Good beach nearest to Bangkok
 

I know the beaches are not close to Bangkok but we arrive in Bangkok on Jan 4th and then friends will meet us there on Jan 9th and show us around Bangkok as the are familiar with it and we are not. So I thought if we could leave on the 5th to go to a beach for a few days and come back to Bangkok on the 9th, is there any beaches you would recommend. By train or bus within 3 or 4 hours if possible and if not then we would fly.
Warrsher

Nearest beach to Bangkok is Pattaya - Jomtien. BUT this beach is no good for beach type swimming because the water is too dirty. Advantage is that this beach city is easy to get to using a bus from Ekamai bus terminal Bangkok for around 109 baht. Two hour ride. Many hotels are cheaper than Bangkok, local transportation is 10 baht. Lots of nightlife that is cheaper than Bangkok. Malls, vendors, shops, good restaurants all with a crappy beach! (Jomtien Beach slightly better than Pattaya Beach.) Cheap boat ride to Koh Larn Island from Pattaya is 30 baht.
https://www.kohlarn.com/

Pattaya is the easiest to get to and if happy with a hotel pool this might do. Need a good beach for swimming go elsewhere!

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Other beach areas to check out are Ko Samet and Hua Hin. Not as good as beaches further south but popular with tourists. Lots of retirees choose Hua Hin. HH about 4 hours by bus or car.



Good luck.

Pattaya is its the closet beach area but is renowned worldwide for its sex trade. A recent survey estimated some 27000 sex workers. You can imagine the sort of tourists that attracts. For that reason alone , I would avoid it.

Hua Hin is a nice trip by train -3-4 hours but is very busy these days. If you choose a decent hotel you will get a nice stretch of private beach, pool areas etc. But most are resorts in an urban environment.

In terms of cost and time, flights with budget airlines in Thailand are efficient and cheap so it probably wouldn’t cost any more to choose your ideal beach and fly.

Both of the above places are on th Gulf Coast . At that time of year, you will likely get the better weather on the Andaman Coast. Khao Lak is easily accessible as is Phuket. Koh Lanta would probably be my first choice as it is quieter but would take a little longer.

" You can imagine the sort of tourists that attracts. "

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Pattaya is one of the most visited cities in the world - "believe it or not!"

https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/201...tions-globally

Also "believe it or not" Pattaya is popular with couples and family groups even with young children. There are quite a few tourist type things for families with children. (Pattaya is one of the top destinations for tourists from India, Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries.) Yes, there are quite a few beer bars and go-go bars but so has Phuket and Bangkok too! (And you won't see naked people on beaches like you see in Europe and other Western countries too! Or not for long until the cops show up!)

Pattaya a cheaper destination but with a really crappy beach for swimming!

5 5 5

AO MANEO BEACH IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR A FABULOUS BEACH IN A UNIQUE SETTING.

Get to Prachuap KK by train from Bangkok [Hualamphong]. The No43 train departs at 0805 and takes about 4 hours [also stops at Hua Hin], and includes a chicken/rice meal. Seats need to reserved as there are only 2 carriages. I reserved seats in person a couple of days beforehand at Hualamphong, cost 410 baht a ticket.

It's an enjoyable and comfortable train ride, far better than putting your lives in the hands of a van or bus driver.

PKK is a laid back seaside provincial town here. There'll be a few touists there but not masses. There's one jewel in the crown, a beach called Ao Maneo. It's set in a unique position inside the Wing 5 Royal Thai Air Force Base. The beach is in a beautiful bay, and if you visit Monday to Thursday there'll be very few people using it. The beach is immaculate, maintained by young airman.

Don't visit Ao Maneo at weekend as it'll be packed with Bangkok weekenders.

The beach had plenty of shade, deck chairs, and several eateries right across the road.

We stayed in PKk for a week, staying about 3 miles away at the Golden Beach hotel which was perfect and very affordable. We hired bicycles to get around. Just had to sign in and out of the Air Base at the Main Gate. Even had to cycle across the runway to get to the beach.

A unique Beach, definitely worth considering.

Ko Samui is a short flight ( 1 hr) away from Bangkok, a pretty island in the Gulf of Siam and has moderate to heavy crowds and an 'happening' place depending on which part of the island you choose.
For reasonable quieter time on the beach, would recommend Ko Pha Ngan. A short ferry ride away from Ko Samui.. The Haad Salad beach on the west coast has a pretty resort called the Green Papaya.Tranquil waters and a reef 150 mtrs offshore is a very idyllic place. A tropical haven.

Green Papaya Resort

https://www.phangan-saladbeachresort.com/

Salad hut

The problem with short flights is that they can still involve a lot of road travel, and twiddling thumbs at the airport, or sat on the tarmac.

A nice relaxing reserved seat on a train, passing through some pleasant scenery can be rather inspiring, and is all part of a proper Thai experience.

Thank you very much everyone for lots of info. Going over each place suggested. Not sure which we will choose yet but will choose one shortly. Thanks again. We really do appreciate the info available on this site.
Warrsher

The nearest beach to Bangkok is in fact Bang Saen.
This is a Thai seaside resort town that is about an hour and a bit from Bkk...it has direct access from motorway 7.
It is not particularly good for swimming, as the water gets quite dirty. The beachfront in the centre is largely rental deck-chairs the far ends both north and south are less commercially restrictive.
There are more seafood restaurants than you can shake a stick at.

As it is the closest beach to Bangkok, it gets very busy on week-ends and public holidays.

There is a wide range of hotels.
South of Bang Saen the beaches are pretty poor....one is used by with surfers, Bang Phra has a few small efforts, no swimming though.

Next down the coast is Sri Racha........ no real beach here but just offshore is the island of Si Chang.....about 30 minutes by ferry it has a couple of nice beaches and some overnight accommodation.

Pattaya comes next...very urban. .The beaches between Pattaya and Jomtien are usually the best.

South of Pattaya, the beaches improve, especially the ones controlled by the navy.

Then there is Ban Chang and the beaches around Rayong..... Ban Phe has, the ferries that access Koh Samet.


Going Southwest from Bkk, Cha'am and Hua Hun are the most popular but Prachuap is a far nicer place ...in fact anywhere South of Hua Hin

Ao Maneo Beach inside Wing 5 Thai Royal Air Force Base, being the pick of the lot. But due to Bangkok week-enders avoid the place on Friday to Sunday.

Head to the west to Huahin or Pranburi.
The beaches are clean and peaceful.