Thailand For Visitors

Rayong

There was a time, back when I first came to live in Thailand in the early 1990s, that Rayong was being promoted as the "next Pattaya", the next big beach resorts where rich Bangkok residents would retire to on the weekends. Several high-rise condominiums were built before the whole thing came crashing down in 1997.

Map of Rayong Province
Map of Rayong

Dreams of being a big international resort destination have long since been left behind. However, there are still a few nice resorts, and thanks to a huge industrial estate on the eastern side of the province, there is enough of a supply of middle class Thais and foreign expatriates to keep the hotels and resorts going.

The province's most well known tourist attraction is the small island of Koh Samet. It's white sandy beaches have attracted backpackers and campers for years. A few more up-scale accommodations have appeared on the island recently, but it is still a bit of a journey getting there.

In this section

Getting There

The main challenge to visiting Rayong is getting there. There are no nearby airports or trains, so the only practical way to get there is by car or bus. From Bangkok, buses leave more or less hourly from the Eastern Bus Station on Sukhumvit Road at Ekamai. The trip takes about three hours directly, longer with stops.

Hotels

There aren't many international standard hotels in Rayong. The difficulty getting there means that most of the accommodations cater to Thais and the local expatriate crowd. However, there are a few places worth noting. The Novotel Rim Pae is a very family oriented resort at a reasonable price. The Rayong Resort is worth considering for its striking location on a promontory. This list does not include the accommodations available on Koh Samet.

Koh Samet

Koh Samet's white sand beaches have been attracting campers for years. Over time, small bungalows developed for those that didn't want to pack their own tents, and now, thanks to competition - and probably an aging client base that doesn't want to "rough it" anymore - there are full scale three and four star resorts available. Map of Koh Samet

Weather

  Like the rest of Thailand, Rayong is subject to the annual monsoon rains, which are heaviest from June to September. The coolest and driest time of year is December to February. While I generally emphasize that the rainy season is not an entirely bad time to visit Thailand, it really isn't a good time to visit Rayong. There is very little to do away from the beaches, since there are no historical or cultural attractions in the area.