Koh Chang, Koh Mak or Koh Kood: Which Trat Island Is Yours? (2026)

Three islands sit in a line off the Trat coast, and every year a great many people book the wrong one. They ask “Koh Chang or Koh Kood?” as if it were a coin toss between two beaches, when it is a choice between a jungle island the size of Phuket with a road, a bar scene and a car ferry, and a quiet, expensive island two boats away where the resorts own the sand. Then someone mentions Koh Mak, smaller and flatter than both, with a ban on jet skis, and the coin has three sides. This is the decision page.

The short version: Koh Chang for budget, nightlife, waterfalls and anyone travelling between May and October; Koh Kood for the best water and sand in the Gulf of Thailand if you can pay ฿3,000 a night and accept that the evening ends at dinner; Koh Mak if you want a bicycle, a flat island and silence, for less than either. Honeymooners go to Koh Kood, small children to Koh Chang, and with a week you do Koh Chang and Koh Kood back to back. Our Koh Mak guide covers the small one; every boat to the outer two is costed in how to get to Koh Mak and Koh Kood.

Koh Chang, Koh Mak and Koh Kood at a glance

Koh Chang: the big one, with the full menu and a dangerous road

Koh Chang is Thailand’s second-largest island: a spine of jungle mountain, waterfalls off it, one road down the west coast through six beaches. White Sand Beach is hotels on the sand and a strip of bars behind, convenient and charmless; Klong Prao is the widest and prettiest, with the family resorts; Kai Bae is a village with a beach and the best value; Lonely Beach is buckets and bass until 3am on a rocky shore; Bailan is the quiet cheap bay after it; Bang Bao is the stilt village on a pier where the snorkelling boats leave. The sand is ranked in our Koh Chang beaches guide; which to sleep on is the whole of where to stay in Koh Chang.

The beaches are good, not great: wide and swimmable from November to April, but the water is not Koh Kood’s and on the busy stretches you share it with a jet ski. What Koh Chang has that the others do not is things — Khlong Phlu waterfall (฿200 park fee), mangrove kayaks, Koh Rang snorkelling boats out of Bang Bao at ฿800–1,200, a real night market, elephant camps to skip; the verdicts are in things to do on Koh Chang. Nightlife is Lonely Beach for buckets and White Sand for bar stools and a football screen. Food runs from ฿60 pad thai at the Kai Bae stalls to ฿1,500-a-head seafood on the Bang Bao pier. Beds start at ฿300 in a dorm and ฿600 for a fan hut, which no other Trat island can touch; mid-range is ฿1,500–2,500, pool villas ฿6,500–9,000. Two to book: KC Grande Resort (from around ฿3,000) on White Sand, and GajaPuri Resort (from around ฿3,500) on Kai Bae for couples.

Now the problem. The road is the only way between beaches and it has two hairpin climbs, south of Kai Bae and into Lonely Beach, steep, sandy on the bends and lined with the results at the clinic every morning. If you do not ride a scooter at home, do not learn here; songthaews are ฿50–150 a hop, a car ฿1,200–1,500 a day. Getting there is easy: bus or minivan from Ekkamai to the Ao Thammachat car ferry, six to seven hours for ฿500–700, ferries roughly hourly in any weather, all priced in Bangkok to Koh Chang. May to October the west coast takes the swell, some bars shut, rooms fall 30–40% and the waterfalls run properly; it is the one island of the three you can reach in a monsoon without checking the sea first (month-by-month in our best time to visit Thailand guide).

Koh Mak: the flat, quiet one you cycle round

Koh Mak is 16 square kilometres of coconut plantation owned, in the main, by five related families who in 2018 signed a charter against jet skis, banana boats, car ferries and all-night parties. It holds. The island is flat, so a ฿100–150 bicycle is the only vehicle you need. Ao Kao is the long practical beach with most of the bungalows and a café strip you walk barefoot; Ao Suan Yai is wider, quieter, shallow a long way out, with the sunset dead ahead and Koh Kham offshore — a private islet with a white sandbar, a ฿200 landing fee and a forty-minute kayak, the best morning on the island.

Honestly: the beaches are a notch below Koh Kood’s, the sandflies are real (coconut oil on the ankles is the local fix), and as of September 2026 you should behave as though there is no ATM, because reports range from “none” to “one, usually empty”; no 7-Eleven either. Nightlife is a pier bar at six o’clock and a second ฿70–90 beer. Food is village Thai, ฿70–100 for noodles, ฿500–700 for a grilled fish for two. Rooms run from ฿400 fan huts through ฿1,200–2,500 bungalows to a few ฿3,500–6,000 resorts, the smartest being Seavana Koh Mak Beach Resort (from around ฿3,500) on Ao Suan Yai. Getting there is a 45–60 minute speedboat from Laem Ngop for ฿450–550, or the dry Laem Sok catamaran at ฿550; the Bangkok joint ticket is ฿1,000–1,150, and from Koh Chang it is an hour from Bang Bao at ฿600. Season bites harder here: May to October the speedboats drop to one or two a day, many resorts close, and the inter-island boat runs once daily when the sea allows.

Koh Kood: the best water in the Gulf, at a price

Koh Kood (Ko Kut on the signs) is Thailand’s fourth-largest island with perhaps two thousand residents, no town and no traffic. It is hilly and forested, the concrete lanes are quiet enough for a nervous scooter rider, and the water is the reason you came: the clearest, most improbably coloured sea on the east coast. Khlong Chao is the main beach, a long pale crescent with a tidal river behind it that you kayak up, 1.5 km inland, to Khlong Chao waterfall and its lagoon pool — free, donation box, swim. Ao Phrao in the south is the longest and emptiest; Ao Tapao and Ao Ngam Kho are the resort coves between; Ao Salad is the fishing village where the catamarans land.

The honest part is what “resorts on private beaches” means. Thai beaches are public by law, but most of Koh Kood’s good sand is fronted by one resort whose loungers and restaurant belong to whoever is paying ฿4,000 a night; stay on a beach or you commute to one. Nightlife is three or four bars and a bonfire at Khlong Chao; the island is asleep by ten. Food is resort restaurants and a few village places, with ฿90–120 beers and ฿100–150 pad thai that came a long way by boat. A handful of ATMs exist now, at Khlong Chao and by the hospital; they run dry over long weekends, so bring cash. Koh Rang snorkelling is ฿1,200 a head on a shared boat plus the ฿200 park fee, or ฿8,500–9,000 for a private half-day for two.

Prices reflect the boat ride: fan bungalows ฿800–1,200 if you can find one, mid-range ฿2,500–4,000, pool villas from ฿5,000 up to Soneva Kiri, the private-villa fantasy with its own plane from Bangkok and rates from around ฿40,000 — our Thailand luxury hotel price guide puts that in context. Back on earth, High Season Pool Villa & Spa (from around ฿5,500) is the smart pick at Khlong Chao with beach and river on foot, and Shantaa Resort (from around ฿4,000) above Ao Tapao is the couples’ answer at a sane price. Getting there is the Boonsiri or Seudamgo catamaran from Laem Sok, ฿600 including the resort truck, about an hour; the ฿1,100 bus-and-boat ticket leaves Khao San at 05:00 and has you on the sand by noon. May to October the catamarans drop to two a day, the sea cancels boats with a night’s notice and half the resorts close; the upside is an empty island at half price.

Koh Chang vs Koh Kood, Koh Mak vs Koh Kood: the head-to-heads

Koh Chang vs Koh Kood for families. Koh Chang for children under about ten, and it is not close: Klong Prao has the kids’-club resorts and shallow water, there is a hospital, an Italian for the night they refuse rice, and a car ferry that ignores the swell. Koh Kood has calmer water and a waterfall you paddle to, better for children old enough to snorkel, but the evening is a bonfire and a sick child in July is two boats and a bus from anywhere. Teenagers: Koh Kood. Toddlers: Koh Chang.

Koh Mak vs Koh Kood for couples. Koh Kood if the beach is the point and the budget is ฿3,000 a night and up; Koh Mak if the point is doing nothing together on a bicycle for ฿1,500. Koh Kood’s water wins every time and its resorts are built for two: villas on private coves, dinner on the sand, nobody else’s music. Koh Mak is friendlier and cheaper, with beaches that are very good rather than remarkable.

Budget and nightlife: Koh Chang, and nothing else is in the race. A ฿300 dorm, a ฿600 hut, ฿60 noodles, ฿70 beers, a market to eat in and Lonely Beach to regret it in. Koh Mak is cheap by accident, because there is nothing to spend money on; Koh Kood on a backpacker budget is a ฿1,000 bungalow a scooter ride from the beach you want. Our Thailand Price Index has the fair-price baseline for everything the islands mark up.

The honeymoon answer: Koh Kood. A beachfront villa at Ao Tapao, Khlong Chao or Ao Ngam Kho, three or four nights between November and March, and the resort’s private longtail to Koh Rang. No ceiling on the budget: Soneva Kiri and the plane. If you would rather have five nights than three, Koh Mak’s Ao Suan Yai is the quiet alternative.

Which Trat island is yours: the decision table

The combination that works: Koh Chang then Koh Kood

With six or seven nights, do not choose. The Bangkok bus reaches Koh Chang cheaply, so start there: three nights on Klong Prao or Kai Bae, a waterfall, a Koh Rang boat, one evening you will not tell your mother about. Then a ฿150 songthaew to Bang Bao for the Boonsiri inter-island catamaran, about 90 minutes to Koh Kood for ฿900 via Koh Mak, one or two sailings a day from November to April and a single weather-dependent one otherwise. Three nights on Koh Kood, then the Laem Sok catamaran home with the bus attached. Book the boat the day before; it does not wait, and the songthaew from White Sand takes an hour. With eight nights, add one on Koh Mak in the middle. Do the big island first: Koh Kood after Koh Chang’s road is the correct order of things.

Koh Chang, Koh Mak or Koh Kood: your questions, answered

Is Koh Kood better than Koh Chang?

For beaches and water, yes, clearly. For everything else — price, nightlife, food choice, things to do, monsoon access, small children — Koh Chang wins. Koh Kood if the beach is the holiday and you can spend ฿3,000 a night; Koh Chang if you want options.

Which is quieter, Koh Mak or Koh Kood?

Koh Mak, by design: a community charter against jet skis, loud music and all-night parties, and a bicycle as the main vehicle. Koh Kood is quiet because it is big, hilly and mostly resort-owned, so you rarely see anyone outside your own beach. Koh Mak is the cheaper and flatter of the two.

How do you get from Koh Chang to Koh Kood?

The Boonsiri inter-island catamaran from Bang Bao pier at the south end of Koh Chang: about 90 minutes, ฿900 as of September 2026, calling at Koh Mak on the way. One or two sailings a day in high season, one from May to October, weather permitting. Book a day ahead and allow an hour to reach Bang Bao.

Which Trat island is best for families?

Koh Chang for young children: Klong Prao’s shallow beach and kids’-club resorts, a hospital, varied food and a car ferry that runs in any weather. Koh Mak suits families who want a small, safe, cyclable island with no traffic. Koh Kood suits older children who will snorkel, kayak to the waterfall and not need an evening.

Can you visit Koh Kood and Koh Mak in low season?

Yes, with care. The Laem Sok catamarans run to Koh Kood year-round, down to two a day, and one or two speedboats still reach Koh Mak, but rough days cancel boats and many Koh Mak resorts close June to September. Rooms are half price; book a boat you can see on the timetable and never chain a crossing to a same-day flight.

Related guides

• Koh Mak: The Island That Said No to Jet Skis
• Where to Stay in Koh Chang: Every Beach, Honestly Ranked
• Trat: The Gateway to Koh Chang That Deserves More Than a Ferry Queue

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Hotels: the Agoda pages in the table above cover Koh Chang and Koh Kood; Koh Mak is listed under Trat. Tours: the Koh Rang snorkelling boats sell out on Thai long weekends — compare Koh Rang snorkelling trips on GetYourGuide. Getting there: through-tickets from Bangkok are on Bangkok to Koh Chang and Bangkok to Koh Kood, and the island-hopping boat is under Koh Chang to Koh Mak. Not sure any of the three is your Thailand? Our Where to Go in Thailand matcher scores all 77 provinces against your month, your crowd tolerance and what you want from the trip.