Thailand Vacation

For a Thailand vacation, Ko Chang is the second biggest island in Thailand, only to Phuket is larger. It has increasingly become well-known on a world tourist map. The island of 429 square kilometres was recently awakened when it was decided to develop as a new environmentally-sound world-class tourist destination.

The name Ko Chang, or Elephant Island, derives from its sheer size-30 kilometres long and 14 kilometres wide. It is situated eight kilometers off Laem Ngob district in Trat.

The island is also a wonderland of colourful corals, clear blue water, fascinating wildlife and marine life, high peaks, steep cliffs, scenic waterfalls, lush jungles and undisturbed rainforest.

In 2003 Ko Chang was given a special administration status, with a less bureaucratic management. The government started to finance the infrastructure: wastewater treatment facilities, garbage treatment sites and piers. According to the latest survey by the Trat Tourist Business Association, Ko Chang has 106 resorts that account for some 3,100 rooms.

Some 80% of the island is registered as Ko Chang National Marine Park. It is the largest of the 52 islands under the jurisdiction of Trat. About 5,000 residents live on private lands on the coast around the mountainous island. The ring road on the island is almost completed. Only a three-kilometre stretch between Bang Bao Village on the west and Rong Than Village on the east is undone as the stretch is in the protected area of the national park.

Those who made a vacation to Thailand over a decade ago can rememember Ko Chang with converted fishing boats carrying them from Laem Ngob pier to beaches on the western side of the island once or twice a day. The ride was long and tedious. At low season, boat access was not much to choose. Today, it’s a far cry from those early years. Access to the island, even in monsoon season, is no longer a big deal thanks to the efficient ferry services.

A vacation to Thailand would not be complete without a visit to Ko Chang island - the beginning of a journey to the hidden wonders of its fifty-one sister islands.The wonders are waiting for you to explore...

For information and hotel bookings on the island click here.
For bookings in Pattaya click here and for Bangkok click here.