Rethinking Rayong: Bangkok’s Best Beach Escape

The usual approach in travel writing is to claim you’ve uncovered some secret place that you’re now sharing with the world for the first time.  This time, I’m the outsider. 

In our first two years in Thailand, we treated Rayong as an easy weekend getaway when we didn’t have the time or energy for anything more ambitious.  It was pleasant enough and had great food, but in my mind, it couldn’t compare to the Andaman Coast or the Thai Riviera.

So why were there so many European tourists?  Who flies eleven hours to Thailand just to settle for the beaches closest to the airport?  Sure, it’s cheaper, but it just made no sense to me.  Did they just not realize how much more Thailand has to offer?

Turns out it was me who didn’t understand.  I’ve since come to not only appreciate it but to love it.  Rayong has some beautiful white-sand beaches, especially on the off-shore islands, and the freshest seafood you’ll find anywhere in Thailand.

Mea culpa.  Don’t make the same mistake I did.  Give Rayong a chance.  

I never doubted the advantages of Rayong’s location.  Only 2-3 hours from Bangkok, most of it on a modern, elevated highway, it’s quite simply the easiest beach escape from the capital.  Even if you don’t have your own car, arranging a driver is easy enough, and for stays on offshore islands like Koh Samet, many hotels will even arrange pick-up within Bangkok.

Running parallel to much of Rayong’s shoreline is Sukhumvit Road—the very same highway that begins in Bangkok and continues down Thailand’s eastern seaboard. Closer to the water, smaller highways like Route 3145 hug the shoreline, connecting a string of low-key beaches and fishing villages.

Pick a stretch of beach and there’s a highway that will take you straight to that shore.  The catch is that you have to decide early (sometimes as far back as Chonburi) because the highways branch off toward different coastal pockets well before you reach the water.

We’ve explored the entire coastline over multiple trips, so rather than lay out a single itinerary, we’ll share our recommendations from Cape Liant in the west to the Phang Rat River, which forms the border with Chanthaburi. 

We start our survey of Rayong with Cape Liant, which is actually in neighboring Chonburi province.  This mountainous stretch hides some lovely beaches, but many lie within military bases and are off-limits to foreign visitors.  

It wasn’t always this way.  Even though it’s on a Royal Thai Marine Base, showing a passport used to be enough to access the white-sand crescent of Toey Ngam Beach.

We tried to visit in 2025, but a young marine politely but firmly turned us away.  Recent reviews suggest others have had the same experience over the last few years.  It’s a slightly frustrating introduction to the coast: the scenery is there, just not quite within reach.

If you’re committed to swimming in the area, Nang Ram Beach is a good option.  It’s on the grounds of the Royal Thai Navy base in Sattahip, but as at Ao Manao in Prachuap Khiri Khan, guests are welcome during daylight hours.

If you want to skip the military beaches altogether, it’s time to drive east and into Rayong proper.

As you head east from Cape Liant, the terrain flattens and rocky coves give way to long arcs of sand.  These shallow beaches are great for kids, though at low tide the water recedes quite far.

Laem Charoen Beach is essentially Rayong Town’s “city beach.”  It sits at the mouth of the Rayong River, protected by a breakwater, which makes it better for walking and paddling than serious swimming. The vibe here is very local: fishermen at work all day along the breakwater, families appearing in large numbers as the sun begins to drop toward the horizon. 

To the east, Mae Ramphueng Beach stretches for over ten kilometers and is one of Rayong’s longest mainland beaches.  It’s known for soft golden sand, and there are absolute miles of it.  The beach attracts crowds, but with so much of it to go around, you’d hardly notice.

The charm of both Laem Charoen and Mae Ramphueng lies in their very local vibe. These aren’t polished resort beaches; they’re places where Thai families picnic, fishermen bring in their catch, and restaurants under casuarina pines serve very fresh seafood without pretense. Even if your ultimate destination is further along, stopping at one of these for a meal, a stroll, or a quiet swim is never a bad idea.

If you’re choosing between them: Laem Charoen is closer to town and feels more like an urban beach with amenities nearby, while Mae Ramphueng is more scenic. But here’s the practical advice: don’t overthink it—find a patch of sand with a few locals enjoying the sea, choose a shaded table at a beachside restaurant, and enjoy lunch with a view.

A friend from London once told me he hadn’t realized how special Bangkok was until one Friday, he and his girlfriend decided they needed an escape.  They hired a taxi to collect them from their Sathorn office and, by early evening, they were eating dinner on a Koh Samet beach.

I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay that kind of cab fare, but it shows just how near paradise is to the megacity.  

To get to the island, head for Bang Phe, about three hours away from Bangkok.  Here, you’ll find several piers with ferries to Koh Samet.

Nuanthip Pier is the standard drop off for many of the buses and minivans coming from Bangkok; the Ban Phe Municipal Pier (Tha Ruea Phe) is where public ferries and high-speed catamarans depart; and Sri Ban Phe Pier is a third possibility if the others are crowded.  

If you’re staying at any of the hotels run by the Samed Resorts Group, you’ll depart from the Ao Prao Pier, a private and gloriously efficient operation run exclusively for their guests.  Once you arrive at the pier, you won’t touch your luggage again until you’re sitting in your room.

After a trip of anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes, depending on the type of boat, you’ll usually arrive at Na Dan Pier, on the northern end of the island.  From there, it’s a songthaew to your hotel.

Koh Samet is large enough to offer every range of accommodation, from absolute budget backpacker to high-end luxury.  Our suggestions are in the Plan Your Trip section below, but there’s enough choice to simply find what suits you. 

The northeastern tip of Koh Samet along Sai Kaew Beach is the most densely packed section of the island.  It’s a wonderfully scenic stretch, but crowded.  Ranks of bars and restaurants run the full length of the beach and, at high tide, its full width too.   

Ao Wai, down at the far southern end of Koh Samet, may be the nicest beach on the island.  A shallow bay of white sand is the perfect setting to illustrate the clarity of the water, which is something you don’t always get in the estuaries of mainland Rayong.  There is very limited accommodation, so it’s best visited as a day trip.

We stayed at Ao Prao, where a few resorts sit at the crescent-shaped bottom of an amphitheater of jungle-covered cliffs.  Though only a short songthaew away from the livelier parts of Koh Samet, it’s very easy to convince yourself that you’re much, much further away. 

Returning to the mainland and continuing east along Sukhumvit, you’ll pass signs along the road urging you to eat at places with names like “Bee Happy” and “Phons Kitchen.”  I suggest you give in to those urges, drive the sandy paths under the casuarina pines, and take a break.  This stretch of beach is formally known as Chakphong Beach, though I’ve not once heard that name spoken, and it is, for my money, the most pleasant in all of Rayong. 

The sea breeze pushes Chakphong’s fine sand into soft white dunes that wash right up to the restaurants’ shaded tables. To sink your toes into cool sand on a hot day while you have lunch is one of life’s great pleasures.

Despite this, the restaurants are not especially crowded, nor is the beach.  Credit this to the sandy drive under the pines.  Chakphong just isn’t as obvious a stop as Laem Charoen or Mae Ramphueng, where you simply park on the side of the road and step onto the sand.  

As much as Chakphong felt like a discovery to me, the beach is hardly a secret.  It was during a late-December lunch stop at Bee Happy that I first learned how popular the region is with northern European tourists.  The easternmost stretches (sometimes called Wang Kaew) have a Marriott and a Novotel, whose hotel rewards programs have long inspired Bangkokers to drive south. 

The quieter western end is more beautiful, but no matter where you are on Chakphong Beach, you’re assured of a good sunset.  The aspect is ideal to let you, for an hour a day, watch the whole world catch fire.

By the time you reach Laem Mae Phim, you’re no longer just meeting tourists who have “discovered” Rayong, you’re finding those who have moved here.  It’s not hard to see why: the beach is at least as pleasant as we’ve seen further west, but there’s a small seaside town vibe that is very attractive. 

Laem Mae Phim feels more settled.  Most restaurants sit on an embankment above the sand rather than directly on it, and your fellow diners are as likely to have walked from their own condos as from a hotel lobby.  

This steady foundation of residents and ‘in-the-know’ visitors supports a thriving commercial scene near a promenade.  When we visited over the holidays, fairy lights spiderwebbed the trees and a somewhat disturbing animatronic Santa Claus greeted us each time we passed.  

Along the same strip, a permanent restaurant scene has developed.  Seafood remains the anchor (I happily celebrated a birthday dinner at Nongnuch Seafood), but you can also find fresh pasta and Italian at La Capanna, wine and small plates at Tapas Bar & Restaurant, or, if you somehow believe hot cheese belongs on a tropical beach, there’s even raclette.

There are a few traditional hotels like the Mercure, but sublets are widely available for longer stays.  We stayed in a two-bedroom apartment at the Escape Condominiums, a building fronting a small beach within its own isolated cove. 

The short YouTube clip at the top of this post was filmed at Laem Mae Phim, captured as the sun was sinking toward the Gulf.  I’d like to believe there’s a romantic reason for the Campari redness of these Rayong sunsets—something beyond haze—but whatever the reason, they do put the ‘gold’ in golden hour.