Tawaen Beach
Tawaen beach is the longest beach on Koh Larn. It is set in a long sweeping bay approximately 600 meters long, the beach itself is great with white squeaky sand and crystal clear waters. Tawaen beach is by far the most popular on the island with speedboat operators and tour companies bringing their clients here, also with the public ferry pier situated at the west end of the beach, Tawaen has become the favourite amongst day-trippers to the island who arrive in their droves on the public ferry. The beach itself is great with crystal clear water and squeaky white sand but the main problem with Tawaen Beach is the shear number of visitors! the bay is always crowded with speedboats coming and going, noisy jet-skis and deck chair/sun bed operators who take over large sections of beach, but still the beach is far better than they offered in Pattaya! If you are willing to make a little more effort then it is worth heading to one of the other beaches on Koh Larn.
Getting to Tawaen beach
Public ferry – The public ferry service docks on the pier at the western end of the beach, see here for the ferry timetable to Tawaen beach, the ferry takes around 45 minutes from the mainland and the ferry can be boarded at Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya.
Public speed boat service – A join speedboat service is offered from Bali Hai Pier, the speedboat will deposit you directly on the beach
If you arrive on the public ferry at Nabaan Pier see below for transport options
Tian Beach
This is my favourite beach and i really do think it is the most beautiful and least crowded, if i am heading to Koh Larn then this is definitely the beach i head for! Situated on the western side of the island of Koh Larn Tian Beach is more exposed to the open sea, so waves can be bigger here than on Tawaen beach. Deck chairs do not dominate the beach here and there is less development behind the beach. The beach here is great with white coral sand and clear waters and a lot less speedboat traffic.
Getting to Tian Beach
Tian beach does not have a direct ferry service, if you are arriving on the public ferry at Nabaan or Tawaen Beach see below (Arriving on the public ferry at Nabaan). A public speedboat service is offered from Bali Hai Pier and will deposit you directly on Tian Beach.
Samae Beach
Another nice beach! Samae beach is also situated on the western side of the island, not as long as Tawaen Beach at around 500 meters, but this beach does also see a lot of visitors and is probably the second most popular beach on the island. Great sand and clear waters are its best features, but the beach does suffer (like Tawaen) to some degree from dominant deckchair and sun bed operations which cover large sections of beach.
Getting to Samae Beach
Samae beach does not have a direct ferry service. If you are arriving on the public ferry at Nabaan or Tawaen Beach see below. A public speedboat service is offered from Bali Hai Pier and will deposit you directly on Samae Beach.
Nual Beach (pronounced “Nuan”)
This is one of the shorter beaches on the island and thankfully the least developed, there is a couple of restaurant operations behind the beach and the usual sun bed operators offer beds for rent. The beach is situated in a sheltered bay on the south side of the island and does offer some of the calmest waters and very little speedboat traffic.
Getting to Nual Beach
Nual beach does not have a direct ferry service. If you are arriving on the public ferry at Nabaan or Tawaen Beach see below. A public speedboat service is offered from Bali Hai Pier and will deposit you directly on Nual Beach.
Arriving on the public ferry at Nabaan
f you are arriving at Nabaan then the motorbike taxi drivers will find you (pretty much as soon as you step off the ferry) For the songtaew service turn left after disembarking the ferry and pass the 7/11 convenience stall you will need to walk another couple of hundred meters to the waiting Songtaews, Songtaew’s and motorbikes can take you to any beach on the island.
Arriving on the Public ferry at Tawaen Beach
To get out off Tawaen Beach you will need to walk to the access road behind the beach here you will find waiting songtaew drivers, motorbike taxis or motorbikes for hire which can get you to any beach on the island
Public speedboat services
Currently there seem to be two public speedboat services which run from Bali Hai Pier to Koh Larn. As you approach the pier itself the first is situated just to the right-hand side of the pier the speed boat will depart from the small beach here, the other service is offered on the pier itself as you walk out onto the pier the other speed boat service is situated on the left-hand side about 50 meters along the pier. There is no schedule times of departures and the boat will depart when the operator feels they have enough people to justify the run across to the island, sometimes this can be quite a lengthy wait! Sometime the operator will decline to take you to your chosen beach (i am not too sure of the reasons for this but maybe they do not have the numbers to justify the return trip)
Other notes: Motorbikes are widely available for hire in Nabaan and Tawaen beach. If you are confident riding a motorbike then this is a great way to get to some of the other beaches on the island. if you are on a bike then you can take a look at all the beaches before choosing one which suits.
Take a tour to Koh Larn from Bangkok
Ferry timetable from Pattaya to Koh Larn
Koh Larn is not so large that you couldn’t walk from one part to another and some people actually do sometimes. Personally I like motorized transportation. song taows, motorbike taxis and motorbike rentals are everywhere and they are all more