Koh Chang is Thailand's third-largest island, near the Cambodian border, and most of it is national park. Swim on the west-coast beaches, walk to the Klong Plu waterfall, snorkel at Koh Rang and eat on the stilted pier of Bang Bao. From Bangkok it takes five to six hours by bus and ferry. We checked fares, fees and timetables on 14 November 2026, and we mark every figure that is only reported.
Tours and activities to book in Koh Chang
The five outings below leave from the island, with live prices and availability.
Koh Chang: Snorkeling Trip to Reefs or Wrecks with Lunch
Snorkeling day on reefs or wreck sites off Koh Chang, with lunch on board.
- Duration: 7 hours
- Free cancellation
- Pickup included
4.7(774 reviews)
See prices & availabilityFrom $27per person
Koh Chang: 3 or 4-Island Big Boat Tour with Snorkel & Lunch
Big-boat tour of three or four islands around Koh Chang, with snorkeling stops and lunch.
- Duration: 5.5 to 9 hours
- Free cancellation
- Pickup included
4.3(882 reviews)
See prices & availabilityFrom $28per person
Koh Chang: 5-Island Guided Boat Tour with Lunch Buffet
Guided boat tour of five islands from Koh Chang, with a buffet lunch.
- Duration: 3.5 to 6.5 hours
- Free cancellation
- Pickup included
4.7(47 reviews)
See prices & availabilityFrom $50per person
Koh Chang: Discover Scuba Diving for Beginners with 2 Dives
A first try at scuba diving for beginners, with two dives off Koh Chang.
- Duration: 7 hours
- Free cancellation
- Pickup included
4.9(80 reviews)
See prices & availabilityFrom $133per person
Trat: Koh Chang Muay Thai Entry Ticket
Entry ticket for a night of Muay Thai fights on Koh Chang.
- Free cancellation
4.7(115 reviews)
See prices & availabilityFrom $27per person
See more activities in Koh Chang
Things to do in Koh Chang: prices at a glance
| Activity | Price | Hours | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klong Plu waterfall | 200 THB park fee | 8 am to 4:30 pm | Inland from Klong Prao |
| Than Mayom waterfall | 200 THB park fee | 9 am to 4:30 pm | East coast |
| Snorkeling day to Koh Rang | About 700 to 1,100 THB, plus 200 THB park fee | About 9:30 am to 5 pm | Boats from Bang Bao |
| Bang Bao pier | Free | Day and evening | South-west tip |
| Kayaks at Salak Kok | About 100 THB an hour | Daytime | South-east coast |
| Salakphet mangrove boardwalk | Free | Daytime | South-east coast |
| Fire shows on the beach | Free, buy a drink | Evenings in high season | Lonely Beach, White Sand Beach |
Boat prices are those listed by island operators in 2026. The national park fee is paid in cash and is rarely part of a tour price, so keep some 100 THB notes on you.
Koh Chang beaches by type of traveller
The beaches are all on the west coast, along one road that runs from the ferry in the north to Bang Bao in the south. The further south you go, the quieter and cheaper it gets, and the steeper the road.
White Sand Beach: shops, bars and the most hotels
White Sand Beach (Hat Sai Khao) is the first beach after the ferry and the most built up, with restaurants, bars and fire shows on the sand. It gets crowded from December to February. The northern end is quieter and has the smaller bungalows.
Chai Chet and Klong Prao: for families and couples
Klong Prao is the longest beach on the island, cut in two by a river mouth, with mid-range and upmarket resorts. Chai Chet, between White Sand and Klong Prao, is small and shallow. Both are a short ride from Klong Plu waterfall.
Kai Bae: kayaks to the islands offshore
Kai Bae faces a group of small islands, Koh Man Nai among them, that you can reach by kayak in 30 to 40 minutes on a calm day. The viewpoint on the road south of the beach looks over them. Do not feed the monkeys there.
Lonely Beach: backpackers and late nights
Despite its name, Lonely Beach (Hat Tha Nam) is the island's party beach, with hostels, cheap bars and music late into the night. The sand is short and the sea gets rough in the monsoon.
Bailan and Klong Kloi: the quiet south
Bailan, just south of Lonely Beach, is calmer and rockier, a few minutes from the bars. Klong Kloi, near Bang Bao, is a calm bay for swimming and the last beach on the road.
Koh Chang waterfalls and Mu Ko Chang park fees
Mu Ko Chang National Park covers about 650 km² and 52 islands, and most of Koh Chang's interior. Two waterfalls charge the park fee and several smaller ones are free.
Klong Plu waterfall
Klong Plu is the island's best-known fall, about 30 m high, with a large pool where you can swim. A 600 m trail leads to it from the car park, 15 to 20 minutes on rocky ground, so wear proper shoes. It is open from 8 am to 4:30 pm, and foreign adults pay 200 THB.
Than Mayom waterfall
Than Mayom, on the east coast, is a series of falls. The first is a short walk, the upper ones take more effort. Kings Rama V and Rama VI carved their names on the rocks above the lower pool. It opens from 9 am to 4:30 pm. A local guide reports that a Klong Plu ticket is also valid at Than Mayom on the same day.
Free waterfalls and jungle hikes
Klong Nonsi, Khiri Phet and Klong Neung charge no park fee. Khiri Phet is about ten minutes on foot from its car park. The falls are at their best from October to late December, and the small ones often run dry from February.
The highest peak, Khao Salak Phet, rises to about 740 m. Few visitors go deeper into the forest than the waterfalls, and guided jungle treks are sold on the island for those who want to.
Koh Chang snorkeling trips to Koh Rang
The best snorkeling is around Koh Rang, a group of small islands in the marine park south of Koh Chang. Day boats pick you up at your hotel around 8 am, leave Bang Bao around 9:30 am and come back around 5 pm, with about 45 minutes at each of three spots.
A seat on a wooden boat costs about 700 to 900 THB and a speedboat about 800 to 1,100 THB. Add the 200 THB marine park fee, collected in cash at Bang Bao pier or on the boat. Koh Wai, often the last stop, lies outside the park, and you can snorkel straight off its beach.
The water is clearest in the middle of the dry season. Some tours also visit a wreck site, and dive shops on the pier run first dives for beginners.
Bang Bao, the fishing village on stilts
Bang Bao sits at the south-west tip of the island, at the end of the west-coast road. Its long wooden pier stands on stilts over the water, lined with souvenir shops, dive shops, guesthouses and seafood restaurants. Snorkeling boats and the speedboats to Koh Mak and Koh Kood leave from here.
Tourism has replaced most of the fishing, so come for a seafood dinner and the sunset rather than for village life. The pier is not a place to swim. Klong Kloi beach is a short walk away. A shared songthaew from White Sand Beach costs about 150 THB.
Salakphet, Salak Kok and the east coast of Koh Chang
The east coast is where islanders live, with schools, fishing villages and few hotels. It is the side to see if the west coast feels busy, and a loop by car or scooter takes most of a day.
Kayaking in the mangroves at Salak Kok
Salak Kok is a fishing village on a bay lined with mangroves. Its community kayak station rents kayaks for about 100 THB an hour, and villagers also row visitors through the mangroves in traditional boats for a little more. The money goes to a local programme that protects the bay.
Salakphet and Long Beach
Salakphet, further south, has a raised boardwalk through the mangrove forest, free of charge, and seafood restaurants on stilts. Long Beach (Hat Sai Yao), in the far south-east, is almost empty. A shared songthaew to Salakphet runs only at fixed times, so most visitors drive.
How to get to Koh Chang from Bangkok
There is no bridge and no airport on the island. Every route ends at Ao Thammachat pier near Trat, where a car ferry crosses to Koh Chang. For an early bus, sleep near Ekkamai bus station or the airport when you choose where to stay in Bangkok.
| From Bangkok | Time | Reported price |
|---|---|---|
| 999 government bus, Ekkamai at 7:45 am or Suvarnabhumi at 8:20 am | About 6 hours to the pier | 329 THB, plus 90 THB ferry |
| Bus to Trat town, then songthaew to the pier | 6 to 7 hours | About 315 THB, plus about 60 THB and the ferry |
| Minibus from Suvarnabhumi to your hotel | About 8 hours | 700 to 800 THB, ferry included |
| Bus and ferry from Khao San Road | 6 to 7 hours | About 850 to 900 THB |
| Bangkok Airways to Trat, then minibus | About 3 hours door to door | From about 2,800 THB, plus 800 to 1,300 THB |
| Private car with ferry | About 5 hours | From about 3,200 THB per car |
The ferry from Ao Thammachat
The car ferry runs from Ao Thammachat, at Laem Ngop, to Ao Sapparot in the north of Koh Chang, in 25 to 35 minutes. The 2026 timetable gives a first boat at 6:30 am and a last at 6:30 pm. To save fuel, boats other than the first and last have left only once full since 11 April 2026.
Trat province approved a rise to 130 THB per adult in April 2026, after diesel prices jumped. The operator backed down after complaints and settled on 90 THB per adult and 200 THB for a car, in cash.
The other ferry, Centrepoint, has been suspended since July 2024, though many timetables online still list it.
Flying to Trat with Bangkok Airways
Bangkok Airways is the only airline flying from Suvarnabhumi to Trat, about one hour in the air, two or three times a day depending on the season. Trat airport is about 17 km from the pier, and a shared minibus with the ferry ticket takes you to your hotel.
Flying in from abroad, fill in your Thailand Digital Arrival Card in the three days before you land in Thailand.
Getting around Koh Chang: songthaews and scooters
Shared songthaews, pick-up trucks with two benches, wait at the ferry and run up and down the west coast. Prices are fixed per person. The table shows the fares published by a long-time resident's guide to the island, and drivers add about 50 THB after 10 pm.
| From the ferry to | Shared songthaew, per person |
|---|---|
| White Sand Beach | About 50 to 60 THB |
| Klong Prao | About 70 THB |
| Kai Bae | About 80 THB |
| Lonely Beach | About 100 THB |
| Bailan | About 120 THB |
| Bang Bao | About 150 THB |
A traveller alone who hires a whole truck pays about double. In the low season drivers often wait for the truck to fill before they leave.
Scooters on Koh Chang's steep hills
A scooter costs about 150 to 300 THB a day. The island is far hillier than Phuket or Samui, and a resident who has run an island guide since 2003 reports accidents every day, most of them minor.
Two stretches cause most trouble: the hill from Klong Son to White Sand Beach, and the road from Kai Bae to Bang Bao, with steep climbs and hairpin bends that turn slippery after rain.
Test the brakes before you leave the shop and swap the bike if they feel weak. You need a motorcycle licence and an International Driving Permit that covers motorcycles, and insurance may not pay out without them. Police checks are regular, and riding without a helmet costs a 200 THB fine.
Best time to visit Koh Chang and the rainy season
The dry season runs from November to April, with calm sea and the best visibility for snorkeling. December to February is the busiest and most expensive time. Around New Year the queue of cars for the ferry has stretched to a kilometre.
From May to October the south-west monsoon brings heavy rain, with the wettest months around July to September. The west-coast beaches get big waves and rip currents, and some resorts and tour boats close. Several speedboats to the nearby islands stopped from 1 June to 30 September 2026. Rooms cost much less, and the waterfalls are full.
How many days in Koh Chang, and Koh Kood or Koh Mak next
Plan three to four nights: one day for a beach and Klong Plu, one at sea to Koh Rang, one for Bang Bao and the east coast. The roads are slow, so allow more time between beaches than the map suggests. Add a few days of things to do in Bangkok before or after, or two nights on Koh Samet, the other island of the east within a few hours of the capital.
With a week, add a smaller island. Speedboats from Bang Bao reach Koh Mak for about 600 THB and Koh Kood for about 900 to 1,000 THB, both quieter, with clear water and fewer roads.
For a larger island with more flights and hotels, compare with things to do in Phuket, or with the long flat beaches of Koh Lanta on the Andaman Sea, or browse our Thailand destination guides.