Although we were living at the Eastern Seaboard about 2 km from the sea and visiting Koh Larn is actually very easy, still my favourite nearby island is Koh Samet. Beautiful beaches, clear water and nice restaurants & hotels right on the beach. And from Pattaya it is only about a 1-hour drive away to Ban Phe (just east of Rayong) where you take the 25 min ferry to the island. It is actually amazing that Koh Samet is still such a "small town" laid back island considering the fact that it is a mere 3-hour drive from smog filled Bangkok. No high-rise buildings, no busy roads (actually almost no road at all) and not too much nightlife like disco's or beer bars. When going to Koh Samet be aware of two things. First of all it is a "National Park",one of the reasons why it is still a nice & clean island but also the reason to pay entrance fee. And westerner tourists have the privilege of paying 5 times the entrance fee as Thai have to pay. And secondly as said it is only 3 hours from Bangkok so Friday & Saturday it is full with people from Bangkok. Prices of hotels are higher and you will need to make reservation before you are going.
So when we go, we go most times on a Sunday when everybody just goes back home. We drive to one of the many piers at Ban Phe where you can park your car secure and in the shade. From there we hire a speed-boat to bring us to our beach in 20 min. I like "Ao Wong Duean" beach but there are about 5 big beaches. We have stayed at a few different hotels at this beach and the last time we did stay at
Samed Cabana Resort and we liked it very much. They have about 10 bungalows at the beach front and about 12 rooms around their swimming pool. In the evening the whole beach side is transformed into a line-up of romantic restaurants and some bars to eat & drink and enjoy the sunset with friends. Can life be better?
