Seafood is a must on Koh Samet. Even the most basic bungalows on the island offer some sort of eating experience, mostly simple local food and beer, with some Western breakfast offerings.

In the evenings on Vong Deuan beach, tables are set up under twinkling lights alongside big seafood barbecues brimming with the day's catch. It's very pretty. Try the Sea Horse. In Ao Pai just south of Diamond Beach, Naga Bar is a popular hangout and serves a fine menu of local eats and serves good baked goods. Jep's Bungalows (tel. 03864-4112), just south of Naga Bar, has a fairly decent menu, a good beer selection, and a bakery that has surprisingly fresh goods in the mornings.

Most bungalows on Koh Samet have their own dining areas for inexpensive, fresh seafood (don't miss the locally caught squid and cuttle fish, which are barbecued on skewers) and standard Thai rice and noodle dishes. All restaurants on the island turn into all-night party affairs at beachside (depending on the crowd) and Vong Deuan Beach in particular hosts a good little selection of cozy bars with floor seating and mats out on the sand. (very romantic)

The dauntingly painted cement Naga has the cheapest rooms, but is most prized for its bakery and coconut grove bar . The nightlife is groovier on Ao Phai, where Silver Sand hosts a beachside disco with cocktails served in plastic ice buckets. Its topless gigolo fire jugglers are rather keen on teaching Western women their swinging techniques..

Out of earshot to the south are the timber lodges of Samet Villa and the gay-friendly Tubtim Resort, which serves great seafood on the beach.

An Wong Deuan still suffers dowdy resorts and daytrippers, but also hosts raves with Bangkok and foreign DJs. On the northern rocks, Oasis bar is a private spot to chat and bop. Bay Watch is the liveliest bar amid the central clamour of seafood restaurants, while a suavely minimalist dance room opens on to the terrace of Talebure Bed & Bar where retro-chic garden bungalows have stunning views but average service.

An Thien is developing fast, with Balinese bathrooms added to Sang Thien, eccentric shoreline huts at Lung Dum and the rustic, Wild West-themed hangout of Apache Garden View Restaurant.

The best food is found north-west of Na Dan at Moo Ban Talay . Its spa and sleek minimalist villas with roofless bathrooms face Baan Phe across a shallow gritty beach. Isolated on the west, humid Ao Phrao shelters the snazzily romantic Ao Prao Resort.