Koh Samet

[crazyfalang]

Hello People.

 

I would appreciate if some of you would give me some of your advice,my 2 Daughters are coming over in November for a visit,age 25/21 and i would like to take them to Koh samet,has anyone on here been, and if so what would you suggest as you cannot beat first hand knowledge, i would like to have nice beach and good night life. all or some of the comments would be appreciated.. 

[Rc2702]

I have been to koh samet.

 

It's ok but not too much in terms of nightlife IMO. Given the small size of the island for riding a motorcycle it seemed fairly safe I think it was a 1 way system. 

 

If it's a proximity to bkk matter maybe look at hua hin chaam and prachuap. 

 

If the main thing your after is them to enjoy nightlife without distance etc. Gotta be further south for the best options on nightlife. Koh Samui etc. Koh lanta was great for fun for me relaxed but always a party if you looked but it's fairly big so tuk tuks etc would be used a fair bit.

 

Honestly I though Samet was convenient but that's about it.

 

 

[Chou Anou]

Koh Samet is not the place to go for nightlife.  There are a few backpacker-ish beachside bars with those annoying fire dancers on the beaches closest to the pier, but that's about it.  The farther down you get (away from the pier), the nicer (IMO) and quieter it gets, and also the more Thai it gets (lots of groups of Uni friends, a fair amount of groups of gay Thai friends).  I always stay at Vongdeuan Resort, which has their own boat to get you there (right to their beach, bypassing the pier where the ferry docks) from Rayong.  I would say that none of the relatively easy accessible beach destinations near(-ish) Bangkok, Samet, Chang, Hua Hin, are where you would really want to go for nightlife...you'll need to head much further south (and in general, pay a lot more) for that.

Edited August 22, 2017 by Chou Anou

[grollies]

Give them B20k each and tell them to get on with it.

 

Mind you, I have three boys, no daughters.

[Gudge]

I go to Samed quite often and there is clean beaches, clean water, and if you want night life there are 4 or 5 large bars with music and many smaller bars. Small island but something for everyone 

[catman20]

its more of a relaxing break there, nice to eat on the beach of a night time, one of the best beaches there is AL PRO water is more calm not crashing against the beach, also be careful about the rip off speed boat thing, i always go to the pear and get the big boat over there takes about 45mins and cost about 60 baht per person as apposed to 1500 baht per person.

[LawrenceN]

On 8/22/2017 at 5:51 PM, Chou Anou said:

 I always stay at Vongdeuan Resort, which has their own boat to get you there (right to their beach, bypassing the pier where the ferry docks) from Rayong.  I would say that none of the relatively easy accessible beach destinations near(-ish) Bangkok, Samet, Chang, Hua Hin, are where you would really want to go for nightlife...you'll need to head much further south (and in general, pay a lot more) for that.

Enough about "nightlife".  I bought a bottle of SangSom in BanPhe and added it to iced lemonades on the beach. Drinking on the island is expensive.

 

Above is good advice. I honeymooned  at WongDeuan beach in 1988, and have been back several times, including taking my two sisters (their first trip to Thailand) there in 1976, along with a six-year-old daughter. It's idyllic if you make this minimal effort to get away from the noise.

 

Be prepared to pay the national park fee.

[catman20]

3 minutes ago, LawrenceN said:

Enough about "nightlife".  I bought a bottle of SangSom in BanPhe and added it to iced lemonades on the beach. Drinking on the island is expensive.

 

Above is good advice. I honeymooned  at WongDeuan beach in 1988, and have been back several times, including taking my two sisters (their first trip to Thailand) there in 1976, along with a six-year-old daughter. It's idyllic if you make this minimal effort to get away from the noise.

 

Be prepared to pay the national park fee.

HOW MUCH IS THE FEE NOW ?

[craigt3365]

Samet has some nightlife, but not much. If you want to sleep a bit early, avoid White Sans beach. LOL

 

I like Samet a lot but prefer the quieter beaches.

 

Be careful with scooters. Lots of accidents on those dirt roads.

[Chou Anou]

17 minutes ago, catman20 said:

HOW MUCH IS THE FEE NOW ?

Something trivial like 100-200 baht.  I talked my way out of it by speaking Thai to the collector a few years back, not sure if that was a fluke or not...I've paid it other times.

[impulse]

It's his daughters.  Lack of a nightlife may be the place's best selling point.  No need to carry a baseball bat.

 

And yes, that's me taking the piss.  Kind of...

 

[catman20]

26 minutes ago, Chou Anou said:

Something trivial like 100-200 baht.  I talked my way out of it by speaking Thai to the collector a few years back, not sure if that was a fluke or not...I've paid it other times.

i did hear it was all going up to 400 baht for farangs i guess that never happened.

[catman20]

29 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Samet has some nightlife, but not much. If you want to sleep a bit early, avoid White Sans beach. LOL

 

I like Samet a lot but prefer the quieter beaches.

 

Be careful with scooters. Lots of accidents on those dirt roads.

the roads are no longer dirt, i was quite surprised and the improvements of the roads there all paved now

[craigt3365]

19 minutes ago, impulse said:

It's his daughters.  Lack of a nightlife may be the place's best selling point.  No need to carry a baseball bat.

 

And yes, that's me taking the piss.  Kind of...

 

Not so sure about that. Some dodgy characters there. We had a big problem in a bar there a few years ago. Luckily, cooler and more sober heads prevailed. But it was close.

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, catman20 said:

the roads are no longer dirt, i was quite surprised and the improvements of the roads there all paved now

Great! Lots of accidents back when I first started going there. Same with Koh Chang to this day!

[impulse]

2 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Not so sure about that. Some dodgy characters there. We had a big problem in a bar there a few years ago. Luckily, cooler and more sober heads prevailed. But it was close.

 

I don't have kids, but I do have nieces about that age.  If they came to visit, the last thing I would want to do is turn them loose in a bar scene where they don't understand the rules and the hazards of spiked drinks, buckets of booze, local egos, and such.  The next worse thing would be for me to be the old guy hanging out with the kiddo's in that same bar scene... 

 

Besides, I've been in thousands of bars and dozens of family vacation nights.  My fondest memories are of the family nights.  Though they may not have seemed so special when they were happening.

 

[sandrabbit]

It's quiet at the moment but I recommend you stay at HAT SAI-KAEW which is the longest beach as you can go to the nightlife at Ploy resort and it's only a short walk to Silver Sand resort which has a gay full moon party plus (if it's still the same) the best burger bar on the island at the entrance. Vongduen the 2nd largest beach is quiet and you can have a candle lit dinner right on the seas edge but you'll need a scooter or take a songthuew to the nightlife, it is reached by the Malibu ferries. I've posted a couple of links below describing the beaches and even at ploy I don't think the alcohol is too expensive, slightly cheaper than Pattaya. The roads are vast improvement now they've been concreted but they still require caution as there are a few steep hills and bends about. Remember nearly everything has to be taken to the island, including water, so it costs.

http://kohsamed.net/beaches.html

 

http://www.thailandparadise.com/koh-samet-beaches.htm

[chickenslegs]

1 hour ago, catman20 said:

HOW MUCH IS THE FEE NOW ?

 

1 hour ago, Chou Anou said:

Something trivial like 100-200 baht.  I talked my way out of it by speaking Thai to the collector a few years back, not sure if that was a fluke or not...I've paid it other times.

 

Fee is 40B for Thai and 200B for foreigners.

The foreigner fee did increase to 400B but has been reduced again.

Recently, it has not been possible to get the Thai price by showing a Thai drivers licence - but, when I visited a few weeks ago, the officer told me that if I had a Thai ID card I would get the Thai price.

[sandrabbit]

3 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Fee is 40B for Thai and 200B for foreigners.

The foreigner fee did increase to 400B but has been reduced again.

Recently, it has not been possible to get the Thai price by showing a Thai drivers licence - but, when I visited a few weeks ago, the officer told me that if I had a Thai ID card I would get the Thai price.

The army replaced all the national park staff at the beginning of the year.

[zzidenn]

Me and my thai friends like the tub tim resort, it's right on the beach, the food is great and they have bungalows in various price categories. It's all very green and relaxing. The silver sand bar and resort one beach further down towards the more touristy beaches is great at night and right on the beach. Especially on weekends the party is good, they have a little fireshow and some glow in the dark paint going on,You can take a speedboat right up to tub tim beach from ban phe pier and avoid the main pier of the island altogether.

If you stay in this area, nobody bothers you, no jetskies, not even beach vendors. Closer to town it's a completely different story, I'd just go there to buy stuff from 7 eleven. 

Edited August 24, 2017 by zzidenn
Typo

[terminatorchiangmai]

Stay at Vongduan for a nice quiet and clean beach and rent a scooter to go to the nightlife.

Everything is perfectly paved and there only a few cars driving ( songteaws)

[steven100]

Koh Samet is good,  Koh Chang is a little better but much further to travel.

Night life on Koh Samet is ok ,  there's a disco, fire show on the beach ... and the beach bars. Koh Chang has night discos, the beach bars and sometimes a party is happening.

[steven100]

31 minutes ago, zzidenn said:

Me and my thai friends like the tub tim resort, it's right on the beach, the food is great and they have bungalows in various price categories. It's all very green and relaxing. The silver sand bar and resort one beach further down towards the more touristy beaches is great at night and right on the beach. Especially on weekends the party is good, they have a little fireshow and some glow in the dark paint going on,You can take a speedboat right up to tub tim beach from ban phe pier and avoid the main pier of the island altogether.

If you stay in this area, nobody bothers you, no jetskies, not even beach vendors. Closer to town it's a completely different story, I'd just go there to buy stuff from 7 eleven. 

Tub Tim is ok, although it's very old and getting run down as most of them are.

We normally stay in Malibu resort, as it has the swimming pool.

[Wazoo]

Hiya. Been thereoads of times. If your girls want to chill out then samet is cool. If they want to dance n chase licsl holiiday boys poss not ideal. Samet is very laid back. Bets to get a hotel in the main street as bard busses are very expensive. Visitoers ticket for the "patk" is 200 thb a head. Resturants on the beach are the most expensive. There are a few goid ones on the only main street. Enjoy. Oh seas are clear so take your snorkeling gear.  :0) 

[sandrabbit]

18 minutes ago, Wazoo said:

Oh seas are clear so take your snorkeling gear.  :0) 

yes you can see the rubbish ......

 

if the floating fish farm is still there near Nadan it's worth a visit but you have to be fairly agile as you're just walking on wooden planks, I think I went there last time when I did the round the island boat trip.

[ianwheldale]

My son made a video on Koh Samet a few weeks back....

**MODS, if this is out of order please delete. Not sure if links like this allowed.

[LawrenceN]

8 hours ago, LawrenceN said:

 I honeymooned  at WongDeuan beach in 1988, and have been back several times, including taking my two sisters (their first trip to Thailand) there in 1976, along with a six-year-old daughter.

I meant 1996 above, not 76. Oops!

[kg1947]

Check out : SAMET VILLA , run by Joseph OTTIGER ....

if you can pay his rates , this is place is definitely first choice .

( upper middle level ) try to get seaview bungalows.

Nightlife is very tame. For transport you can arrange

PRIVATE TRANSPORT by speedboat Ban Phe - Samet Villa

v.v. contact them directly. Just Google their website .

[Mooner]

Some good and some awful replies here.

Been coming to Samet since 2000 and lived here 6 yrs.

If you want the girls to enjoy the nightlife and not deal with driving back or walking far late at night then dont stay any further down the island than Tubtim.

I wouldnt advise staying on Saikaew beach as it can be noisy and expensive.

Things can be better if you stay in the village because you are close to 7 11 etc then you have a short walk to Ploy bar or Naga but if you want to be on the beach then i would advise Toks little hut or Jeps now renamed to Amantara or something like that.

If you can give me your accomadation budget and if you need to be on the beach or not then i can help a bit more.

[bberrythailand]

Are the soldiers still around ? Or is it peaceful now ? Bars can close late again ?

Anyway this island is the biggest scam in the country. Overpriced everywhere !