Best Places to Stay on Koh Chang

Koh Chang is one of my favorite islands in the whole of Thailand, and although it’s fairly big there’s actually only a limited number of places to stay that’s because it’s a very mountainous island, so large parts of it you can’t explore anyway.

Paradise Cottage and White Sand Beach on Koh Chang

The hotel that I’ve chosen to stay at here on Koh Chang is Paradise Cottage and we chose to stay here actually because most of the island was fully booked because it’s busy right now. Nevertheless, we’re pretty happy with this location we’re paying around 1,200 Thai Baht per night, which I think is pretty cheap for what you get here. What I like most about this hotel is this lounging area there’s lots of hammocks there’s lots of bean bags and places to sit it’s right by the ocean, not quite by the beach though which is a slight problem. Maybe that’s why we got it so cheap the view is pretty nice during the morning. It has a small but really nice pool area to it and the food is really good here too.

I also really like that it has a really natural feel to it there’s lots of plants and lots of geckos and lizards running around. Again this is one of the things I like most about Koh Chang compared to Phuket or Krabi is it has a much more of a natural jungle feel to it the closest beach to us is about a 15-minute walk away, and that’s Lonely Beach, which I’ll explore later in the video. White Sand Beach, which I’m at now is probably the most popular Beach to stay on and it’s easy to see why. It’s probably the beach with the most going on on the island, while still not being too overcrowded even though it’s supposedly the busiest Beach on the island. it’s got a much more chill atmosphere than many other busiest beaches or less busy beaches on islands like Koh Tao and Koh Samui it’s one of the longer beaches on the island, so there’s plenty of different places to stay there’s also plenty of beach bars and Beach restaurants if you go a bit further back to the main road area, there’s also plenty of nice coffee shops and bars and restaurants there too.

Also if you just want to chill out by the beach it’s easy enough to rent a chair. There’s plenty of places to rent a deck chair from for about 50 Thai Baht a day so that’s pretty cheap. On top of that this is one of the closest beaches to the pier so it’s easy to get to and from the Pier from this location. After spending a little bit more time exploring this area I think This beach would be a good choice for a lot of people. Like I mentioned before they allow you to rent deck chairs on the Beach, and there are also a number of bars and restaurants directly on the beach.

What I didn’t realize when recording this is that this isn’t that common on Koh Chang there are plenty of beaches with pretty much off and on it which is good cuz it keeps it nice and pristine however if you like to sit and relax on the beach. This might be the place for you on top of that the northern section of this beach was one of the more beautiful stretches of the island that I saw and I thought it was interesting they hadn’t built a lot over here but there were a few wooden bar on the beach. This would be an ideal spot if you want somewhere quiet with a beautiful Beach, and just a short walk away from bars and restaurants another area that I’ve stayed at on the island is Klong Prao Beach now this is the area on the island with the fanciest hotels I’ve previously stayed at Santi Tree which is a really beautiful Resort the hotel’s made almost entirely from wood and you had a private pool in your room that Overlook the mangrove forest so it’s one of the most stunning views I’ve ever had from a hotel another fancy hotel in the area is centara which is a Famous Brand in Thailand for five-star Resorts this area town is probably the most expensive but if you got the money and you value high-end Resorts this is probably the place to stay the beach itself is nice but quite empty they’ve made sure not to develop too much on this area so there’s not much in the way of beach bars or restaurants however the sand is pretty much perfect it’s really beautiful white soft sand if you head away from the beach though towards the main road there’s a lot of high-end Thai and international restaurants and there’s also a handful of bars in this area too. Also at the beach is a mangrove forest and you’ll be able to rent either a kayak or paddle board, and paddle down here Kai Bae Beach is a pretty nice beach. This beach is somewhere in between Klong Prao Beach, and White Sand Beach in that it’s nowhere near as busy as White Sand Beach but it’s got a little bit more going on than Klong Prao Beach without having to pay the expensive prices of the fancy hotels there’s not a lot going on in this beach.

However there are quite a few hotels and they’re much cheaper like I say than Klong Prao there’s some cheaper looking beach bungalows right on the beach but not a lot in terms of bars or restaurants however if you go back from the beach a little bit they have got some of the better International restaurants on the island with plenty of Spanish Italian and Mexican restaurants and a few good Thai places too on top of that if you’re lucky they do bring elephants down the beach in the evening to bathe and wash them however they do let people ride them as well which is a no no in my opinion now wouldn’t recommend everyone to stay at this area, but you could also check out Bang Bao Pier which would be a really unique place to stay in fact it’s got the most distinct feel to it to anywhere else in the island. Now there’s one clear disadvantage is that it doesn’t have a beach nearby so I would probably only recommend spending one or two nights here just to get that kind of different experience this is the area where most of the dive boats leave from in the morning so if you’re a diver this would be a really convenient place to stay However the area is much more than that there a lot of coffee shops seafood restaurants and place to grab a beer at now this would be the most different experience from anywhere else in the island because it’s a pier. it’s made out of wood it’s got kind of really rustic feel to it. This would be a really relaxing place to spend your time and watch the boats coming in and out the pier all day it’s probably the best place to eat seafood on the island because obviously this is where the boats are coming in so it’s going to have the freshest seafood and there’s a lot of seafood restaurants to enjoy nearby. There’s also Rasta Bar so if you’re a bit of a stoner you can go smoke a spliff there, and get an amazing view of the pier from above this is the bar with probably the one of the best views on the island as it overlooks the pier Lonely Beach is meant to be the best area on the island for nightlife.

My wife is pregnant right now, so I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of partying while I’m here, but I have stayed here before and I can vouch that it definitely has one of the best nightlife on the island when I previously stayed here I’ve stayed near nature rocks which is at the southern end of the Beach, and this is definitely a really cool place to stay it’s got great food great music and good cocktails too What I like about the beach itself is it’s got a lot of beach bars along the Beach, and also a lot of lowkey massage places to chill out at What I like less about this beach is that it’s not the best for swimming there’s plenty of rocks here, and the beach itself isn’t that long up further back from the beach towards the road there’s a handful of shops and restaurants but nothing to shout about this is one of the furthest Islands to get to taking about 30 minutes to drive from the pier and the average price for a hotel on this beach is about 1,500 Thai Baht so my final thought After spending a week here I actually think you can’t really go too wrong when choosing a place unlike other islands in Thailand like Phuket or Koh Chang which are so big and the beaches on them are so different in terms of their vibe it actually makes a huge difference where you stay on those islands on this one a little less so it’s a little smaller so it’s easier to get around also the difference between each Beach isn’t as big as on other Islands Lonely Beach is still better for nightlife and Klong Prao better for luxury resorts. However if you’re staying at one of the other beaches and you fancy going to Lonely Beach to experience the nightlife this is also quite easy to do so it doesn’t actually make that big of a difference in the end

Luxury Hotels and Mangrove Views at Klong Prao Beach

another area that I’ve stayed at on the island is Klong Prao Beach now this is the area on the island with the fanciest hotels I’ve previously stayed at Santi Tree which is a really beautiful Resort the hotel’s made almost entirely from wood and you had a private pool in your room that Overlook the mangrove forest so it’s one of the most stunning views I’ve ever had from a hotel. another fancy hotel in the area is centara which is a Famous Brand in Thailand for five-star Resorts this area town is probably the most expensive but if you got the money and you value high-end Resorts this is probably the place to stay. the beach itself is nice but quite empty they’ve made sure not to develop too much on this area so there’s not much in the way of beach bars or restaurants however the sand is pretty much perfect it’s really beautiful white soft sand. if you head away from the beach though towards the main road there’s a lot of high-end Thai and international restaurants and there’s also a handful of bars in this area too. Also at the beach is a mangrove forest and you’ll be able to rent either a kayak or paddle board, and paddle down here.

Kai Bae Beach for Mid Range Hotels and International Dining

Kai Bae Beach is a pretty nice beach. This beach is somewhere in between Klong Prao Beach, and White Sand Beach in that it’s nowhere near as busy as White Sand Beach but it’s got a little bit more going on than Klong Prao Beach without having to pay the expensive prices of the fancy hotels there’s not a lot going on in this beach. However there are quite a few hotels and they’re much cheaper like I say than Klong Prao there’s some cheaper looking beach bungalows right on the beach but not a lot in terms of bars or restaurants. however if you go back from the beach a little bit they have got some of the better International restaurants on the island with plenty of Spanish Italian and Mexican restaurants and a few good Thai places too. on top of that this is one of the closest beaches to the pier so it’s easy to get to and from the Pier from this location.

After spending a little bit more time exploring this area I think This beach would be a good choice for a lot of people. Like I mentioned before they allow you to rent deck chairs on the Beach, and there are also a number of bars and restaurants directly on the beach. What I didn’t realize when recording this is that this isn’t that common on Koh Chang there are plenty of beaches with pretty much off and on it which is good cuz it keeps it nice and pristine however if you like to sit and relax on the beach. This might be the place for you on top of that the northern section of this beach was one of the more beautiful stretches of the island that I saw and I thought it was interesting they hadn’t built a lot over here but there were a few wooden bar on the beach. This would be an ideal spot if you want somewhere quiet with a beautiful Beach, and just a short walk away from bars and restaurants another area that I’ve stayed at on the island is Klong Prao Beach now this is the area on the island with the fanciest hotels I’ve previously stayed at Santi Tree which is a really beautiful Resort the hotel’s made almost entirely from wood and you had a private pool in your room that Overlook the mangrove forest so it’s one of the most stunning views I’ve ever had from a hotel another fancy hotel in the area is centara which is a Famous Brand in Thailand for five-star Resorts this area town is probably the most expensive but if you got the money and you value high-end Resorts this is probably the place to stay the beach itself is nice but quite empty they’ve made sure not to develop too much on this area so there’s not much in the way of beach bars or restaurants however the sand is pretty much perfect it’s really beautiful white soft sand if you head away from the beach though towards the main road there’s a lot of high-end Thai and international restaurants and there’s also a handful of bars in this area too.

Also at the beach is a mangrove forest and you’ll be able to rent either a kayak or paddle board, and paddle down here Kai Bae Beach is a pretty nice beach. This beach is somewhere in between Klong Prao Beach, and White Sand Beach in that it’s nowhere near as busy as White Sand Beach but it’s got a little bit more going on than Klong Prao Beach without having to pay the expensive prices of the fancy hotels there’s not a lot going on in this beach. However there are quite a few hotels and they’re much cheaper like I say than Klong Prao there’s some cheaper looking beach bungalows right on the beach but not a lot in terms of bars or restaurants however if you go back from the beach a little bit they have got some of the better International restaurants on the island with plenty of Spanish Italian and Mexican restaurants and a few good Thai places too on top of that if you’re lucky they do bring elephants down the beach in the evening to bathe and wash them however they do let people ride them as well which is a no no in my opinion.

Bang Bao Pier for Diving Seafood and a Different Experience

now wouldn’t recommend everyone to stay at this area, but you could also check out Bang Bao Pier which would be a really unique place to stay in fact it’s got the most distinct feel to it to anywhere else in the island. Now there’s one clear disadvantage is that it doesn’t have a beach nearby so I would probably only recommend spending one or two nights here just to get that kind of different experience. this is the area where most of the dive boats leave from in the morning so if you’re a diver this would be a really convenient place to stay However the area is much more than that there a lot of coffee shops seafood restaurants and place to grab a beer at. now this would be the most different experience from anywhere else in the island because it’s a pier. it’s made out of wood it’s got kind of really rustic feel to it.

This would be a really relaxing place to spend your time and watch the boats coming in and out the pier all day. it’s probably the best place to eat seafood on the island because obviously this is where the boats are coming in so it’s going to have the freshest seafood and there’s a lot of seafood restaurants to enjoy nearby. there’s also Rasta Bar so if you’re a bit of a stoner you can go smoke a spliff there, and get an amazing view of the pier from above this is the bar with probably the one of the best views on the island as it overlooks the pier.

Lonely Beach for Koh Chang Nightlife

Lonely Beach is meant to be the best area on the island for nightlife. My wife is pregnant right now, so I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of partying while I’m here, but I have stayed here before and I can vouch that it definitely has one of the best nightlife on the island when I previously stayed here I’ve stayed near nature rocks which is at the southern end of the Beach, and this is definitely a really cool place to stay it’s got great food great music and good cocktails too. What I like about the beach itself is it’s got a lot of beach bars along the Beach, and also a lot of lowkey massage places to chill out at. What I like less about this beach is that it’s not the best for swimming there’s plenty of rocks here, and the beach itself isn’t that long. up further back from the beach towards the road there’s a handful of shops and restaurants but nothing to shout about.

this is one of the furthest Islands to get to taking about 30 minutes to drive from the pier and the average price for a hotel on this beach is about 1,500 Thai Baht so.

Choosing the Best Koh Chang Area for Your Trip

my final thought After spending a week here I actually think you can’t really go too wrong when choosing a place unlike other islands in Thailand like Phuket or Koh Chang which are so big and the beaches on them are so different in terms of their vibe it actually makes a huge difference where you stay on those islands. on this one a little less so it’s a little smaller so it’s easier to get around. also the difference between each Beach isn’t as big as on other Islands Lonely Beach is still better for nightlife and Klong Prao better for luxury resorts. However. if you’re staying at one of the other beaches and you fancy going to Lonely Beach to experience the nightlife this is also quite easy to do so it doesn’t actually make that big of a difference in the end.