Just a few hours from Bangkok, Rayong has pleasant beach resorts and the ever-popular Koh Samet island, a weekend getaway from the heat and dirt of the city.

Seafood & Scenery
Less than four hours’ drive from Bangkok, Rayong is popular with city folk escaping for long weekends. The beaches are nothing special, but the local seafood is good. Reasonable beaches along the coast are Ban Phe, Suan Son and Suan Wang Kaew. You can rent houses and tents amidst the lovely scenery of Khao Chamao-Khao Wong National Park, with its forests, waterfalls, cliffs and caves. Swimming and fishing are possible in the ponds and streams.

Marine Paradise
Rayong’s biggest attraction is Koh Samet, a typically tropical paradise, where leafy trees shade white beaches with turquoise waters. It is also a national marine park, and as such charges a small admission fee, collected at every beach. As with any resort near Bangkok, it is notoriously difficult and expensive to find accommodation here during public holidays, but otherwise you should not have a problem. There are plenty of cheap bungalows and restaurants on the island; perhaps too many on Hat Sai Kaew and Ao Wong Deuan, but the other east coast beaches are still relatively peaceful. Ao Hin Kho and Ao Pai are among the many other choices. The boat to Koh Samet leaves from Ban Phe, 25 km from Rayong town.

Pest Control
Please! While on the island, use repellent and mosquito nets, as these pests are fairly aggressive. Also, local authorities ask visitors not to hire jet skis, as they are noisy and dangerous for other beach users and destructive to coral.