donaldanthony

We're looking for a quiet relaxing beach resort holiday in June in Thailand. We understand it will need to be on the east side to avoid the rainy west. Does anybody have any cost effective recommendations?

Bella_Bluebell

Hi Donald - can you give a price range? That would help with suggestions

donaldanthony

Thanks Bella!

We're thinking about spending upto $100US ideally around $75 or less. We really liked Costa Lanta and Sri Lanta on Koh Lanta but they're on the west side which will be in the middle of the rain at that time of the year.

Look forward to your ideas!

JamesA

If you liked the look of Koh lanta then Koh Chang might appeal if that is the sort of island that you are after.
You can either travel by road from Bangkok to Trat and then short boat across to Koh Chang or Bangkok Airways have 3 flights per day, takes about 45 minutes to Trat and then either use the transport services readily available for transfer to the pier and boat or you can pre-arrange with your resort/hotel to handle for you.

A nice place if you have looked at Costa lanta and Sri lanta would perhaps be, taking in your price range of USD 75-100 the Bhumiyama on Koh Chang, some recent reviews

www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/thai/bhumiyama/review/

Photos and details:

http://www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/tha...iyama/details/

We have stayed at Barali and Bob ( a regular here ) also has plus another ( apologies not remembering who it was ) and that fits well into your budget,

www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/thai/barali/review/

Photos etc, this in my opinion is better beach area than Bhumiyama which we haven't stayed, so perhaps I should have suggested Barali right off !!

www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/thai/barali/details/

In June normal deluxe about USD 75, Ocean deluxe USD 100, they have in June a pay for 6 and stay 7 or pay for 12 and stay 14 nights promotions, and the free nights still include breakfast.

Ok, that's Koh Chang, other options would be Koh Samui, overall much busier and more active place with more to see and do than Koh Chang, but it depends how quiet or how busy you want, you can find quieter beaches on Samui, note that Koh Chang is way quieter than Samui. The peace resort which we lied is about USD 97 for a beachfront bungalow, but other rooms in garden area go from about USD 61 including breakfast

www.r24.org/huahin.20m.com/samui/peace/details/

To Koh Samui flight is either 1 hr 10 or 1 hr 30 depending on aircraft, about a dozen flights per day, Bangkok Airays.
Anyway think about those 2 island options, look at pics and then we can all throw in ideas.

JamesA

Sorry peace resort we 'liked', sorry for typo!

JamesA

Just to add, if you had a couple of weeks and had the idea of 2 places, you could use bangkok Airways Discover pass and fly Bangkok to Trat, U-Tapao to Samui and then Samui-Bangkok, all flights under or just over 1 hr ( there are no flights now trat to Samui, there were, but U-Tapao is a couple of hours by road from Trat so quite easy ).
That would give you a nice and quiet island, relax, snorkeling, not over developed yet, plus a busier island if you wanted more choice for restaurants, do some shopping etc.

donaldanthony

James - thanks very much indeed - we like the look of Barali too!

I like that Koh Chang is quiet too!

rhkkmk

the only negetive we found with the barili was that the pool was havings some problems in summer '05, but they corrected that in august's low season i believe and their food is not great....BUT right next door the tropicana food is excellent and it is a two minute walk at most...almost right next to barali pool...

make sure you try amari emerald cove food for a treat as well....just down the beach to the left about 5-10 minutes walk...

irishcheer21

hope you aren't sick of me yet! I'm also looking to go to a beach for about a week in late June. Koh Samui and Koh Chang are our two main choices (although we did see someone mention a resort on Nangyuan island that looked GORgeous). I think we'll be exhausted at this point, so of the options, which has the best (clearest/prettiest) water and beaches. Based on the pictures, I'd love to go to Phi Phi or Phuket but I don't want to risk having rough waters. Again, thank you everyone for your help.

Bella_Bluebell

Nangyuan itself is beautiful but the resort is not that nice, the service is poor and the food the worst we had in Thailand, I'd avoid it to be honest. You can travel to Nangyuan on a snorkelling trip from Ko Samui or alternatively if you stay in Ko Tao, another island, Nangyuan is about 10 mins in a longtail boat.

Cicerone

In June, I would suggest you go to Malaysia instead and go to Rawa Island, IMO the most beautiful beach in South East Asia. This is on the east coast off Mersing. It is a small island (you can swim or kayak around it). Soft white sand and clear water that changes from blue, to green to purple depending on weather. There is one hotel on the island, and as it is small, the staff is very friendly and relaxed while still being attentive. The hotel is about a 3-star, no pool, not luxurious but so relaxing, and the beach and surrounding islands make up for any lack of luxury. The diving is great, you can dive or snorkel right from the beach, or the hotel will arrange for a boat to take you to more remote islands/reefs/wrecks. The hotel is called Rawa Safaris. Check their website: rawasfr.com. The price is in your budget and includes all meals and transfer by boat to the island, so is actually below your budget. I used to go here a lot for weekends when I lived in Singapore, and really a more relaxing and beautiful place is hard to find, even if it isn't a luxury hotel. To reach Rawa, you could drive from Singapore (3 hours, you can charter a taxi or take a bus) and then take the hotel boat for about 1 hour. You might also fly from KL to Kuantan and drive to Mersing (maybe 1 -2 hours), then take the boat from Mersing.

irishcheer21

JamesA, you appear to be the beach expert, so I might address this to you... we still can't decide between Koh Chang and Koh Samui (i'm horribly indecisive). Two things that may help us decide... 1)we're hoping for ultimate budget accomodation but still on the water, if at all possible. Which island would we be more likely to find that? And 2) Is there anywhere on either island to "snuba." Neither of us can scuba dive, nor can we afford getting qualified over there, but I went Snuba diving before in Hawaii and really enjoyed it so was wondering if they offered that on either island?
Thanks (again )

JamesA

Koh Chang and Koh Samui are totally different, hence that should make your choice easier.

Koh Chang - laid back, althoufh developing well behind the development of Samui and even further from that of Phuket. Koh Chang is a place you go if you want to relax, there are some beach restaurants, you can take trips to dive, but it is very much a laid back and quit place compared with Samui.

Samui - Developed tourism orinetated ( both good and bad depending ), that means lots more accommodation choice, plenty of beachfront places at all budgets, more shopping, far more restaurants and nightlife, much busier. Trips to nearby islands to dive.

So it really come down to lively with lots to do or quiet and laid back.

JamesA

This tells you just about everything:

Koh Samui : www.samui.org

Koh Chang : kohchang.sawadee.com

Getting to Samui is by air, Bangkok Airways, so too is Koh Chang but for Koh Chang you fly to Trat Airport and then road and boat transfer.
You can also get to Koh Chang quite easily by express bus from BKK if on a tight budget and then boat across.
You 'can' get to Samui by bus or train and then boat but it takes a real long time !

Bella_Bluebell

You will be closest to dive and snorkel sites if you go to Ko Tao (about 1.5 hrs on a boat from Samui). That has some of the best diving and snorkelling on the east coast - it is nr Nangyuan, which you mentioned previously. I am not sure you can snuba (snorkelling with an airhose linked to the surface for those who are not familiar!) there but I think of all of these islands, you have the greatest chance of doing so there. I know you can do introductory dives there where you go down with a divemaster who basically holds onto your airtank and guides you through waters up to about 5m (so not v deep).

You will get more for your money there, as compared to Samui, if you are on a budget but there is not any luxury accommodation there, there simply isn't the infrastructure. Another option is Ko Pha Ngan - there are some lovely snorkelling spots of the north coast and you can get stunning budget accommodation on the beach or one row back on a budget.
BB

irishcheer21

while looking for accomodation on koh samui, i have read a few reports from people saying "beach was gorgeous but can't swim in water" ... is this true? i definitely want to swim in the ocean, so this might put the balances in favour of koh chang

irishcheer21

me again... what are people's thoughts about Krabi in June? I know it's on the wrong side if we want to avoid the rain, however one or two of its websites said June is usually ok. Are they just being sneaky? I really didnt think it would be this hard to choose an island!!

JamesA

I'll try and make it easy:-

I lived for many years on Phuket ( similar weather to Krabi/Phi Phi/Koh Lanta/Khao Lak areas ), some years for certain days/weeks during rainy season you could get days or weeks with pure sunshine, other times it might rain for a few hours in the evening, other days it could be for a few minutes. Other times it could be heavy storms, no boats to islands, high winds and rain, other times it could be even worse.

The climate patterns in Thailand vary. The reason is that the south west rainy season from roughly May to October is affected by the Monsoons over India, the weather is affected by what happens in the Indian sub-continent and the Bay of Bengal.

Now, the Gulf of Thailand is affected by what happens in the China Seas, so although they are relativelty close by they are affected by different climatic areas.

May to October is the 'rainy season / monsoon season ' in the Phuket / Krabi / Koh Lanta area. Now you could be lucky, you could be very lucky.
June is certanly less rain that later, but it's a risk.
But....and here's the big crunch....if it poured with rain from the moment you arrived until the moment you left : That is the risk you take. Boat trips to islands can be cancelled, or worse still not cancelled and head out into heavy rough seas, not a pleasant experience.

Here are the rainfall stats from Yahoo:

June:
Phuket/Krabi: 8.4
Bangkok: 6.0
Samui/Koh Tao: 5.3
Koh Chang area: 4.4
Hua Hin: 3.1

It is not a vaste difference, but....

Here is what I would suggest:
If you are not fussed about particular accommodation decide whether you want a busy or quite island first, Koh Samui if you want lively and busy, perhaps a trip or a few days to snorkel at Koh Tao, book yourself for a few days, check the local press, monitor what the weather is like. If the weather appears ok then it is just a boat ride to Surat Thani and then a few hours by bu or car+driver(aka taxi ) to Krabi.

That way you can position yourself on Samui and also be close enough to krabi should the weather be ok. It will be low season so to get accommodation will not be any problem.

If your heart is set on the scenery around krabi ( mainland area not an island but with access to islands ) then starting off in say Samui puts you where the weather should be fine, then, monitor the weather, and if all looks ok head down to Krabi. If the weather looks bad then you can stay put, spend some days on Koh Tao, or if you want to try Koh Chang there is a daily flight ( takes just 1 hour ) non stop from Koh Samui to U-Tapao / Pattaya, and from there a few hours down to Trat to take the boat to Koh Chang.

That gives you a fixed poinbt to start from and some days to relax and enjoy, after that you can check where the best weather is and continue on your vacation.

irishcheer21

JamesA, you're amazing. that sounds perfect! Thank you so much.

JamesA

I don't know where you are flying from but I would get your long haul flights sorted as a priority as you need that settled for dates in case you can't get the right flight/right date/right fare. Being the lower season time has the advantage that you don't have to panic about accommodation, I would sort the long haul flights, decide if you want to head straight to the beach or spend a few days in Bangkok. Let us know budget wise as there are travel options between those places dependent on budget.