Beaches near Bangkok?
 

I will be traveling to Thailand for 2 weeks and have been reading all the great places to go. I would like to spend some time on the beaches, and wonder which ones are recommended near Bangkok and what it the best way to get to them?
( I will also be going to Chiang Mia via airplane). Thanks for your insights.

South East from Bangkok:Pattaya (1.5 hrs by Road) is lively, busy and popular if you want a very very busy places. Best Resorts are Dusit/Marriott/Rabbit or for something pretty special you can try the Hard Rock Hotel!
Jomtien beach is 20 mins past Pattaya, although still very built up it is quieter than Pattaya.
Koh Chang Island you can get to by road and ferry from Bangkok or fly in 40 mins to nearby Trat Airport.
South from bangkok: Cha Am ( 2.5 hrs by road ) is quiet but some great resorts along the coast, Hua Hin is abother 15mins, beach not brilliant but has a huge number of tops resorts, Hilton/Hyatt Regency/Sofitel/Evason/Marriott/Dusit/Regent etc.
Then you have the places you can fly to in around 1 hr, Koh Samui and Phuket for busy tourist Islands, krabi for more relaxed and great scenary.

Your choice of beach area depends a great deal on what you are looking for and how busy you want it and whether you just want to cab to a beach from Bangkok or you don't mind a short flight.

Thanks for the info so far. This is very helpful. Since I will be flying to Bangkok (long flight) and then to Chaing Mai, I was hoping to find a beach that didn't involve a flight, but that wasn't too bustling.

If yoe not made your internal flight arrangements, you can fly directly from Chiang Mai to Phuket without going through BKK. If this is not an option, Hua Hin is very pleasant. It's quiet, but very relaxing. We stayed at the Sofitel Central, an old railroad-style hotel that has been updated to modern sensibilities.

Hua Hin is very nice and it is quiet. You have many wonderful hotels to choose from. I've stayed at the Anantara and at the Hyatt, both of which are wonderful.

Kathie's suggestions for Hua Hin are would I too would have suggested, Hua hin is around 3 hrs by road, you could try the Sunset Village or the Pinnacle Beach Club which are just past Jomtien beach which is about 1 hr 30 to 1hr 45 on a wide express highway from bangkok, Sunset Village has great bungalows right on the beach but if you want more facilities the Pinnacle Beach Club has more to do, these are fairly quiet areas but you are only about 20-30 mins south of Pattaya if you fancy a good night out too. Taxis go straight from BKK Airport to both Jomtien beach/Pattaya and to Hua Hin.

If you want beach then there is none thats worth visiting arounf Bangkok. Phuket or Koh Samui are much better choices. I visited Pattaya last year and although I stayed at the Royal Wing of the Royal Cliff I was disappointed. The beaches at Pattaya are dirty and not healthy for swimming purposes.

Pattay is actually a pritty cool place lots too do but maybe a bit too geared for men... if you just plan too lay around or stick your toes in the water then pattaya is a good enough choice.

If you are looking for amazing scenary and pretty good beaches then places such as Railey and Phuley beaches in Krabi area are great, there are of course many very nice beaches in remote locations. However, not everyone seeks that and if you are in Bangkok and just want to jump in a cab to a resort where you can find very cheap high quality hotels, lots of shopping, restaurants and some fun then Pattaya comes up with the goods, if you want quieter then you can go just beyond to Jomtien beach. Pattaya of course was famed for it's 'lively' nightlife but it is these days a lot more tame than many would expect. Hua Hin and Cha Am again do not have the beaches of the southern islands but then again the plus side is that virtaully every decent hotel in Hua hin and Cha Am has absolute beachfront, it sometimes comes as a shock when visiting places like Ao Nang in Krabi or Karon beach on Phuket that virtually every hotel is 'not' on the beach but you in fact have either a long walk or even a tuk-tuk ride to get to the beach. Many value walking from their hotel room straight onto a virtually empty beach over a better beach that involves a taxi journey to reach.