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Koh Chang is an island in Trat Province, Eastern Thailand. The island is also known as ‘Elephant Island’ named like this because of its shape of an elephant. Koh Chang is Thailand's second largest island after Phuket, and by far the largest island in Eastern Thailand. Even if tourism and development has increased significantly over the last few years, Koh Chang is still not heavily populated and nowhere near as touristy as Phuket or Koh Samui.

Koh Chang

Koh Chang is one of Thailand's most beautiful islands with long white sandy beaches, flourishing coral reefs, jungle covered mountains and spectacular waterfalls. The island is a great place for jungle trekking, snorkelling and scuba diving, but first of all Koh Chang is a perfect place for beach holiday. 

Koh Chang Beaches

All Koh Chang's main beaches are on the west coast. White Sand Beach is the northernmost, next is Klong Prao Beach (the longest beach on the island), then Kai Bae Beach and Lonely Beach in the south.

Koh Chang

Hat Sai Khao (White Sand Beach)

White Sand Beach is the closest to the ferry piers and the busiest beach on the island. The choice of accommodation, restaurants and bars is really wide here, meaning that everything you need for your holidays will be within an easy walking distance from your place.

Klong Prao Beach

Klong Prao Beach is the longest beach on the island. The beach is divided into three parts. The number of resorts on Klong Prao Beach is relatively low if compared to the length of the beach making it possible to find a quiet spot on it.  There are plenty of restaurants and shops near the northern part of the beach and a village just a few minutes by foot form the southern part of it.

Kai Bae Beach

Kai Bae Beach is also divided into two parts. The southern part has nice sand and the northern part is the place where you can find good resorts. You can find small charming shops and restaurants on the main road.

Hat Tha Nam (Lonely Beach)

Lonely Beach is the southernmost of island’s four most popular beaches. It’s the furthest beach from the ferry piers making it less busy than other beaches. Lonely Beach is the place where you can find most of cheap accommodations on the island.

Where to Stay in Koh Chang

There are plenty of beaches in Koh Chang and you just need to choose the one you like the most, there will be a number of accommodations on it. For places to stay in Koh Chang check Hotels in Koh Chang on Booking.com or Hotels in Koh Chang on Agoda.com.

Hotels in Koh Chang

How to get to Koh Chang?

You can get to Koh Chang from Bangkok by bus or by plane.

Buses to Koh Chang

There are regular bus services from Bangkok’s Ekkamai Bus Terminal and a bus from Suvarnabhumi Airport to the mainland ferry piers in Laem Ngop (pier for ferries to Koh Chang). Direct bus from Bangkok Airport to Koh Chang is really convenient for travelers who are not planning to make a stopover in Bangkok.

The 999 government bus leaves from Ekkamai Bus Terminal directly to CenterPoint ferry pier in Laem Ngop every morning, departing at 07:45 am and 09:00 am. The bus makes a stop for 20 mins long food and toilet break at about half way. The total journey takes about 5-6 hours. The bus returns to Ekkamai from Laem Ngop at 02:00 pm and 04:00 pm.

Another way to reach Koh Chang by bus is by taking a bus from Ekkamai Bus Terminal to Trat and then to take a songtaew or motorbike to Thammachat Bay (Ao Thammachat). 1st Class buses of Cherdchai Tour depart from Ekkamai to the bus station of Trat every hour from 06:00 am to 11:30 pm. The bus to Trat takes about 6-7 hours, with a stop in Chanthaburi.

Vans from two bus terminals in Bangkok to Trat are also available. Tickets for the trip can be booked here: Van from Bangkok to Trat.

Ferries to Koh Chang depart from Laem Ngop and Thammachat Bay (Ao Thammachat) piers and run daily from 6 am to 7:30 pm.

Combined bus or van and ferry tickets can be bought here: Bus from Bangkok to Koh Chang.

For more transportation options use the search form.

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Flights to Koh Chang

Bangkok Airways has 3 daily flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Trat Airport (TDX), from where you can reach Koh Chang ferry piers with a short minivan ride.

Weather in Koh Chang

Koh Chang has only two seasons - the wet and the dry. Between November and April the weather is mostly dry with little rain expected for much of this time.

The rains start to hit Koh Chang earlier than elsewhere. The island experiences similar weather patterns to the beaches along the Andaman Sea coast with wet season occurring between May and October. Koh Chang and other nearby islands get much more rainfall than elsewhere as early as May.

For the best time to visit Koh Chang check our Koh Chang weather ratings chart.

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After visiting Koh Chang you are planning to continue your trip up north, down south or to the central area? Check when is the best time to visit Thailand's other destinations and choose your next destination with the best possible weather conditions.

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