The Koh Chang Experience

[camble]

Koh Chang (Elephant Island) is the largest island in the Gulf of Thailand, at 492 sq km, is the second largest island in Thailand after Phuket. Koh Chang is about 70% undisturbed rainforest, the best preserved in Thailand, which provide the source of rivers and waterfalls. A mountain range with steep cliffs rising to 744 meters shield the island from prevailing winds.

 

Tourism is very seasonal with several months of rainfall during the year. Weather is cool and pleasant, with plenty of sunshine, during high season from November to April. Temperatures reach 34C during March and April, and the southwest monsoon from the Gulf brings an abundance of rainfall from June to October. The eastern side of the island is a sediment area brought from the Trat River, making it a fertile fishing area, while resorts and beaches populate the western side of the island facing the sea.

 

GETTING THERE

 

Your options are air, public bus, minibus, and taxi.  Bangkok Air owns the airport at Trat so no competitive prices, one-way for 2600 on a prop plane from Swampy, flight time is about 30 minutes.  There were just a couple dozen passengers when I took this flight.

 

 

The island is too mountainous to support an airfield, the Trat airport is a single airstrip on the mainland, about 20 minutes from the ferry pier.  It's still necessary to take a minibus along the more treacherous 2-lane segment of the journey for a slightly unreasonable 500 baht.  After leaving my condo in Bangkok at 9:30 A.M., I arrived at the resort just after 2:00 P.M.  That's very good time, I imagine a minibus would take at least until 4:30, or later if I had to wait for more passengers to fill the seats.

 

 

Minibus is most convenient and economical, you can even get door-to-door service from Pattaya.  Using public bus you'll need to transfer to a baht bus 15 km west of Trat, waiting up to an hour with no a/c.  I tried taking a taxi once but, upon reaching the pier, the driver refused to take his cab on the ferry.  He said I needed to book a minibus from Malibu Travel after crossing on the ferry. I deducted the cost (300 baht) from his fare. 

 

Ferries depart every hour (until 6:00 PM I believe) and take about an hour.

 

 

 

ACCOMMODATIONS

 

Accommodations exist in all price ranges, from a small room with ceiling fan for 300 baht per night up to several thousand baht high-end resorts. Rates for the more expensive properties will vary dramatically between seasons. Many visitors prefer to stay at White Sand Beach, near the nightlife. Personally, I think this is the wrong approach.  Anyone visiting Koh Chang for the nightlife is likely to be disappointed, the best reason to come to Koh Chang is to relax.

 

I've stayed at the Sea View, Mercury Hideaway, Tropicana, Chang Buri, Nirvana, Kacha, Aana, and Paddy's Palms but now I only stay at the Emerald Cove Resort.  I've stayed there a dozen times, usually off-season when occupancy is low and rates are half-price.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped, and I particularly enjoy the 50 meter lap pool.

 

 

The resort is beautifully illuminated at night.

 

 

Of course, it rains a bit off-season

 

 

I usually book a mountain-facing room for half-price, rooms are identical, but sometimes they gave me a free upgrade to a sea view room because I'm such a good customer.

 

 

I enjoy the sea view at the Pool Bar with the money I've saved.  Half-Price drinks 4 PM to 6 PM, including tasty concoctions like Passion Fruit Mojito and Mango Daiquiri.

 

 

Amari sold the property two years ago but the new manager is attempting to continue the traditions that had made the resort so popular.

 

NEXT: WATERFALLS

[camble]

WATERFALLS

 

Klong Plu waterfall is a large waterfall of three levels. The entrance is about 3 km from Ao Klong Plu with a 500 meter walk into the forest. The entrance fee includes parking, a old lady will sometimes sit neat the entrance trying to fool unsuspecting tourists into paying an additional 20 baht for parking.

 

The entrance fee can be applied to other points of interest within the Koh Chang National Marine Park, since it occupies the interior of the entire island. I once visited Than Mayon Falls on the eastern side of the island, about a 45 minute walk from the parking lot. There are two stones bearing the initials of Rama IV and Rama VII. 

 

 

BARS

 

The main bar area is at White Sands Beach near the Chang Buri Resort.

 

 

The second largest bar area is on the northern edge of Kai Bae near the Sir Henry Morgan Pirate Pub

 

 

The third largest concentration of bars is at the southern edge of White Sands.

 

BANG BAO VILLAGE

 

Bang Bao Village is a small fishing village in the southwest corner of the island built on wooden stilts in the sea. Buildings are connected by a bridge. Besides the usual stores selling crap souvenirs, there are some very good seafood restaurants, and the village serves as a place to rent boats and make arrangements for visiting other nearby islands, including Koh Mak and Koh Kood. 

 

See my Koh Kood Trip Report

 

The village includes a hospital and pool hall

 

[camble]

ROADS

 

Roads are treacherous with sharp S-turns up steep inclines on the north side of Koh Chang, and a dangerous hairpin turn near Lonely Beach on the southern end. If you rent a scooter, I strongly advise staying between White Sands Beach and Kai Bae Beach, particularly at night. I was never injured riding my motorcycle, but had some very close calls, once nearly being forced off the road by an SUV barrelling around a corner at night.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Koh Chang is a great place to chill out and relax. The ferry pier is about 4 hours from Pattaya, 5  hours from Bangkok. Ferries run about every hour from dawn till dusk, the crossing takes an hour and costs 120 baht each way. Check it out soon, before it becomes more like Phuket and Samui.

 

[Tarteso]

Nice one report!


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[camble]

Alternately, for about the same price as a sea view room at the Emerald Cove, you can book a pool villa room at the Mercure Hideaway with private plunge pool.  A 10 foot wall provides privacy, and the small courtyard also includes a Jacuzzi.  The pool is too small for swimming but loads of fun if you have company.

 

 

[Rimmer]

Very nice trip report and pictures, thank you for putting it up

[camble]

Thanks for your comments.

 

I tried staying in Bang Bao, in the southeast corner of the island, for one night, just for the experience, getting a room with mosquito net at Ocean Blue for 300 baht.  There's a pool hall and hospital but the town shuts down early, not even the 7-11 stays open.

 

[Katia]

Thank you!  Helpful to know for an upcoming trip.

 

On shared minibus transfer from Trat to island-- how many companies offer this?  I seem to have seen several, but I also seem to recall having read on one site that Bangkok Airways operates the only transfer bus (I've read so many sites over the past few weeks that I can't keep track of what I read where anymore, sorry), so I can't tell if other sites I've seen are actually separate companies, or just booking services for the airline-run bus.  Are most of the companies pretty reputable?  Others seem to be cheaper when booked in advance than the airline-run service, but obviously I'm not going to trade good service or safety to save a hundred baht (I also imagine there's more leeway with the airline's service if, say, a flight is delayed or canceled and I miss the last ferry to the island).

[camble]

Some resorts provide airport transfer, or can arrange it.  The airport is not in town and is about 15 km from the pier.

[Katia]

Thank you.  Yes, this I know.  My hotel has transport, but it would be very expensive as I'd have to pay for a whole van-- which I don't need.  I'm hoping for one of the shared-minibus transfers, the ones that run B750-900 for a round trip.

[camble]

Sorry, don't know.  Only used the Trat airport once but used to ride past when I went to Koh Chang by motorcycle.

 

[Katia]

Cool pic!

[howerde]

Great report with Photos,  going there in April for a week(think that will be long enough), 

[BsBs]

hello,

 

Is there any 1000 thb front beach or sea view resort anywhere ?

 

Where do you usually stay ? (even if it's not front beach).

 

Thank you.

[camble]

1 hour ago, BsBs said:

hello,

 

Is there any 1000 thb front beach or sea view resort anywhere ?

 

Where do you usually stay ? (even if it's not front beach).

 

Thank you.

 

Accommodations are available in all price ranges but you won't get much comfort for 1000 baht.  I usually stay at the Emerald Cove Resort.

[camble]

For my most recent visit I tried staying at The Chill at Kae Bae Beach.  Opened in 2010, about 1-2 km south of the Emerald Cove, The Chill is a boutique resort with ultra modern decor.  Only 38 rooms, of which about 6 are occupied.  The Chill gets the highest ratings on Trip Advisor at present so I was curious what the buzz was about.

 

Rooms are smaller than the Emerald Cove, but have a second bed on the balcony.

 

 

All rooms are facing north, towards the pool.  The property is long and narrow so only the last unit, the most expensive suite, has a sea view, but ground-level rooms feature direct pool access from the balcony.

 

 

The beach is a bit rocky so I did all my swimming in the pool.

 

 

Caution:  The wooden deck can be very hot on the feet!!!

 

 

Breakfast is served all-day, any time from 7 AM to 10:30 PM at the Chill Out Cafe, and is ala cart, just order as much as you like.  Complimentary for guests, 695++ for walk-ins.

 

 

I also tried some of their pasta dishes, seafood spaghetti and crab lasagna, for 350++

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at The Chill.  The staff were wonderful and really went out of their way to see you were comfortable, but I still believe The Emerald Cove is the best place to stay on Koh Chang, and not just because it's slightly less expensive.

 

Cheers

 

 

[camble]

I like to visit off-season.  Rates are low and not many tourists if you don't mind some rain.

[Tarteso]

I was living in the Island long time ago...lovely and quiet place, but last year spent two week with family in high season and china just conquered this place.. whatever, I will come back.

[camble]

Here's a walk around Kae Bai Village

 

[Tarteso]

Nice one beach and Kaibae hut resort have a good prices and quality, about 1.400Bth. including houses for long term rental around this area.

[camble]

25 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

Nice one beach and Kaibae hut resort have a good prices and quality, about 1.400Bth. including houses for long term rental around this area.

Here are a few more

[camble]

I always visit Koh Chang in late October since the rates double on Nov 1st where I usually stay.

 

 

There was some rain but not a lot, two days out of six were overcast.

 

 

I spent most of my time at the resort but also took a short walk to the Walking Street at Kae Bae, about a 15-20 minute walk from my resort. 

 

There were a few eateries along the way.

 

My room cost a little more

 

 

The Chang Mai Church was on the way

 

 

Finally, Walking Street at the Sky Bar

 

 

It was late afternoon, not much going on yet

 

 

There were many new bars since my last visit, including Easy Going, Mary Jane's Rasta Pub, Wan's, and Marks.  This is starting to rival the bar area at White Sands.

 

 

Captain Morgan's Pirate Pub has been closed for a while now

 

 

Just further south, Ciao Italian restaurant is for sale

 

 

After my visit, I took the Bang Bao speedboat to Koh Kood for 900.  Twin Yamaha outboards and still no life jackets.

 

 

Out of Bang Bao Harbor and onto my destination in less than two hours, after a brief stop at Koh Mak. 

 

[overc]

Let's call it trash island, this is just what it is !

 

 

[camble]

46 minutes ago, overc said:

Let's call it trash island, this is just what it is !

 

 

 

I swim at the Emerald Cove.  The staff keeps the beach clean and I use the pool at night or when the sea is too rough.  They also fog the property twice a week to control mosquitoes.

 

[terryofcrete]

On 1/8/2017 at 2:04 PM, Katia said:

Thank you!  Helpful to know for an upcoming trip.

 

On shared minibus transfer from Trat to island-- how many companies offer this?  I seem to have seen several, but I also seem to recall having read on one site that Bangkok Airways operates the only transfer bus (I've read so many sites over the past few weeks that I can't keep track of what I read where anymore, sorry), so I can't tell if other sites I've seen are actually separate companies, or just booking services for the airline-run bus.  Are most of the companies pretty reputable?  Others seem to be cheaper when booked in advance than the airline-run service, but obviously I'm not going to trade good service or safety to save a hundred baht (I also imagine there's more leeway with the airline's service if, say, a flight is delayed or canceled and I miss the last ferry to the island).

The ferry won't leave until the last flight is in and the people transferred to the pier... at least that's what used to be the general rule .... 

[Ulic]

Thanks for the report, the great pictures and also to other contributors and their pictures. Cheers. 

[just bob]

Wonderful write up and pics.  Thanks much!

[camble]

Here are some photos from the east coast of koh chang, the side tourists usually ignore.  It's much more quiet and serene but there are still a few resorts there.

 

There's a small fishing village in the far southeastern corner.  You can see Bang Bao about a km away but I don't know a road that leads there, or even a foot path.  Otherwise, it takes an hour to circle the island on motorbike.