The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

dirtydog

Bangsaen Beach is about 45kms from Pattaya and about 15kms from Chonburi, now this place is nice, this is where all the Thai tourists from Bangkok come for their weekends, it is clean, safe and upmarket, the Beach road is nice and big and has plenty of parking, the hotels are not for your average Euro Trash backpackers, nope all high end stuff here.

The beach side of the road has a walkway which is full of differant food stalls and their tables and chairs so there is plenty of choice on what to eat.

The beach has deck chairs and inner tubes for rent at bargain prices, also being nearly 3kms long you will sure be able to find a quiet spot.

The southern end of the beach has a few fishing boats and local fishermans shacks, there is a parking area here but it is too far away from the main beach area in Bangsaen and too far away from the food vendors.

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Smeg

Its well nice. And not a fat farang or tatood hag in sight

And, only 100 minutes from ekkamai coach station, so good for a daytrip (weekdays, stay away at weekends) from bangers

ADare

And only 100 yds from my house.

Thetyim

Isn't that the place where the beach is all stones ?

Begbie

No lots of sand but the water is very shallow and a bit dirty.

Smeg

Its very dirty, but I hate swimming in the sea. However, the breeze is lovely and the town is very nice.

Smeg

ADare, is it a good place to live?

NickA

Went there once, it wasn't very nice and it rained.....moved on to Jomtien

Butch

I've stayed at the resort with the blue roof on the left hand side of the pic a few times.
Nice and reraxed place with not too many tourists.

Itchy

Bangsaen is fine midweek, but murder on a weekend when the whole of BKK seems to decend on the town.

But, it has to be said, the mayor of the town keeps the place spotless - But then who would chuck trash on Khanmun Pho's plot?!

dirtydog

He has killed people for more than that, wonder when if ever the police will actually catch him?

Thetyim

Can someone answer these questions.

Is Bang Saen the place with a big aquarium thingy up towards the Highway and did Pol Pot used to have a house there ?

dirtydog

Yep Bangsaen has the big aquarium place, if I remember correctly they charge one price only for entry regardless of your color, Not sure about Pol Pot though, I thought he had a house in Pattaya.

Wallalai

I agree, spent a few days there 3 years ago and the water is not very inviting for a swim. Very few "farangs" and nice places close to the beach in the shadow to have a good meal. Worst a look for 1-2 days.

Thetyim

Thanks for your prompt reply

I went to BangSaen many, many years ago and there wasn't any sand.
Did they truck it all in ?
I can't be thinking about the wrong place because I recognise the roundabout picture, I went to the Aquarium and someone told me about the dodgy Mayor. I also saw PolPot whilst I was there and was told he had a house there.

Umbuku

Bang Saen is a good spot for a few quiet days.
Sit by the beach, eat seafood, DO NOT swim in the water.
I think the place catches a bad current in the gulf that washes all the shit from the Chao Phraya river down the beach. Eeuuucck!
It must keep the locals employed collecting plastic bags, used condoms and the like.

danbo

Does anyone have any hotel experiences to recount? There is a bungalow complex which looks reasonable, and a hotel, The Tide Resort, which looks very nice but pricey.

JoGeAr

Bangsaen Villa is a great little place down the end across the road from the famous and good (but expensive) seafood restaurant whose name I can't remember right now. Rooms are around 750 baht for a very nice room. Ask for Khun Add, the front office manager, and tell her Khun Geoffrey and A recommended them.

I moved from Pattaya to Bangsaen about three years ago and it was definitely a very good move. Much cheaper, cleaner, quieter, and most importantly, safer.

We live in Wungmukland (although we've been in Australia since October last year) very close to Laemthong Department Store. Nice family place, lots of kids for my son to play with.

The beach in Bangsaen is great during the week. Not a swimming beach but a nice place to sit and relax. Some hawkers but good food service and ice-cold beer. Weekends are usually a bit of a nightmare and long weekends are to be totally avoided. One good thing they do on some weekends is turn on the big flood-lights over the beach after the sun goes down. Being Thailand, many of the bulbs have blown so the lighting is very bearable. They take down all the umbrellas and you sit there in the open beach air, sitting on reasonably comfortable deck chairs and you can order food and drinks as you like. Nice way to spend a summer's evening.

Not a real lot to see there. Okay, there is the oceanarium, Khao Sarm Muk (monkey mountain), and the ever-growing, gaudy Chinese temple on the back-road to Ang Sila, but that's about it.

Night-life is interesting in Bangsaen, mainly because it is a university town. Lots of pubs and restaurants packed to the gunnels with students. I've always had a good time at Take It Easy Pub (Marijuana plays there on a regular basis). Galaxy Exotic Thai Massage Parlour/Nightclub/Disco is the huge complex on the corner as you turn into Bangsaen. Can be fun!!

If you're looking for cheaper accommodation you can try down (i think) Soi 7 and there a few little hotel/restaurants run by what look like farang retirees and their Thai families. Driven down the soi many times but never actually stopped to check them out. (Note to self for when I get back in July)

Songtaews make it very easy to get around Bangsaen. They start near Nongmon Talat-Sot Market on Sukhumvit Road where all the buses stop. They do a big loop down along Beach Road and come back to the market again. Operate 24 hours a day but can be infrequent after midnight.

Gerbil

^Basically, Bangsaen is as boring as shit. I spent a week there one Thursday.

danbo

^You don't know me Gerbil - I could quite happily spend two whole days just looking at a sign that advertises 'monkey mountain'.