I am planning a solo visit to Koh Chang in the nest few weeks. It looks like a nice place with bush and waterfalls and Khmer girls.White Sand Beach seems to be where the action is. Can others recommend hotels or bungalows at the right price that allow overnight guests. I always pay for a double so does this solve any problems? Looking at going to the cooking schools as well. What is the best local sim card in that part of Thailand?

Any advice gratefully received.

Pearl beach area is better than White sands,,it is close enough to were it all happens but far enough away that you are not kept awake by the noise ..bang ton rak,paradise palms.elephant and castle,pennys, remark ,are a few i have stayed in..all very good...

There are a few girlie bars with perhaps a diamond in the rough among them but the majority are older ugly women. You don't come to Koh Chang to monger, it's not that type of place. BYO and be happier, score in Bangkok and bring here.

On 9/17/2018 at 6:50 AM, Kim J said:

in my mind the place has now been spoiled by over development

The vast majority of Koh Chang is national park, you only have to look at a satellite view of the island to see that most of the island is covered by huge swathes of green.  As for the ring road that more or less circles the island, well sure it's got hotels on either side of it, but they're generally on the main road, not on hundreds of sideroads as well like you might find on Samui or Phuket etc.  Especially in low season Koh Chang is very quiet, you will have the waterfalls almost to yourself and if you take a trek into the jungle you will not see anybody else until you get out again.  The east coast road only has the odd resort, so for people wanting to see the sea without a hotel in the way, head there.

5 minutes ago, themechanic said:

There are a few girlie bars with perhaps a diamond in the rough among them but the majority are older ugly women. You don't come to Koh Chang to monger, it's not that type of place. BYO and be happier, score in Bangkok and bring here.

As frank as this is it is still somewhat of an understatement.  If you were being even more brutal with your honesty you might say that the mere thought of Koh Chang bar girls naked is enough to bring up your dinner, and the breakfast before it.  With typical bargirl stupidity, they have chosen a profession for which they have absolutely no relevant qualities.  OP would look a damn sight better straddling a pole in lycra than any Koh Chang bargirl might.  They are all well over the hill, the average age must be getting close to 40, certainly over 30.  When I am driving past on my motorbike I can almost smell the desperation.  There are a lot of stray dogs on Koh Chang, and some will lunge for your ankles.  I'm sure they have learned this from the bar girls, who attempt the same thing on any innocent passer-by, dragging you into the murky depths of their lair.

 

And because there is little custom (I have no idea how any of them can survive, their base salary is 5000 baht a month and they aren't getting any more than that) there is little investment.  The bars are tin-roof shacks, the bedroom in the back not fit for a dog with low standards, and the pool tables wouldn't support their weight if they were to hoist any one of their flabby carcasses atop of it.

 

No Sir, not for me.

On 9/17/2018 at 6:50 AM, Kim J said:

Many years ago I was a regular down there, when virtually all you had to stay in was 100 / 200bt beach huts,

Still possible to get a hut seafront (not really beachfront) for 250 baht on the west coast in low season, and if you head down to Long Beach on the other side of the island, I'm sure that will be around 200 baht a night on an actual beach.

I love the rainy season there, the jungle comes alive and the waterfalls are really impressive.  I'm not really a beach person though, except for snorkeling but there's not much of that off Koh Chang's beaches anyway.  I'm pretty sure Koh Chang is the wettest island in Thailand, over a calendar year, but most of the rainfall is over 4-5 months in the rainy season.

The trees are usually cut by somebody with a chainsaw pretty sharpish.  Longest powercut I've seen is a few hours.  No inclement conditions will stop me going out, the more it rains the more I'm itching to see how high the river level is, but I totally get that most people/tourists are sun seekers not get-drenched seekers.  The worst thing about the rain for me is that snakes don't like it, nor wind, so you can't find them.

See my trip report

 

 

What's the weather like at the moment?  Thinking of a trip next week, staying either Kai bae or Klong Koi beach.  Not bothered about rainstorms, unless it's all day.  Early risers, so we prefer beach 07.00 to 10.00 & late afternoon.  How's the sea at this time of year?