Things to do in Koh Chang
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Koh Chang
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Cool and dry season, the best weather and calmest seas, with peak prices and crowds in December and January.
Hot season, driest in March, hottest in April for Songkran, with rain and rougher seas building through May.
Monsoon, heavy rain, rough seas, cancelled boats, some closures and the lowest prices, with October the wettest gamble.
What's on
- Songkran 13 to 15 April
Thai New Year water festival, festive and busy with Thai travellers, with wet and slippery roads.
- Loy Krathong Full moon night in November
Floats are released on the sea and rivers at the start of the best weather, with temple and resort celebrations.
Best things to do in Koh Chang
White Sand Beach
The island's most developed beach, with pale sand, good dry season swimming and everything walkable behind it.
Klong Prao Beach
The island's longest beach, a broad palm lined sweep with shallow calm water and room for sunset walks.
Kai Bae Beach
A village beach with offshore islets, kayak rentals and some of the best sunsets on the west coast.
Lonely Beach
The backpacker beach and party village, best at its northern end and busiest after dark in high season.
Bailan Beach
The quiet bay south of Lonely Beach, rocky at low tide and made for slow days and early nights.
Bang Bao Pier
A stilt fishing village on a long pier, with seafood restaurants, dive shops and a lighthouse over the bay.
Kai Bae Viewpoint
A free roadside viewpoint over Kai Bae and its offshore islets, best in clear late afternoon light.
Wat Salak Phet
The working temple of Salak Phet village, the cultural heart of a slow east coast day.
Where to stay in Koh Chang
White Sand Beach
first visit, convenience and short stays
Closest major beach to the ferries, with the densest hotels, restaurants and services, at the cost of traffic.
Klong Prao
families, couples and longer beach stays
The longest, calmest beach, with the best spread of luxury and mid range resorts in spacious gardens.
Kai Bae
couples and small groups who eat out nightly
A village beach with good small restaurants, sunset islets and a relaxed bar scene within walking distance.
Lonely Beach
solo travellers, backpackers and nightlife
Cheap bungalows, easy company and late music in high season, with a smaller beach and real night noise.
Salak Phet, East Coast
drivers, repeat visitors and quiet local life
A fishing village base among mangroves with no nightlife and no beach scene, rewarding travellers with transport.
Think twice about
- Lonely Beach central village
Bar and party noise carries late in high season. Light sleepers and young families should stay at the edges or elsewhere.
- White Sand Beach northern main road
Traffic, road noise and the least calm stretch of the strip. Book beachside or the calmer southern end instead.
- Long Beach and far south east without transport
Very remote, with no ATM, few taxis and a rough access track. Travellers without a car or driver can be stranded.
Best restaurants in Koh Chang
Saffron on the Sea
The island's most polished Thai dining room, a seaside restaurant at Pearl Beach made for a sunset dinner.
Iyara Seafood
A large riverside seafood house on the Klong Prao estuary, with firefly boat trips for diners in season.
Phu Talay
An open air riverside seafood terrace by the Klong Prao estuary, generous portions and unhurried service.
Jae Eiw Seafood
One of the island's oldest seafood rooms, plain in setting and rated by guides among its best for cooking.
Chao Lay Seafood
A pier seafood house at Bang Bao with live tanks and tables over the water by the fishing fleet.
Salak Phet Seafood
A family run waterside seafood restaurant in Salak Phet village, serving the day's catch by the mangroves.
White Sand Beach Night Market
An evening market strip of grills, noodles, curries and shakes, the easiest cheap dinner on the island.
Nong Bua Seafood
A small, long running Klong Prao seafood kitchen with honest prices and a neighbourhood following.
Outdoor things to do in Koh Chang
Klong Plu Waterfall
The island's main waterfall, a short jungle trail to a 30 metre fall and a large swimmable plunge pool.
Than Mayom Waterfall
A quiet multi tier cascade on the east coast, best combined with Salak Phet and Long Beach.
Long Beach
A remote, undeveloped beach in the south east reached by a rough track, empty even in high season.
BB Divers
The long running Bang Bao dive centre for full day snorkelling boats to the reefs of Koh Rang.
HTMS Chang Wreck
A former navy ship sunk in 2012, now the signature wreck dive for certified divers off Koh Chang.
Koh Rang
A protected island group with the clearest water and healthiest reefs reachable by day boat from Koh Chang.
Salak Khok Mangrove Walkway
A peaceful boardwalk loop through mangrove forest in a traditional fishing community on the east coast.
Koh Mak
A flat, quiet coconut island reached by boat from Bang Bao, made for cycling and slow beach days.
Best hotels in Koh Chang
Santhiya Tree Koh Chang Resort
A teak built luxury resort at quiet northern Klong Prao, with pool suites and villas between river and sea.
The Chill Resort and Spa Koh Chang
A modern five star on Kai Bae beachfront, with a long pool to the sea and village dining a short walk away.
Gajapuri Resort and Spa Koh Chang
A small luxury resort of wooden cottages and pool villas in gardens on the Kai Bae shore.
KC Grande Resort Koh Chang
The luxury heart of White Sand Beach, a large resort with several pools and the strip a short walk away.
Centara Koh Chang Tropicana Resort
The classic family resort on Klong Prao, with a lagoon pool with slides, a kids club and a long beach.
AWA Koh Chang
A stylish Kai Bae beachfront resort with a very long pool, large rooms and the village strip opposite.
Klong Prao Resort
A spacious, long running beachfront resort on a long stretch of Klong Prao sand, at honest mid range rates.
Pajamas Koh Chang
A design led hostel and hotel hybrid by Klong Prao Beach, with dorms, private rooms and a courtyard pool.
Is Koh Chang expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | THB 1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | THB 4,500 a person |
| Splurge | THB 12,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- BB Divers: a few days ahead
- HTMS Chang Wreck: a few days ahead
- Koh Rang: a few days ahead
- Koh Mak: a few days ahead
- Koh Kood: a few days ahead
- Santhiya Tree Koh Chang Resort: weeks ahead
- The Chill Resort and Spa Koh Chang: weeks ahead
- Gajapuri Resort and Spa Koh Chang: weeks ahead
- Book splurge and good mid range rooms weeks ahead for November to February and Thai holiday weekends.
- Book inter island boats in high season and HTMS Chang wreck dive days with a reputable centre.
- In June to October most Koh Mak and Koh Kood boats are suspended, so do not book island hops that assume they run.
Is Koh Chang safe?
- The west coast road is steep, narrow and twisty, and scooter accidents are a leading cause of tourist injury on the island.
- Wear a real helmet, hold the correct licence for insurance, and never ride the hills in heavy rain or after drinking.
- Obey red flags, ranger closures and rough sea warnings, and never swim alone at empty beaches in the monsoon.
- The island hospital is at Dan Mai, with serious cases transferred to Bangkok Hospital Trat on the mainland.
Koh Chang travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Agree the price of seafood sold by weight before it is cooked, especially crab and large prawns.
- Do not rent the cheapest scooter with worn tyres for the Kai Bae hill and the southern hills.
- Do not plan a fixed snorkelling and island hopping trip in the monsoon, when boats are cancelled in rough spells.
- Carry cash for the east coast, where ATMs are absent and small restaurants cannot be assumed to take cards.
Getting around Koh Chang: public transport and more
- Fly Bangkok to Trat, then minivan to the Laem Ngop area piers and the car ferry from Ao Thammachat to Ao Sapparot, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Songthaews run down the west coast from the ferry pier to Bang Bao, with fixed daytime fares and private taxi prices at night.
- There is no road through the interior, so east coast trips from the west coast drive around the north of the island.
- Hire a car or a driver for east coast days rather than learning the steep west coast hills on a rental scooter.
Who Koh Chang suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Koh Chang your trip
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