Beach Access In Chaweng

[MartinChaweng]

Not sure if discussed before, but can anyone advice if the access to the beach (by passing a resort/hotel) is legally allowed? Or can those resorts/hotels block people going to the beach?

[Boater]

Not sure if discussed before, but can anyone advice if the access to the beach (by passing a resort/hotel) is legally allowed? Or can those resorts/hotels block people going to the beach?

They can block you going through the hotel as private property , but you can still use the beach ...

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[phetphet]

As boater says...

But I always ask politely if I can cut through to the beach, and have so far never been refused permission.

[Tropicalevo]

Unfortunately some hotels are starting to 'play tough'. ie No access under any circumstances.

Usually if you spend some money at the resrt (drinks, food etc) - they would let you go through.

There are public access points though. eg end of the one way system. Chewang Noi etc

[Boater]

Unfortunately some hotels are starting to 'play tough'. ie No access under any circumstances.

Usually if you spend some money at the resrt (drinks, food etc) - they would let you go through.

There are public access points though. eg end of the one way system. Chewang Noi etc

Or you can access via ark bar or the passage next to tropical murphys .... Both places don't really mind if you walk through

[marstons]

As stated yes they can stop you walking though, there is also a public access at the turning to leam din road off the "beach road". Choeng Mon seems to be suffering the same fate although the head guy made samui Sala leave a public acess right through the middle of the hotel.

Ark bar seem to claiming more and more of the beach for themselves as well.

Legally nobody can stop you going onto any beach but they can stop you by denying acess, thats the theory but try pulling your jet ski on to Tong Sai beach hotels private beach and see what happens.

[ShadowDweller]

Been noticing "no outsiders " signs recently myself. Unfortunately one hotel that I always book my friends at when they visit now has such a sign, they will no longer get my business.

[samuibruno]

i pulled my boat onto the beach at tongsai bay once and they asked me to leave

i told them to ask the king first

they walked off and left me alone but they were not happy

[Tropicalevo]

Been noticing "no outsiders " signs recently myself. Unfortunately one hotel that I always book my friends at when they visit now has such a sign, they will no longer get my business.

Well done - that is the only way to treat them - and tell your friends

[depi]

This is what I dont like on Samui, everything is private and the best beaches are behind big resorts :/ Sweet Koh Phangan...

[robsamui]

Been noticing "no outsiders " signs recently myself. Unfortunately one hotel that I always book my friends at when they visit now has such a sign, they will no longer get my business.

This is a comparatively recent thing - over the last five or six years it's been happening more and more. To go with it you'll now find that security guards are becoming more frequent. I've spoken with several GMs of resorts and they've all said the same thing: that unknown/un-noticed outsiders have just walked in and broken into rooms and bungalows and this was happening regularly - hence the security.

In some ways this is irrational. First of all, without exception (with the 6 or 7 resorts in my particular case) every one of the outsiders was Thai - yet the security guards stop everyone. Second, there have been several instances of theft by the guests themselves from inside the resort - in each instance, single white males. On the other side of the coin, it was also getting to be commonplace that outsiders, in groups and singles, were simply wandering into the resort and camping at the side of the pool with their own picnic baskets. (And I have to be careful here, but one particular nationality which has appeared here en masse over the last several years, were the prime culprits.)

So what's the solution? Would shadowdweller and his friends be happier witheveryone having free access through his resort but end up with half their stuff missing and not be able to get a sunbed by the pool? (etc etc etc)

I have to say that none of the security guys I've been in contact with around the island were the sharpest knives in the drawer - in fact exactly the opposite. But what can a resort do?

R

[Tropicalevo]

This is what I dont like on Samui, everything is private and the best beaches are behind big resorts :/ Sweet Koh Phangan...

Utter rubbish. The only beach that I know that is difficult to get access to is Tongsai Bay and that can be reached by a scramble over some rocks. Not that it is one of the best beaches anyway.

You do get the odd resort or two that try to rope off a section of beach, but I make a point of walking through anyway.

Most beaches - easy, ready access.

As stated yes they can stop you walking though, there is also a public access at the turning to leam din road off the "beach road". Choeng Mon seems to be suffering the same fate although the head guy made samui Sala leave a public acess right through the middle of the hotel.

Ark bar seem to claiming more and more of the beach for themselves as well.

Legally nobody can stop you going onto any beach but they can stop you by denying acess, thats the theory but try pulling your jet ski on to Tong Sai beach hotels private beach and see what happens.

There is actually a government road running through the Sala resort almost to the beach. That is why there is access there and also why people park inside the resort. The resort cannot stop them on the road section.

[longtom]

Much more problems for Thais to get beach access through resorts. There might be reasons for that but still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, after all it is their country.

[Rooo]

Much more problems for Thais to get beach access through resorts. There might be reasons for that but still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, after all it is their country.

I am sure , that I have read somewhere, that Thai Nationals have right of access through any beach resort direct to the beach.

[Tropicalevo]

Much more problems for Thais to get beach access through resorts. There might be reasons for that but still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, after all it is their country.

I am sure , that I have read somewhere, that Thai Nationals have right of access through any beach resort direct to the beach.

I too was told that Thais have foot access across any land to get to their own land or to a beach/national park/common land etc.

[steelerian]

Where is Tongsai Bay? And is the beach there worth going through the hassle to get to?

[Tropicalevo]

Where is Tongsai Bay? And is the beach there worth going through the hassle to get to?

It is just north of Choengmon - at the Tongsai Bay Resort.

Unless you want to buy a beer at 5* resort prices ++ - then no, it is not worth a visit IMHO

[longtom]

Much more problems for Thais to get beach access through resorts. There might be reasons for that but still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, after all it is their country.

I am sure , that I have read somewhere, that Thai Nationals have right of access through any beach resort direct to the beach.

A lot of things are written somewhere.

[PoorSucker]

[TheLobster]

You can understand hotels/resorts not wanting general access through their property to the beach. It makes security a nightmare and puts their guests at a greater risk of being attacked or having something stolen.

[monkeycountry]

Security guard at Long Beach Lodge, next to Tropical Murphy's is an idiot. I have had problems visiting friends staying at the resort several times, and just last week I was eating at their restaurant with friends. One of my friends Thai wife for 10+ years, who came a bit later, was not allowed to come and eat with us, even after explaining to the security guard that we were eating at the restaurant. In the end she called us, we told the management, who then called the security guard to let her pass. He let her pass, but still followed her all the way to our table.

It's a shame that one idiot gets to ruin an otherwise nice day, as both the owner and the other staff at the resort are very nice!

[monkeycountry]

Rumour has it that the Central shopping mall has rented land in order to make a walkway from their upcoming shopping mall to the beach. Since the shopping mall is right in the center of Chaweng, that would make things alot easier for many people. Anyone know if this is true?

Oh, and if they are really smart, which I think they are, then they place a few vertical steel bars on that walkway, so the jetski mafia cannot block the whole thing with their cars and jetski as they have done at the other end of the beach.

Edited January 28, 2013 by monkeycountry

[parallaxtech]

Jetskis have also blocked the hotel entrance at Chaweng Beach. I'm very surprised that the hotel allows this as guests now have to enter through the service area where the trash bins are, which is hardly a nice impression for the guests. It must be a power struggle between the Thai owner and the mafia jetski owner so best to leave it to them to sort out. Many people have abandoned that beach simply because you can't find a parking spot. We're talking about thirty trailers, three pickup trucks, and two tractors blocking the road and parking lot from dawn to dusk. You must see it to believe it.

[ikbenhet]

I normally walk in and ask where the beach bar is.

no problems and works always.

[marstons]

Samui is one of the few places that have allowed building on the beach side of the beach road. Phuket Jontiem, Pattaya Songkla Cha Am ban Saray etc etc do not allow it. Most other resorts has a beach road where you can see the beach and ocean, Samui does not have this unfortunately.

Edited January 30, 2013 by marstons

[Gulfsailor]

Samui is one of the few places that have allowed building on the beach side of the beach road. Phuket Jontiem, Pattaya Songkla Cha Am ban Saray etc etc do not allow it. Most other resorts has a beach road where you can see the beach and ocean, Samui does not have this unfortunately.

True, on the other hand, Samui is thus one of the few places where one can actually stay in a beach resort and be on the beach while stepping out of your bungalow, unlike the other places mentioned where you first have to cross a busy road... From a tourist point of view, I'd know what I'd choose.

[marstons]

Samui is one of the few places that have allowed building on the beach side of the beach road. Phuket Jontiem, Pattaya Songkla Cha Am ban Saray etc etc do not allow it. Most other resorts has a beach road where you can see the beach and ocean, Samui does not have this unfortunately.

True, on the other hand, Samui is thus one of the few places where one can actually stay in a beach resort and be on the beach while stepping out of your bungalow, unlike the other places mentioned where you first have to cross a busy road... From a tourist point of view, I'd know what I'd choose.

horses for courses that market covers a small percentage of tourist, I personally like a beach road to drive around and sea the beach and ocean. beach roads are not exactly that busy. But if you pay 2-3-4 k per night in a hotel yes maybe every day coming out hotel onto beach is good but would also be nice to drive around and island and see the beach and sea.

[sketcher]

Samui is one of the few places that have allowed building on the beach side of the beach road. Phuket Jontiem, Pattaya Songkla Cha Am ban Saray etc etc do not allow it. Most other resorts has a beach road where you can see the beach and ocean, Samui does not have this unfortunately.

True, on the other hand, Samui is thus one of the few places where one can actually stay in a beach resort and be on the beach while stepping out of your bungalow, unlike the other places mentioned where you first have to cross a busy road... From a tourist point of view, I'd know what I'd choose.

horses for courses that market covers a small percentage of tourist, I personally like a beach road to drive around and sea the beach and ocean. beach roads are not exactly that busy. But if you pay 2-3-4 k per night in a hotel yes maybe every day coming out hotel onto beach is good but would also be nice to drive around and island and see the beach and sea.

Personally if i was to sit on a beach i would rather have one that i didnt have to listen to the rumble of passing traffic or the onstant tooting of taxi horns trying to pick up a fare. I've always considerd beaches to be places to go to to relax or have fun, not to drive past. Still many places on Samui you can see the sea and the beach from the road and even a couple of viewpoints where you can stop to admire it all from the drivers seat. As you say horses for courses!