Tawaen beach
Tawaen Beach is located in a small bay in the southeast of Lo Kan Island, also known as Coral Island. Picturesque hills covered in lush tropical flora surround the coast. The famous golden statue of sitting Buddha, along with a small buddhist temple and an observation deck that offers magnificent views of the sea and the island, is located on the hills above the beach.
Photos
Beach description
The 700 m long and 50-150 m wide beach is covered in clean grainy white sand. The descent is long and smooth, which attracts many families with young children. The water is clean, warm and calm. The sea bottom is sandy, but's advised to wear slippers as there are many sea urchins there. You also need to be careful when swimming over the buoys, as jet skis, boats and other vehicles are driving at full speed there.
The beach is very clean and well-kept, but due to its crowdedness heaps of garbage can materialize by evening. They are, of course, taken care of before morning.
Tawaen is extremely popular and always crowded. A lot of tourists come during holidays shared by the Southeast Asia countries.
When is it better to go
The period from November to March is considered the high season in Thailand. Comfortable air temperature, as well as minimal rainfall create optimal conditions for a beach holiday.
Video: Beach Tawaen
Infrastructure
Where to stop
Ko Lan Island has several small guest houses, 2-star and 3-star hotels with minimum conveniences, including suites with air conditioner or fan, toilet and shower, barbecue set and sometimes free Wi-Fi. The majority of tourists prefer to stay at Pattaya, where a lot more comfortable and cheap options are located.
What to do
The ferry docks quite far from the beach. You can get to the beach via a long shadowy overpass. After relaxing on Tawaen you can take a walk around the island, look at sights and other beaches. Many tourists go far from Tawaen, where there are less people and therefore calmer and cleaner. You can also drive around Ko Lan on a rickshaw, a taxi-like vehicle.
The beach is equipped with sunbeds and umbrellas that occupy a lot of the beach. Renting them costs 100 Thai baht. A promenade stretches behind them, with many small restaurants, snack bars, stalls with food, beverages, various beach equipment and souvenirs. No chain stores operate here. Goods here are a lot more expensive than in Pattaya so it's recommended to bring anything necessary with you. Thai people are not accustomed to haggling. Paid showers (40 Thai baht) and toilets (10 Thai baht) are located behind the restaurants.
No European restaurants here. You can only try local cuisine. Some restaurants hold culinary shows for their visitors. Many Asian fast food and beverage carriers work on the beach.
There's a jet ski rental (1000 Thai baht for 10 minutes), boat and rubber ring rental etc. Rescue station, shooting range, first aid post and tour agencies operate here.
Weather in Tawaen
Best hotels of Tawaen
All hotels of TawaenUseful information
How to get there
You can get to Ko Lan Island via ferry (costs 30 Thai baht) or via speedboat (costs 300 Thai baht). The only ferry pier on the island is located right at Tawaen Beach. Ferries come to the island from Bali Hai pier in Pattaya. It's recommended to come here during early mornings, when it's not yet hot and there aren't many people. A ferry ride takes about 40 minutes. Usually visitors spend all day here. It's advised to leave before 18:00, when the last ferry departs. Right after its departure getting to the mainland is considerably more expensive, and the prices gradually rise with time.