Your Favorite (cheap) Beaches

[Invader Zim]

Hi guys,

Great forum.

I discovered Thailand last year. I went for a few weeks, and ended up staying for five months in Chiang Mai. Perhaps this sounds odd, but the prices were so cheap (5000 baht/mo for an apartment with Wi-Fi/cable/AC/room cleaning), and the people so great, I just couldn't leave.

Family matters dragged me away, but now I get to return on Tuesday.

My question:

I'm on a bit of a budget for the first few months untill my finances get worked out, but I would love to spend that time on the beach. Are there any beaches that are comparable in cost to Chiang Mai?

The only real necessity is a good internet connection (for work), but a beautiful ocean to jump in would be paradise.

So any suggestions for nice, cheap beaches would be awesome. I'm not too concerned about a social life. Spent a month in a temple (WRP), actually. There are cool people everywhere.

All feedback is really appreciated.

Thanks!

Z.

(PS And any other suggestions would be great. I plan to stay in Thailand for about a year. Maybe longer ...)

[jackr]

Welcome to TV, Invader.

As far as cheapish beaches go, Hua Hin is pretty good - just to the southwest of Bangkok (180kms), on the rail line and cheap by bus, too. There will be some cheap rooms there and it's a fair sized town, yet also compact to boot with all facilities - rooms on the beach will be pricey but there are some awesome places. The beach is nice, although touristy, what with horses galloping up and down and nearly expensive restaurant operations, but it's not spoilt like some others in Thailand where the entire beach is covered with deck chairs. It's also a wide and long beach, ideal for strolling along.

Check out the Hua Hin forum on TV for some further info...all the best.

[Rj 81]

The cheapest I can think of is Koh Samet. It's only 2 hours from BKK by car, then 20mins on a boat. Smaller and cheaper than Samui, Phuket ect..

[Ulysses G.]

Pattaya is the best deal in SEA for cheap accomodation, food and temporary girlfriends, however, though it looks fine, it is not recommended to swim at the beach. Walk along the beach, but swim in your hotel or apartment swimming pool.

Stay at the APEC hotel for 400 baht per night with air con, a swimming pool, cable TV, fridge, a room safe and the best GIANT buffet on the beach for a very reasonable price, but make sure that you ask for a room in the back away from the beer bars.

No extra for short-term "friends".

[Khun Yak]

Check out Ko Lipe in the Taotaru (misspelled?) National Park. Thats the best tropical getaway you can possibly think of. The high season bungalows start at about 450THB/ngt but I'm pretty sure there are even cheaper opportunities.

The water/ocean is the most blue ever...and its simply amazing. Not many people know it at all, so not really many tourists around...

Check it out: This is the place to stay

Cheers,

KY

[dantilley]

Pattaya and Hua Hin are both quite pricey in my experience. Koh Pha Ngan is very cheap and Koh Lipe which Khun Yak mentioned also gets my seal of approval. But there are loads of cheap islands and beaches around: Koh Samet is cheap-ish, Koh Chang's reasonable, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao... take your pick really, but if you're on a budget I'd avoid Phuket, Pattaya and Phi Phi.

[mittheimp]

Pattaya is horrible, Koh Samet would be my choice (no comparison)

[Misplaced]

Check out Ko Lipe in the Taotaru (misspelled?) National Park. Thats the best tropical getaway you can possibly think of. The high season bungalows start at about 450THB/ngt but I'm pretty sure there are even cheaper opportunities.

The water/ocean is the most blue ever...and its simply amazing. Not many people know it at all, so not really many tourists around...

Check it out: This is the place to stay

Cheers,

KY

Gorgeous, would love to go there, BUTTTTT, The instability of the south scarse me a bit. You never what people going to do in Pattani (muslim land). RIght now I don't think they are fond of foreigners. I could be wrong but personally, I wouldn'y take the chance

[Florin]

Another vote for Koh Samet, which has something for everybody: great food, cheap accommodation, nightlife and also great beaches in some parts of the island.

[jackr]

Note, Tarutau is seasonal and a national park; Pattaya is highly sleezy, although fun for a few nights, and perhaps not your cup of tea going by your post; while Samet does have cheap digs, you'll be lucky to get running water all day and the mozzies are a real pest; Pha Ngan is a right pain to get to; Samui is a right pain; Phuket is a rip-off and so is Samui for that matter; Krabi is nice although getting mega touristy. Songkhla is actually nice right down on the southeastern coast, although the recent troubles may unsettle you. I mentioned Hua Hin as it is sort of in-between all these others IMO and really not that pricey - of course, there are pricey rooms but there are cheap rooms, too, and the proximity to Bangkok is good.

[Neeranam]

Pattaya is horrible, Koh Samet would be my choice (no comparison)

Quite, there is no comparison. Samet is much better. If you are a whoremonger, you can still do it there.

[sabaijai]

Try Ko Payam and Ko Chang off the coast of Ranong, cheap and low-key. Ko Pha-Ngan is the cheapest island in Thailand but can get crowded.

Cost of rooms on Ko Lipe is a bit above the norm due to shorter supply. Lovely place though.

Am moving this thread to the Thailand Travel Forum.

[Invader Zim]

This has just been amazing feedback, thank you everyone.

From the looks of things, I have a choice between an amazing retreat (Ko Lipet), some smaller islands (Koh Pha Ngan, Ko Payam, Ko Chang, etc...), Ko Samet, and Hua Hin.

I've heard stories, rumors, and myth regarding Pattaya ... and those who have been tell me that's not the half of it. But I'm not sure I can trust myself there, so I better pass.

I must say, looking at the pictures, the small islands are what I envisioned Thailand to be. I could blissfully spend a few months in such an environment swimming, lifting, practicing my buddhism, and ... working?

That's the only snag I see. Going through some of the various websites, I get the impression that on most of the islands there is maybe one internet cafe. As I'll be online for about 9-10 hours a day (ugh), it would be very nice to have my own connection, or at least some privacy.

I don't ask much, just give me a low cost island paradise with ADSL piped into my beach hut.

LOL!

Hua Hin seems the most reasonable choice at this point. Looking online, it appears that there are some small places to stay for about 10,000 baht a month. About twice as expensive as Chiang Mai, but that's to be expected. And I might be able to find something a little cheaper once I get there, although I'm not holding my breath.

I would so be on any of the islands if they could provide the internet access/privacy I need, but that looks a little shaky.

Thanks again for all the responses, you guys rock.

All the best,

Zim

[dantilley]

Well, if you've settled on Hua Hin as your choice then, yes, that's probably a good decision. If you want more mainland-type stability regarding the internet connection and so-on then Hua Hin should suffice. Also, there's a fair amount of activity in Hua Hin to keep you occupied: the night market's great, there's a bit of nightlife (not exactly party-central though) and if you play golf then Hua Hin is one of Thailand's top golfing destinations.

If you need that constant internet connection then you can probably write off Pha Ngan - too many power cuts! (although I think they recently upgraded their main power line, which runs under the sea from Samui, so that situation may be better now) Koh Lipe also had only one internet cafe when I was there and they were charging 5 Baht a minute.