Koh Samet: Island of beaches

Short and random notes on Koh Samet:
 

Small island – lots of little bays with nice beaches, Bungalows built behind the tree lines, lots of mosquitos everywhere, transport by Vespas or green overpriced Taxis, a quasi monopoly

Not too much to do other than beach and get massages, there’s tours to smaller islands around to see fishes though.

Food is amazing, there’s BBQ’s all over the island, you can pick your meat or fish or seafood with side dish, they throw it on the grill and you get it perfectly grilled. So yummy.

Other than that our accommodation Tok’s offered the best value for money around, it was cheaper than other restaurants in the area and the food was always delicious and service attentive. Even special requests were taken care of.

Thai Boxing

You can walk around most of the island but it’s not very advisable, the heat is killing you, and if the heat isn’t the mosquitos are, or you might be washed away by torrential rains in the rainy season.

There’s not much partying available on the island, it’s more of dinners and cocktails. There’s three discos/nightclubs if you can call it that but they weren’t well frequented. It’s nicer to just sit on the beach and enjoy the performance of the fire boys, as one little girl called them.

You can get massages everywhere and that for very cheap. There is no bargaining with either the massage ladies or the food and fruit vendors. They all have licenses to sell on the beach and fixed prices.

The stray dogs everywhere sometimes look cute and sometimes scary, but none of them was aggressive. I have no idea if rabies is an issue on the island. But they wander around everywhere and leave you alone. They may only sit there and stare at you for a little while.

Beaches: Beaches and Bays are scattered throughout the island, some smaller, some larger, but then again, if you are already staying on a nice beach, the other ones are going to be pretty similar. If it’s too crowded or too quite you can surely find another place where it’s more busy or more chilly. The busiest beach is also the biggest one, Diamond Beach, just near the Ferry Pier. The farther away you get from the Pier the quieter the beaches become. Sometimes almost too quiet for my taste.

When it comes to accommodation you have everything from pricy luxury rooms that don’t stand European Hotels in anything behind (neither in price nor luxury) to the standard room, basic bungalow or spare mattress on the floor with shared bathrooms. So for every traveler and every budget there’s something to be found here.

Rain: It’s not called rainy season for nothing. There were heavy rains every day at different times. That said, they usually didn’t last for that long, so it’s manageable. The heavy part is over in minutes but then it can drizzle for quite some time. If rain is a spoiler for your vacay, come after October….

That said it’s an island mostly for relaxing, don’t expect too much action or adventure here. If you want to spend some days doing nothing and not be afraid of missing out on sights on the island, you are right here. If you want high life then better seek out somewhere else. For a weekend away from Bangkok to chill, perfect, easy to get to, reasonable prices, nice beaches.

So whether you ever go or you just soak up the pics… Enjoy Koh Samet.