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Cheapest Thailand Island For The Price


gmoney909

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i will be traveling to thailand in august - i live in the usa and im trying to find the cheapest island beach to stay ---thats safe and also most cost effective-

ive noticed that pattaya is cheap but i wasnt sure --

thanks in advance

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Pattaya is probably the cheapest beach resort in Thailand however it isnt an island. Most islands are more expensive, the excuse being transport costs. Koh Samet is reasonably cheap for food etc but lacks much budget accomodation. Depends how long you are here. Samui, cheaper accomodation can still be found but a return flight from Bangkok-Samui is almost 10,000 Baht so any savings are soaked up by this. What do you want to do when you are hear, factor in travelling, will you rent a moped?..if not taxis are extorianate on Samaui and also Phuket...If you have time and just want a beach bungalow to read a book and relax then Koh Pangnan would be great....12 hour bus journey from Bangkok and plenty budget accomodation with an island feel to it.

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Yeah its the low season, so any place really would be fine. The price differences among the individual islands are small, but of course more than the mainland and probably Phuket.

Is this your first time out there? I would recommend Koh Samui first, then the neighboring islands. Take the Lomprayah service if u dont wanna spend 3,500B for the flight. Im always in Samui, im going there in July...

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Koh Samet wasn't too bad, fairly cheap to get to, nice diving around the island. Koh Chang was really cheap when I was there but it doesn't feel much like an island due to its size. You can get any type of accomodations from a cheap and simple bungalow on remote parts of the island to a huge and expensive resort. I've heard it hasn't been very popular in the last number of years though. Do you want a party style island, wild and remote island, or a modern resort type of island? You can get any type in Thailand.

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If you want cheap, avoid the tourist popular islands. Samui is quite expensive. Samet is getting more and more expensive just like Chang. But you can still find cheap places if you scout around. Koh Phangnan has some cheap backpacker type accomodations.

There are some really cheap places down south, and some nice places south of Hua Hin. Also south of Rayong along the coast are some cheap places. But many of these hotels are Thai oriented and hard to find on the internet.

What are you looking to do? Party or just be lazy on the beach? What's your budget?

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koh tao is great. You can get there reasonably cheaply from bangkok, and rooms are 500B and the island has a good vibe

I did like Koh Tao (but i've done it to death now, so won't be going back for some time), but 500B rooms are few and far between, basic and not close to the beach. You can get this price of room if you stay in a place and do some scuba courses and fun dives. As for sight seeing, very minimal, both above and below the water.

Koh Samet is nice enough aswell, but very small. Great for a few days chilling out, but personally i'd go stir crazy after a week, I need to get out and explore.

Maybe you could have a week or so on Koh Phangan, and then get a boat across to Koh Tao for a change of scene.

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I haven't been to either but I have heard good things about Koh Phayam and Koh Chang (not the big tourist orientated island near Trat but the one close to Ranong). Both pretty quiet and only accessible by ferry from Ranong. Four hours north of Phuket if you are unfamiliar with the area,

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I spent a week @ Koh Chang in Sept 2010. There is not a lot to do around there. Some nice beaches & Bungalows. Rainy season is dicey, due to constant very dangerous road washouts. We cleared out of there after a week. Had to hike along a dodgy bypass for a road washout that killed 4/5 people at a resort below the road. We went to Koh Samet in Sept 2011. It is the driest Thai Island, so ideal in the rainy season. However; as per above posts, there is not a lot to do around there. Not much coral & reef fish in close to shore. Decent off shore diving. Also roads on the Isaland are deliberately kept in poor condition, so the motor Boat Mafia can extort money off gullable tourists @ 1000 ThB per passenger. Just take the regular 30 ThB ferries from the port of Phe; which is about 1 hr by bus from Pattaya or 3-4 hrs from Bangkok.

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I spent a week @ Koh Chang in Sept 2010. There is not a lot to do around there. Some nice beaches & Bungalows. Rainy season is dicey, due to constant very dangerous road washouts. We cleared out of there after a week. Had to hike along a dodgy bypass for a road washout that killed 4/5 people at a resort below the road. We went to Koh Samet in Sept 2011. It is the driest Thai Island, so ideal in the rainy season. However; as per above posts, there is not a lot to do around there. Not much coral & reef fish in close to shore. Decent off shore diving. Also roads on the Isaland are deliberately kept in poor condition, so the motor Boat Mafia can extort money off gullable tourists @ 1000 ThB per passenger. Just take the regular 30 ThB ferries from the port of Phe; which is about 1 hr by bus from Pattaya or 3-4 hrs from Bangkok.

Not quite true - money has been allocated to improve roads etc on Koh Samet, but corrupt officials do a runner with the funds. Happens every few years as they rotate staff responsible for the island.

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Does it have to be an island? There's tons of nice little out of the way towns all down the coast, with cheap bungalows, nice food and great beaches. You always pay a premium to get to and stay on an island.

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I agree with the previous poster as per koh kret....it's beautiful!!! Luxurious beaches, plenty of very inexpensive lodging and only a 10 minute trip from Bangkok.....the airport there is very small so (similar to the 100% true story "The Beach") it is advisable to swim there. This is such an off the beaten trek paradise that when you try to book reservations tour agencies will probably try to talk you out of it-don't listen, they just want to keep it a secret. Have a fun trip!

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If you want laid back, I quite like Koh Chang, its about 4 hours from Pattaya by minibus, about the size of the Isle of Wight, there's some great beaches down the south of the island but the livliest place is White sands, I'll be going there in November, my 3rd visit!!

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I live in Pattaya and pay 6,000 baht a Month for a fully furnished room. It is great if you are on a budget. No it is not an island and it gets busy on the streets but once you walk down to the beach you can laze about in a beach chair for 30 baht for the whole day. Whilst on the beach it is ok, relaxing and it isn't costing you a packet. If you don't like all those bars and the doof doof music then you can peacfully watch TV in your quiet room, I have nights in myself. Nearby Naklua beach is a very quiet hang out and cheap also. Quite frankly I have been to most of the islands mentioned and I wouldn't change my little room here for any of them. All the best.

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