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Koh Chang nightlife comprises serious partying, Thai ladies, cool bars and old school live music.

It’s concentrated around Lonely Beach, White Sand Beach and Kai Bae Beach but other areas also have pockets of action worth exploring.

At A Glance

  • If you want to dance on the sand or lose yourself in a bass speaker, head to Lonely Beach.
  • For Thai female company, your main port of call is the southern end of White Sand Beach but Chai Chet and Kai Bae (Walking Street) has its own clusters of beer bars too.
  • You can find live music all over the island – Filipino bands, Thai musicians and open mic .
  • For the Thai hippie vibe, head all the way south to Hat Sai Noi and Bang Bao Beach.  
  • Assume full scale (huge speakers, fireworks) competing parties in multiple venues on New Year’s Eve. You do get Full Moon parties too but on nothing like the scale of those in Koh Phangnan.
  • Don’t expect any large/mega EDM nightclubs such as Kolour in Phuket – not Koh Chang’s thing.
  • During the season, look out for various one-off festivals – DJs and late nights at different venue, big name Thai singers and bands.

We take you round each area in our snippets below but you can then also dig deeper by following the links to the specific pages for Lonely Beach, White Sand Beach and Kai Bae Beach. 


Lonely Beach – Koh Chang Nightlife

From its humble smoke hazed origins, Lonely Beach has now become the thumping-bass and bone-shaking core for Koh Chang’s good times.

Dj’s from different far flung places throw down familiar tunes each and every night of the week, at a whole host of different venues located either on the beach or up in the village.

There are parties to celebrate pretty much anything, openings, closings, National holidays, phases of the moon that even the moon didn’t know it had, whatever.

The bars meanwhile open up till the wee small hours to draw in any other lost souls wandering the streets.

Love it or loath it, you certainly can’t deny it and all in all, it’s great, good-natured, unwholesome fun.

Recommendations

  • Party: Ting Tong, Himmel (both in the village), Mimo Bar (LB Complex), Nature – on the beach for big holidays and dates in the calendar
  • Bar: Beautiful Bar, Rude Boy, Mimo Tree (all in LB Complex), Gu’s Bay (street),  Nhings (formerly Stone Free) – in the village 
  • Beach Bar: Nature, Lonely Beach Bar, Mimo Beach, Life’s a Beach
  • Live: Rock Alonely Bar (village), Dirt Bar (Street by LB Complex), Mask (LB Complex)
  • Sports: Beach Jungle (street), Carpe Diem (village)

White Sand Beach – Koh Chang Nightlife

White Sand Beach has a different feel to Lonely Beach in keeping with its more touristy development.

A loud and very proud mini-Pattaya sits up at the southern end. It’s not a walking street as such but a few rows of tightly packed bars, a handful of girls in each. Lady drinks are 100bt to 150bt, bar fines at  around 500bt. There’s also a small nightclub now as well, Babylon. Further up the hill too, you’ll find other establishments in a similar vein, with the standout the long running Zap Bar (next door to Keeree-Ele Hotel).

For live music, Oodies attracts a more senior crowd to its nightly jams, with steaks the house speciality. You’ll also find house bands at Sabay Bar (and a fireshow) and at Rock Bar (loud!). Some Mao, next door to Oodies, gives you another option at the northern end.

Beach Bars

As for beach bars, the long established 15 Palms occupies a prime location on the sand at the northern end – sports, good food and a great place to hang-out.

Head on down the sand and you’ll find Mac Bar at Mac Resort and the Lonely Beach crew from Himmel at White Sand Princess. They both lay on nightly fireshows to accompany their extensive bar choices, decent tunes and bean bag seating.

For something much smaller, our favourite is the tiny Tapas Bar, which you’ll find a couple of hundred metres further along from the main three above. Lion Bar is its near neighbour.

Pubs and Sports

White Elephant, at the other end of town, is the sole pub in White Sand Beach now that Paddy’s Palms has downsized to 15 Palms

Recommendations

  • Party/Club:  Sabay Bar, Babylon
  • Live:  Oodies, Rock Bar, Sabay Bar
  • Beach Bars/Bars: 15 Palms, Himmel, Mac Bar, Tapas Bar, Some Mao, Lion Bar
  • Beer Bars:  Mini Pattaya, Monkeys, Zap
  • Pubs and Sports: White Elephant, 15 Palms

Kai Bae Beach – Koh Chang Nightlife

Nightlife in Kai Bae Beach combines some of Koh Chang’s best places to have a drink with a small concentration of beer bars.

Starting with those beers bars, Walking Street at the northern end is the place to head. It’s relatively low key in comparison to White Sand Beach’s mini-Pattaya but the handful of establishments still lay on all the usual requirements for venues like this  – beer, pool, games, loud music and girls. Ones to try include Maipai, @ Marks and Yak Yak.

Away from that style of bar, at the northern end of the main street and all new in 2023, the smartly decked out a/c Indie Social combines cocktail bar with live music and food. Further into the village, the self styled ‘chilling’ bar Koh Pin Toh offers the same but in an outdoor venue.

Wine Gallery, meanwhile, serves up terrific wine, imported beers and food in the centre of town, with the relaxed lounge bars, Jellyfish and Green Bar, near neighbours.

Further along by the bridge, you can catch all the sports on the big screen at the pub style Morgan. Or head to on down to Fin, a cocktail bar and bistro, with happy hours, theme nights and live music too. Squid Story, a beer at your table style bar, is a few metres down on the other side of the street.

Beach Bars

For sunsets or lazy afternoons, nothing beats a beach bar and Kai Bae now has a few options.

At the northern end, the esoteric Seaweed  sits at the front of the The White Knot, whilst next door, the backpacker bungalows of Patoo, have their own cute beachside venue, Sun View to wile away the hours.

Accessed by turning in at Morgan and going past the food court, Cabana has a perfect location on the seafront  – bistro menu, good tunes, all very hip.

Or you could head to the wooden old style restaurant/bar at the long established Porn Bungalows. It’s on the sand at the far southern end, a lovely part of Kai Bae.

Live Music

Lighthouse, a Thai style club, offers live music on the corner of Walking Street, whilst further along, Caan, opened in 2023 on the old Ploy site, has its own in-house band as well as a full Brazilian tapas restaurant and bar.

Roadside down at the southern end, Sea Breeze’s own band belts out the old standards most nights of the week or you might catch some live music too at  Fin and Indie Social (acoustic).

Recommendations

  • Bar: Jellyfish, Green, Wine Gallery, Fin, Indie Social, Koh Pin Toh
  • Sports: Morgan
  • Beach Bars: Cabana, Seaweed @ The White Knot, Sun View  @ Patoo
  • Live: Sea Breeze, Lighthouse, Caan
  • Beer Bars: Maipai, Yak Yak, @ Marks

Other Beaches – Koh Chang Nightlife

Beyond the three beaches above , Koh Chang nightlife is much more low-key, but we summarise what’s on offer below.

Wherever you stay, you’ll still be able to get a drink, and maybe listen to some music without having to search too hard.

Cheers or as the Thais would say, Chok Dee!

North to South

Pearl Beach

Between White Sand Beach and Chai Chet, the area of Pearl Beach is certainly not somewhere you go for nightlife but there are a couple of spots to hang out.

The beer bar, Crazy Mojitos, meawhile, has reappeared in its latest incarnation  up on the hill at the northern end by the turning to TP Huts and Alisa.  Expect plenty of  beer, cocktails, girls and some pool.

Down by the sea within Hat Kai Mook Camping (next door to Lotus’s), The Secret Pearl has now closed down (June 23).

The pick of the bunch in Pearl Beach, though, is Saffron on the Sea, which has a lovely terrace by the ocean for both bistro style food and drinks –  a little known spot well worth a visit.

Chai Chet

Nightlife in Chai Chet is either a couple of good bars or Thai female company – that’s your lot.

  • For a regular, friendly bar, the reggae themed Malibu in Coconut Plaza has been the go-to choice for many years. At the start of the village up on the slope, Summer Breeze too has a relaxed atmosphere – pool table and vintage clothing too.
  • Down by the sea at the southern end , the resort Flora I Talay offers a beachside bar with plenty of chilled out seating areas and decent music. Great for sunsets, it also throws DJ parties on the big occasions.
  • For the Thai female company, you need to head to the northern end and its long row of beer bars offering you know what. Opening from lunchtime onwards, choices include Nanas, Trust Me, Apollo, Honey Bunnies, Cat and Get Lucky, though they come and go with a fair frequency. As to which is the best for entertainment and female company, that’s outside our scope, so maybe just head on down there, suck it and see…

Klong Prao Beach

Perhaps because of its spread-out nature, the large Klong Prao Beach area actually has very little nightlife.

  • At the northern end, Sapparot Bar an is a decent spot on the canal, very relaxed and definitely worth a look.
  • In the central area,  the Japanese bar restaurant, Izakaya (opposite the turnings to the Blue Lagoon and Centara) serves Sake, Asahi beer and whisky with the simple BBQ snack dishes – it’s a cool under-the-radar spot.
  • For female  company, there’s a few bars and welcoming Thai smiles in the cluster of beer bars such You and Me, Lion Bar across the road from Choc Dee and Magic Resort – the far southern end.
  • And at that southern end, near to Magic Resort’s stilted restaurant, Summer SUP is everything you would want from a bar on the sand – thatch roof, old wood, snacks, cold beers and cocktails, shakes and kayaks or SUPs for rental. Alternatively, you could dip into a beach-side bar at one of the big resorts such as Dewa, Vayna Boutique or The Splash.

Bailan Beach – Koh Chang Nightlife

Even though the near neighbour to Lonely Beach, nightlife in Bailan Beach is almost negligible.

  • Bailan Bar is the only real bar in the area but that is, for now, closed, with no word as to whether it will restart in 23/24 season or not? 
    Down on the sand at the southern end, Lisca Beach (closed in rainy season) is a lovely location for a sundowner.
  • For sports, the English owned 3 Trees Guesthouse shows all of the Premiership games.

Bang Bao

Like Bailan, you don’t head to Bang Bao to party but there are still a couple of spots worth exploring.

  • For sundowners, Cliff Cottage has a great terrace looking over the bay at the rear.
  • Rasta View, just past Tranquillity Bay at the far southern end, occupies a prime location with views down onto Bang Bao bay – cold beers, shakes, mellow music and all round louche vibe.
  • Perched on the hillside on the way to Bang Bao, Hippy Hill is a slowly growing bar from one of Lonely Beach’s Thai veterans – live music on offer from time to time.

Bang Bao Beach

Hat Sai Noi, the little beach before Bang Bao Beach and Bang Bao Beach itself do offer a couple of bars to kick back in – Thai hippie being the main theme. 

  • On Hat Sai Noi, Djembe House is somewhat of an institution – a ramshackle, smoky kind of joint which also throws occasional parties and enjoys many a drum-a-thon.
  • Next door, Indie Beach hosts acoustic nights most weeks.
  • On Bang Bao Beach, head to either The Beach Cafe or Green Garden Restaurant down on the sand or behind the beach on the creek, Ginger Home (Chan Siam) has live music, full bar and a great atmosphere.

UPDATED July 23 for 23/24 Season

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