Koh Chang is one of those special places that checks all the boxes for an incredible family holiday in Thailand. With a rich cultural heritage, pristine white sand beaches, beautiful mountain scapes, and an ample amount of activities to keep the kids entertained, this Koh Chang Island Itinerary will help you truly experience all this tropical paradise has to offer!
This 5 Day Koh Chang Island Itinerary for Families includes where to go each day, how to get there, what to do for fun with the kids when you get there, and an estimated cost for each place.
Contents
Day 1: Best Koh Chang Island Itinerary for Families
Morning-Afternoon: Travel to Koh Chang Island
Koh Chang is about 5 hours away from Bangkok if including the ferry ride. While riding the 30 minute car ferry, you will see the lush, dense jungle while gliding over the pristine blue waters. Just beyond that tree line are luxurious hotels with infinity pools and incredible family-friendly resorts that have waterparks and epic kids clubs. We think this Koh Chang island itinerary will surely be a memorable family holiday!
How to get to Koh Chang:
- Rent a Car to Koh Chang– If you’re brave enough to drive in a foreign country on the left side, then I recommend renting a car to go to Elephant Island. A rental car will give your family the ability to explore all around the island on your own schedule. Rentals are about $60 USD/day plus gas.
- By Private Van Hire to Koh Chang – If you plan to mainly stay at the resort, then I’d recommend booking a private taxi or van transfer. It would be about $150/each way. However, be aware that taxis are quite rare on the island, but Song Taew ‘pick-up truck’ taxis are readily available. If you just stand out on the Main Street — they go from beach to beach all day long until about 8pm at night.
***If budget is not a factor, then I would highly recommend booking a private van to be your driver everyday of the trip (it’s about $90/day plus gas including the driver).
- By Plane to Koh Chang – You can fly from Bangkok to Trat Province in less than an hour for about $70 USD/person. Then you could rent a car at the airport in Trat or hire a taxi to take you to the island for another $50 USD.
- By Bus to Koh Chang – A budget-friendly way to get to Elephant Island is taking a tour bus from the Ekkamai Eastern Bus Terminal (near the Ekkamai BTS Sky Train Station). Then you’ll take a Song Taew truck taxi to the Ao Thammachat pier and ride the ferry over to the island. Next, you’ll need to ride another Song Taew truck taxi to whatever beach you are staying. I’ve done this a couple times, though not when I had kids.
- Note : No trains go to Trat province
TIPS:
- The Car Ferry ride is part of the adventure, so be sure to get out of your car or van, go up to the top deck where there is lots of seating, order a fresh fruit smoothie, and enjoy the views!
- Check-in for most hotels and resorts in Thailand is 2:00-3:00pm, so we usually leave Bangkok about 9:00am to be able to get to the resort right at check-in.
- Be sure to know if your car rental takes gasoline, diesel, or propane gas. All of the different gas stations will have an attendant who will pump the gas for you. PTT is a great gasoline station with good Western style bathrooms along the way.
- Remember to pack sunblock from home because sunscreen in Thailand is mostly ‘imported’ and quite expensive (like $15-$30/bottle). Most are not chemical-free nor good for the ocean.
- Stop at a 7-11 to get any essential snacks or drinks before reaching your hotel or resort in order to avoid the inflated rates of the resort.
- Our go-to snacks for our kids from 7/11 are: Fresh apples and bananas, Croissant bread, Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Cheesy Hot Dogs, Green Pea Chips, Cornae Chips (like bugles), Plain Lays Ruffles, Greek Yogurt or Coconut Yogurt, 25 a Day Juice, Almond Milk, Meiji Milk, Dee-na Soy Milk, and CocoMax Coconut Water.
Late Afternoon: Relax by the Pool or Beach
After all that travel, take some time to get settled into your room, explore the resort, relax by the pool, or sip a fresh coconut from the comforts of a beach chair.
TIPS:
- Boredom Buster for Kids : Play Marco Polo together in the pool.
- Check the low and high tide schedule because this can drastically change whether the water is very shallow or more swimmable. It’s very different from morning to evening depending on the season.
Evening: Dinner and Fire Show
For dinner of Day 1 on this Island Itinerary, go to Koh Chang Seafood for an authentic Thai dinner with sunset views and a ‘Fire Show.’ They host this Fire Show nearly every night, but we called in advance to double check. Our kids liked the Crab Fried Rice and the Shrimp Cakes. We liked the Cashew Nut Chicken, Thum Yum Seafood Soup, and the Garlic Stir-fried Soft Crab. They had high chairs too.
MOST KID-FRIENDLY HOTEL : KOH CHANG PARADISE RESORT
Our family had an incredible experience at this beach-side resort with it's quiant bungalows, nightly fire shows, and it's own private waterpark just for guests.
Sipping my morning coffee, enjoying the breakfast buffet, watching the waves roll in while my kids swam next to me at the seaside pool is a top memory of mine.
Day 2: Best Island Itinerary for Families
Morning: Breakfast Buffet and Kids Club
Hopefully, you chose one of the resorts with an incredible breakfast spread such as at the Sylvan Koh Chang, which is only about 3500 THB/night (about $100 USD). This resort is ideal for those families who want to escape civilization to a haven of 5 star luxury.
With this 5 Day Koh Chang Island Itinerary for Families, it’s important to give the kids a chance to be active and have fun! That’s why we usually let our kids enjoy an hour jumping and sliding in the hotel’s Kids Club room right after breakfast. It also gives me and the hubs time to finish our coffee in peace.
The Kids Club at the Koh Chang Paradise Resort & Spa was perfect for my 3, 5, and 8 year old to enjoy for an hour each day.
Afternoon: Kayak the Mangrove Forest
Koh Chang is one of the most well-preserved islands in Thailand – with more than 70% still being unspoiled rainforest. If you have older kids who are up for an adventure, then we highly recommend kayaking through the protected mangrove forests.
HOW TO GET THERE: It’s about an hour drive to the Salak Phet Mangrove Forest
WHAT TO DO:
- First, walk along the 500 meter Mangrove Forest boardwalk.
- Take in the impressive views from the Observation Deck.
- Hopefully you have already pre-booked your Mangrove Forest kayaking from Klook.com (it’s actually the only place I could find this Kayak service in the Mangrove Forest).
- On this adventure, you’ll get to kayak to a century old fishing village called Baan Salak Kok.
- Explore the winding mangrove forests and see numerous wildlife such as exotic birds, tropical fish, and maybe even monkeys!
- Kayaking out to the sea and ending on a white sandy beach where the kids can swim for a bit.
COST: 300 THB/person (about $9 USD)
TIPS:
- If you have smaller kids, be sure to bring along their life jacket or swim floats just to be safe. They do have regular-sized life jackets.
- Take a waterproof bag to store phones, wallets, etc.
- Also, bring along some snacks and water just in case anyone gets hungry or thirsty. Our go-to snacks are: granola bars, fruit leather strips, peanuts, cashews, green pea chips, and Cocomax Coconut water for good electrolytes.
- We also pack extra clothes in our car so that we can change afterwards.
- Paddle boarding on a SUP board through the Mangrove Forest is equally as fun
Evening: Sunset Dinner
- Look up what time the sun will set in advance, so you can get to the restaurant about 30-45 minutes before sunset. That way you can get a parking spot and a good table with beautiful panoramic views of the ocean and the Man Nai Island.
- Recommended is the Pad See Ew Noodles, Fish in Tamarind Sauce, and the Masaman Curry with the mango dessert for a delightful finish.
DISCOUNT TIP: Klook is a trusted site that I use often in my travels around SouthEast Asia, and they usually have discounted prices for the most popular attractions.
Use this special 10% coupon code ‘APP10TW’ if it’s your first time to use the Klook mobile app.
Day 3: Best Island Itinerary for Families
Morning: Sea Shell Hunting along the beach
After a busy day out and about yesterday, spend this morning taking a relaxing stroll along the beach.
BOREDOM BUSTERS: Have a sea shell scavenger hunt to find an array of seashells in different colors and shapes. If you’re lucky, you’ll find some small crabs, a star fish, and sea clams too.
TIPS:
- Since the heat of the sun gets pretty intense about noon, we recommend finding lunch somewhere inside or in the shade. We usually will walk to a local Thai restaurant one day, order pizza from the resort pool-side restaurant one day, etc.
- For our family, we then take the kids back to the room for a little R&R from 1:00-3:00pmish — whether that’s nap time for the littles or screen time for the big kids.
Afternoon: Hike along some Waterfalls
Whether you have younger or older kids, we always enjoy a good little hike. Hiking to the Khlong Chao and Khlong Nonsi Waterfalls is a perfect little outing to add to your island itinerary. These particular two waterfalls aren’t too difficult, but for time sake, I would choose one or the other. Our family chose the Khlong Nonsi Waterfall because it has free entrance, is less touristy, and has good parking.
HOW TO GET THERE: It’s about a 30-45 minute drive to the Khlong Nonsi Waterfalls
WHAT TO DO:
- Jump on the boulders to get past the rippling streams to the hiking path.
- Walk up the steep stairway made naturally out of rocks.
- Take a snack and some water to enjoy when you get to the waterfalls.
- Take a little dip in the clear waters.
- Our kids enjoyed having a rock-skipping competition.
COST: FREE
TIPS:
- It can be quite steep and slippery in some parts, but that was what we enjoyed about this particular waterfalls. We did need to help my 3 year old and 65 year old mom in a few areas.
- If you have smaller kids, be sure to bring along their life jacket or swim floats just to be safe.
- Pack swimsuits and towels in case you decide to take a swim.
- Thankfully, there was ‘parking at the dead end of the street.
- It was fun driving through a durian farm on the way in.
- It is pretty secluded, and we were the only ones there when we arrived at 3:30pm.
Evening: Street Food Dinner Experience
- To find it, simply type in ‘Street Food Market’ into Google Maps.
- Parking is limited, and all we could find was parallel parking along the street.
- Our kids liked the fried chicken wings or the Made-to-Order Omelette cart where they got to pick out their own ingredients to go inside the omelet.
- You can’t go wrong with some fresh watermelon or pineapple from the fruit cart lady.
- My husband and I liked the BBQ kebabs on skewers and freshly grilled corn on the Cobb.
- For dessert, try a Nutella and Banana Roti (similar to a thin pancake) or the Coconut Ice Cream cart guy.
- There’s not really anywhere to sit, so we ended up taking our finds back to our hotel and sitting out on the beach chairs, which was perfect timing to see the nightly Fire Show at our hotel.
Day 4: Best Island Itinerary for Families
Morning-Afternoon: Snorkeling
On your last full day of this 5 Day Koh Chang Elephant Island Itinerary and Travel Guide, we recommend going on a personally guided snorkeling tour.
WHAT TO DO:
- Enjoy riding the boat out into the gulf
- Experienced divers from the PADI Dive Center will give you a
- Discover vibrant coral reefs teeming with marine life
- Enjoy exploring the crystal clear waters and diverse underwater ecosystem
HOW TO GET THERE: Hotel pick-up is included if you book through Klook.com
COST: 1033 THB/person (about $29 USD) including lunch
TIPS:
- Kids must be age 5 or older to go on this snorkeling trip
- Masks, snorkels, open-heeled fins, and life jackets are included. But if you have smaller kids, be sure to bring along their own life jacket or swim floats just to be safe.
- Pack towels, sunblock, snacks, water, and extra clothes
Evening: Authentic Italian Dinner
- Our kids liked the Margherita Pizza from the big stone pizza oven. They make the pizza dough fresh with a slow natural leavening process.
- I loved the fresh homemade pasta too. Even the bread is homemade!
- Our kids liked chasing each other in the small grassy area after dinner.
- We also enjoyed the homemade gelato from the food truck in the front yard area. My husband liked the mango one, and I liked the creamy Nutella one. The kids went for the Cookies and Cream one.
Day 5: Best Island Itinerary for Families
Morning: Enjoy the Resort
The best way to spend your last day of this 5 Day Elephant Island Itinerary is by enjoying your resort before check-out at 12:00pm.
WHAT TO DO:
- Be adventurous and try something new from your breakfast buffet — maybe the rice porridge soup (a staple breakfast meal for the Thais)
- Let the kids expend lots of energy in the Kids Club!
- Enjoy one last swim in the pool or at the waterpark if you stayed at The Splash or Koh Chang Paradise Resort.
- Sip a fresh coconut in the beach chairs while the kids jump through the waves one last time.
TIPS:
- Our family usually heads back to the room to shower and pack around 11:00am to be able to check-out by noon.
- After checking out, we usually grab lunch before getting back on the Car Ferry back to the mainland.
- Be sure to check the Ferry Schedule beforehand because in low season, there are a limited amount of departures per day.
5 days is just not enough to enjoy all this beautiful island has to offer. So if you’re able to 7-10 days, that would be the most ideal way to truly experience Koh Chang.
Other Fun Activities on Koh Chang
- Go beach hopping to see which one you like the best: White Sand Beach, Khlong Prao Beach, Kai Bae Beach or Lonely Beach. We personally like Khlong Prao Beach — mainly becauseit’s less crowded. It still has a long stretch of white sand beach. Also, the sea water gradually gets deeper, which makes it perfect for both our little girls who like to play in shallow water and also for our older girls who like to jump over the short waves and swim a bit too.
- Walk along the interconnected piers of the Ban Bang Bao fishing village that jut out into the gulf of Thailand. We enjoyed a yummy meal at the Jerpordee Restaurant, in which you can eat over the glass dining tables that overlook the corals below while your feet are dangling over the water.
- Hike to the Khlong Phlu Waterfall or the Kai Bae Waterfall
- Zipline over the mountainous terrain at the Tree Top Adventure Park
- Enjoy authentic Greek food from El Greco Mediterranean Restaurant. They are so kid-friendly, and we come to this restaurant every time we visit Koh Chang.
- Feed or bathe with the elephants at Klong Son Elephant Camp, which helps support the survival of these majestic animals.
- Watch the sun fade into the horizon at the Kai Bae Viewpoint
- Get your first diving license from the PADI Diving Center
Comment below with what activity your kids would enjoy the most on this Koh Chang Island Itinerary?
Best Time to Visit Thailand
Thailand has a tropical climate, which means it is mostly hot and humid year round. The temps range from about 75’F (22’C) to 100’F (40’C), but mostly stay in the high 80s (low 30’Cs).
Thailand generally has two seasons: wet and dry.
The Wet Season
- heavily influenced by the monsoon winds
- typically lands between June to September
- During the wet season, there will be moments of heavy rainfall.
- It might rain cats and dogs for 30 minutes, and then be clear for the next 6 hours.
- Or it could rain heavily for 3 hours straight.
- But in our experience of living here for the past 16+ years, the heavy rain usually passes within an hour.
TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO THAILAND WITH KIDS DURING RAINY SEASON: Pack shoes that can get wet, quick drying clothes, and a poncho or umbrella.
The Dry Season
- generally is between November to April
- Has mostly clear, sunny days
*Do note that May and October are shoulder months. The days could be either dry or wet. It just depends if the monsoon season comes early that year or late.
That being said, the very best time to visit Thailand with kids is between December to February.
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Phone & Internet while in Thailand
It’s a no-brainer that you’ll need to stay connected while traveling in Thailand — whether it’s for using GPS, researching the best island hopping tour packages, or letting the kids have some downtime a little Bluey on YouTube.
Don’t do the T-Mobile or AT&T International Roaming plans for about $10 a day — it’s a total rip off!
You can get the same exact service for much cheaper and just as easy with our tips below:
E-SIM: I highly recommend getting an eSIM from Airalo to have great internet service all over Thailand. They are actually using the same local providers that AT&T, T-mobile and Verizon will use.
I have personally used Airalo many times traveling to multiple countries all over the world, and it works great and is SUPER easy to install.
To use your Airalo eSIM, you simply buy a package then scan the QR code they send in an email to install and activate the eSIM.
The packages run from only $9.90 for 50 GB of data to $19.95 USD for Unlimited Data in Thailand.
TIPS FOR TRAVELING AROUND THAILAND WITH KIDS: If you let your kids watch YouTube, Netflix, etc, then I recommend getting the Unlimited Data. But if you’re not video streaming, then 50 GB of data is enough to browse the internet, use Google Maps, and stay in touch with friends back home.
PHYSICAL SIM CARD: You could also pick up a physical SIM card at the airport upon arrival or at any mall, which would have a TRUE shop, DTAC shop, and/or AIS shop. You would need your passport on hand. The physical SIM + a prepaid service card would cost about 350 baht (~$10 USD), but it usually only comes with 5GB of Data. So Airalo is a much better deal.
TIP: If you plan to use a physical SIM card, then be sure to contact your local phone provider (such as AT&T or Verizon) before traveling overseas to check that your phone is already unlocked. They can usually do this for you over the phone.
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