Budget accommodation on Koh Chang is found across all of the beaches, with everything on offer from a fan room with shared cold water bathroom at 350bt a night, up to an a/c bungalow, ensuite with hot water at 3,000bt.
Lonely Beach, the island’s magnet for backpackers and partygoers alike, is the centre for cheap places to stay, but you’ll also find plenty of other great value bungalows, rooms and dorms in the other areas. With that in mind, we have assembled our top picks by taking you from beach to beach down the island, north to south, before finishing up on the less frequented east coast.
We have not simply listed the cheapest rooms we can find, but tried to suggest a range that suits all travellers, whether they be a group of gap year backpackers, solo adventurers, beach loving couples, flashpackers or families.
Of course, our list is personal and it may be that a few worthy budget choices have fallen through the cracks, so please do contact us to let us know your own recommendations.
The price range in this style of Koh Chang accommodation comes with a caveat that during absolute peak season, that two week period from Christmas onwards, rates may well go up.
Starting at White Sand Beach, the listings are in location order as we head down the west coast.
- White Sand Beach Budget Accommodation
- Pearl Beach Budget Accommodation
- Chai Chet Beach Budget Accommodation
- Klong Prao Beach Budget Accommodation
- Kai Bae Beach Budget Accommodation
- Lonely Beach Budget Accommodation
- Bailan Beach Budget Accommodation
- Bang Bao Budget Accommodation
- Hat Sai Noi and Bang Bao Beach Budget Accommodation
- East and South East Coast Budget Accommodation
White Sand Beach Budget Accommodation
Independent Bo
At the northern end on the beach, this long established artist-inspired haunt is built on different levels into the hillside.
All rooms are fan only with mosquito nets and double mattresses. The most basic ones share a couple of cold water bathroooms, whilst the more deluxe, up on stilts, offer ensuite with hot shower. Some have balconies too.
Food, Facilities and Location
Independent Bo is known for its lively restaurant and evening bar and in keeping with that, there is a no children policy throughout, no exceptions.
Next door, you’ll find other digs of the same sort (see below), but you need to walk down the beach (about 7 minutes) to gain acess to the street, tricky at high tide and at night. Once there, though, you quickly find yourself in the heart of the White Sand Beach action, with restaurants, bars and shops.
Prices and Booking
From 400bt a night upwards, booking is walk-in only, with a minimum 3 night stay.
Sai Khao Inn – White Sand Beach
About halfway along the main street, tucked away on the hillside, Sai Khao Inn is one of White Sand Beach’s best budget choices.
The resort comprises three styles of room. The Bungalows, brightly coloured and built in the old style, sit on the top of the hill overlooking the resort and of course have excellent sea views. The Standard rooms are one next to the other in a single low rise building which runs down the side of the central area. The Superior rooms, are effectively a larger version of the Standard, but located in a small concreted section just before the main entrance.
All accommodation has a/c, double bed, ensuite bathroom, TV, fridge, balcony and WiFi. The rooms come with safes, extra indoor seating and showers.
Sahngad Camping was added in 2023, complete with its viewpoint cafe and huge iconic hornbill.
Food, Facilities and Location
Sai Khao Inn has a small restaurant where breakfast is served and you can help yourself to tea and coffee. Other food is available on request and there is a BBQ for general use.
Heading down the little access lane back to the main strip, you will find plenty of restaurants, shops and bars and the beach across the road.
Prices and Booking
Bungalows are 1,000bt, Standard Rooms 1,200bt and Superior Rooms 1,500bt in peak season.
Other Budget Accommodation on White Sand Beach
Whilst Independent Bo stands out from the crowd, its near neighbours, Starbeach and Pen, with Maylamean further down,are similarly built up the hillside, cheap and worth a look. Prices can start as low as 500bt per night for a standard fan room with private bathroom – it’s usually first come first served.
You can also find cheaper accommodation on White Sand Beach down the little inland street behind Kacha Resort, with Tuk Tuk (Economy Double Rooms with fans at 900bt, Family a/c at 1,800bt) perhaps the best of the bunch .
At the southern end, Koh Chang Hut Hotel has basic hotel fan rooms from 650bt, a/c at 750bt, Garden View Bungalows at 800bt and Seaview at 850bt. Next door to Koh Chang Hut, Cliff View Bungalows offers around 8 old school bungalows on the top of the hill. Prices are 500bt to 700bt.
Finally, at the far end, Baan Aunrak, Giant Bungalows (on the seaside of the road) and Para Resort give you some more choices but it is a 10 minute walk down to the main part of town and the beach.
Pearl Beach Budget Accommodation
TP Huts
With Danish and Thai owners, TP Huts sits at the end of a small inland street at the foot of the hills at the northern end of Pearl Beach (Hat Khai Mook).
It offers Standard Rooms with fans and ensuite bathrooms, Bungalows with fans, Deluxe Double a/c rooms, Garden, Seaview (up on stilts) or Patio Bungalows (near the pool) or a Family option (large octagonal room)p on stilts in a secluded garden setting. Amenities in the rooms include TVs, fridges, kettle and WiFi.
Food, Facilities and Location
TP Huts offers a small in house restaurant, complete with BBQ and the resort also has a cute swimming pool.
Pearl Beach is not spoilt for choice in restaurants but you’ll find a cheap and tasty food court, a small vegetarian cafe, Everflow (down the lane by the Honda Bike Shop) and the superstores, Lotus’s and Big C.
Though the beach in this area is pebble only, it does have great snorkeling and of course, you can hire motorbikes or use the frequent taxis to go to White Sand Beach in under 10 minutes and Chai Chet Beach, similar time going the other way.
Prices and Booking
Standard Fan rooms are from around 550bt a night, with the largest Patio Bungalow at 1,300bt and Family at 1,600bt – high season, breakfast included.
Koh Chang Privilege
In a large grassy area leading down to the sea, Koh Chang Privilege is one of Koh Chang’s older and less well known resorts but it’s actually an excellent under-the-radar budget choice.
There four types of room – the 4 newer Seaview Rooms in a small single block by the ocean and spread about the garden, Twin Garden Villa, Garden Bungalow and Queen Bed Bungalow. Amenities in the rooms include a/c, TV, microwave (not the cheaper rooms), fridge, tea and coffee machine and in the larger rooms, a separate dining area and sofa. The resort has WiFi throughout and also car parking.
Food, Facilities and Location
The resort has a small swimming pool as well a 50 metres+ of seafront and pebble beach. There is no restaurant but you can go next door to Saffron on the Sea or up to the road, where there is a small food court, the vegetarian cafe and Lotus’s or Big C.
Prices and Booking
In high season (from 1/11 to 31/5), the Seaview Room is 1,200bt, Twin Garden Villa 750bt, Garden Bungalow 850bt and Queen Bed Bungalow 590bt.
Other Budget Accommodation on Pearl Beach
In the same little hillside area as TP Huts, Macura has a wide range of differently styled and sized rooms at similar prices. It too has a pool. Alisa is the 3rd option, more practical in its motel design, fan room from 400bt.
You can pitch a tent at Khai Mook Camping for 150bt per person per night. Bathroom facilities and electricity on site. Ban Na next door has cheap bungalows from as low as 500bt.
Saffron on the Sea is best known for its excellent seafront restaurant, but it also has 4 to 5 very agreeable a/c bungalows in the garden. Prices are from 1,750bt to 3,350bt.
Chai Chet Beach Budget Accommodation
Pajamas Koh Chang Hostel
The best hostel by a country mile on Koh Chang, Pajamas sits at the southern end of Chai Chet, 2 minutes from the beach by a public walkway.
Th accommodation is divided between private rooms aimed squarely at the flashpacker and dorms for the budget traveller. The Deluxe Double rooms are either Pool or Garden view, with double bed, a/c, fridge, TV with DVD player, tea and coffee making facilities, safe, bathroom accessories and WiFi. There’s also a family option for 2 to 4 persons, with a double bed and twin beds up in the loft area.
The 8 person dorms are either mixed sex or female only or private. They come with a/c, bunk beds (reading light, privacy curtain), share bathrooms, locker, WiFi and have access to a shared fridge.
Food, Facilities and Location
The rooms open out onto a lovely kidney-shaped pool, with bean bags to laze on and other chill-out areas to escape the heat.
Food is available from 07.00 onwards at Signature, which sits next door. Alternatively, you can easily walk down the beach, one of Koh Chang’s finest stretches, to the other resorts, with Flora i Talay the immediate neighbour. Neighbour by VJ (nightly street market in high season, supermarket, cheap diners opposite) and 7/11 is about 10 minutes on foot by road.
Prices and Booking
Dorm beds, share or female only, go from 520bt, the Private Dorm is 3,300bt for 8. The Garden and Pool Deluxe Rooms are between 2,100bt and 2,300bt. The Family option is 4,400bt – peak season rates.
Fine Times Resort
Fine Times Resort is hidden away off the main road (sea-side) in the centre of Chai Chet, with its bungalows and villas either side of a small access road and up the gentle hill.
The resort was originally intended as long stay accommodation only, so bungalows were designed and equipped as mini-homes, with self catering facilities. Superior Bungalows come with double beds, a/c, TV, kitchette with utensils/crockery, fridge, microwave, kettle, hob and toaste. Family Bungalow are larger, with three single beds. The One Bedrooms Villas have more extensive kitchens and a sitting room. There are also some bungalows options with 3 and 4 beds. WiFi is available throughout.
Food, Facilities and Location
There is no restaurant at Fine Times so if not using your kitchen , you can head across to the diners opposite including the popular, U-Turn. VJ Plaza is just around the corner or it’s only a short walk to the superb Chai Chet Beach, with its resorts.
Prices and Booking
Superior Rooms are 1,800bt in peak season, Family Bungalows at 2,000bt. The One Bedroom Villas start at 2,500bt a night.
Other Budget Accommodation on Chai Chet Beach
At the northern end of Chai Chet, Kerdmanee Resort has an array of similar a/c bungalows up the hillside – from 500bt a night, no restaurant but it does have a pool. It’s popular with long stayers.
Habitat Hostel, at the rear of the plaza Neighbour by VJ, has a good selection of dorm beds – mixed or female only – starting from 500bt. Like Pajamas, they also offer private ensuite rooms at 1,800bt a night.
Klong Prao Beach Budget Accommodation
Baan Rim Nam Holiday Home
On the northern canal in amongst the mangroves, Baan Rim Nam, the long established and very popular guesthouse, has been completely overhauled.
Now known as Baan Rim Nam Holiday Home, the owners have gutted and then rebuilt two fisherman’s houses into three types of a/c room – Mangrove, River (with the view) and Family (two bedrooms). Each room comes with TVs (Netflix too), WiFi, double beds, ensuite bathrooms, fridge and tea/coffee making facilities. The Family rooms also have a kitchenette and microwave.
Food, Facilities and Location
The rooms are joined by walkways above the water with a central large terrace area for relaxing and watching river life. You can also take out kayaks, SUPs and a canoe. There is no restaurant but a simple breakfast is available if ordered.
Across the water, you’ll find a couple of seafood restaurants and another guesthouse, great for English style breakfast. Behind the resort, it’s a short walk to the beach, where other resorts and a small restaurant offer more choices. Klong Prao village is a good 15 minutes walk down the back lane, but you can call a taxi as needed.
Prices and Booking
In high season (including peak), The Mangrove Room is 1,100bt a night. The River Room is 1,500bt. The Family Rooms are 2,400bt.
Tiger Huts – Klong Prao Beach
As old as the hills, the wonderfully peaceful Tiger Huts sits right on the beach at the northern end of Klong Prao, offering a mixture of backpacker bungalows in rows leading back from the sea. In-room facilities consist of a bathroom (cold water), fan, double mattress and mosquito net. It’s basic but great for budget travellers.
Food, Facilities and Location
As well as the top notch location, Tiger Huts is also well known for its in-house restaurant, which serves excellent value Thai food all day – makes a fabulous spot too for watching the world go by.
You can walk down the beach to the other resorts for a change of scene but getting to the main street on foot will take at least 15 minutes.
Prices and Booking
Rooms on the seafront are normally around 700bt in peak season , whilst those behind can be had for as little as 400bt.
Other Budget Accommodation on Klong Prao Beach
Leelawadee Resort (under new owners) has around 8 clean practical bungalows in a garden setting up by the road. The rooms can sleep from 2 to 6 persons. There is no restaurant but you can use the kitchen facilities. Rates from 950bt a night, motorbikes available too.
Traveller’s Rest is a small budget guesthouse in the central area which runs from the temple. It has just 8 a/c rooms, some with shared bathroom, 800bt a night in high season. No restaurant on site but this part of Klong Prao has become the main dining strip so you are spoilt for choice.
Sabaidee Resort offers around 10 standard bungalows in a small garden just back from the southern canal. Each bungalow has a/c, ensuite bathroom, WiFi and outdoor seating area. Prices start from 750bt a night in high season. There is no restaurant.
Now back under the landowner’s management, Blue Lagoon itself offers 10 rooms on the river and 3 behind in the garden, prices from 700bt upwards. It too has no in-house restaurant but you can walk up to the main street for plenty of choices.
Set inland on the back track that runs down seaward from The Gallery, Papaya Resort (under new owners) provides a/c standard bungalows with double beds and ensuite hot water bathrooms. Throw in WiFi and a restaurant area for breakfast, it seems excellent value at just 1,500bt a night in peak season. You can walk to the beach in 5 minutes.
Kai Bae Beach Budget Accommodation
Porn’s Bungalows
Another Koh Chang old favourite, Porn’s Bungalows sits at the southern end of Kai Bae Beach, the best stretch of sand in the area.
It’s a motley set of older bungalows run by 2 brothers, with the restaurant dividing the 2 halves. They come in all different sizes, styles, some offering hammocks, some more shaded than others but all have ensuite bathrooms, double beds, mosquito nets and fans. There are also a small selection of newer a/c concrete rooms, seafront.
Food, Facilities and Location
The in-house restaurant serves up very good Thai food but is also famed as one of the island’s best spots to watch the sunsets, often with a fireshow from one of the locals.
Porns’s is right at the end of this part of the beach, so allow ten minutes to walk to the village along the sand or the access road which runs through Mam Kai Bae, Grande View and Kai Bae Beach Resort. The road entrance is the same as Sylvan (Seaview), up the hill just before the Kai Bae Viewpoint.
Prices and Booking
Booking is walk-in only, prices between 1,500bt and 2,500bt in peak season. Or you can ring them, number on their Facebook Page.
Paradise Bungalows – Kai Bae Beach
At the southern end of Kai Bae, Paradise Bungalows has good quality budget rooms and cottages in a garden setting or in two rows facing each other down a little courtyard off the main street.
The Bungalows are not individual buildings but one unit split into two. You can choose between the fan, with double bed, ensuite bathroom, TV and balcony or the a/c, which also has a fridge. The Cottages, on the other side of the road, are either small or large and come with a/c, TV (cable, DVD in larger room), safe, fridge and patio. WiFi is available throughout the resort.
Food, Facilities and Location
Paradise does not offer food or have a restaurant, though you can get free tea and coffee at reception. There are, of course, many options for dining along Kai Bae’s main street. The resort does have in-house massage.
Prices and Booking
Bungalows are in the region of 750bt for fan and 1,000bt for a/c. Cottages range from 1,250 to 1,500bt – all prices are peak season.
Seabreeze Hotel – Kai Bae Beach
Next door to Paradise at the southern end of Kai Bae, Seabreeze Hotel offers rooms and bungalows in the garden or on the opposite side of the street in a small row. It’s a near identikit of Paradise in fact.
The Bungalows are all a/c and come with double bed, bathroom ensuite, TV, fridge, mini-bar, kettle, safe, sofa and balcony. The Superior rooms have the same but no kettle and garden view.
Food, Facilities and Location
Seabreeze Hotel does not offer a restaurant but you can get hot water from reception for tea and coffee. It does, however, have a lively bar at one end of the resort, which hosts a live band most nights of the week. Massage too is available in-house at Bai Bou.
Prices and Booking
Superior rooms are 1,200bt and the Bungalows at 1,500bt, with deals outside of high season and possible increases at peak.
Other Budget Accommodation – Kai Bae Beach
Patoo, by the sea, at the northern end of Kai Bae, is another good budget option, though the pandemic has so left it looking a little unloved. Leading back from the sand, its 20 or so Standard bungalows are arranged in two rows facing one another, whilst the in-house restaurant and beach bar Sun View occupies a prime spot overlooking the ocean. Walking to the main street takes 5 minutes. A Standard double room, (a/c, ensuite) is from 750bt a night in high season.
Look out too for some of the cheaper guesthouses like Jop, M & M and Blues Guesthouse, where rooms start as low as 350bt – nothing special but again very central.
Lonely Beach Budget Accommodation
Oasis Bungalows
Dutch owned, Oasis Bungalows overlooks Lonely Beach village from its vantage point on the mountainside.
With either fan or a/c options, there are four style of rooms – Jungle (fan, double bed, ensuite bathroom, safe, mozzie net, verandah, WiFi), Deluxe – Garden view or Pool view (a/c, double bed, ensuite bathroom, fridge, safe, TV, verandah, WiFi) and the Studio (a/c, double bed, ensuite bathroom, working area, kitchenette with fridge, microwave, toaster, kettle, cutlery, crockery, TV, ensuite, verandah, WiFi).
Food, Facilities and Location
The restaurant, which serves up highly rated Thai and western food, has a unique treehouse above it, from where the sea views are simply stunning. A cute swimming pool was added in 2021.
The resort sits at the top of Soi Tian Chai 3, the mountain lane off the main road at the southern end of the village. It’s about 10 minutes to walk to the beach, a few minutes only down to the sois in the village.
Prices and Booking
The Jungle bungalows are priced at 850bt, Deluxe at 1,800bt (garden) or 1,900bt (pool), Studio at 2,050bt in the peak season, great value for such a relaxed and popular spot away from the crowds.
Nature Beach Resort
From its humble beginnings over 20 years ago, Nature Beach has grown and grown into the top notch budget resort you see today, with its accommodation right on the sand still attracting a mix of backpackers, flashpackers and partygoers looking for that perfect holiday vibe.
There are 4 types of double room. Budget Bungalows, the original ones refashioned, sit at the back of the resort by the small canal and road. They come with double beds, a/c, TV, safe, fridge and ensuite bathroom as standard.
Garden Bungalows, with the same amenities as Budget, are the newer style, a sleek practical design, which run down one side of the resort in two facing rows. Front Bungalows are larger and with partial seaview, Seaview, of which there are only two, are the most coveted – perfect views.
For a larger group, you can also choose the Quadruple Bungalow or the single Family House.
Food, Facilities and Location
The hugely popular restaurant – Thai, western – is open all day, whilst to one side, there’s a great bar – ideal for sunsets in particular. At New Year, the resort normally throws a massive party on the sand, complete with speakers and DJs. For other food and nightlife choices, you can walk up to the village in 10 minutes.
Nature’s location is prime beach side – you could get from your room to the sea in under a minute. A terrific little swimming pool with loungers sits next to the restaurant.
Prices and Booking
Coming up to peak season, expect to pay around 1,400bt for the Budget Bungalows at the rear, 1,800bt for Garden, Front at 2,200bt, Seaview at 2,600bt, Quadruple at 4,000bt and Family at 5,800bt – all with breakfast.
Warapura Resort
Located by the sea in the village area of Lonely Beach, Warapura Resort offers an oasis of calm in stark contrast to the busy, party zone outside its doors.
It comprises 12 or so bungalows either by the ocean or on connecting rows a few metres back. With a classic colour combination of pastels and whitewash, partnered with distressed wood floors and fixtures, the bungalows comprise the smaller Cozy Room and the more deluxe Seaside Villas. Each has ensuite bathrooms, balcony, WiFi and a very well reviewed complimentary breakfast.
Food, Facilities and Location
The in house restaurant, Roxy Bar @ Warapura has seating and decking by the ocean. Its menu is an eclectic menu of Thai and western choices, alongside excellent coffee and a full bar – try the cocktails at sunset, a great spot to end the day.
As a welcome respite from the nightlife around the corner, the resort attracts a mixture of older backpackers and partygoers, who are happy to pay that bit more for tranquillity, cleanliness and comfort. Warapura provides all of this and more, with the service and staff top-notch.
You can walk to the beach in 10 minutes or the nightlife area in under 5.
Prices and Booking
Bungalows are from 2,000bt for the Cozy Room up to around 3,000bt for the Seaside Villa in peak season.
Other Budget Accommodation – Lonely Beach
There are so many budget options in Lonely Beach that we cannot mention them all here.
However, the Australian run Beach Jungle has a nice feel to it – dorm beds at 450bt and bungalows, all individually styled with lots of unique artwork, starting at 1,750bt.
Carpe Diem is in the centre of the party area so it certainly cannot claim to be a quiet night’s sleep, but the a/c ensuite rooms by the small swimming pool are clean, modern and the operation is professionally run. Price is 1,310bt in peak.
In the village but tucked away on its own down by the sea, Seaflower has a large selection of good quality accommodation – fan from 550bt, a/c at 1,100bt and Seaview a/c, the best of the bunch, at 1,200bt.
Look out too for the following, all popular and all good value:-
Magic Garden (bungalows and also whole loft houses via AirBnb), Sky Beach, Little Eden, Janrassamee, Cafe del Sunshine
Bailan Beach Budget Accommodation
Elephant Bay
Open and summery, Elephant Bay sits on the seafront in the centre of Bailan Beach.
Constructed mainly from recycled wood, the rooms, whitewashed with pastel details, sit on each side of a large open garden area which leads down to the sea. There are 10 Standard rooms (doubles and twins), 6 Superior rooms, 5 Bungalows, 1 Maisonette over two floors and 2 Family rooms. There is also part of a private house (the King Suite) on the seafront.
All rooms are a/c, ensuite (hot shower) and apart from the standard rooms, come with TVs and fridges. The private house area has open plan bedroom, sitting area and separate huge bathroom.
Food, Facilities and Location
At the centre of the resort, the swimming pool takes centre stage at the centre of the resort, with the large restaurant and chill-out area (with pool table) looking put over everything from the top.
Food is available all day.
Prices and Booking
The standard rooms start from 900bt, 1,550bt for the Superior up to 2,450bt for the Family rooms and King Suite.
Harley Moon Hideaway
Located in the heart of Bailan Beach on the west coast, Harley Moon Hideaway is one of Koh Chang accommodations’s best budget resorts and it has already garnered some of the best reviews on the island.
Owned and run by a German/Fillipino couple, their service and hospitality are second to none whether it be island advice, booking tours for you, they are always on hand to help. It’s a tiny, friendly place, with excellent attention to detail.
The resort has just 8 deluxe bungalows (and 2 cheaper rooms) which open out onto a unique red, layered swimming pool, all set in an immaculately kept lawned tropical garden.
Each a/c room has been designed and finished to the highest specification with lovely high ceilings giving them space and light. King size beds, safe, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities, storage, shelving, hanging space and an additional fan are standard. Small shaded outdoor sitting areas complete the picture.
Food, Facilities and Location
The in-house restaurant, open for breakfast and all day drinks, runs down one side of the grounds.
Bailan Beach is not famed for its sandy beach, but it’s very easy to nip to Lonely Beach, 7 minutes by motorbike or you can hail one of the frequent taxis to run you up to Bang Bao Beach.
Prices and Booking
Bungalows are priced at 2,400bt to 2,800bt dependent on season and availability. The budget fan rooms are in the region of 1,000bt.
Other Budget Accommodation – Bailan Beach
By the sea in the heart of the village, Elephant Bay Resort has an eclectic mix of funky beach hut style fan rooms or a/c bungalows. You also get a swimming pool, restaurant, bar and pool table. A friendly, relaxed atmosphere, rooms start at 990bt in high season.
Set back from the main road, Jungle Garden is a German/Thai owned collection of large wooden bungalows with nicely designed ensuite bathrooms. Rates are for 500bt for fan and 750bt for a/c.
Lazy Republique remains a good budget choice for couples at 1,500bt and upwards for one of its 8 brushed concrete a/c rooms. A swimming pool and rooftop bar were added in the last couple of years.
3 Trees Guesthouse, in the same area as Jungle Garden and Lazy Republique, offers fan rooms behind its bar at 500bt a night in peak season.
Bang Bao Budget Accommodation
Wild Hippie Chang
With new owners in 2023, Wild Hippie Chang (formerly Coconut Garden) is a friendly homestay style set-up just before Bang Bao village and pier.
It provides a wide choice of accommodation via double rooms (a/c, fan, double bed, ensuite bathroom, fridge, TV, balcony) or wooden Bungalows (double bed, fan, ensuite bathroom). Added to them, you can also stay in Twin Rooms (2 single beds, a/c, shared bathroom) or Tree Houses (double beds, fan and shared bathroom). WiFi is available throughout.
Food, Facilities and Location
With decent swimming pool hidden away at the rear, Wild Hippie also offers a full restaurant and cafe area, complete with bar, pool table and live music. It serves from breakfast till evening – burgers the house speciality. All in all, it’s a welcoming, fun spot for travellers to hang out.
Prices and Booking
Prices start at around 1,200bt for the deluxe, the wooden option cheaper.
Cliff Cottage
Cliff Cottage is a long running budget resort on the northern side of Bang Bao, where one half looks across the bay towards the pier and the other half sits on the wonderful wild cove behind.
Now owned and managed by BB Divers, the resort comprises four types of room. The Top Bungalow straddles the hillside high above the cove, with an ensuite bathroom, a/c, fridge, safe, WiFi and balcony. The Deluxe Room with Seaview (King, Queen or Twin) are housed in a series of low rise buildings, which look towards the pier. They have the same facilities as the Top Bungalow but also offer a walk-in closet and hammock for the small outdoor terrace.
On the slope above the cove, you can also stay in a Mongolian Bell Tent. Pitched on wooden platforms, they have twin mattresses, fans, lights and WiFi. You use a shared bathroom.
Food, Facilities and Location
Also on the back cove, Cliff Cottage has a charming restaurant, replete with hammocks and bean bags for hanging out all day. It offers breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a full bar. For alternatives, you need to head to the pier (seafood especially), about a 15 minutes walk.
The curious, tiny but deep swimming pool which sits at one end of the restaurant, is used for diving training but it is actually open to all for a cooling dip.
There is no beach in Bang Bao so you head to Bang Bao Beach, a further 3 kilometres down the coast – a good 25 minute walk from Cliff Cottage. Having a motorbike would be a boon.
Prices and Booking
All rooms are 1,500bt with breakfast, 1,200bt without, direct deals available – peak season. The tents are 900bt a night.
Other Budget Accommodation – Bang Bao
Turning in by Wild Hippie, Hippy Huts has its home up the small track – glamping tents in the garden, with the mountains as the backdrop – 400bt to 500bt a night, deals for longer stays. Bathrooms are ensuite.
At the far end, just before Tranquillity Bay Condos, Neemo has a handful of decent concrete bungalows from 500bt a night.
Hat Sai Noi and Bang Bao Beach Budget Accommodation
Indie Beach House – Hat Sai Noi (nr Bang Bao Village)
A popular spot for remote workers, Indie Beach House is a Norwegian/Thai resort on the tiny strip of sand known as Hat Sai Noi, which is itself located between Bang Bao and Bang Bao Beach.
In a lovely summery design of whites and pastels, they offer around nine double bungalows – Peace Moon, Honeymoon, Pink Moon – and two family bungalows – Moon Child and Big Moon. All rooms come with a/c, ensuite bathrooms, fridges, coffee maker, hairdryer and WiFi.
Peace Moon is at the rear, Honeymoon has a seaview. Pink Moon has a kitchen too. Moon Child has a king size bed and two singles as well as a living space. Big Moon is the same but with two queen size beds.
Having taken over the guesthouse next door, more rooms were added in late 22. This has changed the perspective and views of the original accommodation as the restaurant, yoga and other common areas now stretch right across the front of the resort..
Food, Facilities and Location
The restaurant and bar are in the same style as the rooms, with its whitewashed old wood construction contrasting the bright colorful signs, all making for a vibrant cool spot by the sea. Their very IG menu is here. During the day and evenings, expect too wafts of reggae tunes to complete the hip but welcoming feel. They have live music at least once a week.
The beach is cute rather than outstanding but you can easily walk to Bang Bao Beach proper in 5 minutes. Similarly, it’s only 10 minutes to Bang Bao Pier. Kayaks and SUPs are available.
Prices and Booking
Prices start at 2,000bt for Peace Moon and 2,100bt for Honeymoon or Pink Moon. The Family rooms, Moon Child and Big Moon are 3,500bt. Rates may increase for the peak season period.
Klong Kloi Cottages – Bang Bao Beach (Klong Goi)
Situated at the far end of the island, Klong Kloi Cottages is a long running affair which has in many ways helped create the laidback atmosphere for which this beach is famed.
The resort is aimed firmly at backpackers and travellers, with a wide selection of fan bungalows set back under the trees as well as a/c alternatives nearer to the seafront. For families, they offer a couple of much larger rooms too. As standard, each room has a double mattress, ensuite hot water bathroom, mosquito net and window screens, together with a small porch area for hammocks.
Food, Facilities and Location
The excellent restaurant is open all day, with a BBQ most evenings and it’s a great place to wile away the hours between cooling dips in the shallow waters of this bay.
A stroll along the beach in either direction gives you a few more diners and beach bars but it’s all wonderfully low key. You can walk to Bang Bao in about 10 minutes.
Prices and Booking
In high season, the cheapest fan rooms are from 550bt, a double bungalow at 1,100bt, triples at 1,800bt and a Family room around 2,000bt.
Other Budget Accommodation – Hat Sai Noi Beach and Bang Bao Beach
As you leave Bang Bao, Rasta View, is a proper old school Thai-hippie haunt of fan rooms at their most basic – mattress, fan and mozzie net, prices to match, 250bt per night. Their restaurant has the most amazing views down over the pier and the bay.
Beach Box @ Koh Chang is on the slope just before Hat Sai Noi. The rooms are housed in glass fronted brushed box style buildings, with fan and a/c, ensuite bathrooms. It’s clean, practical, rates from 500bt a night. And they have a cute pool too.
On the small tracks behind Bang Bao Beach, there are a host of other budget choices, with our favourite at Freedom Home, ramshackle huts hidden away under the trees on the creek, starting at 700bt night in peak.
Alternatively, Family nearby has both rooms and bungalows at similar prices or Yak Bungalows offers a handful of good quality wooden fan options at 650bt a night. The Welsh owner, Lackhai gives you another option at similar prices.
East and South East Coast Budget Accommodation
Long Beach Bungalows – Long Beach
As remote as you can get, Long Beach Bungalows (formerly Treehouse Bungalows) occupies the northern end of the otherwise undeveloped Long Beach in the far south east corner of the island.
The accommodation itself is at one end of the beach looking out over the ocean from its hillside location, whilst the restaurant sits next door a few steps from the sand.
The rudimentary wooden bungalows, which come with mattress and mosquito net only, are as basic and unfinessed as they come. On the plus side, the sea breezes help alleviate the lack of a fan. Shared cold water bathrooms sit at the top of steep steps by the carpark. Electricity is sourced from a generator which shuts off at 22.00 nightly, so bring a torch.
Food, Facilities and Location
The restaurant is busy all day due it being the last stop for those touring this side of the island, but once they have gone, it’s great to hang out and meet other guests. There are no other shops. WiFi comes via a limited, poor service off mobile data.
The beach is a gem, with no other life than Treehouse but high tide does bring in a mass of flotsam, primarily from the fishing boats. Low tide, on the other hand, sees the sea retreat way into the distance.
Koh Ngam, the tiny offshore island, is at the end of the track which runs above the beach…but you’ll need a kayak to get there. Luckily, Tantawan, the curious resort used by occasional Thai packages, is hidden away down another track here, rents them out.
Prices and Booking
Bungalows are 250bt to 300bt walk-in or call Joe on +66 (0)87 979 4572 for reservations. He will also pick you up from the main road junction near Salak Khok. Taxis are 100bt per person from the ferry piers at 09.00, 11.00 and 15.00 only. Miss these and you must charter your own at rates around 1,000bt from the pier.
Other Budget Accommodation – South Coast
Over in Chek Bae, after the turning to Long Beach, the aptly named Journey’s End sits in the far corner of the bay. It’s another laid back spot of just 6 bungalows, 800bt for basic fan up to 1,600bt for the double a/c with seaview. You can pitch a tent too at 150bt.
Baan Yemaya, is a little homestay in the heart of the fishing village, where the 3 rooms start at 600bt in high season. Sleepover! from the same owner has not reopened since the pandemic.
UPDATED November 23
Back to Features/Koh Chang Accommodation
