KOH SAMET, Thailand -- We began to understand that we'd left mainstream Thai tourism behind when our ferry arrived at Na Dan Pier on Koh Samet, an island in the Gulf of Thailand.

The little boat didn't pull up alongside the dock. Instead, it came to a stop next to another boat, requiring passengers on our ferry to haul their luggage from the ferry to the boat in between and then up to the dock.

It wasn't "Welcome to Fantasy Island!"

And that was OK. We were prepared for an adventure and eager to avoid the Western commercialism that pervades much of the country. (Bangkok appeared to have twice as many Burger Kings as Western Pennsylvania.)

But because Koh Samet is out of the way, it helps to know some specifics about the small island, beginning with why we ended up there.

Phuket, on the Andaman Sea 430 miles southwest of Bangkok, is the most popular beach destination for Westerners vacationing in Thailand. The island has mostly recovered from its December 2004 tsunami, but its location requires a plane flight ($250 per person was the best price we found from Bangkok in late March) or an all-day train-bus combo journey.

My fellow traveler, Justin, instead opted for the closer, cheaper and (we hoped) more authentic island of Koh Samet (alternate English spellings include "Ko" and "Samed"), about 112 miles southeast of Bangkok. We also could have chosen one of the mainland beaches of nearby Pattaya, but an island seemed more exotic both in theory and in reality.

On our approach by ferry under cloudy skies, Koh Samet looked undeveloped, bringing to mind the setting of "Jurassic Park." But the only creatures we saw during a visit in late March -- other than the ubiquitous mosquitoes; be sure to take bug spray -- were geckos sunning themselves as they crawled over the exterior walls of our bungalow.

Researching Koh Samet before our trip, we didn't find a lot written about it in Western publications. Our visit proved why: It's a popular destination for Asians and native Thais, but Westerners were few in number. And we ran into just a couple of other Americans during our four-day stay.

Of three locations we visited in Thailand, employees at Koh Samet establishments had the least proficiency in English.

This usually didn't pose much of a problem as we were able to pantomime or use simplified English to communicate, but it was occasionally a challenge. Even the most artful charades players would have problems conveying, "Our shower seems only capable of producing lukewarm water" or "You refrigerate mayonnaise, right? This is mayonnaise, isn't it?" or "Are you sure the bus leaves at 9 a.m.?"

Koh Samet is a small island -- two miles across at its widest point, four miles long -- and is most developed along its northeast coast. Additional resorts dot the shore farther south on the east coast, and there's a lone northwest beach, Ao Phrao, where we stayed at Lima Coco, one of only three resorts on that part of the island.

Choosing this location, which Justin called "Alcatraz paradise," turned out to be a miscalculation.

The resort was overpriced by Thai standards: $80 per night for an air-conditioned room (including breakfast); you can get an A/C room for $40 per night at the more popular Hat Sai Kaew beach on the east coast. Lima Coco's food service also included a 10 percent service fee for meals that featured small portions.

I could tell from maps that we'd be a fair distance from the island's east coast resorts, although not so far we couldn't walk to them owing to the island's slender shape. But my advance research failed to take note of a rocky ridge down the center of the island separating the two coasts. The trek from Ao Phrao to the east coast beaches is only about a mile long, but the one-lane dirt road is rather steep in spots, and it's not lit at night.

For American tourists looking to stretch their budgets while abroad, Thailand is generally a good choice. One notable exception was the cost of taxi service on Koh Samet. The one-mile ride from beach to beach costs about $8. And these weren't even cabs, just pickup trucks (called songthaews) with benches in the truck's bed.

The day after arriving at Lima Coco by songthaew, we spent the morning wading in the warm, shallow, clear blue-green water at Ao Phrao. All over the island, ocean debris has a tendency to wash ashore, often with sea life attached to it. Littering appears to be a problem throughout Thailand, and Koh Samet was no exception.

Later, we hiked back over to the island's east coast, which took less than a half-hour. The east coast beaches have white sand -- the sand is more beige on the west coast -- and are more populated.

Because there are many more resorts, restaurant prices are more competitive and we found the food to be a vast improvement on what we tasted at Lima Coco.

We were particularly fond of a meal at Jeb's, a restaurant on Ao Hin Khok beach, where I dined on a decent steak and delicious, large prawns for about $12.

In the evening, many of the restaurants on the east side of the island put large mats on the beach with low tables for sitting on the ground and dining near the surf. Sometimes too near: The waves swamped mats placed too close to the water at one restaurant we walked past.

Thai massages are also plentiful and less expensive on the east coast, with masseuses stationed on the beach, ready to spend an hour working out your knots for $6.

Once we got our bearings, leaving Lima Coco in late morning for the eastern shore became our routine. We'd eat an early dinner on the east coast and hike back along the narrow road before sunset, a necessary precaution to avoid getting hit by songthaews speeding by in the dark.

Getting back early also allowed us to take in the west coast's best attribute: fantastic, multi-hued sunsets.

Koh Samet held one last surprise on our departure: When returning from the island to the mainland, the ferry did not dock at the same pier we departed from, landing instead at a location a half-mile north of Ban Phe pier.

Our transportation back to Bangkok departed across from our departure pier, requiring us to run down the road with our luggage to catch the minibus. It was a final, unexpected bit of adventure at the end of an otherwise relaxing beach week.