A day on Koh Larn, done properly

Pattaya's own beach is not why anyone photographs this coast. The water people picture when they picture Thailand is on Koh Larn, a small island about seven kilometres offshore, and getting there yourself is cheaper, better and considerably more pleasant than any packaged tour.

This is how to do it well.

Getting there

Public ferries leave from Bali Hai Pier at the southern end of Beach Road, running to a fixed timetable through the day. Buy the ticket at the pier itself rather than from an agent or a hotel desk. The crossing takes around forty-five minutes on the standard boat.

Speedboats also run from the same area, cost considerably more, and cut the crossing to roughly fifteen minutes. They are worth it if you are short of time or travelling as a group, and unnecessary otherwise.

Take the earliest boat you can face. This is the single most important piece of advice on this page. The difference between arriving at eight and arriving at eleven is the difference between an almost empty beach and a full one, because the organised day tours all land mid-morning and leave mid-afternoon.

An early boat also gives you the better light, calmer water, and a couple of hours before the jet skis start.

Which beach

The island has several beaches and they are genuinely different from one another.

Tawaen is where the ferry docks and where the large majority of visitors stay. It is the biggest and best-served beach on the island: sunbeds, umbrellas, showers, kitchens along the shore, a 7-Eleven that is permanently busy, and every water sport on offer.

That makes it convenient and also the most crowded stretch of sand on the island. Jet ski traffic is constant and close to the swimming area. If you want everything within reach and do not mind company, it works.

Samae is over the hill on the far side, about ten minutes from the pier by songthaew or scooter. Clearer water, softer sand, a fraction of the people, and sunbeds and food along the shore without the crush. There is a viewpoint on the approach road worth stopping at.

If you are going once, go here. The ten minutes of travel filters out most of the day-trip traffic and the water is noticeably cleaner most days.

Nual, often called Monkey Beach, and Thien are smaller and quieter again. Worth the effort if you have a scooter and a full day, and genuinely peaceful outside high season.

Getting around the island

Koh Larn is too big and too hilly to walk between beaches, so you need one of two things.

Songthaews wait at the pier and run fixed routes to each beach. Straightforward, cheap, and they leave when reasonably full.

Scooters are available for hire by the day at the pier and near the main beaches. They give you the whole island, including the quieter beaches and the viewpoints, and they are the better option if you want to move around. The same cautions apply as on the mainland: helmets are required, the roads are steep in places, and your insurance may exclude you without the correct licence.

Taxis and private hire also operate, at a premium.

What a good day looks like

Early ferry, arriving around eight or nine. Straight through to Samae rather than stopping at Tawaen. Swim while the water is calm and the beach is quiet. Lunch on the sand from one of the beachfront kitchens. An hour or two of nothing in particular. Then either a scooter loop to one of the smaller beaches, or an early boat back to shower before dinner.

If you want to make an evening of it, note that the last standard ferry leaves well before sunset for most of the year. Watching the sun go down from the island means either a speedboat back in the dark or staying the night, and both are entirely possible and inexpensive.

What it costs, in shape

No figures here, because ferry fares, sunbed hire and scooter rates change and a stale number is worse than none.

The shape is: ferry out and back, transport on the island, sunbed and umbrella, lunch, and optionally water sports. The first four are all modest. Water sports are where a cheap day becomes an expensive one very quickly.

Everything on the island except the ferry ticket is negotiable or optional, and almost nothing has a fixed price unless it has a till. Ask before you sit down on a sunbed.

Things that catch people out

The tide and the sea state. Afternoons at Samae can bring real waves, which matters if you came to swim rather than sit. Check the conditions rather than assuming.

Jet ski disputes. This is the most common source of trouble for foreign visitors on any Thai beach: you return a jet ski and are presented with damage you did not cause plus a demand for a large sum. If you rent one, photograph and video the entire machine from every angle before you get on it, slowly, in front of the operator. Anyone reluctant to let you do that is telling you something useful.

The sun. It is stronger here than on the mainland because of the reflection off the water, and the sea breeze disguises it entirely. Shade is limited outside the sunbed rows.

Cash. ATMs exist on the island but are inconvenient and frequently queued. Bring more cash than you think you need, in small notes.

The return crossing is slower. The standard boat back often takes over an hour. If you have a dinner reservation, take a speedboat or leave earlier than feels necessary.

Ferries can be suspended in rough conditions during the wet season. Check before travelling to the pier.

Coral and marine life. Reef shoes are worth having on the rockier entries, and standing on coral damages it and cuts you.

Snorkelling

The water around Koh Larn is the clearest within reach of Pattaya and snorkelling here is genuinely good on the right day.

Gear can be rented on the main beaches, and boat trips run from Tawaen out to snorkelling spots. Samae is the better of the two main beaches for snorkelling straight off the sand.

Visibility varies considerably and drops after heavy rain. Mornings are generally better than afternoons.

Staying overnight

Underrated, and worth considering if you have the flexibility.

There is accommodation on the island ranging from simple guesthouses to a handful of more comfortable places. Staying over gives you two things you cannot otherwise have: the beaches in the late afternoon once the day boats have gone, and sunrise looking back east toward the mainland.

The island empties out dramatically after the last ferry. That is the version of Koh Larn that residents talk about.

Is it worth it?

Yes, and it is the single strongest argument for Pattaya as a destination.

The mainland beaches here are functional rather than beautiful, and anyone arriving expecting a picture-postcard Thai beach holiday on Beach Road will be disappointed. But a genuinely clear-water island, reachable on a cheap public ferry in forty-five minutes from a city with this much infrastructure, is a rare combination.

Plan around that fact and the coast makes sense. Plan around Beach Road and it does not.

The other islands

Koh Larn is the one everyone goes to, and it has two smaller neighbours that almost nobody does.

Koh Sak sits between Koh Larn and the mainland and is tiny, with a single beach and a fraction of the traffic. Boats run from Bali Hai and from Koh Larn itself, though not on a frequent fixed schedule, so it is easier as part of a chartered trip than as an independent journey.

Koh Krok is smaller again and largely a snorkelling stop rather than a beach day.

Neither has the infrastructure of Koh Larn. That is precisely the appeal if you have already done the main island and want somewhere emptier.

Best time of year

Cool season, November to February, gives the calmest crossings, the clearest water and the most reliable weather. It is also when the boats are fullest.

Hot season, March to May, has calm seas and excellent water clarity. Get an early boat and be off the sand by midday.

Wet season, June to October, brings rougher water, reduced clarity after heavy rain, and occasional ferry suspensions. It also brings far fewer people and much better prices. If you can be flexible about which day you go, it is entirely workable.

A practical packing list

Sun protection stronger than you think, and reapplied. A rash vest if you burn easily, which is more effective than repeated sunscreen. Reef shoes for the rockier entries. Cash in small notes. A dry bag or waterproof phone pouch. Water. And something to sit on if you would rather not hire a sunbed.

Everything else is available on the island at island prices.

One last thing worth knowing

The island has a small resident population and a working community that lives there year-round, and it absorbs an enormous number of day visitors relative to its size.

Two habits make you a better guest. Take your rubbish back with you or use the bins, because waste management on a small island is a genuine problem. And be aware that some beaches restrict certain water sports and vehicles at particular times, usually for good reason, and the restrictions are worth respecting rather than testing.

Neither costs you anything, and both matter more here than they do on the mainland.