Thailand Beaches
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Bugbog's Best Thai Resort Island!
Hat
Sai Kaew [Diamond beach], Bugbog's Best Thailand Beach.
1st of 11 pages covering most of the island.
Pattaya | Ko Samui | Ko Lanta beaches | Krabi | Khao Lak beach | Phuket | Phi Phi beaches
Thailand Beach Pictures Door | Beaches Information | Thailand Travel | Beaches Map
Non-beach Thailand Photos: Thailand Pictures
Plus:
Cool, powder white sand, clean clear sea. Funky basic, bungalow hotels.
Cheap.
There is a big choice of beaches, each with a couple of little low-rise
hotel operations.
Rampant development, noise and builder's debris are mostly the province
of other islands.
Excellent sea food is available, along with all the other hedonistic
necessities like cold beers and warm deck chairs.
It's not a package people place[no monster hotels], nor very kid oriented
[almost no swimming pools].
Romantic? Yes. Young, stylish people? Yes. Girlie bars? No. Night
clubs? Not really, limited dancing. Drugs? Not apparent. Butt-uglies
with Pattaya girls? A few. Packaged people? Some on Wong Duan. Old
folks? Mostly on Wong Duan.
An easy 3/4 hours from Bangkok by [mini] bus and boat.
Minus:
It's a little tatty in places, with ratty power cables and occasional
careless garbage visible if you care to look. This is not Hawaii!
[And neither are the prices]. There is only one swimming pool on the
island [at by far the most expensive hotel, Ao Phrao Resort].
Weekends and festive seasons can see the island packed. At the Thai
New Year in April accommodation is impossible to find. Book in advance!
6
km long Ko Samet [aka Koh Samed] was the biggest surprise in Bugbog's
December on-the-ground evaluation of Thailand's seaside offerings.
Although it is one of the country's oldest resort islands and easily
accessible from Bangkok without flying, Ko Samet retains a level of
comfort and tranquility that is missing from most other Thai islands
with reasonable facilities. A lot of this is due to its National Park
status restraining development, including roads in the interior.
The cheapest bungalows are generally the furthest from the two main
landing points [Na Dan Pier and Wong Duan Bay], so backpackers should
be prepared to walk a while.
Previously we got the impression that Wong Duan would be the best
beach/hotel area on the island, but were disappointed by the narrow
strip of sand, smelly boats clustering in the small bay and platoons
of visitors landing on barges as if every day was D-day.
The next beach south, Hin Kok, is also large and comfortable and is only a short walk to Hat Sai Kaew's low-key but admirable bar and restaurant offerings, but has far less visitors.
The further south you go, the less folk you will meet, until you reach Wong Duan bay and the crowds appear again.
Hat Sai Kaew's two best mid-range hotels in '02 were Sai Kaew Villa and Hat Sai Kaew Resort. The latter is more expensive and less crowded. The former had double rooms with fan, en suite bathroom and breakfast for Bt 800 [£12/$18 per night] in high season '02. Pictures of bungalows and most beaches are in the following pages.
Thailand Beaches © bugbog.com
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