jake

Hello all,<BR><BR>My mother and I will be in Bangkok in early November and plan to spend a few days on the beach. We are looking for a nice, quiet (and not too expensive) beach. I have heard that Koh Samui is too party-ish. What about Krabi? Suggestions are appreciated.<BR><BR>Thank you.

lisa

I'm looking for the same info. I have heard that Phuket is too toursity now (exploited for the last 10 years) and that Koh Samui is in monsoon season (low rates, but risky) from Nov.1 on. We are looking at Koh Lanta or Krabi vs. Phuket. Any info on the Andaman Sea hotel / resort / beach scene would be appreciated.

Kyoub

There is a great beach in Hua Hin and I would recommend the Dolphin Inn located near the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park. www.explorethailand.com<BR>They have a taxi service from Bangkok that will take you there for a very resonable price.<BR>

Margo

Depends just how quite you want. Dolphin Bay just south of Hua Hin is nice and remote, the Evason Resort at Pranburi, also just past Hua Hin if you want some pampering, or a little further at Bang Saphan or the Cabana Hotel at Chumphon, or just go for one of the quieter beach areas around Hua Hin and Cha Am, tourists yes, but far more sedate, many Royal Palaces on the beaches as the Royal family have their holiday palaces there. The Anantara has a quiet beach but it's only about 10 minutes to town for eating out, shopping, markets and entertainment, again, very sedate.

Michael From New York

Phuket does get a lot of tourists but it is a rather big island.<BR><BR>Patong is the biggest beach on Phuket, therefore has the most hotels of all gradients. This is touristy--avoid Patong and you won't find the place touristy at all.<BR><BR>Go further down the west coast of Phuket and you can find wonderful places where the beach is not overrun.<BR><BR>Kata Noi Beach has the Kata Thani Resort and the beach is immaculate.<BR><BR>Kata Yai has the Boathouse (expensive) or the Andaman Cannasia (Inexpensive).<BR><BR>You might also consider the BangTao Beach and the Bangtao Cottages.<BR><BR>Near Krabi, I stayed in Ao Nang at the Ocean Garden Resort. Inexpensive and easy to take a day trip to Koh Phi Phi.<BR><BR>Michael

Sarah Rey

You can try Cha Am, Hua Hin, Dolphin Bay, Evason Resort and Spa at Pranburi, Chumpon or Bang Saphan or some of the more select resorts on Koh Samui ( though very touristy ). Although I agree there are some nice quiet beaches on Phuket you will still run the gauntlett of a tourist run place, e.g pestered at the airport and in general in most places, also most things are about 20% more than other places.

Kristina

I just got back from 4 days on Koh Chang. This island is about a 4-5 hour bus ride from Bangkok toward the border with Cambodia. While there are some nice hotels, there are also plenty of guesthouses with bungalows right on the beach. We stayed on White sand beach, which is supposed to be the most touristy, but in low season was just fine. The other beaches were completely deserted. We had a bungalow with bathroom and fan for $7 a night and then moved to an A/C bungalow directly on the beach for $20 a night.

Michelle

I highly recommend Railei Beach Club in Railei Beach. You fly into Kraibi on Thai Air and a car picks you up and drives you to Ao Nang where a longtail boat picks you up and takes you to Rai Lei. (It sounds worse than it is and is well worth it!)<BR><BR>There are a lot of bungelow type hotel places at this beach but the best thing to do is to rent a little privately owned house. Try to stay as long as you can- because it is never long enough- 10 days can just fly by!<BR><BR>The houses here vary in style. Most do not have hot water- but that is all part of the experience. Pouring rain water collected in giant urns over you feels great! <BR><BR>November is my favorite time to be there- just before the holiday crowds. <BR><BR>here is their e-mail: <BR>[email protected]

miri

Koh Samui is nice and you can find probably some quite spots but its more complicated to get there.<BR>Krabi it self is just an ugly small town , but you can get from ther to<BR> Pan Gha (not sure the spelling is right) which is a nice beach or to Pra Nang (a small town with boat tours to mountains in the middle of the sea).

Jill

Just avoid places like Phuket or Koh Samui and you will probably enjoy. Koh Samet, Koh Chang, Krabi, Hua Hin, Bang Sappan are all worthy of considoring.