Koh samet or Koh chang in july?

[SKINBAD]

Hello to everyone.
Due in Pattaya for a month in July but fancy a few days away.We were looking at Koh Samet and Koh Chang.With it being low season the only thing we are worried about is the weather.
There will be 4 of us and want to spend around 4-5 nights at one of them.
Price wise of both,which would you say is the most expensive,i,e, food and drink? We dont mind paying up to 2,500 a night although we`d prefere something a bit less.We don`t even mind which part of the islands we stay on,just fancy a bit of relaxation and a change from the madness of pattaya !!
Thanks in advance for your help.

[pescator]

Koh Samet is a very dry island.
Until a decade ago, they had to bring water from the mainland to the various bungalow operations on the beaches.
Now a huge reservoir has been dug out to keep a steady year round water supply.
I recall staying 14 days on Koh Samet during the rainy season. Every night we could watch heavy rain falling over the mainland, not once did the rain make it to Koh Samet.

July is obviously rainy season, but your chances of experiencing little rain is much better on koh samet than on koh chang. Add to that, serious rip tides occur during the rainy season on Koh Chang.
Dengue fever was prevalent last year on koh Samet and in the province of Rayong generally.
Check out some weather statistic on koh chang on this link:

Koh Chang Island | The Weather | Koh Chang Island Guide For Independent Travellers

[the dogcatcher]

I would avoid both in the rainy. Roads on Samet are dirt, roads on Chang are steep and tricky. Even when it's dry.

[aging one]

See how the weather is when you are going, but in general Koh Chang almost shuts down in the rainy season. Half of high season price or less. But it pours when it rains there in the rainy season. We always have a dry spell in July or August, you may hit it lucky. No need at all to pre book.

Samet has turned into an over priced shithole in my opinion. But the odds of it being dry are much higher as has already been said. During the week you will get the lowest rates, but often Samet does not offer many discounts.

Hell spend an hour googling "accommodation on Samet and Chang" Kinda fun at the variety on the net. Yet there are many nice places not even mentioned on the net in both places. More on Koh Chang though.

[Scottish Gary]

I would avoid both in the rainy. Roads on Samet are dirt, roads on Chang are steep and tricky. Even when it's dry.

I agree with that.
Any island can be a miserable experience with constant heavy rain. Also Samet is bad enough for mosquitoes in the dry season. In the rainy they are unbearable.

[Scottish Gary]

Samet has turned into an over priced shithole in my opinion.

Agreed.
They have hiked up the prices yet the quality has not improved. The bugalows i usually say in at ao prao have doubled their prices in the last year but the rooms are exactly the same.
The owner told me it was because visitors to Samet only stay for a short time.
At these prices they wont be staying at all i though to myself.

[aging one]

I gave up on samet 3 years ago Gary. 2,000 baht a night for an older bungalow, never built right, away from the beach, shit beds, and no way to get the sand out. For me with twin 12 year olds its no freaking way. I would need two shitholes.

Hell OP with wwwairasia.com you can go to phuket as easy as anywhere and take advantage of the low season prices. You have to check air asia every day or sign up for their alerts. I am going the end of April and the start of May with the family. I paid 800 baht each for round trip tickets for 4. They always have specials for like 599-1299 one way.
Fun is what its all about.

[SKINBAD]

Thanks for all your input,seems koh samet will be the best option I guess.
Are there any other places within a few hours of pattaya you could name instead of these 2 places.We have been comming to pattaya for years,had a couple of weeks once in phuket but that`s it,done all the day trips aswell.
We have a budget of aprox 25.000-30,000 baht( for the 4 of us ) for a few days away somewhere.
Cheers again.

[aging one]

We have a budget of aprox 25.000-30,000 baht( for the 4 of us ) for a few days away somewhere.

I would say on the river in Kanchanaburi, but its too far, like 7 hours travel time or more from Pattaya. Would be good from BKK. Houseboat on the river is nice. Cool water as well.

[SKINBAD]

We have a budget of aprox 25.000-30,000 baht( for the 4 of us ) for a few days away somewhere.

I would say on the river in Kanchanaburi, but its too far, like 7 hours travel time or more from Pattaya. Would be good from BKK. Houseboat on the river is nice. Cool water as well.

This was what we were thinking aswel,might seem the best option.staying on a raft boat would be fantastic.
Don`t fancy a package tour though, would probably pay for a return mini-bus from pattaya and sort ourselves out once there,
Cheers,now I`m sorted !!

[Bangyai]

Why bother with an island when there are nice quiet beaches along the coast around Rayong or Chao Lao Beach. Check out the various threads in the beaches forum for reviews and pictures

[Bexar County Stud]

Koh Chang is the 2nd biggest island in Thailand. You're going to have a much wider range of accommodation and food options. If you're price sensitive, Chang is a much better option.

Or, as Bangyai mentioned, there's other options in Rayong or down Chantaburi way.

Samet is mainly a weekend spot, that's why it's so expensive. It's simply not good value IMO. I live close by and I've only been there 3 times in 8 years. I agree with AO, why pay 3-4 star prices for a dismal, run-down backpacker pit?

[SKINBAD]

Right,We are going to Kanchanaburi instead.Found a nice rafthouse,basic,which we wanted really,and booked ourselves in for 3 nights,so all sorted.
I think we`ll wait till we`re here winter time to do the islands.We will deffinatley checkout Rayong,the beaches look great and quite, and at only an hour away is great.
thanks all for your help,we`ll have a great holiday now.