Water Buffalo - estimate there are approaching 150 resorts of varying standards/pricing along the long stretch of Chao Lao.

'On the beach' is limiting - it's a fairly narrow strip between the road/sea, also prices a lot higher as a consequence

I can't recommend hotels/resorts, however a good guideline re location will help you cut many out of consideration.

The 'north/Rayong' end of the beach is known as Laem Sadet, resorts here but the beach is generally better for surfcasting/kayaking than swimming, drops off to deep water very quickly, it is signposted as a 'no-swim area'

At the other, south/Trat end of Chao Lao, some nice looking resorts/hotels but the beach here is more akin to mudflats at times.

Go for the middle! Between the CL Pier and the beach in front of the intersection with the dugong roundabout has the best, cleanest, safest sections of beach.

As examples, the recently opened Blues River Resort in range 4-10,000b a night, pool, restaurant etc; across the road, Ton Wa resort we've had numerous friends stay there, 600-1200 a night for small chalet, 5min walk to beach.

Chao Lao - Laem Sadet in distance.

Lots of options, enjoy your stay.

A post containing a link containing tales of prostitution has been removed.

Thanks for the advice gomangosteen!

We ended up booking a resort on Laem Sing (about 1.5km down from the river delta).

Heading there for Song Kran to get away from the Isaan village where we live. Gets a bit crazy up here (local mafia boys partying).

Thanks again!

swimming pools,

Where?

I don't know re Chan city - told some of the hotels have pools available for casual users/non-guests but have not needed, as near us we have the Tha Mai pool/fitness park area. Tha Mai is 12km from central Chan city; it's a great facility to have, well-maintained and good staff.

Tha Mai: A six-lane 25m pool, plus children’s pool. The next building houses an indoor gym, while outside there is an outdoor exercise park with 20 exercise stations, jogging track, children’s play area, two basketball courts, 5-aside football area, and regular weekly evening classes for aerobics and tai chi.

Each year the pool hosts the Chanthaburi Provincial Swimming Championships (usually in May); there are swim lessons held each day around 4-5.30pm which reserve three lanes.

Entry 40b adult, 10b children. Open Tues-Sun 1pm-7pm

Note: 'Proper' swim gear is a must - no shorts/t-shirts for females, bathing caps required; for males no baggy/board shorts

Male and female swim costumes and caps, towels, available for hire.

One thing that nobody seems to have mentioned here is the air quality in Chanthaburi.

I have finally decided that, for the sake of my health, I need to relocate. My wife & I had our house built here in my wife`s village in Phetchabun 21 years ago but the air quality has become steadily worse, especially these last 10 years. The worst offenders by far are the backyard charcoal makers & then comes those who still burn their rubbish in open pits even though we have a brilliant twice weekly garbage collection at an annual cost of 440Bt. Less than it would cost them to fill their pick-up, but many refuse to pay it. My wife has given up complaining to our kamnan, who is a neighbour, as he does nothing about the pollution.

Is the air in Chanthaburi clean?

That`s what I need to know as Chanthaburi appeals on many fronts.

^ Outside of the tightly packed city centre it's fine ... although there are scattered "rubbish burners" here too. No sugarcane or rice grown here .... so no burnoffs to worry about.

One thing that nobody seems to have mentioned here is the air quality in Chanthaburi.

I have finally decided that, for the sake of my health, I need to relocate. My wife & I had our house built here in my wife`s village in Phetchabun 21 years ago but the air quality has become steadily worse, especially these last 10 years. The worst offenders by far are the backyard charcoal makers & then comes those who still burn their rubbish in open pits even though we have a brilliant twice weekly garbage collection at an annual cost of 440Bt. Less than it would cost them to fill their pick-up, but many refuse to pay it. My wife has given up complaining to our kamnan, who is a neighbour, as he does nothing about the pollution.

Is the air in Chanthaburi clean?

That`s what I need to know as Chanthaburi appeals on many fronts.

Depends on what you mean by Chan?

Up in the hills of Soi Dao, city centre or by the sea?

I spend time outside the city in Tha Mai on a rubber farm, never had a problem..

I am surprised to hear the bad news of Phetchabun, after Chan, its probably one of my favourite areas of Thailand.

In Chan it doesn't seem so bad, nearer the sea side. Up around Soi Dao in the burning season as in now it seems pretty hazy for three months or so. Some of it is dust as the land gets very dry. It looks the same all the way from here up to Chai Badan last week. This year we've had major fires for the first time in 6 years, whole hills going up

Hi - can only speak for my own health.

As a lifetime asthmatic and I suppose 'sensitive' to air conditions, four years inhaler/medicine-free since living near the Chanthaburi coast.

Not quite a 'new life' but a better one, has shown me what I missed all those years, able to exercise comfortably and better/uninterrupted sleeping.

Travel up the coast 100km and last time we were in Rayong had to cut our stay short, 'something in the air' that day, gave me breathing difficulty, watery eyes, hay fever . . . have not stayed there long enough to know if it's always like that or whether we just struck a bad day. Cleared 20k south at Ban Phe. Similarly central Bangkok, and any area with regular burn-offs no good for me

Coastal, air, rubber trees, orchards and fish farms have been far better for me.

Different people and different sensitivities, not always fires etc can be pollens etc also.

It's green! From Wat Khao Sukim

Edited February 16, 201511 yr by gomangosteen

Thank you for your replies. Special thanks to gomangosteen - I appreciate the comprehensive reply, it was most helpful.

Air here in Phetchabun today as bad as ever.

Chanthaburi, here I come! As close to the sea as possible.

Happy New Year 2558, Laem Sing beach carnival, Chanthaburi

Hey,

So we are heading to Laem Sing for Songkran, what should we expect?

I am travelling with wife and young child. We were hoping for a quiet Songkran (staying home doesn't provide that where we live, lol) and now i am wondering if there will be any wild parties on Laem Sing (we would want to avoid that, lol)

Thanks

Yeah, driving to Bangkok / Chonburi about 2/3 into the drive you really notice the polution. You taste it.

Water Buffalo - estimate there are approaching 150 resorts of varying standards/pricing along the long stretch of Chao Lao.

'On the beach' is limiting - it's a fairly narrow strip between the road/sea, also prices a lot higher as a consequence

I can't recommend hotels/resorts, however a good guideline re location will help you cut many out of consideration.

The 'north/Rayong' end of the beach is known as Laem Sadet, resorts here but the beach is generally better for surfcasting/kayaking than swimming, drops off to deep water very quickly, it is signposted as a 'no-swim area'

At the other, south/Trat end of Chao Lao, some nice looking resorts/hotels but the beach here is more akin to mudflats at times.

Go for the middle! Between the CL Pier and the beach in front of the intersection with the dugong roundabout has the best, cleanest, safest sections of beach.

As examples, the recently opened Blues River Resort in range 4-10,000b a night, pool, restaurant etc; across the road, Ton Wa resort we've had numerous friends stay there, 600-1200 a night for small chalet, 5min walk to beach.

Chao Lao - Laem Sadet in distance.

Lots of options, enjoy your stay.

Going to Chao Lao in October and was wondering if there is an actual beach road? From what I see on google maps, 90% of the beach is blocked by resorts and can't be accessed. Looks really hard to park a car anywhere near unless at the north end of the beach.

There's no real beach road. In the pic above there's an unsealed section of road about 300m just behind those trees. Otherwise there are many lanes that go from the main road direct to the beach, with resorts either side but not 'private'

The private ones, and there are some, are gated, but all the beach is accessible on foot ie no resorts have made any claim on the beach in front of them

October. Likely to be jellyfish time and no swimming. Really does swarm with them the whole coast Trat, Chan and Rayong Sept/Oct and some years in to early November

There are a couple of threads about the 2014 jellyfish invasion

Edited June 24, 201511 yr by gomangosteen

Busy day at Chao Lao beach, Chanthaburi.

Edited June 24, 201511 yr by gomangosteen

I live in Na Yai Am, its about 30k to chanthaburi, I allways went thru the Pong Nam Ron immigration at Ban Laem to do the visa run, bit dangerous as there is a big market there and my missus likes to check both sides of border for bargains lol

Cool video, Brian

Was this pic taken in Chantaburi? If so, whereabouts? Last time I drove the coastal route I saw nothing like this...

chan 2.jpg

That's Kung Wiman, where the bend of water meets heaven on earth.

Views from same spot as.brianp's pic above, Noen Nangphaya one of four named 'viewing points' along Khung Wiman

Looking up the coast towards Rayong province

and facing soouth-ish. Between the two headlands is the entry to Khung Krabaen,estuary about 8sq km, an eco environmental area accessed from the Chao Lao side, mangrove walks, bird watching, kayaking and a large horticulture demo farm, aquarium, marine education centre, all part of a Royal project

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has chosen Baan Luang Rajamaitri, the 150-year-old Sino-Portuguese former residence of a Thai aristocrat, which has been converted into a chic historic inn and local museum in Chanthaburi for an “Award of Merit” in the 2015 Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

According to Unesco, the adaptation of the former residence of local aristocrat Luang Rajamaitri into a 12-room heritage inn and museum sparked an awareness about heritage conservation among a wide range of stakeholders in Chanthaburi and catalysed a larger movement to revitalise the once-declining 150 year-old riverfront town. The enlistment of more than 500 shareholders to invest in the transformation of the house created an innovative new social enterprise model for urban heritage conservation. The well-executed restoration and adaptive reuse of the Sino-Portuguese building has turned it into the linchpin of an increasingly popular cultural tourism destination

For more information about the Unesco, AsiaPacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation and this year’s winning entries can be found at: www.UnescoBKK.org/culture/heritage/awards

Not all 'perfect' coastline, there's this stretch of about 8km south of Paknam Khaem Nu towards Laem Sing which is more mudflat than beach

Certainly not for swimming. Outfalls from the many prawn and fish farms can at time turn the shallows almost black, this sediment contributing to the 'mud' effect.

Moored at Samet Ngam, 5km inland on the Chanthaburi River and 11km from central Chan city, HTMS Phosamton, formerly HMS Minstrel, WWII minesweeper

Edited September 19, 201510 yr by gomangosteen

Chant, the best provience in Thailand.

and here it is, Chao Lao beach, Chanthaburi

Christmas 2015 celebrations at the Chanthaburi Catholic cathedral

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Chanthaburi city

Good clean fun today. This temporary water park is in the rear carpark if Tesco Lotus in Chan city

Not many when it opened today 10am but by noon, a 40-60 minute wait for entry as numbers inside were limited

180 baht per child, and they loved it. Chan city is 30km to Chao Lao, the best beach along this coast, great when something like this comes to town

Edited January 31, 201610 yr by gomangosteen

^ but for me, beach is best

Khung Wiman beach, 35km from Chan city

No where in Thailand comes close. To me a highlight is the lack of "lets rip off the farlang" that is out of control on other beach areas.

Great pics by the way.

Passed through chanthaburi again last weekend (been in soi dao then koh chang) on the way home to bkk and enjoyed revisiting the cathedral and strolling and eating in the old street just over the river, very charming. I've yet to meet any thai or farlang whose ever bothered to visit. We will be back for a proper visit soon. Lovely province.

Ps. Soi dao was a nice place to stay.

Hello, can you tell me what is the cheapest room/house that you found at Chanthaburi ?

 

I won't be there full time but like to have my own place, so please tell me if you have info.

 

Thanks.