Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Ko Chang: No longer the secluded paradise, but ...

See all the beaches, hotels and bungalows on Koh Chang Google Map

Ko Chang เกาะช้าง (Elephant Island) ist the second largest island in Thailand (after Phuket), 30 kilometers long and 14 kilometers wide. Together with other 50 islands it’s part of Mu Ko Chang อุทยานแห่งชาติหมู่เกาะช้าง marine national park.

Flickr-picture by rightee.


Ko Chang used to be a quiet paradise for backpackers. With its increasing tourism it's changing. Many resorts and hotels have been built or upgraded. But there is still a lot of nature, the centre of the island is mountainous and covered by a virgin rainforest rich of species, where you discover rivers and waterfalls. And: Of course Ko Chang still is a paradise of beaches (sandy and rocky ones, busy and lonely ones). And you can choose from a big variety of accomodations, from huts to luxury resorts. You can also decide, if you want to go to the more developped westside of the island or to the calmer eastside. See Ko Chang Map A description of the actual situation at the different beaches you fand here: Tezza-thailandbeachesandislands.blogspot.com

Flickr-picture by Ramon Arellano

Climate: Most rain falls in august, december is very dry. From may till october there is the southwest monsoon, the dry season is from november till february. This is the time of northwest monsoon, temperatures go down to around 22 degrees. The best time for diving is november to april, when the world unter water is not dark because of the rain. From May to October it is not possible to visit some of the islands south of Koh Chang because of the monsoon (Koh Kut, Koh Mak, Koh Wai and Koh Khlam).


Flickr-picture by Katiew


Flickr-picture by nigimon


Flickr-picture by permanently scatterbrained

A critical review about the development of Koh Chang has been posted on Thorn Tree Travel Forum by Khunwilko. He wrote in 2008: "Koh Chang is a terrible example of unregulated tourist development gone mad."