Things to do in Ko Samet

Boat trips

Walk on any of Ko Samet's beaches and you'll soon see signs advertising a day out on the water. Choose from two main options: a speedboat trip covering more islands, or a more relaxing slow-boat trip.

Both tend to go for most of the day (11:00 until 16:00 or 17:00) and include either a pre-packed lunch or barbecue, snorkelling gear and all the water you can drink. A speedboat trip to Ko Thalu, Kud, Pateen and Kham along with a visit to the fish farms should cost 600B. A slow-boat trip to 11 beaches on Ko Samet costs 350 to 600B, depending on the duration and your beach of origin. Overall the speedboats are better value as you get to see some of the other islands for just an extra 100B. Night-boat trips to go fishing for squid last from 18:00 to midnight and cost around 500B.

Walks

You can walk the main length of Ko Samet in three to four hours at a reasonable pace and most of the beaches can be reached by walking either around the headlands or via a network of trails.

The trails skip from one beach to another along the island's east coast while Ao Noi Na on the island's north coast and Ao Phrao to the west are reached by road. If you were to start from Ao Phai after breakfast, you could stop and swim at four or five beaches on the way down aiming to arrive at the bottom of the island for around 17:00. Once there, trundle over to the back beach of Ao Kiu Na Nai, which has some quite good snorkelling, then wander down to the viewpoint for sunset. Afterwards you can walk back on the road to whichever beach you are staying at (you will need a torch). Every beach has at least one restaurant, making it easy to stop off en route to refresh with a drink or enjoy a meal. The main dirt road is unlit, so it's best to get within striking distance of your resort as sunset approaches. The northern beach of Ao Noi Na has a better road for walking on and it takes 45 minutes to travel its entire length.

Massage

Relaxing on the warm sands while your back is gently massaged takes some beating. Most beaches on Ko Samet have at least one shaded pavilion with massages on offer for a fairly uniform 250B per hour.

Wandering masseuses in the Ao Hin Khok and Ao Phai area charge around 200B per hour. Nadan also has several indoor massage shops with extended hours.

Thai Boxing

Ko Samet is really a place to chill, but if you do feel the need to expend some energy then Naga Bungalows has a Thai boxing school with Thai- and English-speaking instructors.

Classes can be geared towards those interested in the sport or those who just need a good workout. Naga also organises regular Thai boxing matches at the ring adjacent to the Naga Bar. One-hour lessons are at 16:30 daily and cost 250B.

More details
Naga Bungalows, Ko Samet

Fire spinning

A small school in Nadan village teaches the art of fire spinning. It's run by a chap named Bond, who dresses accordingly, and also has a centre at Cactus Bar on Haad Rin, Ko Pha Ngan.

The cost is about 900B for a three-day course, with classes two hours each and all materials provided. Several beach restaurants, including the Ploy Talay on Haad Sai Kaew, also offer free fire spinning shows nightly.

More details

mail@thefiremaster.com
http://www.thefiremaster.com/