Want a Thai beach that attracts long-term visitors and has a distinct lack of nightlife? Then it’s time to head to Koh Payam.
Here are some tips about Koh Payam to get you started with planning your trip:
Getting there
From Bangkok, you can either fly to Ranong or take a 9 hour bus there from the Southern bus terminal for about US$3. Once in Ranong, you can either take a 2-hour ferry or 40-minute speedboat to the island. If you take the night bus, you’ll have to wait a few hours for the first ferry, and depending how much time you have, the speedboat is a great option.
Where to stay
Silver Sands on Ao Yai beach is a great option. It’s only accessible by motorbike, and is nice and secluded. The whole place is only about 15 bungalows. There’s no hot water (but the water is naturally warm in Thailand anyway) and electricity runs from 6-10pm. The owner, Mr. Pat, speaks great English and is super friendly. A bungalow is about US $80/night for two.
What to do
You can kayak or paddle board, and the beach is super lovely. Of course there’s a massage place on the island as well as organic restaurants and bbq places. Other than that, it’s the perfect place to recharge and explore. There are some parties here and there but it’s nothing like the full moon parties on other islands. Most visitors will stay a couple of weeks up to a few months, so you can definitely build relationships as well.
There’s an eco-friendly vibe to the island, and it’s cheap. The whole island is safe and it’s not hard to see why people head there for the long-term! Perhaps the best thing is that there’s a constant breeze, so it never feels too hot.
Have you been? What would you suggest?
