koh chang backpacking

Koh Chang is one of the closest islands to Bangkok and one of the most accessible. A great place to head to if you have 4-5 days to spare before your flight from Bangkok.

Which beach to stay on?

Lonely beach is the place to stay as a backpacker. Not only is there a lovely long white sandy beach, there are plenty of eating options (many cheap and also western if you’re craving something in particular) and good nightlife. You won’t regret staying on Lonely Beach.

White Sands Beach is another great beach but not as backpacker orientated as Lonely Beach.

Klong Prao Beach is ok but it is rather narrow. It is more family friendly due to the nature of the resorts that are there.

Lonely Beach – what to expect

Lonely Beach is a 10 minute walk away from town. The beach itself is terrific with a rather wide white sandy beach. There is plenty of room. It’s not lonely as the name suggests but it is by no means crowded. Jafatravel.com was there in January and there was ample space for you to relax.

The water is warm, clear and quite shallow. You can wade out some 50 metres and still be able to stand. Because of the shallowness, it is great for frisbees, tennis and other ball sports or water activities. Or simply great to wade in and take it easy in the water.

Town is a great mix of your street hawker style food outlets, cleaner westernised places, bars, internet cafes and accommodation.  There is plenty to keep you occupied and enough variety that you won’t end up going to the same place over and over again.

Accommodation on Lonely Beach

Many accommodation options are available on Lonely Beach. Jafatravel.com stayed at Day & Night Resort (ph: 081-7713457) and really recommend it. It’s in town and is a 10 minute walk from Lonely Beach. Prices were 500 baht a night for a room with a double bed (or big bed as the Resort says) and 600 baht a night for a room with two single beds. Rooms come with fans, cable TV and private bathroom/toilet. It is really modern and clean. Plus, it has brick walls rather than the bamboo and leaves other resorts have.

You will be able to find other options around town for 300 baht a night but of course, they may not be as nice.

If you are looking to stay on the beach, Siam Hut Koh Chang is right on Lonely Beach. You’ll be 50 metres (not even that for some bungalows) away from the beach. Prices during January 2009 ranged from 380 baht through to 700-800 baht. The cheapest give you a bed, mosquito net, fan and private bathroom with a garden view.

It’s up to you decide whether you stay on the beach or stay in town. You’ll end up making the walk to/from the beach/town once a day whether you are walking to lie on the beach during the day or heading into town for food and drinks at night.

Accommodation on Klong Prao Beach

Jafatravel.com stayed at Magic Resort on Klong Prao Beach for one night as we weren’t organised to book accommodation ahead of arriving at Koh Chang. We felt that it was overpriced (1300 baht) for a double room with air conditioning. Breakfast was included but the room wasn’t modern by any means. The TV only had local Thai TV. The vibe is family style accommodation with a private beach. Perfect for families. If you’re a backpacker or lone budget traveller looking to save some money, it will be much better going to Lonely beach.

Long Beach on Koh Chang information

Unfortunately for us backpackers and budget travellers the owners of Tree House have packed up the accommodation on the rocky end of Lonely Beach and moved to Long Beach. Long Beach is a 54km trip around the island from Lonely Beach. The road around Koh Chang does not continue to Long beach if you head from Lonely beach in an anticlockwise direction.

Jafatravel.com has heard many stories that Tree House at Long Beach is just as good as it was on Lonely beach. Chilled out, hippie, fun, communal, friendly atmosphere with a terrific, quiet relaxing beach. Perfect to really relax and get away from it all with cheap basic accommodation. You don’t go for the luxury, you go for the relaxation and tranquillity.

In high season, make sure you book ahead as Tree House fills up quickly.

To get there, you are best taking a taxi there from the ferry terminal. Otherwise, there is a taxi operated by the people at Tree House that leaves from the previous Tree House on Lonely Beach at 10am each day.

Unfortunately there is only one taxi there each day and you must stay overnight. You cannot make a day trip of it unless you hire a motorbike yourself.

If you’re taking a motorbike yourself to Lonely Beach, beware that the last 3km of the road is unsealed. Jafatravel.com was warned that you do need some confidence on a motorbike if you are to get through.  But I guess 20km of riding beforehand will be enough practice...

If Tree House is fully booked, there is other accommodation nearby but jafatravel.com has heard that it isn’t as good in terms of the chilled atmosphere of Tree House.

Booking ahead on Koh Chang?

If you travel during high season (around January), jafatravel.com recommends you book ahead. Otherwise, you may be stuck paying a premium for your first night’s accommodation whilst you look around for cheaper/better accommodation for the next night. We spent a good 2-3 hours on our first evening riding around scoping the best beaches and best value accommodation around Lonely beach. I’d book ahead for the first night and then you can always scout around for the second if you need to.

If you are arriving early in the morning, ie before 10, then it may be ok not to book ahead as most places will have people checking out. Places with bungalows do not seem to take bookings nor keep track of how long people will stay. People just stay as long as they want and pay at the end – it’s perfect in terms of relaxing and letting time past.

Getting to Koh Chang

You can either plane/ferry or take a bus/ferry combination. Flights leave from Bangkok and take 45 minutes to get to Trat. Then you need to get to the ferry terminal and take the 20 minute ferry from the mainland to Koh Chang. Flights are obviously more expensive. Ferries leave for Koh Chang roughly every hour.

A bus from Bangkok will take roughly 5 hours. Jafatravel.com booked return bus tickets through Soi 1 Guesthouse for 1000 baht (open ticket). That included pick up from the hostel, bus and ferry to/from Koh Chang. The bus was a good double decker bus which was suitable for an overnight bus trip. Enough leg room for western standards and a TV for movies.

Instead of booking through the hostel, you can go to the bus station where it would be cheaper (around 300 baht one way).  These are government buses which don’t look as flash as the private VIP bus discussed above but do look comfortable enough for the 5 hour journey. The buses seem to stop at the same rest stops so it was possible to have a quick look at the government bus. Buses leave for Trat every hour.

Getting around Koh Chang

Taxis - As soon as you get off the ferry, there are plenty of taxis waiting to take you to your destination. As most people go down the west coast of the island, you needn't worry about getting a taxi as there are plenty. Generally, the more people in the taxi, the less you will pay. To get to Lonely Beach and back, you’d be paying about 100 baht each if the taxi is full. 2 of us paid 150 baht to get from Klong Prao beach to Lonely beach when there were only 2 of us in the taxi.

Motorbikes – Cost is 200-220 baht a day. Motorbikes are certainly a great way to check out the island, scout out what other beaches are like and what other accommodation options are available. Cost per hour is about 60-70 baht.

Time of year to go to Koh Chang

High season is from November through to April. You can expect clear blue skies and sunny days. From noon through 2pm, the sun is quite hot. Perfect for working on your tan! Just don’t get burnt.

During high season it is advisable to book ahead. Jafatravel.com was told that many Thais head over to Koh Chang around January but we didn’t notice a high amount of Thais on the ferry heading across.

jafatravel.com visited Koh Chang in January 2009.

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© Jafa Travel Pty Ltd 2008