4 Days in Koh Chang, Thailand

Koh Chang is the second largest island in Thailand, covering an impressive 217 square kilometers. Local and international tourists alike visit the island for its beautiful beaches, island hopping opportunities, and dense jungle. (Fun Fact: 70% of the island consists of virgin rain forest.)

Koh Chang isn’t as “trendy” as other Thailand Island hotspots like Koh Samui and Phuket. You won’t find raging full moon parties and endless rows of bars. But you will find plenty of chances to connect with nature whether it be swimming under waterfalls, snorkeling through reefs, wandering the mangrove swamps, or just kicking it on the beach with a Chang beer.

 It’s relaxed and low key, making it the perfect travel destination if you want a nice getaway with adventure opportunities to be had.

Here’s my guide on how to get there, where to stay, and what to do, and exactly how much everything cost me.

How to Get from Bangkok to Koh Chang

Koh Chang is 250km from Bangkok and there are 3 ways of getting there.

1. Fly from Bangkok to Trat, take a taxi from the Trat Airport to pier, then take the ferry to Koh Chang.
2. Arrange a private transport that covers the bus, ferry, and ride to your hotel
3. Take the 999 Public Bus then the Centre Pointe Ferry

I highly recommend taking the 999 bus to from Bangkok to Koh Chang. While the bus ride is nearly 6 hours, the time it’ll take to navigate airport lines will likely be the same. Plus, with the ferry included, it’ll only cost you 341 THB (around $10 USD.)

 Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to get from Bangkok to Koh Chang via bus

• Take the 7:45 am 999 Public Bus from Ekkamai to Trat. (Pro Tip: Get there early to ensure you get a ticket!) The bus is perfectly pleasant and you even get snacks and a juice box. (261 THB)
• Catch the ferry from Center Point Pier to Koh Chang (80 THB)
• Hop in a taxi and ask the driver to take you to the respective beach you’re staying at. Price depends on how far you’re traveling. I was headed to Coconut Beach, which was 80 THB

A Break Down of the Island

Check out the below map from koh-chang-guide.com.

The west side of the island is lined with beaches and resorts, the east side is less developed with a stronger local presence. Most people tend to stay on the west side, as it is more accessible and easier to navigate. Oddly enough, there is not a road that loops the entire way around.

Where to Stay

I visited Koh Chang during the off season, and it felt like a ghost town—empty resorts, no traffic, closed restaurants. For my musings on the Paradise Lost click here. So while I don’t have a firm grasp on what the different areas are like during peak season, other bloggers have said the following: White Sands Beach is notoriously the “nicest” area to stay, Lonely Beach is for the backpackers (although it’s totally empty and most of the bars have been engulfed in vines), Bang Bao has the best access to diving and island hopping opportunities, and Klong Pra Beach is right in the middle.  

I stayed near Klong Pra Beach at Coconut Beach Resort, and it was perfect for me.

Super fast WiFi that never cut out, a nice big room with AC (pictured below), beach front access (pictured above), a breakfast buffet with tasty Thai food, and there is a Lotus Express and 7-11 right near by. The interior is dated and there were little ants around my room, but hey, it’s a jungle island in Thailand! What do you expect?

Pro Tip: No matter what area you decide to stay in, be sure your accommodation is close to a 7-11 or mini grocery store. It’s essential for getting water, snacks, and little items you forgot.

How to Get Around Koh Chang

While you can hop on the taxis going up and down the road, the best way to see the island is either motor bike or car. Motor bike rentals are as low as 300 THB a day, and the island is fairly easy to drive around apart from a couple tricky hills.

What to Do in Koh Chang

Enjoy the Beaches

While I didn’t see the beaches in their dazzling sun-lit glory, I did thoroughly enjoy long walks, putzing along examining all the washed up shells. There were mollusks, crabs, chunks of coral, and perfectly preserved conches that were a delight to inspect.

Check Out the Waterfalls

Khlong Phlu waterfall is THE waterfall advertised on the island. Getting there is a short 500 m walk through the rainforest, and the waterfall itself is perfectly quaint and lovely. I will say it’s a bit anticlimactic, but worth the visit nevertheless. Note that you do have to pay a 200 THB entry fee to get into the national park area.

Khlong Chao Lueam Waterfalll is a bit more rugged and better for adventure seekers, and entry is a mere 40 THB. The path is a bit tricky, and you can go beyond the first waterfall and through the jungle to see more waterfalls.

Pro Tips: Definitely wear your swimsuit to go for a swim. Wear slip resistant shoes- there are some slippery rocks to navigate. Lather on that bug spray, I got eaten alive.

Explore the Baan Na Nai Mangrove Forest

At the bottom of the east side of the island there is a mangrove forest with a pleasant boardwalk you can stroll along. Like the waterfall, the mangrove forest itself is a bit anticlimactic. But the ride to get there makes it all worthwhile. You’ll ride through stunning landscape, local villages, fisheries, and rubber farms.

Find Hidden Paradise

When you get to the end of the road on the east side of the island, you’ll find a lovely swimming hole next to a local restaurant that serves up a mean papaya salad. Go for a swim, swing on the tire swing, then enjoy a stellar lunch. This is perhaps my favorite thing to do on Koh Chang

Go Snorkeling or Diving

Koh Chang is surrounded by other islands with beautiful underwater wildlife. Given the weather, I wasn’t able to island hop, but I was able to go on a snorkeling excursion with BB Divers. (For the exact tour click HERE). The experience was phenomenal.

The journey began with a 1 hr 45 min boat ride to the national park. It was some of the roughest waters I’ve been in (the joys of traveling during rainy season), which I found it exhilarating. The father and two sons who were scuba diving has a less than optimal time…

Luckily the water at the national park was calm. And luckily I was the only snorkeler, meaning I got a one on one experience with a guide. We saw angel fish, grouper, urchins, and all types of bright blue and yellow fish happily swimming around. I’m a decent swimmer, so we would free dive to the depths below to examine various corals and mollusks. There were two different snorkel spots around two different islands, and in between we got a fantastic Thai lunch buffet.

Transportation to and from the pier, lunch, and the snorkeling only cost $27 USD (plus a 200 THB national park entry fee). A total steal!

What I Didn’t Get to Do

Given the time of year, there were a few things I couldn’t do that I thought I’d share:

• Jungle trekking
• Kayaking to the nearby islands
• Island hopping
• Stand Up Paddleboarding

What Not To Do on Koh Chang

Koh Chang literally means “Elephant Island”, and there are a handful of elephant “base camps”. Never engage in this type of tourism. The process of “breaking” elephants into domestication is horrendous, and you can read my deep dive on it HERE.

What to Eat in Koh Chang

I admittedly didn’t explore the food scene too much because most spots were closed. I would fill up on the free breakfast in the morning, then power through until 3 or 4pm when I would walk to spot near my hotel to enjoy my favorite Thai dishes.  I ate at U-Turn, Kloy Restaurant, and Kun. Nothing was “oh my gosh how did I live before eating this?!”, but I tend to enjoy any Thai food I eat.

Getting From Koh Chang to Bangkok

Given how easy it was to get from Bangkok to Koh Chang, I assumed the reverse would do just fine. What I didn’t account for was the cost of getting a taxi to Center Point Ferry Pier- a whopping $450 THB because I was the only one in the car.

With that information, I would recommend booking an all inclusive bus transfer instead. It’ll only be around $24, and it will cut down wait times and anxiety over missing the bus (my ferry left 1 hr late and I made it onto the 999 bus with 5 minutes to spare.)

How Much Did I Spend?

Getting There: $11.59

Hotel:  $26.80 a night, $134 total

Entry Fees and Snorkeling Excursion: $45

Transportation: $9

Food: $33

Getting Back:  $21.77

Grand Total: $254.36.

This covered 4 full days in Koh Chang and 2 full days of travel, which comes to $42.40 a day.

I could have saved money on the accommodation, but it was an intentional splurge. I wanted a nice place on the beach that I knew would be safe and comfortable with good wifi.

All in all, I had a ball in Koh Chang. I was able to slow down, relax, and think, and it was memorable 4 days that I won’t soon forget.