Laem Yai Beach - a beach that only appears at low tide

Laem Yai is a beach for lovers of non-standard beach holidays. It is located in the northwestern part of Koh Samui, deep in the jungle, far from the island's main traffic, roads and shops..

The content of the article

one Beach description
2 Entering the water, depth and waves
3 Sun beds and shade
4 Beach photo
five Infrastructure
6 Houses and hotels on the beach
7 How to find the beach
eight Beach Map

Beach description

The beach is about one kilometer long. It starts near a lonely mountain in the sea and ends on a rocky bank bordering the beach. Bang Mcham. The island chain of Ang Thong National Marine Park is clearly visible on the horizon..

Throughout its length, Laem Yai Beach is the same in width, sand and debris composition. This is one of the most dirtied beaches on Koh Samui. The width, it should be noted, is about two meters at high tide. The sand on Laem Yai is of some kind: a mixture of fine yellow sand with small stones, large individual pebbles and shells.

The sand is so dense that a few vacationers walk on it and local fishermen drive around in jeeps. Cleanliness, as mentioned above, leaves much to be desired, but it should be noted that the garbage is of natural origin.

There are practically no plastic and fishing foam with nets, but there are many fallen trees, old coconuts, sticks and logs. At low tide, a muddy bottom is exposed, a lot of stones of different sizes, it is difficult to enter the water in places because of this, but not enough to refuse a walk.

You won't be able to swim on Lam Yai, this is a beach for walking, sunbathing and photo shoots. In case anyone is interested in reading about other places, I have a short overview of all the beaches of Koh Samui, will help you decide on the choice of the beach.

Entering the water, depth and waves

At the beginning of the description, you probably noticed that the indicated width of the beach is about two meters, at high tide. And in the pictures you can see quite a wide strip of sand, which does not fit a little with two meters. So, the uniqueness of Laem Yai beach is that it becomes a beach only at low tide..

The sea here is so shallow that it runs away at a distance of up to half a kilometer, leaving behind bald patches of sand and puddles, ankle-deep.

As a rule, the peaks of the low tide occur at midday, so the open areas of the bottom have time to dry out and they make wonderful islands-beaches, on which vacationers of nearby hotels fit. Because of the shallow water, there is never a large wave here, except in the stormy season. Perfect beach for kids, but boring for parents.

Sun beds and shade

Sun loungers on the beach are placed along the walls of the resorts and are intended only for their clients, but there is more than enough natural shade. There are only two resorts on the entire green, palm-covered coastline.

Beach photo

Infrastructure

The area in which Laem Yai Beach is located is located on the outskirts of the Samui Ring Road. There is not a single store, laundry or equipment rental - all these pleasures are either on the road along Bang Mcham, on either Bang Po. The nearest convenience store or loundry is about three kilometers away, and the big three hypermarkets are 15 kilometers from Laem Yai, about 30 minutes away by car. From the nearest attractions, within a ten-minute accessibility by car:

observation deck at the highest point «Nathonovskaya Gorka» - the pass between Nathon and Bang Po;
a wild observation deck on the mountain opposite the observation deck, which is indicated in the paragraph above;
Zong Rya waterfall, the road to which starts opposite the Sitran Ferry sump for cars;
several temples and churches of different religions.

Entertainment on Laem Yai includes one restaurant that makes amazing inexpensive cocktails, two massage awnings with country grandmothers, tree swings for romantic sunset views, and kayaks for rent. If you ride a bike in the direction of the cape, from which Laem Yai begins, you can find there a reggae-rasta bar with good music and a view of the sunset.

Houses and hotels on the beach

There are only two resorts on the shore: Mai Samui Beach Resort & Spa and The Passage Samui Villas & Resort, the third, Garto Resort, is in the process of restoration after a long conservation and in May 2014 the construction process has just begun.

There are no houses for rent within a radius of three kilometers. As I said, this is the edge of civilization. If you want to book a hotel here in advance or look for accommodation on other beaches, I have selection of hotels on Koh Samui with a good rating and reviews.

Hotels near Laem Yai>

Be sure (and I insist) to check for discounts or special offers on the excellent Roomguru service. He will quickly and easily show you discounts in all existing booking systems. In Asia, for example, there are a lot of offers on Agoda.com, which are much more interesting than for exactly the same hotels on Booking.com.

For the lazy, here are the direct links to the hotels listed above:

How to find the beach

In order to get to Laem Yai beach, you need to go towards the Nathon hill to the sign «The passage». If you are moving from Nathon, then this sign will be in the direction of travel, before reaching the ascent uphill. And if you move from Maenam, then do not rush when descending the mountain, the pointer will be on the right, the turn is not the most convenient and unsafe on this site. Better to drive a little further and turn around.