Koh Chang
Koh Chang is Thailand's second-largest island and eighty per cent of it is national park, which is why everything sits on one coastal strip and the rest is mountain. Cambodia is visible six kilometres off.
Koh Chang in a nutshell
Koh Chang: what to expect
Our own data here is 1,756,000+ stops planned across Thailand on Stippl.
Koh Chang is Thailand's second-largest island and roughly four-fifths of it is protected park, which makes for a different kind of island week. The west coast holds the beaches and the sunsets at Klong Prao and Kai Bae, Bang Bao is an old fishing village on stilts over the water and now the pier the dive boats leave from, and Klong Plu waterfall is a short walk behind the coast to a pool you swim in. Most travellers give the island 4 nights on Stippl.
Koh Chang holds people longer than almost anywhere else in Thailand, and the journey is part of why. Only 14.2% of Koh Chang stops planned on Stippl are a single night, against a country that mostly moves on every three days. Getting here takes six or seven hours from Bangkok by minibus and ferry, so nobody arrives for one night by accident.
Four nights is the shape and a week is not excessive. Base yourself on the west coast for the sunsets, then cross to the east for Salak Khok's fishing village, the Ao Ka Rang viewpoint and the mangroves, which almost nobody bothers with. Take a scooter or a shared songthaew, because you cannot hail a taxi and the island is far bigger than it looks. Dive or snorkel in the marine park around it, and if the days allow, hop south to Koh Mak and Koh Kood, which is the natural extension rather than a separate trip.
Who Koh Chang is for
Thailand plus Cambodia
it is the natural last Thai stop before the Trat border, and it appears mostly inside those routes
An island without the crowd
the size is the point: the same visitor numbers spread over a far larger coastline
Families
a spread of quiet beaches, a waterfall walk short enough for children, and the longest average stays we record anywhere in Thailand
Nature-first beach travellers
waterfalls, mangroves and a mountainous protected interior rather than nightlife and boat tours
One social beach, contained
Lonely Beach is the island's concentrated version of that, and it is contained rather than island-wide
Maybe not for you: anyone on a west-coast island route (it is on the wrong side of the country), travellers without a scooter licence who dislike being dependent on expensive taxis, and anyone who wants to island-hop casually, the connections here are to Koh Mak and Koh Kood, not to the famous islands
When to go to Koh Chang
Dry
Nov–Apr
the Gulf east-coast season: calm water, every boat running, and the busiest and priciest window
Wet
May–Oct
rain and rougher sea, but the interior at its best; the recommendation puts the Klong Plu waterfall at its finest in July–September
- Koh Chang runs on the Gulf calendar, not the Andaman one, so it is a wet-season alternative to the west coast rather than a competitor to it
- Some businesses reduce hours in the low season, though nothing in the sources suggests the island empties the way the small southern islands do
- Chao Por Koh Chang: the island's own shrine, visited by locals and by boat crews; our sources record it as a stop rather than a dated festival
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What not to miss in Koh Chang
Photo by Nott Peera via Unsplash
Photo by Alin Meceanu via Unsplash
Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg via CommonsKlong Plu waterfall
a short walk behind Klong Prao to a tiered fall with a swimming pool at its foot. The island's one universally named sight, and it is at its best in the wet months when most visitors are not there
The east-coast loop
Salak Khok's fishing village, the Ao Ka Rang viewpoint and the mangrove side of the island, which almost nobody crosses
Bang Bao stilt village and pier
the old fishing settlement built over the water, now the departure point for dive and island boats
Diving and snorkelling in Mu Ko Chang National Park
the marine park around the island, the reason the dive shops are here
Sunset from Klong Prao or Kai Bae
the west coast faces the right way, and the offshore islands give it something to sit against
The island-chain hop to Koh Mak and Koh Kood
the two smaller, quieter islands south of here, and the natural extension of a Koh Chang trip
The neighbourhoods of Koh Chang
Klong Prao
couples
The long middle beach, quieter than White Sand and within walking or short-ride distance of it. The waterfall trailhead is behind it
The Klong Plu waterfall trailhead sits right behind this quieter beach.
Kai Bae
families
Further south, family-leaning, with the islands offshore that give it its sunsets
Offshore islands give this beach some of the island's best sunsets.
Lonely Beach
backpackers, nightlife
The backpacker and nightlife beach, south-west, reached over the island's worst stretch of road
A concentrated strip of backpacker bars and a lively night out.
Bang Bao
divers
The old stilt fishing village turned pier and seafood strip at the south-west end; where dive and island-hop boats leave
The old stilt fishing village, now a seafood strip and dive-boat pier.
White Sand Beach (Hat Sai Khao)
first visits
The main and busiest beach, north-west: resorts, restaurants, the closest thing to a centre
The island's centre, with resorts, restaurants and the busiest beach together.
The east coast (Salak Khok, Salak Phet)
independent travellers
Mangrove, working fishing villages and viewpoints; almost no tourist accommodation
Mangrove viewpoints and working fishing villages most visitors never see.
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Where to stay in Koh Chang
Stock is unusually varied for a Thai island: hostels, homestays, small resorts, hotels and private villas, because the island is large enough to hold several distinct beach economies
Klong Prao
The long middle beach, quieter than White Sand and within walking or short-ride distance of it. The waterfall trailhead is behind it
Kai Bae
Further south, family-leaning, with the islands offshore that give it its sunsets
Lonely Beach
The backpacker and nightlife beach, south-west, reached over the island's worst stretch of road
Bang Bao
The old stilt fishing village turned pier and seafood strip at the south-west end; where dive and island-hop boats leave
White Sand Beach (Hat Sai Khao)
The main and busiest beach, north-west: resorts, restaurants, the closest thing to a centre
The east coast (Salak Khok, Salak Phet)
Mangrove, working fishing villages and viewpoints; almost no tourist accommodation
What to eat in Koh Chang
The stilt-village catch, grilled whole
Green papaya salad, pounded to order
The national noodle benchmark
Coconut-based, hotter than central Thai
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Koh Chang customs and what not to do
The east coast still works
fishing villages where visitors are unusual, and the etiquette is village etiquette
The shrine is in use
Chao Por Koh Chang serves islanders and boat crews, and it is a place of practice, not a viewpoint
The name means elephant
the island's logging history is elephant-related too, which is also why elephant camps operate here, a welfare question our sources do not adjudicate and /add-places should
Do
- Book a room near the middle of the west strip if you would rather walk than ride
- Cross to the east coast at least once, it is a different island
- Check the last ferry before planning the mainland leg
- Read Safety before renting a scooter
Don't
- Don't judge the distances from the map
- Don't assume you can hail a taxi
- Don't plan onward hops to Samui or Phangan from here
- Don't ride the Kai Bae–Bang Bao road in the wet
Daily budget in Koh Chang
Budget
€20–30
hostel or bungalow at Lonely Beach, local food, a shared scooter
Mid-range
€50–80
beach resort room, restaurant meals, own scooter, a dive or boat day
High-end
€120+
the west-coast resorts, private transfers
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Fun facts about Koh Chang
The name means Elephant Island, from the shape and from the elephants historically used for logging its interior
Around 80% of the island is protected national park, which is why development sits on one coastal strip
Cambodian islands are visible from it; the sea border is roughly 6 km away
It is Thailand's second-largest island, and our sources' recurring warning is that the map makes it look smaller than it is
Local tips for Koh Chang
You cannot hail transport here.
One source says flatly that there are no cruising taxis or tuk-tuks and that a scooter is needed; another describes taxis as a great way to get around. Both are right about different things: shared songthaews run set routes and can be picked up, private taxis are booked through a hotel and cost accordingly, and nothing circulates looking for a fare
Arrival is taken care of
transport meets the pier and runs to the hotels, and it is the getting-around afterwards that needs planning
The ferry sets the schedule
it is the fixed point of the journey: hourly, daylight only, and the last one is early evening, plan the Bangkok leg backwards from it
Onward means Mak and Kood
not the Gulf's famous three. Reaching Samui or Phangan from here means going back through the mainland
The road is the danger here
our sources point the wrong way on it. One of the two dedicated articles tells readers they need a scooter to see the island and mentions the licence only as an insurance technicality; neither describes the terrain
You will pass a fresh crash
a local guide says that riding the island's length on any given day, you probably will. Two sections are named as the worst: Kai Bae to Bang Bao, narrow with steep climbs and hairpins, described as near impossible in the wet, and Klong Son to White Sand Beach, the "Big Hill", with hairpins, heavy trucks and blind-corner overtaking
Frequently asked questions about Koh Chang
It costs a day. Six to seven hours from Bangkok by minibus and ferry, or a flight to Trat and a transfer, and there is no shortcut around it. Lay that travel day into the route in Stippl rather than pretending it is a morning. Then ask people who have made the trip, in subreddits like r/ThailandTourism.
Because getting there costs a day and the island is bigger than it looks. The longest stays run to 7 nights on Stippl, and about four-fifths of the island is protected park, so there is more to ride to than a strip of beach. The east coast alone takes a full day.
November to April, which is the Gulf's east-coast season and the opposite of the Andaman's. 73.3% of the trips that include Koh Chang on Stippl start inside those months. Klong Plu waterfall is the exception, since it is at its best when there has been rain.
It is Thailand's second-largest island, and the practical version of that is that you cannot walk between beaches and cannot hail a taxi. A rented scooter or a shared songthaew is how everyone moves around. About four-fifths of it is national park, most of that forested interior rather than coast.
If the days allow, yes, because they are the natural extension rather than a separate trip. Both sit south of Koh Chang in the same island chain, both are quieter, and Koh Kood in particular is bigger and emptier. Boats run between them in the high season and thin out sharply outside it.
The length of stay says so. 0.59% of Thai stops planned on Stippl are on Koh Chang, a small share for the country's second-biggest island, and the people who do go stay longer than almost anywhere else in the country.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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