[Chaos]

I've recently spent about three weeks on this island and I also visited Koh Chang for a week in 2009 so I decided to share my experience.

" This datasheet is written in June in the middle of the lowseason, so expect that situations and prices will be different in winter time"

General information:
Koh Chang, "the islands of elephants" is a small island in Thailand located not far from the Cambodian border. I dare to say it's one of the calmest islands in Thailand.
It's more of a honey moon destination or family destination, if partying is of your biggest priority you better choose another island. There are still a lot of people who party,but not of the same quantity like on other islands. I'm also sure that the amount of sleazy backpackers are lower on this island.
Koh Chang is also a popular destination for Thai people.
In wintertime you can expect a lot of Russian tourists since it's not so far away from Pattaya. The most popular destination in Thailand for Russians. There are 5000 locals living on Koh Chang and probably 5000 dogs aswell. They are everywhere, if you can't stand the sight of seeing 10 dogs around you all the time, then maybe Koh Chang is not for you.

When to come.
October - April is the dry season when the weather is the best
May - September is the rainy season. It can rain and be cloudy.
There is also much more mosquitos around when it's raining.

I was here in June.50% of days were rainy and 50% were sunny. The sky was never clear and blue, it was always cloudy. However I enjoyed the weather and think the heavy monsoon rains and thunderstorms are awesome.
The temperature was usually around +30 in day time, little bit cooler in night.

Get in:
You can take a one hour flight from Bangkok to Trat and from there take a minibus and ferry.

The budget alternative is to take a bus or minibus from Bangkok (Khaosan Road, Sukhumvit) for 350baht, including ferry. Just buy a ticket from a travel agency
The trip takes about 7 hours. I did this.

Which beach?
Koh Chang has several beaches, but both times I've been there I ended up staying at Lonely Beach. The good with Lonely Beach is that the prices are cheap, the downside is the lack of different restaurants ans streetfood. I couldn't even find a place were they sell. BBQ sticks. The situation is probably better in wintertime.

White Sand Beach is the biggest and probably the best one.
It has the best beach, a lot of restaurants,cafés and so on.
Expect it to be the most expensive place.

There are a few of smaller beaches also. If you are unsure of where to go I recommend you to just arrive, book a room for one night, rent a scooter the next day and drive around and look for a place for your taste. Shouldn't be a problem to find.

Activities.
Koh Chang is famous for diving and fishing.
Except that you can do jungle trekking, elephant trekking and all the other same activities that you can do anywhere else in Thailand.

Accomodation.
This info is only for Lonely Beach as I stayed here.
And this is off season prices.

Splurge: I've seen resorts starting from such low as 1000baht a day.
Normal: Siam Beach Resort. A big decent bungalow with balcony and aircon at the beach for 500baht a day. Decent breakfast included.

Budget: Easy House. Big comfortable bungalow with fan and private bathroom for 200baht a day, no hot water.
I stayed here for three weeks, I checked out maybe 10 other places but this place is by far the best you can get for 200bath. It's a 10 min walk from the beach close to Little Eden. The place has a cool little common area where people are hanging out.

At Easy House you can do what you want.
-You are free to bring girls to your bungalow, nobody will check who are coming and going.
- You are free to smoke weed where you want.
- The owner will bring you mushrooms if you want
No curfew , no rules.

The place also has a kitchen and you can rent a scooter for 150baht a day.

Nightlife & Girls. (Lonely Beach)

I didn't party or drink anything during my weeks here, but I spent most nights at bars watching the World Cup so I think I have a good idea about the situation

Everything happens on Lonely Beach Soi 1.
The street has a few bars and clubs and the party goes on until 6am.
A beer for 50 baht and a vodka bucket from 150 baht.

This street is a big giant sausageparty. The male/ female ratio is about 80/20.
The guys are mostly sleazy backpackers and they seemed to be more interested of the noodlesoup kitchen than the girls.
The crowd are mostly foreigners but there also some Thai semi-pro girls hanging out. These girls probably ask for money but I met Russian guys who still pulled without paying. The Western girls seemed to be on Koh Chang with their boyfriends.

But I do think the situation is different and better in wintertime because now in June and offseason Koh Chang has very little tourists. In wintertime I think this place is packed and has more talent. Especially a lot of ice princesses from Russia who are escaping the winter at home. There should be a lot of Eurogirls also, if that's what you are interested of.

However, my advice is that if you are coming to Koh Chang, you should do exactly like when you are going to the UK. Bring a girl!

I spent my time here with a Russian girl.

Food.
A lot of basic restaurants can be found which are serving fried rice with chicken if that's your taste. You can also find some more expensive seafood restaurants at the main road but I think they are overpriced bigtime. 500baht for a snapper or 400baht for a tuna.

There is one place I really like to recommend and sometimes I ate there twice or three times a day.
" The Kitchen" at the mainroad on Lonely Beach.
A simple basic Thai restaurant but their food is very tasty and they serve decent portions for as little as 40-100baht.
This is the best for your buck.

Gym.
I paid 1500baht for a months membership at BBGYM at Lonely Beach.
200 bath for one time,
Not the fanciest gym in the world but enough for getting a decent workout.

Martial arts.
At Ban Bao they have a Muay Thai gym.
KC boxing. 2000bath a week or 8000bath for a month of daily training.
It's owned by a Russian guy called Mikhail. (ask for Misha).
I was going to join this gym for a month, but due to a broken toe I had to skip it this time.

This is the place to go if you are having problem with staying in shape while you are partying.

All in all, Koh Chang is not a bad island to spend a few weeks on if you are aware of the things I've pointed out above.

[Puddles]

I made the mistake of bring on koh Chang for valentines day this year. fuck, couldn't get even a shitty room for less than $100/ night. awesome place though with beautiful waterfalls. a lot of lady boys I noticed too unfortunately

[Tough lucky Luke]

(07-11-2014 08:10 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

I've recently spent about three weeks on this island and I also visited Koh Chang for a week in 2009 so I decided to share my experience.

I was here in June.50% of days were rainy and 50% were sunny. The sky was never clear and blue, it was always cloudy.

This street is a big giant sausageparty. The male/ female ratio is about 80/20.
The guys are mostly sleazy backpackers and they seemed to be more interested of the noodlesoup kitchen than the girls.
The crowd are mostly foreigners but there also some Thai semi-pro girls hanging out. These girls probably ask for money but I met Russian guys who still pulled without paying. The Western girls seemed to be on Koh Chang with their boyfriends.

Good description of Purgatory. Not quite hellish, but... close enough.

[Afarang]

Do you need a scooter to get around?

[travolta]

I went to Koh Chang 3.5 years ago with a girl. Great times and memories. I remember lighting a joint right on the beach at Lonely Beach. Make sure to check out the satellite islands too if you're there. I took a boat to Koh Maak. What a beautiful, secluded island (go there with a girl, chances of meeting a girl there are slim to none). We rented a kayak from Koh Maak, went about 10 minutes out into the ocean, and we were surrounded by fluorescent blue jellyfish. I'll never forget that. What a great place. I agree with OP though, it's not a great place to meet new chicks. It's better for chilling out, getting high and enjoying nature, all at a cheap cost.

[Kamaki4]

(07-11-2014 08:10 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

I've recently spent about three weeks on this island and I also visited Koh Chang for a week in 2009 so I decided to share my experience.

" This datasheet is written in June in the middle of the lowseason, so expect that situations and prices will be different in winter time"

General information:
Koh Chang, "the islands of elephants" is a small island in Thailand located not far from the Cambodian border. I dare to say it's one of the calmest islands in Thailand.
It's more of a honey moon destination or family destination, if partying is of your biggest priority you better choose another island. There are still a lot of people who party,but not of the same quantity like on other islands. I'm also sure that the amount of sleazy backpackers are lower on this island.
Koh Chang is also a popular destination for Thai people.
In wintertime you can expect a lot of Russian tourists since it's not so far away from Pattaya. The most popular destination in Thailand for Russians. There are 5000 locals living on Koh Chang and probably 5000 dogs aswell. They are everywhere, if you can't stand the sight of seeing 10 dogs around you all the time, then maybe Koh Chang is not for you.

When to come.
October - April is the dry season when the weather is the best
May - September is the rainy season. It can rain and be cloudy.
There is also much more mosquitos around when it's raining.

I was here in June.50% of days were rainy and 50% were sunny. The sky was never clear and blue, it was always cloudy. However I enjoyed the weather and think the heavy monsoon rains and thunderstorms are awesome.
The temperature was usually around +30 in day time, little bit cooler in night.

Get in:
You can take a one hour flight from Bangkok to Trat and from there take a minibus and ferry.

The budget alternative is to take a bus or minibus from Bangkok (Khaosan Road, Sukhumvit) for 350baht, including ferry. Just buy a ticket from a travel agency
The trip takes about 7 hours. I did this.

Which beach?
Koh Chang has several beaches, but both times I've been there I ended up staying at Lonely Beach. The good with Lonely Beach is that the prices are cheap, the downside is the lack of different restaurants ans streetfood. I couldn't even find a place were they sell. BBQ sticks. The situation is probably better in wintertime.

White Sand Beach is the biggest and probably the best one.
It has the best beach, a lot of restaurants,cafés and so on.
Expect it to be the most expensive place.

There are a few of smaller beaches also. If you are unsure of where to go I recommend you to just arrive, book a room for one night, rent a scooter the next day and drive around and look for a place for your taste. Shouldn't be a problem to find.

Activities.
Koh Chang is famous for diving and fishing.
Except that you can do jungle trekking, elephant trekking and all the other same activities that you can do anywhere else in Thailand.

Accomodation.
This info is only for Lonely Beach as I stayed here.
And this is off season prices.

Splurge: I've seen resorts starting from such low as 1000baht a day.
Normal: Siam Beach Resort. A big decent bungalow with balcony and aircon at the beach for 500baht a day. Decent breakfast included.

Budget: Easy House. Big comfortable bungalow with fan and private bathroom for 200baht a day, no hot water.
I stayed here for three weeks, I checked out maybe 10 other places but this place is by far the best you can get for 200bath. It's a 10 min walk from the beach close to Little Eden. The place has a cool little common area where people are hanging out.

At Easy House you can do what you want.
-You are free to bring girls to your bungalow, nobody will check who are coming and going.
- You are free to smoke weed where you want.
- The owner will bring you mushrooms if you want
No curfew , no rules.

The place also has a kitchen and you can rent a scooter for 150baht a day.

Nightlife & Girls. (Lonely Beach)

I didn't party or drink anything during my weeks here, but I spent most nights at bars watching the World Cup so I think I have a good idea about the situation

Everything happens on Lonely Beach Soi 1.
The street has a few bars and clubs and the party goes on until 6am.
A beer for 50 baht and a vodka bucket from 150 baht.

This street is a big giant sausageparty. The male/ female ratio is about 80/20.
The guys are mostly sleazy backpackers and they seemed to be more interested of the noodlesoup kitchen than the girls.
The crowd are mostly foreigners but there also some Thai semi-pro girls hanging out. These girls probably ask for money but I met Russian guys who still pulled without paying. The Western girls seemed to be on Koh Chang with their boyfriends.

But I do think the situation is different and better in wintertime because now in June and offseason Koh Chang has very little tourists. In wintertime I think this place is packed and has more talent. Especially a lot of ice princesses from Russia who are escaping the winter at home. There should be a lot of Eurogirls also, if that's what you are interested of.

However, my advice is that if you are coming to Koh Chang, you should do exactly like when you are going to the UK. Bring a girl!

I spent my time here with a Russian girl.

Food.
A lot of basic restaurants can be found which are serving fried rice with chicken if that's your taste. You can also find some more expensive seafood restaurants at the main road but I think they are overpriced bigtime. 500baht for a snapper or 400baht for a tuna.

There is one place I really like to recommend and sometimes I ate there twice or three times a day.
" The Kitchen" at the mainroad on Lonely Beach.
A simple basic Thai restaurant but their food is very tasty and they serve decent portions for as little as 40-100baht.
This is the best for your buck.

Gym.
I paid 1500baht for a months membership at BBGYM at Lonely Beach.
200 bath for one time,
Not the fanciest gym in the world but enough for getting a decent workout.

Martial arts.
At Ban Bao they have a Muay Thai gym.
KC boxing. 2000bath a week or 8000bath for a month of daily training.
It's owned by a Russian guy called Mikhail. (ask for Misha).
I was going to join this gym for a month, but due to a broken toe I had to skip it this time.

This is the place to go if you are having problem with staying in shape while you are partying.

All in all, Koh Chang is not a bad island to spend a few weeks on if you are aware of the things I've pointed out above.

Koh Chang is not a small island. It's the second largest island in Thailand.

[Kamaki4]

(07-11-2014 10:06 AM)Afarang Wrote:  

Do you need a scooter to get around?

I would not recommend Koh Chang if you don't want to ride a scooter or motorbike. It will cost a lot of money and be very inconvenient if you use songtaews. Another option is to drive to Koh Chang with a vehicle, I have done this once out of the 5 times I have been here, but I prefer using a motorbike on every island except maybe Phuket.

[mau man]

Damnit, Chaos. I was going to do a Koh Chang datasheet. I've probably spent about two weeks total on the island. My favorite of the Thai islands that I've been to.

I spent all of my time at Lonely Beach, but am thinking of posting up on White Sand Beach the next time I visit. They recently put in place a club ("ONE"), which draws both young travelers and Thais, and the beach is nice.

Note: don't go in July. The second time I went, it rained every second of every day for an entire week.

And yes, you need a scooter on the island unless you want to stay in the same vicinity of the island your entire stay. Your ferry will drop you off and there will be minibuses that the travelers hop onto to get onto whichever part of the island they want to get to. Instead of going with the herd, I rented a scooter. Funny thing is it was even cheaper than the minibus, plus I had a way to get around afterwards haha.

Just a word on that. Be careful when driving. I got in a wreck going downhill when the roads were slick. Tires lost traction, started wobbling, and I ditched the bike in mid-descent, watching it slide down the hill, into some bushes haha. Cost 150 for repairs

Anyways awesome island, way more laid back than Samui/Phangan/Phuket.