Koh Larn in the morning

Koh Larn is the island across the bay, about forty-five minutes by ferry from Bali Hai pier at the southern end of Pattaya Bay and quicker by speedboat, and it has the clearer water and paler sand the city beaches lack. Ferries run to two piers on the island, so check which one yours uses and where it lands.

Tawaen is the biggest and busiest beach, the one most day trippers head for; Samae, on the island's western side, is quieter and faces the open sea. Go in the morning, when the water is at its clearest and the sand is still empty — by midday the busiest stretches are full and jet skis work the water off them. For a family the ferry is half the fun, the beaches shelve gently, and you are back on the mainland before the midday heat; the photographer keeps the children to a quieter end of the beach, away from the jet skis.

A sunset on Koh Larn is possible, but only once you have checked the time of the last boat back — timetables change by season and by day — and planned the session to end well before it. In the rainy season, from about May to October, the crossing can be rougher; rescheduling for weather is free for both sides.