How Do You Get To The Beach?

[fezman]

Hi,all

been here on Samui for a few weeks and few times before and want to know how you get to the beach ,there is no or very little public access or car parks like in Oz etc.

do you park out front of a restraunt or resort and just walk through to the beach ?

do you have to use the chairs and pay for drinks or food ?

do they own the sand in front of there resort ?

let me know what you all do ,thanks .

[Boater]

Fezman , where in samui are you staying ? There are millions of ways to get to the beach , but let us know what beach you want to access

[fezman]

Fezman , where in samui are you staying ? There are millions of ways to get to the beach , but let us know what beach you want to access

thanks boater , I am in Lamai ,I know of the acces in the middle of the beach there .

but beaches like silver beach as far as I know are only accesable through resorts etc ,I have been there a few times and parked out the front ,just wonder how pissed off they may get .

but any info would be great ,thanks mate .

[tolsti]

Not wishing to hi-jack the thread but can someone answer this question?

''Is it possible for a hotel to ''own'' the beach in front of it and put up signs to the effect of Private Beach, hotel guests only 'Trespassers will be prosecuted'

My understanding is that no-one may own a beach.

[Tropicalevo]

100 % sure - all beaches and coastline are owned by His Majesty the King.

However, the hotel may own the access to the beach. eg Tongsai Bay in Choengmon

The hotel can stop you from using their access, furniture and facilities, but they cannot stop you from sitting on the sand.

Hotels/restaurants all differ on a case by case basis.

MOST will give you access and sun loungers if you eat/drink there.

Some will want to charge for the lounger as well.

A few will only give access and sun loungers to residents at the hotel (this one is becoming a bit more common sadly)

Just ask (and say - hey, I want to spend some money here. Most will say 'welcome')

[fezman]

Not wishing to hi-jack the thread but can someone answer this question?

''Is it possible for a hotel to ''own'' the beach in front of it and put up signs to the effect of Private Beach, hotel guests only 'Trespassers will be prosecuted'

My understanding is that no-one may own a beach.

I agree ,it seems like everyone that has a resort or bar on the beach spreads chairs tables and crap all over the place and you can hardly walk along the beach let alone spread a towel out .

[richard_smith237]

As I understand it all marine front land (i.e beach) up to a certain distance from the water (not sure how much) is owned by the crown and therefor free and available for public enjoyment.

Access to that marine front land is a different issue and hence some resorts can in effect have a private beach.

[Jimi007]

I don't live in Samui, I live in Phuket. But the beaches, except for a few in Thailand are regarded as the the King's Land. Some people may squat or actually own land with the access road to the beach and may charge a fee for parking and access on their land. But the mean high tide line is the King's land. I have walked through many restaurants and resorts to check out the beaches. Just dress respectably, carry a small pack with a towel, etc. and they won't bother you. And no you don't have to pay for a beach chair if you just sit on the sand. But a beach chair and beverage service is a nice treat once in a while...

Cheers, have fun! Jimi

Geez! I guess i don't type fast enough!

Edited September 28, 2010 by Jimi007

[limbos]

Have done the same at Silver beach, but always made sure to order drinks and/or food there as well and there was never an issue!

[joe84330]

the only time you'll have a "private" beach in thailand is in the sense of inaccessibility ala four seasons here on samui and others like it. you could still swim up to it or land your boat there but shouldn't use their facilities without being a paying customer.

[mattcodes]

Tongsai Bay in Choengmon

Park your bike, grab a 70 baht beer no problem.. Skip the food though.

[crusty]

For a start, unlike Oz there are no car parks near the beaches on Samui and as in Oz, you can take your own folding deck chair and plonk it anywhere on a beach as they are public. I agree parts of Lamai and North Chaweng are ruined by illegal restaurant extensions, but all of Chaweng Yai and Chaweng Noi and Mae Nam are free to stroll and sit where you like. Before Samui's beach roads were cut, the landowners were asked whether they wanted the new road where the existing beachfront dirt track was, or cut behind their properties. After seeing how the deckchair mafias had ruined Pattaya, Jomtien and Phuket's beaches, they voted for it to be cut behind which has resulted in Samui's beaches to be among the best in Thailand. It's a hard trade off, but do you allow private beachfront property where it is kept pristine, or have tour buses, trucks and cars full of litterbugs and drunks trashing the beachfront ?

Edited September 29, 2010 by crusty

[maccaroni man]

the only time you'll have a "private" beach in thailand is in the sense of inaccessibility ala four seasons here on samui and others like it. you could still swim up to it or land your boat there but shouldn't use their facilities without being a paying customer.

four seasons is happy to drive you to the beach if you check at reception free of charge.

[Eric1949]

I don't live in Samui, I live in Phuket. But the beaches, except for a few in Thailand are regarded as the the King's Land. Some people may squat or actually own land with the access road to the beach and may charge a fee for parking and access on their land. But the mean high tide line is the King's land. I have walked through many restaurants and resorts to check out the beaches. Just dress respectably, carry a small pack with a towel, etc. and they won't bother you. And no you don't have to pay for a beach chair if you just sit on the sand. But a beach chair and beverage service is a nice treat once in a while...

Cheers, have fun! Jimi

Geez! I guess i don't type fast enough!

From what I understand, the beaches belong to the crown. The crown owns the land to the first coconut tree. Maybe wrong, maybe not?

[joe84330]

the only time you'll have a "private" beach in thailand is in the sense of inaccessibility ala four seasons here on samui and others like it. you could still swim up to it or land your boat there but shouldn't use their facilities without being a paying customer.

four seasons is happy to drive you to the beach if you check at reception free of charge.

did you bring your own picnic basket full of your own food and drinks?

[Jimi007]

I don't live in Samui, I live in Phuket. But the beaches, except for a few in Thailand are regarded as the the King's Land. Some people may squat or actually own land with the access road to the beach and may charge a fee for parking and access on their land. But the mean high tide line is the King's land. I have walked through many restaurants and resorts to check out the beaches. Just dress respectably, carry a small pack with a towel, etc. and they won't bother you. And no you don't have to pay for a beach chair if you just sit on the sand. But a beach chair and beverage service is a nice treat once in a while...

Cheers, have fun! Jimi

Geez! I guess i don't type fast enough!

From what I understand, the beaches belong to the crown. The crown owns the land to the first coconut tree. Maybe wrong, maybe not?

Many beaches don't have coconut trees, so, I believe it's the high tide line. I know at least one beach on a small island off the southern end of Phuket is owned by Evanson Resort. You can't go to it by any boat other than theirs...

Edited September 29, 2010 by Jimi007

[crusty]

I don't live in Samui, I live in Phuket. But the beaches, except for a few in Thailand are regarded as the the King's Land. Some people may squat or actually own land with the access road to the beach and may charge a fee for parking and access on their land. But the mean high tide line is the King's land. I have walked through many restaurants and resorts to check out the beaches. Just dress respectably, carry a small pack with a towel, etc. and they won't bother you. And no you don't have to pay for a beach chair if you just sit on the sand. But a beach chair and beverage service is a nice treat once in a while...

Cheers, have fun! Jimi

Geez! I guess i don't type fast enough!

From what I understand, the beaches belong to the crown. The crown owns the land to the first coconut tree. Maybe wrong, maybe not?

Many beaches don't have coconut trees, so, I believe it's the high tide line. I know at least one beach on a small island off the southern end of Phuket is owned by Evanson Resort. You can't go to it by any boat other than theirs...

That's not true ! You access that beach by turning left at the 7/11 past The Evason, the road ends at a parking lot and you take the steps down to the beach. Fishermen use it, speedboats load up their Japanese tourists there and many Thai local families are there on weekends. Been on Phuket long ?

[Jimi007]

I don't live in Samui, I live in Phuket. But the beaches, except for a few in Thailand are regarded as the the King's Land. Some people may squat or actually own land with the access road to the beach and may charge a fee for parking and access on their land. But the mean high tide line is the King's land. I have walked through many restaurants and resorts to check out the beaches. Just dress respectably, carry a small pack with a towel, etc. and they won't bother you. And no you don't have to pay for a beach chair if you just sit on the sand. But a beach chair and beverage service is a nice treat once in a while...

Cheers, have fun! Jimi

Geez! I guess i don't type fast enough!

From what I understand, the beaches belong to the crown. The crown owns the land to the first coconut tree. Maybe wrong, maybe not?

Many beaches don't have coconut trees, so, I believe it's the high tide line. I know at least one beach on a small island off the southern end of Phuket is owned by Evanson Resort. You can't go to it by any boat other than theirs...

That's not true ! You access that beach by turning left at the 7/11 past The Evason, the road ends at a parking lot and you take the steps down to the beach. Fishermen use it, speedboats load up their Japanese tourists there and many Thai local families are there on weekends. Been on Phuket long ?

Yes I've been to that beach...I'm not talking about it or on Phuket itself. If you read,I said; a small island off of Phuket, the first one, Koh Bohn, before Coral Island has a "private" beach. Evanson used to have a barge anchored off the beach for para-sailing, behind a boat. My landlords son is the president on the Rawai Longtail Boat Assn. and I just asked him if we can go there, he said it's expensive to go, everything pang yert, chairs, food, drink, but can you can go, by boat. Unless of course you can walk or drive on water!

[crusty]

Sorry Jimi, I stand corrected, the beach next to Evason is public and indeed the original owners ( Phuket Island Resort ?) before they sold to Evason, had a nearby island for the use of their guests. I can only imagine they had leased the island and this then brings in a whole new set of rules such as the leased birds nest islands in Chumpol, Samui and Krabi, where the rents, said to be in the billions of baht annually, go into a " Secret Fund" controlled by the miltary and unaccounted for.

[Jimi007]

Sorry Jimi, I stand corrected, the beach next to Evason is public and indeed the original owners ( Phuket Island Resort ?) before they sold to Evason, had a nearby island for the use of their guests. I can only imagine they had leased the island and this then brings in a whole new set of rules such as the leased birds nest islands in Chumpol, Samui and Krabi, where the rents, said to be in the billions of baht annually, go into a " Secret Fund" controlled by the miltary and unaccounted for.

Hi Crusty, I wanted to thank you for you reply last night. But the TV server seemed to be down and then my power was out this morning. It just came back on... A few of the islands around here are Military controlled I've heard. I'll have to talk with my land lord and his son more about it. They used to have bungalows out on Coral Island, but they're kind of old now. Natives of Phuket, well connected. I've been leasing this house from them for 4 and a half years now, never any problems... I lived in Patong over 5 years ago, couldn't stand it anymore, even though I was up on the high road, Ha Sip Pee road... Boy has that place changed over the years. Now they are trying their best to over build in Rawai as well. But it's still very quiet where I am!

Anyway, cheers, Jimi