While in Koh Chang Island, I stayed in Lonely Beach area, but it didn’t seem to be the busiest one on the island. I actually found it very quiet and not overcrowded with tourists at all. But this wasn’t high season… Anyway, the area around Kae Bae Beach seems to have more things going on, as I saw a bunch of restaurants and shops while riding across the area, way more than around Lonely Beach.
Lonely Beach
I found Lonely Beach to be very beautiful! I saw it under moody weather, and sunny, and the beach has some beautiful shades of blue. The water is so clear. I could see my whole body underwater with 100% visibility! Amazing! The beach isn’t that wide and not crowded either. There were some trees providing shade, and one or another resort right in front. To access this beach, I would walk to Beautiful Bar, and from there, there is a small path to access the sandy area. The bar itself is a great sunset spot. I really liked it here! I actually didn’t check any of the other popular beaches on the west side of Koh Chang, so I can’t really compare this one to the others.
But this post is focused on the trip I took by motorbike with some friends to the east side of the island, to the very southern end of Koh Chang Island. To get there, it took us around 1 h 20 by motorbike. We had to ride through all the dangerous twists and turns on Koh Chang Island, but we did well.
On our way to the south, we made sure to stop at Kae Bae viewpoint to check the views.
How to get to Koh Chang HERE!
Kae Bae viewpoint
So pretty here. There is a privileged view of a nearby island with a solo beach that seems to be easily accessible by kayak. My friend went there by kayak. Sounds like a good program. He told me that renting a kayak to get to the small island was 400 bh a day or 200 bh per hour.
Ko Ngam Island
After this viewpoint, we headed to our destination, another kayak rental place that would allow us to visit Ko Ngam Beach, a cute little beach on an island right next to Koh Chang Island. Judging by the pictures I saw online, this place promised beauty, and I was super excited about it.
We headed to this place on the map marked as a Kayak rental, but it was empty over there. I mean, there were no people even though the kayaks were there. We needed to head to the resort next door to rent the kayaks. Surprisingly, none of the staff spoke English, but we managed to understand them. I was glad we ended up visiting the Kayak rental spot before because the views from there were GORGEOUS! I was so thrilled! So beautiful here. So many shades of green, the quietness, the calm sea, what a stunner.
From Tantawan Resort, where we rented the kayak, the views were also to die for! WOW. Seems like they only have Thai clients. Well, if someone decides to stay the night here, they are totally dependent on the resort services because there is nothing around this area. Here, we rented a Kayak for 200 bh a day. They didn’t have a 3-person kayak, so we rented 2 and split evenly. We found out that to park on Ko Ngam Beach, we would have to pay 200 bh each, which demoted us from doing it honestly. Sounds pricy just to be on that tiny beach, so our plan changed a little and instead of simply chilling at Ko Ngam beach, we kayaked all around that island and to an islet by.
Kayaking at Ko Ngam beach
We found a place with really clear waters around the island and some tiny beaches. We stopped in one of them only to be told to leave. A boat with locals came to meet us and tell us to leave the spot. Not sure why, but we did so. We were snorkeling there and my friend saw a stingray, how cool! I was terrified when I heard sting ray, haha I was stung by one once and wish it to none. Unbearable pain.
Anyway, we went all around Ko Ngam island and decided to stop for a break on an islet that is basically rocks. It offers great views of the beautiful surrounding area. What a beautiful place! We saw absolutely no boats around all the time we spent kayaking. We spent more than 3h kayaking around. We decided to go near the beach before delivering the kayaks, but we had no intentions of paying the fee, so we didn’t stay long, but still hopped off the kayak and went for a swim. So glad we decided to go to the beach itself, cause the views from it are absolutely stunning! WOW! We can see the mountain peak in Koh Chang Island, lush green forests, and the resort in the distance, which actually gives a certain charm to the landscape.
It all looked so idyllic. What a perfect view! There were some abandoned bungalows on Ko Ngam island, but we didn’t really walk around, so I can’t tell what else is there on Ko Ngam beach. We didn’t want to pay the 200 bh fee, basically, haha. Also, it was getting later, and we had a long way to go, and the rain was definitely coming for us. I had a great time kayaking around Ko Ngam, and it was my favorite part of Koh Chang Island. Definitely the most beautiful views I saw on the island. I don’t think there is a more beautiful place than this one on Koh Chang Island, honestly. Worth the long trip.
Mangrove forest
As we were so far, we decided to visit one more spot before heading back: the mangrove forest, even though we knew that would delay us and we wouldn’t escape the rain.
The mangrove forest area is not that big, so it can be seen easily in a short time. The place seemed kind of abandoned, as there was no ticket counter where it seemed to have been one before. Some of the wooden boards on the walking path are broken, and looking at the floor constantly is necessary. But it is not in that bad condition, very walkable, and very easy to do. The mangrove forest wasn’t that far from the resort where we rented our kayak, so it was easy to reach and not such a big turn before heading back to Lonely Beach.
The mangrove forest is always a nice walk. The trees have their beautiful roots, and some crabs can be easily seen. I have seen quite a few mangrove forests before, so I wasn’t impressed by this one. However, there was a part on this walk that I really liked more than the rest, a part of the path where we could see above the canopy, a view I have never had while walking in a mangrove forest. It was quite a sight as we could see the trees for a long distance. Everything around was green with some mountain peaks in the background. We were here when the sun was starting to go down, so it was nice to see this view. Very beautiful. The walk ends at sea. You’ll find the sea and a wide stretch of mangrove forest in sight. It also offers a pleasant view. You won’t take long to reach this very end, so you might as well just proceed to the end of the walk.
The storm was obviously approaching, so we kinda rushed a little to get back on the road because we knew we had a long ride home.
In fact, it rained all the time on our way back. I don’t recommend doing this at all. I wasn’t riding the motorbike, luckily, because I think I wouldn’t have been able to do so if needed. My glasses were so covered in raindrops that I couldn’t see anything in front of me, and I was on the back! It was a cold ride, too. We decided to make a pit stop near the pier to eat a hot noodle soup and wait to see if the rain would stop. It was miserable riding more than 1h in the rain…
At the restaurant where we stopped, the locals seemed to be so worried about us once we told them that we still had to ride until Lonely Beach. They kept repeating: “Go slow, very slow” with a worried face. We have received that advice previously: Don’t ride on the steep hills when it is raining. But we actually had no option.
The rain wouldn’t stop, and we had to make our way back for a needed hot shower. It was a dangerous ride, but we were extremely careful and slow, and it was sprinkling on the last 30 minutes of the ride. It was not as bad as the first hour.
On this same day, because it was raining, I paid for a taxi to Kae Bae beach at night to meet a friend. Not sure if because it was raining, it was pricier, but I paid 200 bh each way, from Lonely Beach. The worst steep curve on the island is actually between these two beaches, and for that reason, riding a motorbike at night on such a wet street didn’t sound like a good idea to me. Plus, I didn’t rent a motorbike for myself.
To find a taxi, I asked the hostel owner for help, and he gave me the right WhatsApp contact.
And this was all I had seen while in Koh Chang Island. For me, the kayaking experience was the best experience I had on Koh Chang, but I have done more things and seen more stunning places. You can read more about other things I saw on the island HERE!
There are some smaller islands nearby that might be worth a visit, such as Koh Kood or Koh Mak. I didn’t visit, but the tour agencies were selling day tours there, or boat tickets to get there, should be easy.
Buy a bus ticket to Koh Chang Island HERE!
Apply for a Thai Visa HERE!
