We have 56 places to stay in and around Ko Chang.
Introduction
Accommodation on Ko Chang runs the gamut from spartan shacks to huge luxury resorts. You’ll find a handful of solid budget options along with great value in the flashpacker to midrange bracket. Plenty of private villa and house rentals are also available. High-season rates at many properties spike by around 20% in late December and January, and drop by up to 50% in rainy season.
The best places to stay on Ko Chang, Thailand
Take your pick
Haad Sai Khao
Ko Chang’s most heavily developed area, White Sand Beach boasts a stunning northern expanse with little to no direct road access—expect a 10- to 20-minute walk from the main drag if staying at Independent Bo, Maylamean, Rock Sand or White Sand Beach Resort. After a bustling central section the beach becomes pebbles backed by an ugly sprawl of buildings out on the main road. The low-key backpacker vibes to the north, and mainstream tourism scene in the south, make for quite a contrast.
Haad Khaimook
Consisting mainly of shingle-like stones and pebbles along with a small stripe of tan sand, “Pearl Beach” covers a less developed area between Haad Sai Khao and Khlong Prao. Though it could get dull for those who get around mainly on foot, Haad Khaimook works nicely as a base for exploring on wheels. A few restaurants and bars dot the main road, and it’s about two kilometres to the longer beaches.
Chai Chet (North Khlong Prao)
The far northern end of Khlong Prao Bay is home to the village of Chai Chet with its few shops, restaurants and bars clustered on the ugly main road and a handful of places to stay on or near a pretty beach with a view south spanning all of Chang’s largest bay. Convenient by road to Haad Sai Khao, the rest of Khlong Prao and even Kai Bae, the area is popular with families thanks to the shallow water. It’s also a favourite of Russian holidaymakers.
Khlong Prao
The lengthy central to southern stretches of Ao Khlong Prao (Coconut Canal Bay) reach right up to a pair of estuaries carrying cool mountain water into the typically warmer sea. While the beach is narrow, or, in the far south, nonexistent at high tide, Khlong Prao hosts several scenic and relaxing places to stay. You’ll also be at the centre of the west coast with loads of restaurants and shops found at various points along the main drag. Most spots stay quiet after dark and you won’t find much nightlife around here.
Kai Bae
Lively Kai Bae makes up for its narrow beach with a food and drink scene that’s arguably the best on Ko Chang. Though it’s unabashedly touristic, the village lacks (for the most part) the raunchy bars found along parts of the main road further north. As such Kai Bae is a favourite of families and older travellers, especially mainland Europeans, Scandinavians and Russians. You’ll find good accommodation in all price ranges here.
Lonely Beach
Once a hard-to-reach paradise and now a magnet for young, partying backpackers, Lonely Beach is Ko Chang’s version of Haad Rin or Khao San Road. The beach itself is narrow, often crowded, and occupied by only a few large and mediocre (or worse) resorts. Most travellers stay at one of the better resorts along the rocky shore running south from the beach, or a host of budget options in and around the adjacent village. Expect quite a few surly staffers, loud music until late and no shortage of tattoos and dreadlocks.
Ao Bailan
This bay with a pair of small beaches at either end stretches a couple of kilometres south of Lonely Beach and has a quieter, more mature flashpacker scene. Perpetuating the vibe are laid-back Thai residents along with several expat resort owners from France, Germany and South Africa, to name a few. Some travellers stay here for a quiet night’s sleep after partying in Lonely Beach; others are long stayers who like the low-key setting and accommodation that’s often more “homestay” or “bed and breakfast” than “resort”.
Bang Bao
Ko Chang’s southwestern-most bay has a few guesthouses and homestays set along pier to go with a fistful of resorts on the forested peninsula that forms the bay’s western rim. Both of these areas are popular with divers—all dive boats depart from Bang Bao Pier—and anyone seeking the quiet life. A few small beaches stretch west of the pier, and Khlong Kloi’s better beach is only a one- to three-kilometre ride away on the east side of the bay.
Khlong Kloi
Haad Khlong Kloi and its satellite beaches, Haad Sai Noi and Grand Lagoona Beach, span much of the eastern rim of Bang Bao Bay near the end of the road in far southwest Ko Chang. The beaches are gorgeous and quite a few families stay at well-equipped midrange resorts like Chivapuri and Bang Bao Beach Resort. But most of Khlong Kloi has a reggae-hipster scene rising from a clutch of cheap little bungalow joints—one love and all of that.
Khlong Son
All that most travellers ever see of Khlong Son are the gas stations and bus stops while passing through on the way down to Haad Sai Khao and beyond. Depart the main road to find a sheltered bay with a long crescent of sand and water backed by an upscale holiday community hosting one terrific small resort. You’ll also find a few cheaper spots, like Feel at Chill and Khlong Son Guesthouse, closer to the dusty main road.
Dan Kao (northeast coast)
This section covers the northern to central portion of Ko Chang’s east coast from the tiny village of Dan Kao down to the slightly larger Dan Mai a few kilometres further south. In between you’ll find a handful of small resorts, including one that’s an excellent choice for finding tranquility along a reddish-sand shore. Expect an eight-kilometre trip, including a steep stretch, from here to the more developed west coast.
Ao Salak Phet
Down in Ko Chang’s distant southeastern corner, Salak Phet’s combination of seclusion, natural beauty and fishing lifestyle make it a favourite of travellers who prefer to sidestep the tourism traffic. Excellent bases for kayaking, the small guesthouses and resorts overlook an estuary or the bay, with some found right in the village of Baan Salak Phet and others set along the western shore. Expect no shortage of tranquility along with limited dining options and an hour’s ride to the west coast. Few public songthaews come down here, so be prepared to pay for a private transfer if you don’t have a vehicle.
Ao Salak Khok
A small but scenic bay located four kilometres north of the much larger Salak Phet Bay on the east coast, Ao Salak Khok hosts an interesting healthy-lifestyle resort hidden amid mangroves on the northern shore. Otherwise you’ll find only fishing shacks and wildlife, best spotted by kayak.
Chek Bae (East Salak Phet)
Covering the upper eastern shore of Salak Phet Bay, this tiny village has a shore of grass, mangroves and reddish-yellow sand hosting a few restaurants and a little bungalow place for soaking up the beauty of it. At the end of the coastal lane is a small and oft-forgotten beach occupied only by Karang Bayview, an old resort that had closed since our last visit. Do go check it out.
Long Beach
A 15-kilometre ride from Salak Phet village and nearly 40 kilometres from Haad Sai Khao, Ko Chang’s most remote beach is much easier to reach than it used to be thanks to a lane freshly sealed in 2016. This road has apparently opened up development possibilities, evidenced by a new concrete building going up at the end of the lane when we last passed through. We would not be surprised to see half a dozen resorts out here by 2021.