A few warnings about visiting Ko Samet. The bus takes fucking forever, especially if coming back to BKK in traffic. It's only about 140km, but you won't go nearly 100km/h, you'll just chug along. Decent way to see the countryside, but it takes a while. The boat to the island doesn't coordinate with the bus, so you may be killing time on the shore. And the island itself isn't particularly well developed-- a stark contrast to BKK and reminder that Thailand is a developing country. Despite the names, don't expect Western-style resorts. You'll get spartan bungalows at even the best places (we stayed at Ao Prao Resort, which was decent but still disappointing). It'll be relaxing, but not if you find yourself wishing you were back in BKK where the action is. If you want a top-notch western-style resort, go to Krabi or Phuket, with the Amanpuri in Phuket (just $300/night for a standard room in the off-season) ranking among the best resorts in the world.