The Ban Phe pier and Koh Samet ferry, Suan Son's pine-shaded beach, Mae Ramphueng Beach, Wat Pa Pradu's giant reclining Buddha, Rayong's fruit orchards and Fruit Festival, Nern Kho fishing village and the Khao Chamao-Khao Wong waterfalls — the weekend guide for Ban Chang, Rayong city and the EEC's corporate and expat community.
Rayong is best known as the industrial heart of the Eastern Economic Corridor, but its coastline and countryside offer a genuine weekend life outside the estates — built around the Ban Phe ferry to Koh Samet, Suan Son's pine-shaded beach, and some of Thailand's best fruit orchards. This guide covers where residents and relocating EEC staff actually spend weekends, alongside our areas guide and restaurants & dining guide.
Ban Phe pier is Rayong's best-known landmark for a reason: regular passenger ferries make the roughly 30-minute crossing to Koh Samet, one of the closest island getaways to Bangkok and a genuine weekend escape for anyone based in Rayong city, Ban Chang or the EEC industrial estates. The pier itself has a lively market of dried seafood, fruit and snack stalls worth a browse even if you're not catching a boat, and speedboat operators offer faster private crossings for those short on time.
Suan Son (Pine Garden) is Rayong's signature stretch of coast: a long, breezy public beach shaded by rows of casuarina pines rather than palm trees, running along the Ban Chang coastline near U-Tapao airport. It's calmer and far less commercial than Pattaya's beaches, with shaded picnic spots, simple seafood restaurants under the trees and a wide, walkable strip of sand — the default Sunday spot for Ban Chang's expat and corporate-relocation community.
A few minutes from Ban Phe, Mae Ramphueng is a long, quiet public beach with a seafront row of casual seafood restaurants serving the day's catch at local prices, popular with Thai holidaymakers rather than international tourists. It pairs naturally with a Ban Phe pier visit or a Koh Samet day trip — arrive early enough for lunch on the beach before or after the ferry crossing.
Rayong town's most photographed landmark is the enormous gold-leafed reclining Buddha at Wat Pa Pradu, one of the largest of its kind in eastern Thailand, housed in a vividly decorated temple hall. It's a free, easy stop in the town centre — a good cultural counterpoint to a beach- and ferry-heavy weekend, and a short detour for anyone doing errands or banking in Rayong city.
Rayong province is one of Thailand's major producers of durian, rambutan, mangosteen and longkong, and the fruit orchards around the city open to visitors during the harvest season (roughly April to June), with the annual Rayong Fruit Festival celebrating the crop with markets, tastings and orchard tours. Even outside festival dates, roadside fruit stalls and the Rayong fruit market sell direct-from-orchard produce at a fraction of Bangkok supermarket prices — a genuinely local experience relocating families quickly come to appreciate.
East of Ban Phe toward Laem Mae Phim, Nern Kho is a small working fishing community built on stilts over the water, connected by wooden boardwalks through mangrove forest, with simple seafood restaurants serving what the boats bring in that morning. It's quieter and more low-key than Ang Sila in neighbouring Chonburi, and a good half-day option for anyone who wants an authentic coastal-village visit without the crowds.
Inland from Rayong city, Khao Chamao–Khao Wong National Park offers multi-tiered jungle waterfalls, hiking trails and forest camping, making it a popular day trip for families and anyone wanting a break from the coast and industrial estates. Khao Chamao waterfall itself has several accessible tiers with swimming pools during the wet season (roughly June to October), when water flow is strongest.
Laem Mae Phim, east of Ban Phe, offers a quieter alternative beach with fewer crowds and a growing choice of seafood restaurants. Golfers based in Ban Chang have several courses within a short drive, popular with the EEC's corporate and executive community on weekends. For a longer day out, the coast road toward Chonburi connects Rayong with Bang Saen, Ko Loi and Sriracha — see our Chonburi things-to-do guide for the full detail on that side of the Eastern Seaboard.
Plenty — Rayong's coastline and countryside are a genuine draw in their own right: the Ban Phe pier and Koh Samet ferry, Suan Son's pine-shaded beach, Mae Ramphueng Beach, Wat Pa Pradu's giant reclining Buddha, the province's fruit orchards, Nern Kho fishing village and the Khao Chamao-Khao Wong waterfalls.
Passenger ferries run regularly from Ban Phe pier, a crossing of about 30 minutes, with faster private speedboats also available. It's one of the most accessible islands from both Rayong and Bangkok.
Suan Son (Pine Garden) is a long public beach along the Ban Chang coastline shaded by casuarina pines rather than palm trees, popular with local families and Ban Chang's expat and corporate-relocation community for its calm, uncommercial atmosphere.
Yes — Rayong is one of Thailand's major durian, rambutan, mangosteen and longkong producing provinces, with orchards open to visitors during the roughly April-to-June harvest season and an annual Rayong Fruit Festival.
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Hero photo by Ariyan on Pexels. General information for relocation and leisure planning, not travel-safety advice — confirm current opening hours, ferry schedules and conditions before you visit.