Eastern Thailand Region Guide

Eastern Thailand is the stretch of coast and hinterland running from Bangkok to the Cambodian border, and it is where Bangkok itself goes for the weekend.

The draw is the islands. Ko Chang is the second largest in the country, mountainous and still largely forested, with a west coast of beaches and an interior of waterfalls. Beyond it, Ko Kut and Ko Mak are quieter still — Ko Kut in particular is among the least developed islands of its size anywhere in Thailand.

Closer in, Ko Samet is a two-hour hop from Bangkok with white sand and a national park designation.

Inland there is fruit — this is Thailand’s orchard country, producing durian, mangosteen and rambutan — along with gem trading at Chanthaburi, a cathedral built by Vietnamese Catholics, and the waterfalls of the Cardamom foothills.

Ko Chang

The west coast beaches — White Sand, Klong Prao, Lonely Beach in descending order of development — and an interior of rainforest and waterfalls at Klong Plu and Than Mayom. The east side has fishing villages on stilts at Bang Bao and Salak Kok, and is where the island still feels like itself.

The far islands

Ko Kut, near the Cambodian border, is the fourth largest Thai island and has almost no roads, no nightlife and very clear water. Ko Mak is flat, small, privately owned by a handful of families and quietly excellent for cycling.

Ko Samet

Two hours from Bangkok, a national park with a string of small beaches down its east side. Busy at weekends and pleasantly empty midweek.

Chanthaburi

A gem-trading town where the weekend market deals in sapphires and rubies from across the region, with a riverside quarter of old shophouses and the largest Catholic cathedral in Thailand, built by Vietnamese refugees.

Inland

The orchards around Chanthaburi and Rayong in fruit season, the Khao Chamao and Khao Kitchakut national parks, and the Cambodian border crossings at Hat Lek and Aranyaprathet.

The east is Thailand’s weekend coast and its industrial engine at the same time, and both shape its character.

Bangkok’s seaside

Proximity to the capital defines the region. Pattaya, Bang Saen and Ko Samet developed as places for Bangkok to go, and the rhythm of the week — quiet Tuesday, packed Saturday — is unlike the tourist coasts further south, which run on international flight schedules.

Industry

The Eastern Seaboard programme from the 1980s, and the Eastern Economic Corridor since, made Chonburi and Rayong the centre of Thai petrochemicals, car manufacturing and deep-water ports. A large share of national exports leaves through Laem Chabang, and the wealth and the pollution are both concentrated here.

Vietnamese and Chinese communities

Chanthaburi has an established Vietnamese Catholic population dating from nineteenth-century persecution and later refugee waves, and Thai-Chinese families dominate the gem trade and much of the commerce.

Fruit and gems

Two distinctive regional trades, both seasonal, both with their own markets and etiquette.

The Cambodian edge

The far east has a Khmer-influenced border culture, and the frontier has been disputed — the area around Preah Vihear remains sensitive.

Ko Chang and Ko Samet are national parks, and the park fee charged on arrival funds their management. Pay it rather than looking for a way round, and stay on marked trails in the interior.

The reefs here are less spectacular than the Andaman’s and correspondingly less protected. Use reef-safe sunscreen, do not touch coral, and avoid operators who feed fish to draw them in.

Development pressure on the coast is intense — the Eastern Economic Corridor has brought industry, ports and petrochemicals to Rayong and Chonburi, and the contrast with the beaches a few kilometres away is stark. Water quality near the industrial coast is not what it looks like.

Elephant camps on Ko Chang and around Pattaya include several that offer riding; choose observation-only sanctuaries or skip it.

Pattaya has a long-standing sex industry with documented trafficking and child exploitation. It is prosecuted, including under visitors’ home-country laws.

Buy fruit directly from the orchards in season — it is the regional economy and it is superb.

November to April is the dry season and the best window: calm seas, reliable sun, and comfortable temperatures. December to February is the peak, when Bangkok escapes to the coast and the islands fill at weekends and over New Year.

May to October is the south-west monsoon. Ko Chang and the eastern islands are exposed to it, and rain is heavy, seas are rough, and a number of island resorts and ferry services reduce or close entirely — more so than on the Gulf islands further south.

April to June is fruit season, and it is the regional event. Chanthaburi and Rayong hold fruit festivals, and durian, mangosteen, rambutan and langsat are at their best and cheapest. Anyone curious about durian should come then.

Weekends matter here in a way they do not elsewhere in Thailand: Ko Samet and Pattaya fill with Bangkok visitors on Friday and empty on Sunday evening, and prices move accordingly.

What a day costs, by how you travel

Relative cost across the region

The east is cheaper than the southern islands and more expensive than the north-east. Its particular quirk is the weekend premium, which can be substantial on the islands nearest Bangkok.