Koh Samet for the long weekend: a trip from Pattaya on 23-25 October and the alcohol ban on the 26th
Friday 23 October is a public holiday in Thailand, so there are three days off in a row, and on Monday the 26th alcohol sales stop nationwide. How to get from Pattaya to Koh Samet: a day tour or your own car to Ban Phe pier.
Friday 23 October is a public holiday in Thailand: King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day. Together with Saturday and Sunday that makes three days off in a row. Monday 26 October, Ok Phansa, is a working day but a dry one: no alcohol is sold anywhere in the country. Take Monday off and you get four days.
On long weekends Thais head to the sea themselves, and Koh Samet, the nearest white-sand island to Pattaya, is one of the first places to fill up. If you want to stay overnight on 23-25 October, book a room on the island now.
Koh Samet is a national park in Rayong province, about 70 km from Pattaya. The sand is white and as fine as semolina, and the water is clearer than in Pattaya Bay. A day trip is easy: about an hour and a half to the pier, then a boat.
The simplest option is the Koh Samet day tour. Hotel pick-up at 7-8 am, a speedboat to the island and the whole day on Ao Phai beach with a sunbed and umbrella. The national park fee is included, the guide speaks Russian and English, and you are back at the hotel by 18:30-19:00. Adults from 1,049 baht, children from 600.
If you prefer your own pace, rent a car and drive along Sukhumvit to Nuanthip Pier in Ban Phe. Cars start at 1,250 baht a day, and you need an international driving permit. You leave the car at the parking lot by the pier.
What to pay on the spot if you go on your own:
1. Ferry from Ban Phe to Na Dan pier - 50-70 baht one way, about 40 minutes; a speedboat is faster and costs more.
2. National park entry - 200 baht per foreign adult, paid at the park entrance.
Keep one evening for Pattaya: go up to the Pattaya Viewpoint on Pratamnak Hill. At the end of October the sun sets around 18:00, so be there by half past five. The viewpoint is open until 21:00.
Now about Monday 26 October. From 00:01 to midnight shops, 7-Eleven, supermarkets and ordinary restaurants do not sell alcohol. Licensed hotels, licensed entertainment venues and international departure halls at airports may still sell it. Sellers face a fine of up to 10,000 baht or up to six months in jail, so there is no point in trying to persuade them.
On the morning of the 26th monks receive alms at temples, and many Thais come dressed in white. Tourists are welcome to watch, just wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees.
Forward this plan to friends who are in Pattaya right now and still haven't decided what to do on 23-25 October. And to anyone planning a Monday celebration: buy the beer for the 26th in advance.
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