What is Koh Chang like?

[ThaiPauly]

I love Koh Chang and have been going there regularly for the last 12 years.

We always go to Kae Bae, beaches there are good, not overcrowded, nice deli in the village which is great for breakfast and lunch. Some nice bars and a half decent Italian.

Go for a day trip on the boat "Thai Fun" a really good day out,with lots of island hopping and snorkeling.

Hope you have a good time, I always do

[MZurf]

The best island to get away from everything is Koh Payam. Koh Chang and the rest of them are all a waste of time. You go to an island to get away from all the hustle and bustle.

http://www.theblueskyresort.com/Payam/

No, you go to an island to get away from the hustle and bustle. I don't, and would be bored stiff after one hour on your fantastic island.

[shaurene]

My pick of all the Thai Islands. Renting scooter ok from hotels etc. beaches are lovely scoot around on the bike plenty to pick. People are nice as long as you are, do not get cocky smile.

[minikev]

It's called Island hopping for a reason. You have to discover them early and then move to another. It was very nice 10 yrs ago although already showing the signs of us changing it. I went back 5 yrs ago and could see much more commercialism. It's wasn't quite Pattaya yet but I'm sure it's a few steps closer today than it was then.

I'm told the islands of Indonesia are similar to Koh Samui and Koh Chang 10 yrs ago if you go quickly you can indeed find the sort of holiday you are looking for.

[geisha]

Great island. Nothing like Pattaya at all, it's mountainous and still quite natural, lovely beaches, lots of beach restaurants to have fresh fish on the sand. Just a few souvenir shops, hotels and massage shops. A few bars with girls at the end of white sand beach, harmless. Public song thaew to take you nearly everywhere. Great for a quiet relax on the beach or pool! I loved it!

[taninthai]

The best island to get away from everything is Koh Payam. Koh Chang and the rest of them are all a waste of time. You go to an island to get away from all the hustle and bustle.

http://www.theblueskyresort.com/Payam/

yeah this was a nice island 10 years ago until resorts like the one linked above started popping up ,then the suitcase brigade arrived in droves ,more concrete structures started getting built and it goes downhill from there.

[my friend I]

We went for dinner at a resort restaurant. After we ordered I went to the bathroom. A woman was washing dishes on the floor next to the bowl.

[CNXBKKMAN]

It's called Island hopping for a reason. You have to discover them early and then move to another. It was very nice 10 yrs ago although already showing the signs of us changing it. I went back 5 yrs ago and could see much more commercialism. It's wasn't quite Pattaya yet but I'm sure it's a few steps closer today than it was then.

I'm told the islands of Indonesia are similar to Koh Samui and Koh Chang 10 yrs ago if you go quickly you can indeed find the sort of holiday you are looking for.

Everything relates to when you first visited. I enjoyed Samui a lot in the early 90's. I revisited in 2004 and it had changed for the worse and there was no need for to visit again and I haven't. People visiting for the first time in 2004 and enjoying will today be reminiscing what it was like back then. Fast forward to 2025 and there's a guy in a bar in Chaweng telling everyone that 2014 was when Samui was great, everything in the right balance, there was only one airport back then.....

[fgmr]

arminbkk,

Check out iamKohChang.com. The owner of this site was already ensconsed on the island when I first went there in 2005. He is a Brit and is still on the island. check him out. He is a good source of up to date info and no bullshit.

[wisdomwizard]

Just search on YouTube. There are some great videos depicting the reality of Koh Chang.

[Pigdog474]

Thanks all for the replies.

To some: I just want to take a break and find a different scenery, more quite and relaxed than Bangkok...but I don't want to go back in time or anything.

I made the comparison to Pattaya because most will know what Pattaya is like: crowded, seedy nightlife, overcommercialized (and the 'bad' Thai attitude that comes with that).

Nothing wrong with that....just not what I want.

So I asked if Koh Chang is the same or not.

Good to read that it is not.

@PattayaPhom....as a matter of fact...yes my trip is over Songkhran period. But I've read or heard somewhere that Songkhran is not celebrated that long

on most islands, maybe just 1 day or two. I just hope it is not as massive as it would be in Bangkok, where I will get soaked either direction I walk from my apartment.

We drive over there almost every second year, a little pricey but I'm willing to pay the 2000 or 3,000 required at a good quality resort. You can still find nice places for much less. We usually stay for about a week and enjoy our time there. We used to go to Pattaya but don't go there anymore as the rat race isn't for us. We also go during the week when there were lineups or overcrowding. Usually get on the first ferry but once had to wait for the second.

[opalred]

you will enjoy if you are a bush rat

[adammike]

it was great untill they got the ro-ro ferrys then it went the way of islands the world over,car ferrys and airports mess them up,[yes i know chang as not got an airport].

[arminbkk]

Ok, so I went to Koh Chang with my gf, just for 3 days/2 nights, which with traveling to the island from Bangkok and back again makes it less time on the island of course. We took a bus from Ekkamai bus station, the bus trip was about 5 hours. I think we had to wait at least half an hour before we got on the ferry. The ferry trip itself was another half hour. Not really any trouble getting a taxi on the island, or a songthaew in this case. With all the foot travelers coming off the ferry, most songthaews were quickly full. We went to Bailan Beach and the taxi fare for us was 100 baht per person, which was what I had read on the internet somewhere. It was Songkhran time so of course along the way when driving through the villages people were throwing water around. That was ok, bit fun even, although we all got soaked in the songthaew. Except for the very cold water….which quite a few threw at us.

Because the songthaew was full and people getting off at different hotels/resorts, the trip lasted quite long, about an hour I think before we actually arrived at our hotel. We stayed at Lazy Republique, which is opposite Bailan Beach Resort. Lazy Republique is quite nice and relaxed, only has 4 bungalows without TV by the way. The staff was great, the owners, a French lady and her Thai husband, were very friendly and very helpful!! They make great food also. We rented a motorcycle at a place about 50 meters from there. All very easy, no hassles, my gf left her ID with that shop. Paid 200 baht for 1 day (24 hours). Although, we already took it back in the evening the same day as we would not use it anyway the following day, which was the day we would leave again (I did not want to be responsible for it overnight since we would not use it anyway the next day).

We used the motorcycle to drive further south to Khlong Koi Village / beach….which was very nice and relaxed, not too crowded, beaches were nice, although not spotless. But not too many people there. It was a bit disappointing that there were rocks on the sea bed after a few meters (5) into the water, but otherwise it was alright. The owner of Lazy Republique told us that there is no such thing as a private beach on Koh Chang and that all beaches are public and no one could deny us entry. We took note of that and visited some other resorts where we would just walk in and to the beach and sit around a bit. Food at other places was also ok/good, although sometimes a bit pricey. Overall I would say Koh Chang is a nice island, although I should add that we did not spend anytime more to the north, White Sand Beach, Lonely Beach etc. which I think are more crowded.

If we would have had more time I would have liked to explore more of the inner part of the island, see some of the waterfalls and such. But we got to our hotel at about 15:45 hrs on Day 1, and left it at about 13:30 on Day 3. We did not do much on the evening of Day 1 as I did not feel so well after having been soaked in ice cold water during our songthaew trip. And as we did not wanted to get soaked while going back to the ferry pier, we booked our trip back to Bangkok on a minivan, which picked us up at our hotel and dropped us off in Bangkok near MRT. The owner of Lazy Republique was very helpful in booking this. Overall I would say, from the short time I’ve been there and where I’ve been on the island, Koh Chang is a nice island and I might go back again. But probably not during Songkhran!

[williewolf]

Ok, so I went to Koh Chang with my gf, just for 3 days/2 nights, which with traveling to the island from Bangkok and back again makes it less time on the island of course. We took a bus from Ekkamai bus station, the bus trip was about 5 hours. I think we had to wait at least half an hour before we got on the ferry. The ferry trip itself was another half hour. Not really any trouble getting a taxi on the island, or a songthaew in this case. With all the foot travelers coming off the ferry, most songthaews were quickly full. We went to Bailan Beach and the taxi fare for us was 100 baht per person, which was what I had read on the internet somewhere. It was Songkhran time so of course along the way when driving through the villages people were throwing water around. That was ok, bit fun even, although we all got soaked in the songthaew. Except for the very cold water….which quite a few threw at us.

Because the songthaew was full and people getting off at different hotels/resorts, the trip lasted quite long, about an hour I think before we actually arrived at our hotel. We stayed at Lazy Republique, which is opposite Bailan Beach Resort. Lazy Republique is quite nice and relaxed, only has 4 bungalows without TV by the way. The staff was great, the owners, a French lady and her Thai husband, were very friendly and very helpful!! They make great food also. We rented a motorcycle at a place about 50 meters from there. All very easy, no hassles, my gf left her ID with that shop. Paid 200 baht for 1 day (24 hours). Although, we already took it back in the evening the same day as we would not use it anyway the following day, which was the day we would leave again (I did not want to be responsible for it overnight since we would not use it anyway the next day).

We used the motorcycle to drive further south to Khlong Koi Village / beach….which was very nice and relaxed, not too crowded, beaches were nice, although not spotless. But not too many people there. It was a bit disappointing that there were rocks on the sea bed after a few meters (5) into the water, but otherwise it was alright. The owner of Lazy Republique told us that there is no such thing as a private beach on Koh Chang and that all beaches are public and no one could deny us entry. We took note of that and visited some other resorts where we would just walk in and to the beach and sit around a bit. Food at other places was also ok/good, although sometimes a bit pricey. Overall I would say Koh Chang is a nice island, although I should add that we did not spend anytime more to the north, White Sand Beach, Lonely Beach etc. which I think are more crowded.

If we would have had more time I would have liked to explore more of the inner part of the island, see some of the waterfalls and such. But we got to our hotel at about 15:45 hrs on Day 1, and left it at about 13:30 on Day 3. We did not do much on the evening of Day 1 as I did not feel so well after having been soaked in ice cold water during our songthaew trip. And as we did not wanted to get soaked while going back to the ferry pier, we booked our trip back to Bangkok on a minivan, which picked us up at our hotel and dropped us off in Bangkok near MRT. The owner of Lazy Republique was very helpful in booking this. Overall I would say, from the short time I’ve been there and where I’ve been on the island, Koh Chang is a nice island and I might go back again. But probably not during Songkhran!

Thanks for posting your trip report. Find it most helpful when someone starts a post and then takes the time to share their experience.

[keestha]

The owner of Lazy Republique told us that there is no such thing as a private beach on Koh Chang and that all beaches are public and no one could deny us entry. We took note of that and visited some other resorts where we would just walk in and to the beach and sit around a bit.

According to Thai law, all beaches are public. But sometimes a beach is only accessible through a resort, which of course can refuse you entry. But if you would go to that beach by boat, there would be nothing they could do legally.

[arminbkk]

The owner of Lazy Republique told us that there is no such thing as a private beach on Koh Chang and that all beaches are public and no one could deny us entry. We took note of that and visited some other resorts where we would just walk in and to the beach and sit around a bit.

According to Thai law, all beaches are public. But sometimes a beach is only accessible through a resort, which of course can refuse you entry. But if you would go to that beach by boat, there would be nothing they could do legally.

Luckily we had no such problem. They probably thought we were guests as we walked past reception.

We were also told that resorts often have no problem with outside visitors if those happen to be couple, but that it would be a different

story if a big group or large family with noisy kids would would drop in.