Things To Do In Koh Chang: The Sweet Escape!

Are you tired of seeing the big city lights of Bangkok or the crowded beaches of Phuket in Thailand? Well.. I got a good recommendation of the island you can escape. Trust me, if you ever heard of many popular Koh; such as Koh Phangan, Koh Phi Phi, or Koh Tao, which are super far to get from the downtown- Koh Chang is an island way closer to Bangkok than you thought, and has beautiful beaches and view to see! So I have gathered top things to do in Koh Chang guide for you who already have a plan to visit the island.

I remember that I and Arma were on the train to Sukhothai to do some temple hopping, then we talked with a Thai girl next to me (which seems so scared of me, didn’t even know why :|). As we said to her that we were big fans of beaches and island, she mentioned that she loved Koh Chang so much and urged us to go as well. And we were like, “Where is Koh Chang?”

See the map? Of course, it was a good place to reach!

The good thing about having an unplanned trip with unlimited time, we decided to go there spontaneously after our temples hopping trip. After my disappointed time in Koh Tao, I was not expected much of Thailand’s islands, but Koh Chang by far has plenty of my favourite beaches. We hunt so many beaches in 2 days by renting the motorbike and got to several cool views ahead. It was such a journey!

First thing first.

Koh Chang Travel Guide:

The Transport

We got to Koh Chang by the bus from Bangkok where the bus will stop right in front of the ferry port and you can be there in 30-60 minutes. Oh yes, you sure know that you have reached there when you see the welcome sign 😀

As I got used to the motorbikes in Thailand and we were in a pretty secluded island. So motorbike is definitely your first choice! The road was big and smooth so we were not worried much on the road. The GPS was working well too, but then again, it’s an island, you can keep going straight ahead and you will be back on the spot as you started. Just make sure you know which beach you want to go and which turn you have to take.

The end of the journey we booked the transport to get out of the island to Koh Rong, Cambodia – which was a long long long journey for us (Van – ferry – van – immigration – van – slept in the hotel – ferry). There were so many tour agencies that can help you book the transport around Thailand to Cambodia, so make sure that you do lots of asking to one another before you book it.

The Beaches Hunting

Seriously. They have plenty of beaches you can go in one day! We started off the first day as we arrived at the closest beach down the guest house and just relaxed for the sunset. The place was a bit full with the beach club which reminds me of the charming Bali island once I saw there were foreign tourists but not as many as in other Koh (if you know what I mean).

Oh! And we got lucky as the sky was clear and the sunset was super amazing!

The second day we went full throttle on the motorbike and went up and down the hills to find good viewing spot and the beaches to lay down. Seriously, we did not even count how many beaches we were stopping by.

So let me give you some of the highlight and our wefie together. Here you go!

There were some parts of the beaches that was owned by the resort or the hotel, but it was not forbidden to visit. Some of them were not that good but there was a place were we found a river goes through the beach. Feels like in Venice! 😀

The ‘Oh so many’ View Points

This island is not playing around with their sea viewpoints as they have plenty of hills. When we looked at the map, we could see there were several spots to visit, but we decided to go to one place and yet we fell in love already.

Oh, it has some cute post box here that turns out to be their ‘unique sign’ of Koh Chang! 😀

The Lighthouse & Thailand Beach Village

After we got tired of seeing turquoise water (hmm.. no, we never get tired of those), we decided to give a visit to the lighthouse on the other side of the island. The road was smaller than our path to the south but it was still good. Although I do not recommend to stay until late night as the island does not have any proper street lights.

Once we parked the motorbike, the places were full of people and shops all around. I guessed this area was the ‘hip’ place to go for tourist. We walked across the wooden platform to reach the lighthouse and immediately surrounded by many shops and cute bar and seafood restaurants. This totally reminds me of the village in Penang that has almost the same structure.

Reaching to the lighthouse, the pier was filled with the colourful boats. this is the first time I have ever seen a floating village in Thailand, so the experience was quite amusing! And of course… picture time is a must! 🙂

We ended up the journey by taking the hard way to cross to Cambodia. As we got some good recommendation from the nice gentleman in the island, Raymond (yes you!), we decided to take a chance on Koh Rong, Cambodia; which turns out to be the best beach I have ever been! Meanwhile, you can definitely enjoy Koh Chang whenever you want to travel to Thailand 🙂

Several notes and tips to go here:

1. How to get to Koh Chang easily? Simply just buy the bus ticket in Ekamai bus station in Bangkok. The bus will drop you at the ferry and you can buy another ticket to cross over the island. Don’t worry, the salesperson in Ekamai will know what time the ferry will cross.
2. The best season to get to Koh Chang is during the cool season which is November until February. And yes that would the high season. I came over in October which was not the peak season as they were no tourists or divers at all. Personally, I liked it since its means the accommodation price drop down and quiet road! 😀
3. Hire a motorbike is the best way to explore the island. Definitely!
4. The Thai seafood is a must try here. Sadly I didn’t take any photos but I loved every meal I spent here! (Thank you for Raymond Busby for the recommendation)
5. Don’t forget to ask for the map and places to visit from your hostel people. Our GPS didn’t work that well, but since the road was easy, the maps were good to use.
6. Of course… take plenty of pictures especially for the sunset. Awesome!

Do you want to go here as well?

© 2017 Writing & Images copyright of Marina Utami.