Island Guide

North White Sand Beach

White Sand beach, Koh Chang, Thailand.

North White Sand Beach Guide

2023 – 24 Update

✔ Far northern end of the beach is excellent

✔ Everything you need is within easy walking distance of your hotel

✔ Ideal for visitors needing no more than a sunbed by the beach or families with lazy arsed kids who need western food to survive

White Sand Beach is the first beach that you reach after heading through Klong Son and over the steep hill. As you start to head down the hillside you’ll see the viewpoint with picture postcard panorama along the length of the beach and south towards the small islands that lie off the west coast of Koh Chang. It all looks very serene from up here.

Then, as the road after the road has winded down to sea level, you’re greeted by a huge, newly constructed annex to KC Grande Resort where some of the rooms are either just a few metres from the main road or have views towards a concrete wall of the block in front.  Around the corner the 7-eleven marks the starting point of White Sand Beach.  

The built up central area of the beach is the busiest on the island. Expect crowds during High Season.  

Map of the northern end of White Sand beach

This is just the highlights to help familiarize yourself with the area.

Trip map created using Wanderlog, a travel planner on iOS and Android

After experiencing the the shock to the system that was the roadside cement works and shops with no English signs in Klong Son village, on the other side of the hill, you can now relax safe in the knowledge you are in package tour civilization.

As such all your needs are catered for in English, Chinese and Russian. Check in to your resort, wake up at 4am the next morning to reserve your sunbed by the pool. Back to sleep and after your breakfast buffet, jump on the sun lounger and you only need remember to turn over every 30 minutes to allow the sun’s rays to bake various pale body parts.  You need never move for a week.

This is the first beach the road runs alongside as you head down the west coast and is only 10 – 15 minutes drive from the ferry piers.  Whist Sand is a very long beach with powdery white sand or at least the northern two-thirds of it is.  Especially the far end between KC Grande Resort and White Sand Beach Resort which is one of the best stretches of sand on the island. 

If you can’t to do without such comforts as souvenir t-shirts, beer bars, opticians, a multitude of tailors, internet cafes, huge choice of hole-in-the-wall tour agencies, tex-mex food, Premier League football and a beer bar enclave all a stone’s throw away from your room then this is the place for you.

But, to be fair, even White Sand Beach has a long way to go before development reaches the extremes seen on Samui, Phuket, Phi-Phi or Pattaya.   If you are used to holidaying there it may even seem a sleepy backwater in which to spend a week or two.

White Sand Beach Hotels

Places to stay vary from basic 500 Baht/night rooms off the inland side of the main road to 20,000 Baht/night beach villas. Somewhere in the middle are the package tour hotels aimed at weekending Thais and foreigners who don’t know any better than to trust travel agents when booking holiday accommodation.

Some of the older resorts are still hangovers from when the visitors were predominantly Thai, i.e. they consist of dark, featureless, unimaginative concrete bungalows or hotel rooms designed to keep cool air in and sunlight out. (Think Butlin’s Holiday Camp circa 1975 or Guantanamo Bay circa 2005)

However, things are rapidly changing and older bungalows are being replaced by new shiny new hotel blocks. Cookie Resort, KC Grande, Kacha Resort, Mac Resort, Grand View, Sabay Bar, Koh Chang Lagoon, Bamboo Resort & Apple Resort have all been extensively remodelled or totally rebuilt in past few years.

Koh Chang Lagoon now has a very nice beachfront pool which was built in 2015.  Whilst Bamboo Bungalows and Apple Beach Resort were also totally rebuilt from the ground up in late 2014. Gone are the old bungalows, now replaced by two storey beachfront hotel blocks.

Even the old beachfront resorts,  Sangtawan & Tantawan, have had a recent facelift and are now looking much brighter and more inviting that they did in the past. These offer good value accommodation, although they aren’t the sort of place to stay if you want some space & privacy.  But are fine if you just have to be less than 20 metres from the beach and enjoy staring into your neighbour’s balcony from yours.

If you don’t want to pay a premium for a beachfront room you’ll find some good value fan and AC rooms can be had on the inland side of the road in small, newly built guesthouses. These places are also worth a look if you’re after long term (e.g. monthly) deals for AC rooms. Places such as Arunee & Palm Garden offer basic rooms for around 1,200 Baht/night even in high season and usually have signs roadside listing the room rate. Gold Beach guesthouse is also around the 1,200 – 1,500 Baht/night mark in High Season and a couple of hundred metres away Baan Sai Kao has good value rooms in the 1,500 – 1,800 Baht/night range during High Season

Nearer the centre of the beach ‘Island Lodge’, the funkier ‘PingPong’s House‘ and a couple of other small places are located on the inland side of the main road, accessible by track adjacent to Kacha Resort. These have a range of budget rooms from basic fan to ensuite AC around 200 – 300 metres walk to the beach. Graham, owner of Island lodge, was one of the first expats living on the island and so has a wealth of information and tips to offer guests.  Likewise Mr ‘Ping Pong’ owner of Ping Pong Guesthouse is one of the most helpful people you’ll meet on Koh Chang.  A tad eccentric but a very nice guy who’s knows the island like the back of his hand. 

A little further south, ‘Sai Khao Inn’ which is tucked away down a narrow lane opposite BanPu Resort, also has good value, quiet AC bungalows and rooms up against a hillside rubber plantation.

Despite the obvious mid-range ambiance, don’t be surprised to see backpackers hop off the pick up truck taxi on White Sand Beach. For some back to basics huts, head to the northern tip of the beach, north of KC Grande Resort.

This involves walking along the beach, as there is no immediate access from the main road.

kc grande resort villas

 

Here you can find a some cheap places to stay, Bob Marley blaring and a mellow, ageing hippy type of atmosphere akin to that on Lonely Beach 15km to the south. Places to stay include ‘Maylamean’ ‘Rock Sand’ and ‘Star Beach’ – all have rooms and hillside bungalows. Then there’s the one of a kind ‘Independent Bo’s‘ which you will want to photograph.   It’s more an oversized work of art than a bungalow resort.

These small resorts all hug the hillside and at very high tide you will find yourself getting your feet wet when you go for breakfast. But as you lie back on this empty stretch of beach & watch the world slowly go by it’s comforting to know that you aren’t more than 5 minutes walk from the nearest 7-eleven.

It appears as though the beach ends at Rock Sand Resort.  But it doesn’t.  Walk around the restaurant (at Low tide) or through the restaurant (at High tide) and you come to the beach at White Sand Beach Resort, 500 metres of quiet, perfect sand with clear water.

It’s probably the best stretch of beach on the island.

For anyone staying here, at the far, far northern end of the beach, access from the main road is down an unbelievably steep access road that leads down from the main road at the top of the hill. You won’t be walking this road.  Not unless you want a bit of exercise.  For anyone wanting to try walking, running or cycling up it, this segment on Strava has been given the name ‘The mother of all hills . . . fuck me.’ Which gives an indication how much pain it will cause.  So, it’s much easier to just stroll south along the beach for 15 minutes to reach shops and restaurants.

And even if you aren’t staying at White Sand Beach Resort, it is worth walking up there, along the lovely beach, past the bungalows to the far northern tip of the beach.   Here you will find a little beach bar. Light meals and cheap beers served in a friendly little shack by the sea.  It’s a totally different world to that a few minutes walk south.  Fortunately most visitors to White Sand beach don’t walk very far when on holiday and so this section of beach remains a great spot to get away from it all even at the busiest time of year.

The northern section of the roadside is the most heavily built up with all manner of places to eat, drink, sleep & shop lining the road. KC Coffeeshop is the pick of the internet cafes/coffee shops in this area and 15 Palms is a popular beach restaurant with good, if  ‘tourist priced’ Thai & Western comfort food. But there’s big comfy beanbags on the beach and it’s always packed when live sporting events are shown. Nice spot for a sunset cocktail too.

Main road white sand beach

A little way further south on the beach Cookies Hotel have well-appointed rooms and also one of the most popular beachfront ‘Sun& Soul’ which tries to do some fusion food and cocktails.  The food works pretty well, the drinks are OK.  But it makes a change from run of the mill Thai & seafood restaurants that line this section of beach in the evening. It’s not a great area to be if you value taste over location.  Better beachfront food can be had at the nearby Sangtawan Resort restaurant – or  ‘Beach Tango’ both around 200 metres south.

Next door to Cookies, Sabuy Bar is the island’s largest beach bar with a music policy which involves the Filipino house band playing everything from hard rock to disco to AOR to Bieber in a single set. Early on the band plays outdoors and then moves indoors for a late night set. Plus there are the nightly fire shows on the beach for which the bar is famed – although these haven’t really changed in the past few years, so if you’ve seen one fireshow, you’ve seen them all. The bar is comparatively expensive and is a popular spot to pick up freelance hookers at 1am – some of whom are female, many of whom aren’t, but are hoping to be once they’ve saved enough money for the operation.

Also on the beach nearby is the extremely popular Himmel bar.  Just look for the giant jellyfish when you’re walking along the beach.  Himmel relocated here from Lonely beach during covid and proved extremely popular with young Thai tourists.  Now it attracts a good mix of people.  Great cocktails and a fun atmosphere.

The most luxurious accommodation on offer aroud the north end of White Sand beach is undoubtedly KC Grande Resort .  They have hotel blocks which include seaview rooms with private jacuzzis on the balcony and on the inland side of the main road, a rooftop pool with a great view.  I’m sure the jacuzzis are damn sexy if you are on the top floor, but maybe slightly embarrassing if you are on the ground floor and hoping for a bit of fun in the tub.  

In late 2017, their beach front villas opened.  These are in an awesome location.  Open the floor- to-ceiling glass door and walk a few steps onto the sand. If you want a luxury bungalow on a great beach then you won’t get any better than this on Koh Chang.  KC Grande seems to tick all the boxes for most visitors and is probably the most popular resort on the island.

If that is too posh or pricey, Kacha Resort, in the centre of the beach, has an inland annex as well as beachfront rooms and bungalows and is a popular 3* choice for families.  The annex also has a large pool. The main downside is that the beach isn’t great directly outside the resort and the beachfront pool isn’t large enough to handle all the guests who want to use it.

In early 2016,  The Erawan Hotel opened up on the inland side of the road near the north end of the beach.  This offers bright, stylish rooms with sea views from the upper floors and a glass walled restaurant which is ideal for people watching at breakfast.   There’s also a rooftop pool.  This is another great choice for anyone wanting better value than many beach resorts offer.  Although not ideal for light sleepers as there is some noise from the street.  

Restaurants, Shops and Bars on White Sand beach

Other places of interest on White Sand Beach are the popular ‘Oodies Place’, on the inland side of the main road just north of Cookies, this is where you’ll find live music and steaks and has been a popular tourist hangout for years. But for tourist food, again you have to expect to pay tourist prices. But it’s worth it for the music.  The house band is excellent and musicians from Bangkok and elsewhere also regularly make guest appearances.  If you’re a visiting musician or singer with some talent and want to jam then go along.  You’ll be welcomed.

If you want to skip the beachfront Thai food and just need a slab of meat with some potatoes accompanied by a cold beer, then Buffalo Bill’s is the place to check out. Buffalo Bill’s also has a mechanical bull for customers to ride whilst waiting for their food to arrive – best to ride it before you eat, rather than after.  ( Note that Buffalo Bills closed during covid and hasn’t yet re-opened.)

As far as eating on White Sand beach goes, nowadays you aren’t going to find great food on the beachfront.  The restaurant owners have long since figured that they don’t have to make an effort in order to fill tables, the location – eating on the beach under the stars gets diners in. Therefore, if you want good Thai food in a clean roadside restaurant, rather than paying a premium for eating on the beach, take a look at either of the two restaurants, ‘Nong Beua’ and ‘Boogie Chicken’, located opposite Banpu Resort. They both also do some European food for those who like to travel half way round the world but who think foreign food is a bit dodgy and so prefer something, anything, that is deep fried and served with boiled vegetables.

As far as seafood goes, there aren’t any large, popular seafood restaurants on White Sand beach.  (Although most beach restaurants do sell seafood.) You’ll have to head south to Klong Prao to find these.  But there is a small place –  Fresh Catch – located on the main road near the nightly food stalls – which features popular seafood dishes. 

pool inflatables for sale

Roadside in the centre of the beach, opposite Mac Resort, is also where you’ll find the excellent ‘Taste of India‘ which is a long standing favourite for lovers of Indian food.  It is very good. 

All the beach restaurants have cheap cocktails on offer, which unsurprisingly often taste like cheap cocktails i.e  a lot of bottom shelf alcohol and flavouring rather than real juice or fruit.  You get what you pay for and what you get is a very bad hangover the next morning.

Other useful, rather than interesting, shops and services nearby are the ‘Advise’ shop, for passport photos, memory cards or a new phone or camera to replace the one dropped in the sea during a drunken night out.  There are also and also branches of several Thai banks – Bank of Ayudya and Bangkok Bank . ( They sometimes allow tourists to open bank accounts.)

 There are also a few currency exchanges in this area with slightly better rates than you get in the banks.  Read this article to find the best exchange rates on the island .

For excellent coffee check out Tastory, located on the inland side of the main road near Kacha Resort. Just a small place that makes excellent coffee and also has some snacks and cakes.   And if you also need a view with your coffee try the new (opened early 2023) Sahngad Cafe & Camping.  This is located inland on the same access road that also leads to Sai Khao Inn.  Head along the lane and follow the signs up the steps and you’ll come to a coffeeshop and raised platform with views over the buildings below and out to the sea. As it’s facing west there’s also a great sunset view from up here. 

The fact that every hotel / bungalow resort has a restaurant and bar on the beach means that in the evenings the street-side shops lining the main road are pretty deserted until after everyone has eaten.   Although you will find the cheap foodstalls, marked as a night food market on Googlemaps, that spring up late afternoon along the on the 100 metres of undeveloped roadside just north of Kacha Resort are always busy with visitors eager to try some weird and wonderful meats on sticks.  Worth a look on your way back from the beach as there’s a lot of choice.  

But go for freshly made dishes – not those that have been sitting in the afternoon sun for a couple of hours. The food is OK, but not on a par with the streetfood that you’ll find in Klong Son, Klong Prao village or Kai Bae – which cater to more to hotel staff and local residents.

Beachwear for sale on White Sand beach, Koh Chang

Shopping on White Sand beach

There are a couple of arty/crafty small shops but on the whole most of it is the generic souvenir junk you can find anywhere in Thailand and there’s very little that you won’t find cheaper in any market in Bangkok, do your souvenir shopping there if you have time.  All shops tend to sell the same stuff, so if you see a t-shirt with an elephant on it that you like, check prices in a few shops.  Remember to haggle.  Good for obligatory souvenirs for other people, but nothing that you’d want to display in your own home or actually wear back home. 

The good news is that there is one place that is worth searching out if you want a more unique souvenir, Peace Moon, which sell handmade leather items. Everything from small bracelets to wallets, belts and bags.  Located on the inland side of the road, just south of Kacha Resort – look for the vintage motorbikes and bicycle outside on the pavement.

If you need a proper massage or spa experience, then hidden away in the big ugly building opposite Mac Resort, you’ll find Bua Spa.  Probably, the best place for a good massage on White Sand beach – according to a couple of people I know who are connoisseurs of this type of thing.  It’s located on the top floor of the building and prices are reasonable.

A quick mention of pharmacies – they’ll rip you off far more than you can imagine.  Which is why you see so many of them, especially on White Sand beach. :-)  It’s a very profitable business to be in.  Something that is 30 Baht in Bangkok is 100 Baht or more here.  Generic drugs are very cheap in Thailand but unless you already have an idea of how much you should be paying, you will be charged double or triple the real price.  So don’t feel bad about haggling with a pharmacist.

 

Hotels on the northern half of White Sand beach

These resorts and bungalows are at the north and central areas of the beach.  All are bookable on booking.com.   The price shown is a typical high season nightly rate.  It may well vary and expect it to be higher at holiday weekends and during peak season. 

White Sand Beach Resort – Older bungalows on one of the best stretches of beach on the island – 1,900 Baht

KC Grande Resort – Largest and best resort in the area.  200+ metres of beachfront, range of hotel room types plus stunning beach villas, four swimming pools – 5,000 Baht

Jinda Resort – Old, budget rooms on inland side of the road near KC Grande – 900 Baht

SP Place – Hotel block with clean, functional AC rooms 50 metres to the beach  – 1,900 Baht

Erawan Hotel – Best roadside hotel.  Modern, stylish rooms with balcony and rooftop pool – 3,500 Baht

Buffalo Bill’s – Apartment style aircon rooms above the popular steak restaurant – 1,500 Baht

Mac Resort – Great location, small resort with rooms and pool in the centre of the beach – 2,300 Baht

Sangtawan Resort – Old AC bungalows.  Basic but in prime location on the beach – 1,700 Baht

Baan Saikhao – Good value apartment style rooms by the main road – 1,500 Baht

Koh Chang Lagoon – In the centre of the beach rooms & bungalows plus large pool – 2,400 Baht

Koh Chang Princess – Opposite Lagoon, same owner, hotel rooms, sea views from upper floors – 2,100 Baht

Island Lodge – Longstanding budget rooms and small cabins on inland road – 650 Baht

Pingpong’s House – Guesthouse 300 metres inland, run by well known local guide Mr ‘Pingpong’  – 900 Baht

Apple Beachfront Resort – Rebuilt in 2015, beach restaurant, small hotel rooms and small pool – 1,800 Baht

Bamboo Resort – Small beachfront resort, built 2015, free-form pool and beach restaurant – 2,800 Baht

Kacha Resort – One of the most popular for families.  Cheaper rooms on inland side of the main road. Two pools – 3,600 Baht

BanPu Resort – Older resort with darker rooms & small pool, but great location – 3,150 Baht

 

More details and Reviews of hotels and resorts in the White Sand Beach area

Next: On to Southern White Sand Beach

Koh Chang Island Guide For Independent Travellers