Koh Chang: The Last Cheap Thai Island
Lots of people dream of finding a random island in Thailand, getting a beach hut for a dollar, and spending days doing nothing and spending next to nothing, just chilling on a beautiful beach with a guitar.
I’m sorry to break it to you, but that image, more or less, no longer exists.
Thailand’s islands are far more expensive than the mainland and especially the north. On Koh Phi Phi, a typical backpacker budget will set you back at $40-50 a day. Dorm room lodging on Koh Phangan during the Full Moon Party will run you $20 a night.
Sure, you can find small, little-developed Thai islands and local beaches for cheaper, if you don’t mind going far off the beaten path. But as far as islands with major tourism infrastructure go, you won’t find any.
However, there’s an exception — Koh Chang.
Koh Chang is located on the eastern Gulf coast of Thailand, not far from the Cambodia border. The island is huge – it’s the second largest Thai island after Phuket — and because of its size, its beaches are a series of neighborhoods.
I chose to camp out in the backpacker favorite, Lonely Beach.
Cheap — but nice!
I paid 200 baht (about $6.67 USD) for my own private bungalow at Ice Beach Bungalows, just an eight-minute walk from Lonely Beach.
The bathrooms were extremely basic — shared and outdoors, with cold showers and squat toilets — but really, at 200 baht during high season, you can’t complain! (And you can go to a restaurant if you need a Western toilet, if you know what I mean.)
Food was well-priced as well — you could find food in basic, local restaurants for 30-50 baht ($1-2) per dish, and slightly more for Western food.
Free WiFi is available in plenty of cafes. My favorite? The Art Gallery Cafe, which is home to nice decor, friendly people, fantastic electronica music, and plenty of power outlets.
Why, hello there, hippies!
Plenty of places in Thailand are home to hippie communities. They vary in degrees of friendliness — I found the Koh Lanta hippies to be laid-back and welcoming, while the Pai hippies were cold and insular.
Lonely Beach is home to some of the warmest and friendliest people I’ve met in Thailand. I made instant friends virtually everywhere I went.
That friendliness extends to the tourists. Within a few days, I’d befriended sarong-wearing Austrian men in their sixties, two forty-something women from a lesbian tour group and Scandinavian backpackers my age, along with plenty of Thais, of course!
The Most Fantastic Beach
I’ve been on a lot of Southeast Asian beaches over the past six months. Lonely Beach is my favorite.
That’s a loaded statement, I know.
I found Lonely Beach to have the perfect combination of beauty, an uncrowded shore, soft sand, and clear, turquoise water. It was close to everything, but felt blissfully isolated.
Lonely Beach isn’t overdeveloped (yet). You can relax in an isolated corner, and if you want to grab some lunch, there are several well-priced restaurants within a five-minute walk.
Tattoos and Fun Times
After a few days, I was delighted to have a friend of mine join me on the island — Adam of Travels of Adam, a fellow Bostonian travel blogger!
Adam and I spent far too long watching a guy get his right butt cheek tattooed. It seems like everyone on Koh Chang is covered in tattoos, and there are a dozen studios in Lonely Beach alone!
The guy, who looked miserable, was lying on his stomach with a glass of whiskey in each hand as the artist hammered a long, bloody bamboo needle into his skin.
Remind me not to get a bamboo tattoo ever. It’s not pretty.
Laid-Back Nightlife
Koh Chang isn’t a big party destination. Most of the nightlife centers around live music. You can sing along to “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” with the long-haired Thai guys, or join in “I Will Survive” with the feisty flamenco guitar girl!
But if you really have your heart set on partying — you definitely can. Look for 100 baht buckets at happy hour and late night dance parties at Ting Tong Bar!
Koh Chang: The Best of Everything
To top it off, Koh Chang is only a half day’s journey from Bangkok — much closer than the islands in the south.
I stayed on Koh Chang for nearly a week, and I easily could have stayed longer. Some of the expats were telling me that they came for a week and stayed for months, and I believe them all.
I am adding Koh Chang to my “Go Now” Southeast Asia list, along with Kampot, Koh Lanta and Railay. The prices are great, but they’re not going to stay this low forever.
Enjoy Thailand’s last cheap island while you can — it’s a very special place.
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At age 26, I quit my job to travel the world alone. I spent six fantastic months in Southeast Asia and turned my travel blog into a full-time business. Today, I travel full-time, going anywhere that sounds wacky or beautiful or interesting. My goal is to show YOU how you can travel the world on your own -- easily, safely, and adventurously. 
You’re dead on the money about Koh Chang and Lonely Beach … my first and favourite beach stop in SE Asia this winter … I stayed at Ice Beach too, kinda basic, but it is what it is — cabin camping just a hop, skip, and a jump to Lonely Beach.
Wish I could go back, but I’m jetting back to Canada in 4 days … gotta pay down that debt, yay!
I feel your pain!! I’m on my way to chilly England in less than two weeks…can’t lie, though — I’m insanely excited.
“The prices are great, but they’re not going to stay this low forever.”
I’d say this is probably true for most of the developing world. It used to be that backpackers would head off to Europe for a cheap destination. Now it’s mostly Asia and Central and South America. In a decade or two these currently “cheap” areas will, in all likelihood, no longer be cheap. The rest of the world is working hard to close the standard of living gap with the U.S. It’s great for them, but bad news for travelers looking to pinch pennies. (It is especially bad news for the legions of modest-income expats who moved to developing countries as a way to afford retirement. I fear many of these plans may be busted in the years ahead.)
Well, this sounds like my kind of trip Kate! Looks and feels like the beaches in my side of the globe -The Philippines! While I love hopping in and out of the many white sand beaches here, I still have my eyes set on Thailand. Haven’t heard much about Koh Chang like Samui and Phi Phi Li but this Lonely Beach is simply breathtaking! And that coconut juice photo looks like a dream! nice shot!
Thank you! It’s definitely one of my favorite islands — I highly recommend both Koh Chang and Koh Lanta. And the beach town of Mui Ne in Vietnam!
Oh boy, I’d almost forgotten about that guy getting the tattoo!
You forgot to mention the not-so-awesome aspects of Koh Chang. Beware the middle-aged man in a thong! http://www.fearfuladventurer.com/archives/1213
Okay, this is REALLY embarrassing — on the beach, I was checking out a guy in a speedo, thinking he was kind of attractive in a Steven Tyler sort of way, and then I realized it was a WOMAN. A topless, PREGNANT woman. I am so confused!!!
o.m.g. lol!!
I haven’t dared to go back to Ko Chang since 2005. too much change always breaks my heart. I used to be a Treehouse junkie. now they moved to Phangan, by the way.
still plenty of islands out there waiting for me!
we all have our secret little hideaways, when I blog about them, I never say where they are
Great info! Ko Chang is far from being the last cheap Thai island for backpackers. There’s actually another island named Ko Chang in the South. To get there you have to go to the city of Ranong, a messy provincial capital that smells like fish guts. From there you can take ferries to Ko Chang (the different one) and Ko Phayam. Both are lovely escapes and don’t have too many travelers. Ko Phayam is a favourite of mine…at night the stars shine real bright and you can see the Milky Way like a cloud, and bioluminescent critters in the sand glow when you step, leaving a glowing trail of pixie-dust in your wake. The beach huts are rustic and power is only provided by generators. I don’t think there’s any wifi.
Hi Kate! Gosh! I came across your blog last night and I read every article about your Asia jaunt all night long.
If you plan in coming here to the Philippines, I’ll gladly meet up with you and tour you around! 
Good luck on your journey!
Anne, I LOVE comments like yours! Thanks for sharing! I will make it to the Philippines someday — I’ll let you know!
Hi there – new (inspired) reader here. I just found your blog via twitter & I am so enthralled & inspired by your adventures!
Thanks so much, Candace!
Bottle Beach on Koh Phangan is my fav hidden gem–last June I had a beach front (literally beach front… maybe 10 meters from the ocean’s edge!) bungalow, pretty basic but western bathroom, for 250 baht a night. And because it was low season, we talked them down to 150/night for several nights. Add in a couple hundred baht to catch a boat to the beach, and it’s still very reasonable. Played soccer on the beach with guys from the resort in the afternoon; enjoyed many lazy beers in the bar in the evening and listened to the guys play guitar and sing well into the night. One of my favorite travel memories thus far.
Oh and Koh Ru, off Sihanoukville!
I just got back from Phuket, and reading your blog makes me want to catch the next plane back to Thailand
Great post Kate. Have a great one!
My 2 cents: Try Bon island, 10 minutes away by longtail boat from Rawai beach in Phuket. Virtually nobody there, but you can’t stay overnight. You can only spend the day, but possibly have the island all to yourself!
Looks like heaven! I’d never heard of it before but one of my friends was there earlier this year and had such a relaxing, great time.
Glad to hear that you had a great time on Koh Chang! Lonely Beach is a cool place… Drop me a line if you ever come back and I will show you a couple of places off the beaten path
I Dunno… Sittin on lonely beach as I type this.. It’s kinda living up to it’s name. Tough place to travel to single.
Not quite peak season yet. Just wait.
I have been to most of thai islands and Koh Chang probably remains my favorite when I want to chill out and still have some animation. I love Bang Bao and have dinner on White Sands Beach. The prices are always increasing. I fear this will step step become like Samui and Cie