Scooter On Koh Chang

[tornado24]

Does anyone know a place to rent a scooter near the pier?

In the "Get around" section of wikitravel they say is possible to rent a scooter at the center point pier... Anyone can confirm that? http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Chang

Cheers.

[craigt3365]

Not sure where to rent a scooter at the pier. Your better bet might be to head into the main business area and do some shopping.

Be careful with scooters there. Too many accidents. Especially when the roads are wet. I was in Jordan last year and met a guy from there who crashed on Koh Chang and ended up with major problems. Had to have several operations when he got back home.

[gosompoi]

All over the island are rentals. But a warning! I visited Koh Chang last October and saw 5 or 6 accidents a day on the island, all tourists riding motorbikes.

[mrtoad]

Not sure, should be able to. You might be better off taking a taxi to the area you are staying in. If you are going to the West side, the roads from Ventrepoint around to Whitesands are pretty trick for a novice.

[mauGR1]

I agree with the previous posters, just go by taxi wherever you like to stay, and look around for the motorbike.

I would suggest to check the brakes and the tyres before going up and down the hills...

If you are not a skilled rider, better practice a bit before going for long trips, and if you are one, don't forget that the place is full with drunken idiots.

[Razzler1973]

You CAN rent bikes at the pier but depends which pier you arrive in. There's the regular one with the big 'Welcome to Koh Chang' sign in front of you and there's one a bit further (left) down the highway that some boats come in at that one (you can't walk)

I am not sure if the main pier has bikes, may have a few but the 'other' pier has a lot more (but less songthaews). Problem is they are keen on passport and if you don't want to play ball with that you may end up not getting one

On White Sand there are some bike rentals that'll take your driving licence to hold instead of passport, the one outside of Alina Resort (on the right - hole in wall type thing)

[BwindiBoy]

You CAN rent bikes at the pier but depends which pier you arrive in. There's the regular one with the big 'Welcome to Koh Chang' sign in front of you and there's one a bit further (left) down the highway that some boats come in at that one (you can't walk)

I am not sure if the main pier has bikes, may have a few but the 'other' pier has a lot more (but less songthaews). Problem is they are keen on passport and if you don't want to play ball with that you may end up not getting one

On White Sand there are some bike rentals that'll take your driving licence to hold instead of passport, the one outside of Alina Resort (on the right - hole in wall type thing)

Yes, that place you mentioned did that with me and then tried to claim I'd damaged the front of the bike. I had to play a bit of hard ball to get my passport back, as the very minor was there when I got the bike. I think they were only looking for a small amount, say 1,000 baht, but I insisted I wasn't paying anything and got my passport back after 5 minutes. Just look out for this sort of thing...even on Koh Chang. p.s. the bike was good quality and reliable.

[simple1]

OP: If you go against the advice not to use a motorbike, check that your travel insurance covers motorbikes. I was their a few months back & in one hour of driving my car, witnessed two Western couples lose control & slide across the narrow road, one couple were extremly lucky not to be wiped out by an oncoming pickup.

[nikkoid66]

I stay on Koh Chang for several months and ride in the night, rain or not. There is no problem if the bike is well maintained and have good tires. Tires and brakes are the top priority. I would consider a PCX that is more adapted (bigger tires, better brakes)... or a Honda click. Avoid the Nuovo for example. These are 130cc but are very light, so it is easy to loose control with these.

Also if it is raining a lot, wait about 30 min after it is finished. The road can be slippy like ice, I have seen some people that could not stand on the road (after the big S heading to Lonely beach)

Drive slowly if you do not know the road, and on the left, many cars are overlapping the middle of the road.

I have seen so many accidents, some happening in front of me. The worse was one with a small kid (8 yo I guess) and her father. The guy passed me at hi-speed and I remember thinking, this guy is going to fall. Arrived at Klong Prao the bike was on the ground, and a group of Thai where taking care of the kid what was bleeding from the legs... definitively not a good holiday memory for her.

Most accident I have seen were involving farangs driving too fast or scared and panic. Thai can fall too, but most of the time it is because they like to drink, phone and drive with one hand, som nam na!

Do not feel bad if you drive slow, if someone is driving faster, let him go. Just stay safe and you will enjoy driving in the jungle. Koh Chang is amazing with scooter.