Welcome to Koh Chang
They say a picture’s worth a thousand words well our videos really do give you the Big picture of Koh Chang.
Have a look at our 6 minute video introduction to the Island .
Koh Chang means Elephant Island in English and you will see all Thai island names prefixed with Koh.
Koh Chang has been virtually undiscovered by International tourists until the last 3 years and has been overshadowed by its bigger sister Phuket and smaller brother Koh Samui. That’s all changing these days as rapid development of resorts and hotels has begun in earnest and you may now choose from over 140 resorts already
Koh Chang is said to have acquired its name due to the hump like mountains that transverse the middle and length of the Island. When observed from a distance and in certain lights one can possibly see the resemblance to a herd of elephants grazing, but you be the judge as you approach the island by ferry from the mainland.
There are plenty of live elephants here too along with monkeys and quite a range of exotic lizards and the like
The Island is 30 Klms long and approx 12 Klms wide and although that doesn’t sound very big, once you get here and you are confronted with the winding roads and magnificent mountains at every turn you get the impression of being on a very large land mass indeed, but it takes only thirty minutes to go from White Sand Beach to the Southern village of Bang Bao.
With a resident population calculated to be between 6 to 8 thousand and an estimated visitor numbers of approx 150,000 over the 8 month holiday period you can be assured that you will never feel water logged with people and you can easily get away to any number of solitary oasis.
Essentially the side of Koh Chang facing the Gulf of Thailand is the most developed whilst the Eastern side facing the mainland of Thailand is currently much quieter. Things are moving rapidly however and new resorts and facilities are opening up almost on a daily basis.
It is said by many that the main road of Koh Chang does not completely circle the Island. Thus to get to the Southern Village of Salakphet on one side to Bang Bao on the other requires an almost round the Island trip. However I can tell you that there is in fact a road that goes from Salakphet to Bang Bao as I’ve been on it. The road is even tar sealed in some sections but unfortunately the bridge sections of this road have been washed away by flood waters making access by car impossible. If you are adventurous enough though, and with the help of a good off road bike you could possibly get across the southern end of the island, but I do urge this is for experienced off roaders only.
White sandy beaches are abundant around the Island complemented by postcard perfect palm trees, with the rich contrast of the jungle covered mountains in the hinterland providing an extremely dramatic back drop to the Island.
In keeping with its status as a National Park, Koh Chang can never become over developed as other places have thanks to building height restrictions, and other environmental protections covering the entire archipelago of the 52 surrounding islands.
It’s almost guaranteed that if you are looking for “that” perfect tropical island vacation destination offering the right combination of facilities and natural beauty Koh Chang most certainly fits the bill
