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment.

That's true if you have the budget for it. It will likely cost 2000-4000 baht a night though for beachfront with good pool and food. I stayed in 5 hotels in different areas and totally enjoyed seeing different parts of the city and all the rooms were inexpensive. Got to see all the markets, local areas. Visited 5 beaches in 7 days. Having done that I would do it again. Moving hotel is easy. Check out noon, take a Grab to new hotel and often early check in is allowed if not have lunch then check in. Staying in 1 hotel on 1 beach I would find less interesting. If I was visiting Samui again I would totally stay near 5 different beaches. I would do that with Pattaya as well. The cleaner should have moved around like that. Go see Rayong too.

[stoner]

34 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Lanta is not good at all unless you want to be surrounded by lots of Russians, similar to Phuket. Chang would be better but coming into wet season.

 

russians are all over and i don't really associate with them so its of no bother. but ya chang in wet season is tough. 

[susanlea]

5 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

russians are all over and i don't really associate with them so its of no bother. but ya chang in wet season is tough. 

All over the south. Didn't notice them in Hua Hin.

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, susanlea said:

Hard to find good Thai food on islands apart from Phuket, Samui and Chang. The minor islands aren't known for good food and mostly cater to western taste which means bland Pad Thai and things like that.

It all depends on taste and wallet I suppose. Here you are talking about bland Pad Thai, which is some kind of street food for backpackers. I am referring to restaurants or a nice evening on the beach seafood dinner/buffet. Anyway, never had any problems finding good food on islands, and I have experience as a chef for 5 years i fine dining.

[susanlea]

9 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

It all depends on taste and wallet I suppose. Here you are talking about bland Pad Thai, which is some kind of street food for backpackers. I am referring to restaurants or a nice evening on the beach seafood dinner/buffet. Anyway, never had any problems finding good food on islands, and I have experience as a chef for 5 years i fine dining.

Name these great restaurants, price and location.

[KhunLA]

11 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

It all depends on taste and wallet I suppose. Here you are talking about bland Pad Thai, which is some kind of street food for backpackers. I am referring to restaurants or a nice evening on the beach seafood dinner/buffet. Anyway, never had any problems finding good food on islands, and I have experience as a chef for 5 years i fine dining.

I don't know about 'fine' dining, as my USA experiences & TH version of, are completely different.   But agree, I have no problem finding excellent food when O&A, especially on the few islands I've visited.   More a mainland surfside kind of guy.

 

You can't find excellent food, you're not looking very hard.  Usually have to go more than 50 meters from your hotel.  Advantage of self driving & good research.

 

Can be a bit more challenging in Nakhon Nowhere, but most don't travel there anyway.

[susanlea]

Just now, KhunLA said:

I don't know about 'fine' dining, as my USA experiences & TH version of, are completely different.   But agree, I have no problem finding excellent food when O&A, especially on the few islands I've visited.   More a mainland surfside kind of guy.

 

You can't find excellent food, you're not looking very hard.  Usually have to go more than 50 meters from your hotel.  Advantage of self driving & good research.

 

Can be a bit more challenging in Nakhon Nowhere, but most don't travel there anyway.

Which are the great restaurants on Phi Phi and Lanta?

[Gottfrid]

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

I don't know about 'fine' dining, as my USA experiences & TH version of, are completely different.   But agree, I have no problem finding excellent food when O&A, especially on the few islands I've visited.   More a mainland surfside kind of guy.

 

You can't find excellent food, you're not looking very hard.  Usually have to go more than 50 meters from your hotel.  Advantage of self driving & good research.

 

Can be a bit more challenging in Nakhon Nowhere, but most don't travel there anyway.

Right, I know what you mean. I live in that Nowhere place 😉 However, there are some fairly good choices even here. Mostly easy to solve my problem as I can order what I need online from Bangkok, Pattaya or Hua Hin. After that, I already told I am not a stranger to the kitchen 🙂 

[Gottfrid]

10 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Name these great restaurants, price and location.

Not worth the hassle. As I said, we differ in taste. Some have a working pallet, and some don´t. Anyway, I will give you a few choices:

Koh Chang: Babylon Koh Chang, Koh Chang Seafood, Sea Breeze, Siam Kitchen

 

Koh Samui: Saffron Banyan Tree, Phensiri Thai, The Island View, Sala Thai

 

Koh Tao: Bansong Kitchen, Simple Life

 

Koh Samed: Summerday

 

As I say, up to you.

[susanlea]

5 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Not worth the hassle. As I said, we differ in taste. Some have a working pallet, and some don´t. Anyway, I will give you a few choices:

Koh Chang: Babylon Koh Chang, Koh Chang Seafood, Sea Breeze, Siam Kitchen

 

Koh Samui: Saffron Banyan Tree, Phensiri Thai, The Island View, Sala Thai

 

Koh Tao: Bansong Kitchen, Simple Life

 

Koh Samed: Summerday

 

As I say, up to you.

Does the average dish cost more than 200 baht?

[Gottfrid]

5 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Does the average dish cost more than 200 baht?

But please, just leave it. First you post there are no good food and restaurants on the islands. As a reply I post that it´s about taste and wallet, which means money. Now we are in all about money again. Just give it a rest. I have already given you alternatives. You can afford, go try.

 

And yes, mostly good and tasty dishes cost more than 200 baht. It´s possible to find good and decent food between 70-150 as well.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 6/4/2024 at 9:34 PM, Kinok Farang said:

I didn't say Phuket was an ideal place to holiday,but for white sand beaches there is maybe a dozen to go at on the west coast.

And yes i have been on every beach you mention and i think Koh Lak beats most of them.Everyone has their preferences and i like you have been a Thaibeachlover in the past.

PS,haven't been to Samet for 20 years but the beaches there took some beating years ago.

Last time I went to Samet the entire island was a rubbish tip, the village was disgusting, the road was rubbish, the pier was a threat to life and the National Park officials just took the money without doing anything for it.

 

First time I went in the 90s it was OK, but the beaches were never as good as those on Samui or Phangan. I had my first dose of dengue there, so didn't see as much as I'd like to have.

I recall the hut I stayed in had electrics that were a threat to life. When I complained to the management they told me to leave if I didn't like it, to which I retorted that I was leaving.

[susanlea]

Just now, Gottfrid said:

But please, just leave it. First you post there are no good food and restaurants on the islands. As a reply I post that it´s about taste and wallet, which means money. Now we are in all about money again. Just give it a rest. I have already given you alternatives. You can afford, go try.

Five star hotels have good restaurants but a 3 week holiday eating in them is expensive. Most of your list is on the larger islands as I said. You couldn't name 1 on Phi Phi or Lanta.

 

[KhunLA]

35 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Which are the great restaurants on Phi Phi and Lanta?

Haven't been to either in over 18 years.  But dined very well when I was there.

 

Don't even know if any of the places I've eaten at are still open since the situation the past couple years.  Only returned to a couple favorites since then, and still operating.  Not fine dining, but tasty surfside dining.  

 

Unless another pandemic, doubt if we'd be returning to Phuket.   Always use to pop into KataMama Seafood when there, though last time, no parking, so gave them a pass.  And why we won't be going back to Phuket, too congested.

 

One of the only places still open during the situation, since packed with locals, and not dependent on international tourist customers.

 

When O&A, we usually don't revisit any place twice, as not there long enough, and prefer to sample new venues.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

But please, just leave it. First you post there are no good food and restaurants on the islands. As a reply I post that it´s about taste and wallet, which means money. Now we are in all about money again. Just give it a rest. I have already given you alternatives. You can afford, go try.

 

And yes, mostly good and tasty dishes cost more than 200 baht. It´s possible to find good and decent food between 70-150 as well.

Gosh, it's like some go to an island based on the restaurants. Silly me, I thought people went for the ambiance of a nice beach.

My go to restaurant meal was always fried rice chicken as it's quite hard to mess that up. Not that I had a favourite restaurant for it.

[susanlea]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Last time I went to Samet the entire island was a rubbish tip, the village was disgusting, the road was rubbish, the pier was a threat to life and the National Park officials just took the money without doing anything for it.

 

First time I went in the 90s it was OK, but the beaches were never as good as those on Samui or Phangan. I had my first dose of dengue there, so didn't see as much as I'd like to have.

I recall the hut I stayed in had electrics that were a threat to life. When I complained to the management they told me to leave if I didn't like it, to which I retorted that I was leaving.

Same issue with Lanta and Phi Phi in some areas. The ferry to islands is often the highlight. That's why I stopped visiting. I would give the largest island another visit but the smaller ones aren't worth the cost and time.

 

Today I did a search for hotels with pools and gyms in many cities to see what value can be found. Hua Hin was only beaten by Chiang Rai for price however the Chiang Rai options looked older.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Five star hotels have good restaurants but a 3 week holiday eating in them is expensive. Most of your list is on the larger islands as I said. You couldn't name 1 on Phi Phi or Lanta.

 

 Seriously, does anyone choose an island destination based on the restaurants?

Five star hotels on the islands! Goodness me, I hadn't realised that they were that destroyed.

[Gottfrid]

4 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Five star hotels have good restaurants but a 3 week holiday eating in them is expensive. Most of your list is on the larger islands as I said. You couldn't name 1 on Phi Phi or Lanta.

 

Koh Lanta: Laanta Seafood, The Sisters

 

Phi Phi: Khun Va, Pha Noi

[Gottfrid]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Gosh, it's like some go to an island based on the restaurants. Silly me, I thought people went for the ambiance of a nice beach.

My go to restaurant meal was always fried rice chicken as it's quite hard to mess that up. Not that I had a favourite restaurant for it.

Yes, the discussion is silly, as you go to Islands for much more. Just trying to guide a lost soul. Fried rice is great in most places. I get that for lunch many times, as well as many other cheap dishes.

[susanlea]

2 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Koh Lanta: Laanta Seafood, The Sisters

 

Phi Phi: Khun Va, Pha Noi

I see you like visiting Tripadv to get ideas.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, susanlea said:

Same issue with Lanta and Phi Phi in some areas. The ferry to islands is often the highlight. That's why I stopped visiting. I would give the largest island another visit but the smaller ones aren't worth the cost and time.

 

Today I did a search for hotels with pools and gyms in many cities to see what value can be found. Hua Hin was only beaten by Chiang Rai for price however the Chiang Rai options looked older.

Lanta Villa used to be my go to destination, but haven't visited any beach in LOS since 2010 ( I don't consider Pattaya a beach ). Back then Lanta was a great destination as they couldn't ruin the ambience with long tail boats. Phi Phi was the worst for them. Phi Phi was OK before the tsunami, but they concreted it over after. Greed is a terrible sin.

[susanlea]

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 Seriously, does anyone choose an island destination based on the restaurants?

Five star hotels on the islands! Goodness me, I hadn't realised that they were that destroyed.

I would choose an island bases on beaches, convenience, activities, gyms, hotels, cost and food. I want to eat good food but pay a fair price.

 

When was the last time you visited a Thai island? I visited some last year.

[Gottfrid]

4 minutes ago, susanlea said:

I see you like visiting Tripadv to get ideas.

Nope, but I am sure they are all listed there, together with many more. But, as I say, just give it a rest. You have got your answers now. If you like and agree is totally up to you. As I see it you will continue to complain over not finding food to your likings or you just feeling lonely and want to chat forever. Have a nice day, and eat something good. If you can find it, that will say.

[thaibeachlovers]

12 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Samet is clean and beautiful. I used to go often, starting from 28 years ago. I agree it got beaten and maybe 15 years ago I checked out of a three night stay - at a good resort - after one day because it was filthy. I was with my parents and it was embarrassing, we checked out and went to Centara Grand Mirage in Pattaya! Yeah, it was that bad.

I didn't go back for maybe 17-18 years but went back a few years ago and was very pleasantly surprised. Been back a few times since and it is spotless, clean sand, clean water, great restaurants. My kids love it, I would recommend it to anyone (after definitely not recommending it for a long time).

Thailand has cleaned up its act in many respects. Samui is another place I used to go to regularly when I first came here but stopped for a long time. Now I love it again, clean and pretty.

That's good news about Samet. Last time I went it was filthy. I hope they made the piers safe too. Very dangerous last time I went.