KohChang, knownalsoas‘ ElephantIsland’ named becauseofitselephantshapedheadland, is Thailand’ sthirdlargestislandafterPhuketand Samui. Itislocatedaround300kilometreseastof BangkokinTratProvince, intheGulfofThailand neartheCambodianborder.
KohChangispartoftheMuKoChangNational Park. Despiteitsincreaseindevelopmentand tourism inthepastdecadeorso, ithasretainedits remoteandruggedcharacter.
From junglecoveredmountainpeakstosweeping bays, greatwaterfalstoflourishingcoralreefs, beachhutstoluxuryresorts, KohChanghasplenty tooferforeveryone.
Withanareacoveringapproximately429square kilometres, 70 % ofKohChangiscoveredin rainforests, mountainsandbeaches. Thehighest peakontheislandisKhaoSalakPhet, risingfrom thegroundat743meters, andgivenitsmountainous terainthereisanabundanceofwaterfalswiththe talestbutnotalwaysthemostaccessiblebeing KlongNeungwaterfal, whichcanbefoundonthe easternsideofisland.
KohChanghasthreemainseasons, thecoolseason runsfrom NovembertotheendofFebruary. Thisis whentheislandisatit’ sbusiest, withguaranteed dailysunshine, stunningblueskiesandcalm seas. If youdon’ tmindcrowds, thisistheidealtimetovisit. Duringthistimetheaveragetemperatureisbetween 27Cand30C, youmayexperiencetheodd refreshingthunderstorm.
Thehotseasonfolowsthecoolseasonandrunsfor 3months, MarchtoApril. Duringthesemonthsthe temperatureisover33Cmostdaysandalongwith thehighhumidityitcangetuncomfortable. You’ lfind yourselfsweatingwhenstandingstil. Themonthsof AprilandMayarealsotheusualholidaymonthsfor Thais, sothetouristareasoftheislandcanstilbe busy. EspecialyduringSongkran, ThaiNewYear, whichisfrom 13 – 15April.
IfyouhappentobearoundfortheSongkran celebrationsdon’ tbesurprisedtofindwaterbeing thrownatyou, thisisalpartofthe‘ Songkran’ celebrationsandalsoagreatwaytocooldownin thescorchingheat. Besuretokeepyourcamera, phoneandpassportinawaterproofbag.
Thelastseasonistherainyseason, starting towardstheendofMay, therainscaryonuntilthe endofOctober. Duringthesemonthstourism on KohChangdropsof, asdothepricesof accommodation, andwhiletheweatheris unpredictableitstilcanbeagreattimetovisitthe island. Theislandismuchquieter, thepricesare lowerandtherainforestsarelushgreenandfulof life. It’ stheidealtimetovisitforpeoplewhojust wanttochiloutandenjoysomepeaceandquiet. evenWhitesandsbeach, thebusiestbeach, is calm.
Comingfrom Bangkok, therearenumerous transportoptions. Thereisn’ tonewhichis‘ best’ as thatdependsonyourownbudgetandprefered styleoftravel. Atthetopendofthepricerange, the quickestbutalsomostexpensiveoptionistoflyon BangkokAirwaystoTrat. Whilstforpeoplewho prefertoseesomelocallifeonthewaytakingthe busfrom EkkamaiBusStation,
BangkoktooneofthemainlandpiersinLaem Ngop isthecheapestmeansofgetingtotheisland. A onewayticketonanairconditionedbusisaround 260Baht( That’ sjust6EUR.). Feriestotheisland runregularlyfrom 06:30 – 19:30.
Getingaroundtheislandisfairlyeasyand straightforward. Themainmodeoftransportisby songthaew( pick-uptrucktaxi) theyrunfrom the feryterminalstoppingatalthebeachesalongthe WestCoastoftheisland, buttheyrarelyleave unlessful. Youcancatchasongthaewdayornight togetaround, butbeawarethatpricesincrease afteraround22:00.