Sights of Samet Island - what to see

The main "attractions" of Samet Island are its beaches and nature. It is because of them that tourists come here. The island is not rich in real sights.

Frankly speaking, there is not a single serious attraction of a cultural or historical nature here. Among the more or less interesting places you can visit the temple of Ko Samet (Wat Ko Samet), which is located in the central area of the island (Koh Samet Temple on the map). Here, next to the temple, there is a large statue of the white Buddha, which tourists come to see. There is a fish pond on the territory of the temple.

A rather interesting and unusual place is the standing stones on Ao Pudsa beach (Ao Pudsa Beach is the southern part of the district and the beach in the south of Ao Phai). Stones "stand" on the coastal cliffs of the beach and strangely keep their balance.

You can also walk to the sculpture of the mermaid and the prince, which is located in a beautiful bay between the beaches of Ao Pai and Sai Kai (sculpture of a mermaid and a prince on the map). According to a Thai poem, a mermaid saved a prince and fell in love with him. In principle, these sculptures do not represent anything outstanding, but since there is nothing else to see on the island, this place is worth visiting and taking photos.

You can also visit the turtle and fish breeding center (Turtle Conservation Centre). In this center, the fry of turtles and fish are grown, and then released into the sea. The farm is located right on the water near the shore in the north of the island (farm on the map).

This is where the man-made sights of the island are exhausted. If you want to see more sights or have fun, you can swim to the mainland and walk around the city of Rayong. Other attractions of Samet Island are natural.

National Park

The main natural attraction of the island is the Khao Laem Ya National Park (Khao Laem Ya - Mu Ko Samet National Park). Moreover, the nature of the park is not limited only to the land area, but also includes underwater. The territory of the park also does not consist only of the island of Samet, but extends over a large sea area and contains several more islets. Access to the National Park is paid, and is 200 baht (currency of Thailand, exchange rate) for adults and 100 baht for children. You pay this amount once upon arrival on the island, and you can safely travel around the island and swim to the neighboring islands of the park, without paying anything else. The main thing is to save the payment tickets.

The park was created 25 years ago in order to preserve natural conditions on land and in water. It cannot be said that there is a myriad of exotic flora and fauna in the reserve on land, but still some exotic species of birds and animals can be seen here. Monkeys live here (be careful, they can steal your belongings or even attack and bite), squirrels, flying forests, palm crab, sea monitor lizard, spiny gecko, flathead gecko, etc.

Underwater world and islands near Koh Samet

Excellent visibility underwater allows you to explore the underwater world of the park, diving and snorkeling. The best time to do this is from October to February. At other times of the year, visibility under water deteriorates somewhat. The underwater world is represented by coral reefs, small fish, stingrays, sea turtles (swim sometimes), whale sharks (not dangerous to humans)

You can go diving and snorkeling both off the coast of Samet Island and swim to nearby small islets, to which excursions are organized from Samet for both diving/snorkeling enthusiasts and land tourists:

Kudi Island (Ko Kudi, also Koh Gudee) is located 2.5 km east of Samet Island (O. Kudi on the map). The island is small in size, only half a kilometer in length. Two more tiny islands are located very close by. This is a great place for scuba diving and snorkeling, and very desperate tourists can stay on the island and spend the night in a bungalow.

Island of Talu (Ko Talu) is located 6 kilometers from the island of Samet (O. Kudi on the map). This island is called "leaky island" because of its unusual shape: a natural hole passes through the island, forming a stone bridge. There are excellent beaches on the island of Talu and a good (albeit slightly worse than on the island of Kudi) underwater life.

Chan Island is located off the southern cape of Samet. A great place to relax and scuba dive.

Hin Khao Island lies north of Samet. Also a great place for scuba diving and snorkeling.

There are many more interesting and beautiful islands that can be reached by hiring a boat.