Banphe & Samed Island Festival 2026: Rayong's Big Seafood Party

A Seafood Blowout on the Eastern Coast

Every year the small fishing town of Ban Phe in Rayong Province throws one of Thailand's best coastal food festivals, and the 2026 edition did not disappoint. The Banphe & Samed Island Annual Festival ran from 11 to 15 March 2026 at the Ban Phe Subdistrict Municipality Pier, drawing crowds from Bangkok and beyond with the promise of ultra-fresh seafood at street-food prices.

What Was on Offer

More than 300 vendors lined the pier and surrounding streets, selling everything from grilled squid and garlic prawns to crab fried rice and spicy seafood salads. Local restaurants set up open-air cooking stations where visitors could watch chefs prepare signature Rayong dishes and even pick up recipes. Community stalls offered dried seafood, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and other regional products to take home. For a guide to Thailand's broader street food scene, we have you covered.

Beyond the food, the festival featured live music and free concerts every evening, beauty pageants, comedy shows, and traditional cultural performances. There was even a triathlon and general-knowledge quiz for those who wanted something beyond eating. For more food-focused festival coverage, see our regional food guide.

Why Ban Phe Matters for Travellers

Ban Phe is best known as the jumping-off point for Koh Samet, one of Thailand's most accessible islands — just a 40-minute speedboat ride from the pier. But the town itself deserves a stop. The seafood market along the waterfront operates year-round, and prices are noticeably lower than in Bangkok or Pattaya.

Rayong Province sits about 180 km southeast of Bangkok, roughly a 2.5-hour drive on the Motorway (Route 7). Minivans also run regularly from Bangkok's Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekkamai). If you are already on Koh Samet, just hop on a return ferry to the Ban Phe pier and you are at the festival entrance. While you are exploring the eastern Gulf coast, neighbouring Chanthaburi and Koh Chang are both easy extensions to this trip.

Plan Ahead for Next Year

The Banphe & Samed Island Festival happens every March, making it easy to combine with a Koh Samet beach trip. If you missed the 2026 edition, keep an eye on the Rayong Provincial Administration's announcements in early 2027. Arrive hungry, bring a cool box for the dried seafood haul, and wear comfortable shoes — the pier gets packed after sundown.

Planning your wider trip? Check our Thailand budget guide 2026 so you know what to expect on costs, and don't forget to sort your SIM card or eSIM before you travel. If you enjoy lively street events at night, the Pattaya Music Festival runs around the same time of year just down the coast. Or for a very different kind of nightlife experience, see how Bangla Road in Phuket has reinvented itself for 2026.