Sunset beach camp: an evening on the sand, then home

The idea is simple: you turn up on a quiet beach and the camp is already there. Our guides choose the spot, put up shade tents and mats, set out the games and get the grill going. You spend the late afternoon swimming and doing very little, watch the sunset from the waterline, eat dinner on the sand as it gets dark, and are driven back to your hotel.

It is not an overnight camp. Everything we sell is a day trip, and this one ends at about 21:00 at your hotel door. There are no tents to sleep in and no breakfast on the beach. We call it a camp because of how it looks and feels, not because you stay.

It is also a land trip. There is no boat involved. If you want to be out on the water, look at An Thoi islands by canoe or the Hon Thom cable car and islands day, and keep this evening for another day of your stay.

It suits families with children who need a beach and a dinner in the same place, groups of friends who want an evening together without organising it, couples, and travellers who have spent the day in the forest and want something slower. Activity is 1 of 5: you walk a few minutes across the sand and that is all.

The camp goes on a quiet beach on the west coast, the side of the island where the sun sets over the sea. Which beach depends on the season and on that week's wind and rain: the guides choose the stretch of sand that is calm and sheltered enough on the day. A spot that is good in February can be exposed to wind in another month.

"Quiet" means a beach away from the busy hotel stretches, not a private beach. Other people may walk past, and fishermen may be working nearby. What you will not have is loud music from a beach club next door, which is the point of going.

• Shade tents and mats for the afternoon heat, set up before you arrive.
• Games for the sand, for children and adults.
• A BBQ dinner cooked on the spot by the guides.
• Soft drinks and water throughout the evening.
• A small campfire after dinner, only where it is permitted on that beach.

The dinner menu is confirmed in your quote. Tell us in your request about anyone who is vegetarian, does not eat seafood or has an allergy, and about children who need plain food; the guides adjust the grill to suit. It is a beach BBQ, cooked outdoors and eaten on mats, not a seated restaurant dinner.

Alcohol is not included. Beer can be arranged on request, at cost, and added to your quote. The campfire is kept small, never lit where it is not allowed or in strong wind, and is put out before the group leaves. Please hand any rubbish to the guides; the beach should look the same after the camp as before it.

Swimming in the sea is at your own judgement, and the guides will tell you plainly if the water is not safe that afternoon. We suggest everyone is out of the water before it gets dark. Children are welcome and must be supervised in the sea by their own adults the whole time; tell us their ages when you book.

If you are on the island in the rainy months and this evening matters to you, ask for a date early in your stay. That leaves room to move it if the weather turns. The when to go page shows how the seasons affect every tour we run.

Payment is 100% at confirmation, by card link or bank transfer. There is no deposit, and nothing is charged before your date is confirmed. Cancel more than 48 hours before the start for a full refund less any card fee; between 48 and 24 hours, 50% is refunded; under 24 hours or no-show, nothing is refunded. If we cancel for weather or safety, you get a full refund or another day.

Reference prices for every tour, and how group size moves them, are on the pricing page. The request-quote-payment steps are on how to book.

• Swimwear and a towel.
• A dry change of clothes for the evening and the drive back.
• Sun cream and a hat for the first hours, when the sun is still strong.
• Insect repellent for after dark.
• A light layer or raincoat in the rainy months.
• Anything children need to stay happy for six hours away from the hotel.

• Anyone hoping to sleep on the beach. This is not an overnight; you are back at your hotel by about 21:00.
• People who want a sunset from a boat. The camp is on land; look at the sea days instead.
• Groups after a party with drinks included. Alcohol is not part of the price, and the camp is meant to be quiet.
• Anyone who needs a fixed date with no weather risk in the rainy season. Showers are likely and the camp can move or be cancelled.
• Travellers expecting beach-club facilities. The point is a quiet beach, and what is there besides sand and sea depends on the spot.

Because it starts in mid-afternoon, the beach camp works on a day when you have done nothing else, or after a slow morning at the hotel. It is a good first evening for people who arrive on the island around midday, and an easy last evening before an early flight. It does not fit after a full-day trip: most of our day trips end between 15:00 and 17:30, too late for a 15:00 pick-up.

The combining day trips page has suggestions for two, three and four days on the island, and the sea and islands page compares this evening with the two boat days.