At a Glance
- Likely to meet: Backpackers, solo travellers, party people and flashpackers
- The Beach: Not the longest beach but good sand, best at the northern end, nice vibe
- Accommodation: Mainly bungalows, huts, guesthouses but odd boutique and swankier resort, with prices from 350bt fan rooms up to 9,000bt for the pool villas
- Resorts: Nest Sense, Siam Beach, Bhumiyama Plus, Nature Beach
- Bungalows: Warapura, Sunstone, Oasis, Paradise Cottage, Seaflower, O Zen Resort, Magic Garden, Lonely Beach Resort, Little Eden, Beach Jungle, Sleep Inn, Sky Beach, Navagio, Lazy Elephant, Crazy Bananas
- Guesthouses: Carpe Diem, Moondance, Cafe del Sunshine, Ploy Inn, Tropical Nest, Easy Life
- Hostels: Slumber Resort, Jungle Fresh, Squanchy Elephant, My Hostel
- Restaurants: Lots of choices, cheap Thai, western
- Coco, Por Par, B2 (banh mi), Roxy Bar @ Warapura, Nature Beach, Magic Garden, Oneka Seafood, Nanny, Dang Seafood, Bamboo, Lek’s Kitchen, Easy Life (bistro), Tropical Nest (Spanish tapas), The Godmother
- Coffee Shops: Roxy Bar @ Warapura
- Nightlife: Parties, dj’s, some live music, lots of bars
- Party: Ting Tong, Himmel, X Bar
- Bars (LB Complex): Hansa Nawa Boat, Beautiful Bar, Tchin Tchin, Rude Boy, Siam, Sunset
- Bars (Beach and other): Lonely Beach Bar/Cafe, Mimo Beach Bar, Life’s a Beach, Nature, Gu’s Bay, Crazy Monkey, Mod, Easy Life, Bar Mow
- Live Music: Dirt Bar (street before LB Complex), Nhings, Moonshine
- Sports: Beach Jungle
- Other: Minimarts (Bamboo), ATM, Treetop Adventure Park, Ticket agents, Cannabis Shops, Tattoo, Motorbike Rental
- Highlights: Nightlife, meeting other travellers and fun lovers, beach
- Lowlights: Noise in the village at night – (seriously) bring earbuds if you stay in that central area
- Thai Name: Hat Tha Nam (hat, beach, tha nam, pier)
At an Island Pace – Lonely Beach
Lonely Beach is the backpacker hub and the party centre of the island.
Situated far down the south west coast, up and and over a mountain, it is split into two parts. The beach section runs for a few hundred metres from the bottom of the mountain and a kilometre or so further along, the village section is laid out along the main street and two sois which lead off it down to the rocky seafront. The LB Complex sits between the beach and the village.
Accommodation ranges from shared bathroom guesthouses, to densely packed rows of bungalows and mid range offerings, right up to the odd boutique and higher end resort. On the actual beach, there are just three places to stay, with the rest in and around the village.
Bars and nightlife are centred in the village and the LB Complex though there are actual beach parties down on the sand throughout the year.
Also in the village, you will also find cheap Thai restaurants, dope shops, minimarts, tattooists, motorbike rentals, massage, an ATM, a ziplining adventure park and plenty of of ticket agencies.
All in all, Lonely Beach is a fun and busy place to stay, attracting both the budget travelers and backpackers and those that are just looking for a good time.
Beach | Village | Southern End
Down The Mountain and Along The Beach
Coming from the north, the road climbs out of Kai Bae Beach, first passing the main road entrance of Sylvan Resort and then an excellent vantage point complete with visitor centre. The view from here is spectacular taking in the offshore islands, beaches to the north and to the south and the sea disappearing off the horizon.
The road, flanked by wonderful old trees towering above the surrounding canopy and with curves and tight corners aplenty, continues on up and over, reaching the clifftop annex of the same Sylvan Resort, perched on the rock edge at the midway point
After the turning to Siam Bay, you immediately hit a tricky switchback corner (down traffic only), which provides the first glimpse of Lonely Beach beneath. In 2026, parallel to the switchback, the local government introduced a new short route for up traffic only – a clever addition, which hopefully will prevent accidents at this spot.
Dropping down this last section of the mountain, the road passes the original but now abandoned huts of Siam Beach Resort on the hillside and the actual open resort itself at the bottom on the beach, before it winds on around the back, past an undeveloped area of scrubland.
Bhumiyama Plus Resort is located in the middle of the beach, the boutique Nature Beach Resort next door and the ruins of the abandoned Siam Huts at the southern end, with nothing on the mountain side but jungle and a few overfed monkeys.
You can walk through Nature Beach, the track next door in the undeveloped scrub or the remnants of Siam Huts to get to the sea itself, with the best section of beach running north from Nature to Siam Beach Resort at the end.
Beach Bars
Also butting onto the sand here, you’ll find the old school-style hangouts of Mimo Beach Bar, Life’s a Beach, Pangs Restaurant and Lonely Beach Bar. Just before Siam Beach, Himmel Bar lies abandoned but they still have their main outlet in the village (see below).
LB Complex
Next door to the old entrance to Siam Huts, the aptly named Go To The Beach Road runs down to the sea and the area known as LB Complex, a slow burning development with the intention of creating another whole mini-village.
A wide approach street leads past Titanic Guesthouse (single storey brightly painted utility rooms in a row) on one side and a few bars such as Siam and Sunset on the other down to to the sea. Beautiful Bar sits on one corner by the boat ingress and it now has a little offshoot too at B2, serving up banh mi
Along the front, the restaurants, Por Par and Coco bookend the bar bistro, Hansa Boat. with two bars at the far end – Rude Boy and Thcin Thcin, with its guesthouse behind.
Back up at the main road, you’ll find Dirt Bar, home to old school Thai blues of an evening and it’s an easy 5 minute walk to Lonely Beach village from here.
In the village and Up and Down the Sois (Streets)
Gu’s Bay Bar and the tattoo shop, Danny’s, are located in the shop houses just before the bridge, whilst opposite, Dang Seafood, Family, Nanny and Oneka Seafood provide decent dining options.
Soi 1
Carrying on just a few more metres, you can turn into Soi Tian Chai 1, the first street that comes off the main road running down to the sea. The aptly named Restaurant Soi 1 occupies the corner space.
Immediately down Soi 1, the long established burger and kebab joint cooks up the late night fare whilst opposite, Thale Guesthouse (now closed) and Cafe del Sunshine run in a row down the left hand side of the road. Moonshine, live music is the smart bar on the corner.
You’re now in the heart of Lonely Beach’s party area. Himmel Bar and its offshoots starts things off with Ting Tong, the late opening bar and open-air club, arguably the main venue of the whole scene, a little further down. X Bar completes the set.
A small lane, home to Cafe del Sunshine‘s actual accommodation and the newly opened bungalows of Crazy Bananas, leads over to Soi Tian Chai 2, itself running parallel 50 meters away.
Back Route to Beach
Continuing past X Bar and Following the curve to the right at the bottom of the soi, you reach the bungalows of Sea Flower Resort, which sit on the rocky seafront. The original party and backpacker Treehouse Lodge was located around here and so goes the story, the owner coined the name Lonely Beach as a means of attracting early visitors to her bungalows in the late 1990’s. The name is now universal, though locals do still refer to Hat Tha Nam, the real Thai name.
At the very end of the track, it is sometimes possible to hop across the inlet and walk along the path past the front of Rude Boy Bar and its neighbours in LB Complex and then onto Lonely Beach itself, a useful shortcut.
Soi 2
Back to Soi 1 again, the road leads down to the brand new bungalows and renovated deck restaurant of Sunstone Koh Chang, (formerly Sunset Huts). Their chic bungalows run along the seafront to Sky Beach Resort, a small Italian backpacker style resort. You used to be able to go from one to the other but access is now restricted.
On the corner after Sky Beach and flanking the right hand side of the street is Warapura Resort, one of the top Lonely Beach boutique resorts and also home to Roxy Bar. Behind it Navagio has accommodation and a cute little swimming pool.
You are now actually at the bottom of Soi 2, so by taking this back to the main road, you complete the village grid. Along the way, you pass the hostels, Slumber Resort, Squanchy Elephant and the Australian owned Carpe Diem and the reception to Crazy Bananas as mentioned above.
Baan Mai Minimart, the bars Mod, Crazy Monkey and Nhings (Stone Free), are all found in short order as you move up the street and at the top, where the soi rejoins the main road, The Godmother has opened in the old Sleepy Owl (Warapura) spot.
On The Hillside and Leaving The Village – Lonely Beach
On the main road back at the bridge, Lazy Elephant Bungalows is the new addition in 2026 flanking the river, whilst the long running Ploy Inn occupies the space between Sois 1 and 2, with other cheap eats and a dope shop for company.
Look out too for the path leading up to Treetops Adventure Park which operates in the forest behind. Once of Bailan Beach, it has found its new home here for the ziplining and swinging through the canopy – 900bt a session and a lot of fun for kids and adults alike.
Soi 3
Another street, Soi Tian Chai 3, heads inland and uphill. Day Night Bungalows, Janina and Cozy Huts at its start, Little Eden further up and Oasis Bungalows at the top – climb up to their treehouse for the fabulous views out over the whole area.
Main Street
Continuing along the main road from the turn to Soi 3, Bamboo offers a minimart, restaurant and a few rooms, with Lek’s Kitchen (opposite) as company.
Further up on the left hand side, you’ll find the Aussie/Thai owned Beach Jungle, a vibrant hostel with bungalows and in short order Moondance Inn (rooms and cafe), the Russian owned Exotic Bungalows, Jungle Fresh (hostel rooms, small pool), Tropical Nest (tapas and rooms) and Easy Life (bar, restaurant and rooms).
On the other side, Sleep Inn, the same owners as Beach Jungle, has rooms out the back of its cafe, whilst its neighbours are the bungalows of O Zen (the new name for the tastefully renovated Kachapura), Lonely Beach Pool Resort and Magic Garden Resort. Look out too for the long running beach/hippy clothes store, which is a cut above the normal island offerings.
Leaving Lonely Beach
At the far end of Lonely Beach village just after Bar Mow, an under the radar bar with a few cheap bungalows behind and My Hostel, yet another spot that has had a spruce up and reopened. A final soi leads down to the boutique resort, Nest Sense Resort and Paradise Cottage, with its bungalows, restaurant and bar by the sea.
UPDATED April 26
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