Sai Kaeo Beach

Sai Kaeo Beach sits inside a Royal Thai Navy training base near Sattahip, on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast. Entry costs 100 THB for foreigners and 50 THB for Thai nationals (10 THB for children), and the gate operates daily from around 07:00 to 18:00. Because the navy controls access, the strip of white sand has stayed free of the high-rises and jet-ski touts that line Pattaya and Jomtien 30 km up the coast.

Getting in involves a small ritual: at the checkpoint on the access road, a guard asks your destination, then directs you to a kiosk where you leave your passport or ID card. You get a pass to display on the dashboard and collect your documents again on the way out. On weekdays you can usually drive straight to the beachfront; on weekends the base sometimes requires parking further back with a shuttle down to the sand.

Watch out: Don’t leave your passport at the hotel expecting to explain your way in without it — the guards won’t wave you through on the strength of a photocopy, and turning back to fetch it wastes half a morning.

The beach itself is calm and shallow, backed by casuarina and coconut trees that throw useful shade by midafternoon. Deck chairs rent for about 30 THB a day, and a handful of kiosks sell grilled seafood, som tam, and cold drinks — thinner pickings than a commercial beach, so don’t expect much beyond the basics. Swimming is safe most of the year since the bay is sheltered, though the occasional roar of a jet taking off from the nearby naval airstrip is a reminder of exactly whose land this is.

Insider Tip: Go on a weekday. Weekends bring Thai families down from Bangkok and the car park can fill before 10am; a Tuesday or Wednesday visit gets you the beach close to empty.

Cool season, November to February, is the easiest time to visit — flat seas, comfortable heat, and clear early-morning light for photos. Public transport only gets as far as Sattahip town; from there it’s a short taxi ride to the base entrance. Bring cash, sunscreen, and your own drinking water, since the on-site facilities are basic by design. For a longer coastal day, Bang Sare and Wat Sattahip (Wat Luang Pho Ei) are a short drive further along the Sattahip coast, and Pattaya is the obvious base for the night.