Things to do in Rayong.

The short version

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 & the Koh Samet ferry

Ban Phe pier is Rayong's best-known landmark for a reason: passenger ferries run daily, year-round, roughly 7am to 4pm, for the crossing to Nadan Pier on Koh Samet — the closest full island getaway to Bangkok and a genuine weekend escape for anyone based in Rayong city, Ban Chang or the EEC industrial estates. The slow ferry takes about 40 minutes and runs THB 50–70 each way; speedboats cut that to roughly 10 minutes for THB 200–500 depending on which Samet beach you're dropped at, and a faster catamaran service also operates the route. Budget separately for Koh Samet's own national-park entry fee, collected on arrival at Nadan Pier — THB 200 for foreign adults, THB 100 for children — since it is not bundled into any ferry ticket. 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.

• Ferries run most frequently in the morning and early afternoon — check the last return crossing (around 4pm for the slow boat) before you go so you're not stuck overnight.
• Songthaews and taxis run from Rayong city and Ban Chang to Ban Phe pier; driving yourself means arranging paid parking near the pier.
• Have small baht notes ready for the Koh Samet national-park fee at Nadan Pier — it's collected separately from the boat fare and is easy to be caught out by on a first visit.

Suan Son — the pine-tree beach park

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 on land under military administration — sources describe it as run by the Royal Thai Navy's welfare office given the U-Tapao naval air base setting, though some listings attribute day-to-day operation to an army welfare unit; either way, expect a small entrance fee of around THB 20 per person collected at the gate, not a free public beach in the strict sense. It's calmer and far less commercial than Pattaya's beaches, with shaded picnic spots, simple seafood restaurants under the trees, on-site restrooms and showers, and a wide, walkable strip of sand — the default Sunday spot for Ban Chang's expat and corporate-relocation community.

• Weekday mornings are quiet; Thai families and picnicking groups fill the shaded areas on weekends and public holidays.
• Bring cash for the gate fee (around THB 20/person) — card payment is not something to rely on at a military-run gate.

Mae Ramphueng Beach

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.

Wat Pa Pradu's giant reclining Buddha

Rayong town's most photographed landmark is the gold-leafed reclining Buddha at Wat Pa Pradu, on Soi Nakhon Rayong 49 off Sukhumvit Road on the edge of town — an Ayutthaya-period image reported at 11.95 metres long and 3.60 metres high, and notable to Buddhist visitors specifically because it reclines on its left side rather than the right (the pose almost every other reclining Buddha in Thailand avoids), tied by temple tradition to the Yamaka Patihariya, or Twin Miracle, in which the Buddha is said to have manifested duplicate images facing each other, both lying on their left sides. Entry is free and the hall keeps consistent published hours of 8am–5pm daily, confirmed independently by two travel-guide listings rather than the single-source range we previously hedged on. The original structure dates to the Ayutthaya period and had fallen into ruin before a monk named Tian resettled the site; villagers who came to respect him helped rebuild it, and the temple — formerly called Wat Pa Lelai — was raised to royal monastery (Phra Aram Luang) status in 1980, with the current reclining Buddha hall completed in 1981. It's a good cultural counterpoint to a beach- and ferry-heavy weekend, and a short detour for anyone doing errands or banking in Rayong city.

• Small squares of gold leaf are sold at stalls near the entrance — applying one to the statue yourself is the customary way to make merit here, not just photographing it.
• Dress modestly and remove your shoes before entering the halls, as at any working Thai temple.

Rayong's fruit orchards & the Rayong Fruit Festival

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). The 2026 Rayong Fruit Festival ran 21–24 May at Rayong Provincial Central Stadium in the city — a market-and-concert format with produce stalls, tastings and orchard-tour bookings rather than an event held out at the orchards themselves, so don't plan a Ban Chang or Klaeng detour expecting the festival to be there. 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.

• The festival's exact dates move slightly year to year with the harvest and are set only a few months out — check Tourism Authority of Thailand listings close to April rather than assuming last year's dates repeat.
• The venue is Rayong Provincial Central Stadium in the city, not an orchard site — go for the market and concerts, then visit an actual orchard separately if you want the harvest experience.

Noen Kho fishing village & the Thung Prong Thong mangrove walkway

East of Ban Phe toward Klaeng district, Noen Kho (เนินฆ้อ) is a working fishing community whose boats supply simple seafood restaurants serving what came in that morning. The signature nearby attraction is Thung Prong Thong ("the golden mangrove field") at the Prasae river mouth near Pak Nam Prasae — a roughly 1-kilometre wooden walkway built up and through the mangrove canopy, with a viewing platform over the golden-leaved Prong (Ceriops) trees the field is named for, plus boat trips along the estuary to see the wider mangrove ecosystem. 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 and mangrove visit without the crowds.

Khao Chamao–Khao Wong National Park waterfalls

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. Entrance is THB 200 for foreign adults and THB 100 for foreign children aged 3–14 (Thai nationals pay THB 40/20), plus a THB 30 per-vehicle fee at the gate — bring cash, as this is a National Parks fee collected on site, not something bookable in advance. Khao Chamao waterfall itself has several accessible tiers with swimming pools during the wet season (roughly June to October), when water flow is strongest.

• Water flow drops significantly in the dry season (roughly December to April) — visit June through October for the fullest waterfalls.
• Have small baht notes ready for the gate: THB 200/person (foreign adult) plus THB 30 for the car, collected at entry.

Day trips: Laem Mae Phim, Ban Chang golf & the coast road to Chonburi

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.

Rayong things-to-do FAQ

Related Rayong guides

Rayong areas guide · Rayong restaurants & dining guide · Rayong cost of living guide · Getting around Rayong · Rayong hub