Ao Wong Duean, Koh Samet

Ao Wong Duean - crescent moon bay - is the deep curved inlet on the east side of Koh Samet, south of the main beach at Sai Kaew. The shape is the point: headlands close in at both ends, so the bay is well protected and the water inside it is calmer than anywhere else on that coast.

The sand is the same fine white quartz that gives Samet its name - the island was quarried for glass sand - and squeaks underfoot. A single row of low-rise resorts and restaurants backs the beach, with boats moored off the middle of the bay.

Samet lies within Khao Laem Ya-Mu Ko Samet National Park, so a park fee applies on arrival. Ferries from Ban Phe on the Rayong coast land at Na Dan pier in the north, and Wong Duean is a short ride south across the island.