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Salak Phet Koh Chang

At a Glance – Salak Phet

  • Likely to meet: Thai weekenders, couples, badly researched bookings.
  • The Beach: None apart from the very difficult to access Wai Chek.
  • Accommodation: Thai homestays, couple of boutique resorts, guesthouses.
    300bt for dorm rooms to 4,000bt for sea villa.
    • Resorts: Salak Phet Resort, The Mangrove Hideaway (currently closed)
    • Bungalows/Guesthouses: Ban Chan Lay, Koh Chang Marina, Island View, Picasjo
    • Backpacker: Baan Yemaya, Sleepover! (both currently closed)
  • Restaurants: Seafood, local Thai, in the resorts
    • Salak Phet Seafood, Fishermen’s Hut (currently closed)
  • Nightlife: None.
  • Other: Mangrove Walkway, Fishing village, Offshore islands, Waterfalls, Pier
  • Highlights: Bay, local life, Wai Chek Beach, lack of development
  • Lowlights: Remote, stranded without your own transport, lack of acessible beach.

salak phet map

At an Island Pace – Salak Phet

Salak Phet, lies on the opposite side of the bay to to Chek Bae down in the south east corner of Koh Chang. It is a local, rural community of fruit farmers and fishermen, spread out along the water and among the rubber tree plantations and orchards.

With the 744 metre mountain peaks of Salak Phet and Khao Laem providing the stunning natural backdrop at all times, Salak Phet comprises three distinct areas and the waterfalls:-

Though mostly catering to Thai weekenders with homestays, there are a couple of resorts and guesthouses, a small marina with sailing facilities, a seafood restaurant and other local spots to eat. As with elsewhere on the east coast, there is no readily accessible beach.


The Fishing Village

Ignoring the turning to Salak Khok, Chek Bae and Long Beach, the road continues on for another two kilometres until it reaches two large stores opposite one another. Look out for the signs for Chang Noi Minimart and Salak Phet School to get your bearings.

There’s also a curry and rice shop, noodle soup stall, pharmacy and ba mee (egg/wheat) noodle stand, so it’s a useful place to pull in and take a breather after the long ride down the coast.

Taking the right here, puts you on the route for the waterfalls, the marina and Salak Phet Seafood, the restaurant at the very end in Baan Rong Than, whereas continuing on takes you past the temple down into the village on the water.

Salak Phet Koh Chang temple
Salak Phet Temple

Heading in that village direction, you’ll immediately pass the open ground for the three times weekly food market on one side, a 7/11 and 500 metres or so afterwards, the local clinic. Next to that sits an an excellent cheap diner with the homestay Organic Club opposite.

The Temple and Mangrove Walkway

The temple, monastery, cremation building and unique tiny museum are just a few hundred metres further on. It’s free to walk round the whole complex and if you are lucky, your visit may coincide with one of the very frequent temple fairs – full of stalls, music and normally very busy, with partying going on well into the night.

Take a left down the street by the bridge and you ultimately reach Baan Nai Nai (The Red Bridge), Salak Phet’s mangrove walkway, tucked away past the shrimp farms. It has been renovated in the last couple of years, so it’s well worth taking time out to explore.

Continuing on, the main road narrows and curves round to follow the water’s edge at the bottom of the bay with houses on either side. The backpacker hostel Sleepover! (curently closed) is located down the little street on the bend at the bottom.

In the Village

In truth, this is not the most scenic of spots, with buildings in different stages of either decay or renovation, but it is as local as Koh Chang comes. Ban Chan Lay, a Thai guesthouse and the resort, The Mangrove Hideaway, sit somewhat incongrously sandwiched in the middle of it all.

salak phet koh chang village
In Salak Phet village on the sea walkway

If you cut through between the houses along here, you can get onto the walkway that runs along the backs of the houses, with the boats as always moored up and the mangroves-lined inlet opening out onto Salak Phet bay beyond.

The road itself carries on still further, with the Swedish owned Fishermen’s Hut restaurant (currently closed), just before a small gleaming new bridge, which itself leads to more houses and View Point restaurant and homestay at the very end.

Down one of the walkways squeezed in amongst the densely packed stilt fisherman houses, you’ll find a small guesthouse, Baan Yemaya (curently closed), a cafe on the water’s edge, with a couple of rooms out the back. From any vantage point here, the views up the bay are simply wonderful.

salak-phet-koh-chang
Looking back up the bay from the village

The Waterfalls

Klong Neung

Back at the main junction by Chang Noi Minimart and taking a right, the road sets off towards the far side of the bay. Immediately on your right again by the noodle stalls, another smaller road leads into the interior. This is the route to Klong Neung waterfall, Koh Chang’s tallest and least accessible falls, which are found at the very end of the road, completely unmarked.

At the final small bend before the end of this back road, another track climbs straight uphill and like a long forgotten secret garden, reveals itself to be a fully paved, landscaped route to an abandoned viewpoint, with yet more amazing views across the bay, over the offshore islands and far out to sea.

On you way back towards the main road, you can also swing down the road to the left and this takes you through the rubber trees, bamboo copses, and orchards to Klong Sip-Et, a very nice drive – another whole hidden part of the island. Also down here, look out for Hornbill Camp, a campsite where you can pitch a tent to view these wonderful birds in the early morning.

koh chang viewpoint
View out over Salak Phet to the bay

On the main road again, this carries on past the elementary school, which is also home to the local government offices and the area’s solitary ATM. The sometimes open Kavarna coffee shop sits opposite, hard to miss given the curious additon of the brightly coloured portacabin accommodation behind.

The primary school is next up and then it’s just other local houses until an interior road to the right, perhaps best spotted by the big raised house opposite, leads to the second of the waterfalls, Kheeri Phet.

Kheeri Phet

Like Klong Neung, the falls were seen as an attraction in the very early days of Koh Chang’s tourism and money was invested in the roads to them, car parking and even small toilets. With the building of the west coast road, however, the number of visitors to these attractions has become almost negligible and so they have been largely abandoned, left for nature to take its course.

The road to this one in particular is normally strewn with coconut fronds but the orchards on either side are very much tended, planted and harvested by the locals.

koh chang waterfalls
Upper tiers of Keeri Phet Waterfall

Once you have parked up, Kheeri Phet waterfall is far easier to reach, at least to the lower level, than its neighbour and even in the drier months, when the water level is likely very low, the peaceful walk through the forest is in itself a great escape.

You will notice too the National Park signs for the Khao Plai Klong Tham Nature Trail: Khao Laem. These mark out the route to the top of the mountain, but you should not attempt this on your own. Over the last years, the authorities have increasingly regulated this trekking area and so you will likely meet a ranger who will turn you back – see our trekking page here for details on how to go legally and safely.


Around the Bay

After the route to the falls, another few hundred metres more brings you to a soi (street) on the left by the minimart, Salak Phet 1, which branches into Salak Phet 2. This allows you to join up with the village by the water, with Salak Phet 2, for example, bringing you out near to The Mangrove Hideaway as described above.

Along the main road, meanwhile, a small village is concentrated around the bridge at the signed Klong Thum, with some cheap restaurants including Diamond Hill and a minimart.

Road to Wai Chek Beach

Further still, another kiosk with a barrier that is sometimes up and sometimes down, sits on the corner of the unfinished back road to Bang Bao, which also leads to Wai Chek Beach.

wai chek beach koh chang
Road to Wai Chek

You can whip up here to explore, a steady curving climb to the top on patchy and in places washed out tarmac, followed by a mixture of mostly good sections interspersed with terrible sections, those unfortunately always found on the trickiest hills. After about 5 or 6 kilometres, you come to an abrubt stop at a broken bridge.

The intrepid, however, can cross over the river bed and continue on yet more narrow paved road until that too completely runs out after a few kilometres. On foot, the even more curious can press on again down the narrow track, but ultimately that itself comes to a grinding halt at a rock face after another 2 kilometres.

The back road near Bang Bao Beach is in a similar state, with the unfinished bit between them about 4 kilometres. Approval has been granted to complete the project and with it, the island’s circumvention but talk to Salak Phet locals and they are not holding their breath on anything happening anytime soon. Throw in the pandemic too, which has emptied the nation’s coffers and it does seem we’re back to wait and see.

Wai Chek Beach

Just before the broken down bridge and its chasm, a sandy track to the left leads via a river crossing and some tall grass fields to Wai Chek Beach, the completely undeveloped strand on the next bay around the coast from Salak Phet.

wai chek beach koh chang
Wai Chek Beach

This is a lovely long stretch of sand with great views across to Koh Klum, the first large uninhabited island which all the boats from Bang Bao go pass on their way to Koh Wai, Koh Mak and Koh Kood. A pretty lagoon sits behind the beach at one end, while there is a curious house up on the hill at the other.

Like Long Beach, there is a sense in Wai Chek Beach’s wildness and remoteness of how the island and its beaches used to be, long before tourism arrived. Here, in particular, you selfishly hope that the two sides of the island do indeed stay unconnected for as long as possible, for this last vestige of former times, will simply and rather sadly disappear once the road is joined up and the inevitable development begins.

That said, for 500 Million THB, you could purchase Wai Chek and some of the surrounding area – it’s on the market.


Far End of the Bay at Baan Rong Than – Salak Phet

Back on main road, the Salak Phet route now starts to hug the shoreline and after the abandoned Jab Jab Seafood Restaurant which sits in its small lake and various Thai homestays, you reach the long concrete pier. It’s well worth making the efffort to walk down it and take in the panoramic views of the islands in the bay and back to the mountains behind.

salak phet koh chang pier
Salak Phet Pier

Koh Chang Marina, shortly afterwards, is home to various private yachts and across the road, has rooms and a restaurant. Picasjo, with its artist cafe by the road and rooms on the water, sits next door.

About 200 metres further on, you reach a sharp bend, which marks the entrance to one of the island’s monasteries – look out for the pack of zealous dogs and the monks sweeping the dust. Strictly speaking, this is no entry but you can ask to go in and see their ongoing project, a huge golden Buddha which will look out over the bay. If you visit Koh Kood, there’s a magnificent completed one above Ao Salad.

Salak Phet Seafood and Beyond

The road finally stops at a car park and the area known locally as Baan Rong Than. Over in the far corner, you’ll find Salak Phet Seafood and Resort, a bit of a Trat Province institution and they are happy for you to wander in to look around. As well as the large wooden floored restaurant with its latest catches held in nets at the top end, there’s also accommodation in cabanas over the water and of course, wonderful views of the bay.

salak phet seafood restaurant
Salak Phet Seafood

The islands in the middle, Koh Phrao Nai and Koh Phrao Nok (Koh Si Khao) are both uninhabited, but you can kayak across to the little white sand beach on the latter, where you’ll also find an abandoned resort.

At the back of the car park, a narrow path leads past another seafood restaurant, cheaper and more local in style, Sangarun, and then various other houses, which all sit on stilts back over the water. Towards the end, you reach the German owned Island View, which has its own rooms over the sea on a wooden jetty, as well as a swimming pool and bungalows on the mountainside. Gulf Charters, one of only 2 sailing companies on Koh Chang, is also based here.

salak phet koh chang pier
View from the hill at the end of Baan Rong Than

You can walk still further to pass yet more fishermen’s houses built both on the shore and at the end of their own long walkways stretching out into the bay. There’s land for development here too and a newly constructed Thai homestay at the very far end.


UPDATED December 23

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