For Western visitors, Lonely Beach has long been regarded as the only  beach to stay on if you’re a true backpacker who’s only requirements are a humble bamboo fan hut with  a good wifi signal and a decent coffeeshop within 2 minutes walk.

For Thais, Lonely Beach has long been regarded as the best beach to visit if you want to see western girls topless.

Bailan Bay, on the other hand, is the least developed area on the west coast of Koh Chang.  The lack of white powdery stuff on the beach means that there hasn’t been the usual mad dash to buy up land and build huge resorts.  But times they are a-changing and there are a growing number of small flashpacker resorts in the area plus one 4 star option in the Mercure Hideaway ( Formerly Dusit Princess, let’s see if Mercure can make a silk purse out of the sow’s ear).

Use the controls to zoom in and click on the icons for more info about where to get good deals on the buckets of vodka/redbull required to fuel your Asian adventure.

For detailed information on where to ‘chillax’ and meet fellow travellers who like to talk loudly about how they  ‘did Laos’, based entirely on time spent in an inner tube on the river at Vang Vieng, plus info on how many tons of sand it took to make the Mercure’s artificial beach, see the Island Guide. If you’d prefer to just look at pretty pictures then check out the Photo Gallery.

Hotels on Lonely Beach

Bhumiyama Resort

Siam Beach Resort

Warapura Resort

Paradise Cottage

Hotels in Bailan

Mercure Hideaway ( formerly Dusit Princess )

Orchid Resort