Bailan beach – What to expect
2025 – 26 Update
✔ Value for money accommodation. But you’ll probably want to rent a scooter.
✔ Close to Lonely Beach , but more R-E-L-A-X than P-A-R-T-Y
✔ No natural beach. What there is, in front of Mercure Hideaway, is pleasant but artificial.
Lonelier than Lonely beach
Bailan Bay is the least developed area on the west coast of Koh Chang, which is why we liked it so much when we first visited back in 2003 and originally planned a small bungalow place here. The land that we rented is now the site of a builder’s merchant. Back then, the lack of a sandy beach meant that there hadn’t been the same mad dash to buy up land and build resorts as on other areas of the west coast.
That’s still the case, but things are changing and there are a growing number of small resorts in the area plus one 4 star, the Mercure Hideaway (formerly the Dusit Princess) And adjacent to the Mercure is Treetop Adventure Park, a ‘must visit’ if you or your kids enjoy an eco-friendly adventure plus some thrills up in the trees. And opposite the Mercure hotel is a new Muay Thai gym – Erawan1 Academy.
The resorts in Balian are low key affairs, intended for travellers who value a bit of peace and quiet and who have grown out of the urge to party till the early hours every night. This in turn means that the road through Bailan hasn’t seen any large scale shophouse development. The quiet hamlet still retains a laid back local vibe far removed from that of Lonely Beach, a 15 minute (1km) walk to the north.
As you head south from Lonely Beach the first resort you reach is Bailan Bay Resort. You won’t see the bungalows but will see their restaurant on the right, on the roadside at the top of a rise. Steep steps lead down to the bungalows which are fairly simple but are in a beautiful location down on the shoreline below. No sound except the waves lapping on the shore.
The small headland gives great panoramic views south across the bay and north along the rigged coastline towards Lonely Beach. Just over the rise, The Mangrove lies on the right. This was a more plush, designer hut resort with very simple, but stylish, wooden huts hugging a hillside that leads down to an open kitchen / restaurant area and small strip of beach. However, it closed during covid and now doesn’t look like re-opening. Hopefully someone can take it over as it’s a lovely location.
Flashpacker Haven
During the late 2010s half a dozen new backpacker bungalow resorts sprung up in Bailan. Many are still going strong. With mostly wooden bungalows clustered around tropical gardens. Most also have swimming pools. So you can still find a decent place to stay with a pool for 1,500 Baht or less in high season.
The best of the mid-range bungalow resorts in Bailan is probably Red Moon Hideaway. Seven cozy bungalows plus restaurant around a landscaped garden and with a blood red pool. (As seen in the photo further down the page.)
Target visitors for these type of resorts seem to be older flashpackers who want a bit more comfort than the normal budget hut provides and also a quiet place to chill. But as this area doesn’t see many visitors outside peak months, so you can often find some great deals on rooms here and get far more for your money than you can on Lonely Beach.
On the beach, the grandly named Bailan Beach Resort has AC rooms and bungalows and a pool by a small strip of sand for 2,000 Baht/night in High Season. It was a very popular, peaceful place. However, it’s popularity seems to be its downfall – at least as far as keeping it as a simple bungalow resort goes. A new hotel block opened a couple of years ago, followed by a huge concrete restaurant / reception area.
On the roadside, directly opposite the entrance to Bailan Beach Resort is ‘Lazy Republique‘. A small resort with a pool and handful of AC bungalows for around 1,500 Baht/night, very friendly, knowledgeable owners and good food. It gets great reviews.
Adjacent is another good option, Cocoon. A little further on, on the left hand side of the road, Kamrai Resort and Faye Orchid Resort are also both long-established, no-frills places that have built up a loyal following over the years. Opposite, Baan Sanook offers similar comfort at reasonable prices and the popular Vanara bungalows, which also has the best Italian restaurant in the area, is another popular choice for weary travellers.
A couple of other spots to round things off. The long standing Jungle Garden sticks to the classic backpacker hut formula with thatch roofed, wooden bungalows on stilts. A throwback to simpler times. Nearby, 3 Trees Guesthouse guesthouse has a handful of fan and aircon rooms, and prices from a few hundred Baht/night. Their low season deals are also a bargain.
Following the side street in the middle of the village will bring you down to Green Cottages, owned by a Thai singer/actress and with fan & AC and a small pool, big enough to cool off in but you won’t be doing laps.
Also down here by the sea are couple more longstanding resorts with bungalows by the shore. Elephant Bay Resort which is better value than most budget resorts as it has a pool, large garden area and there’s some funky decor in the restaurant / reception / bar area.
Rounding off the resorts, at the end of the road is Koh Chang 7 Guesthouse, some interesting pre-fab AC bungalows right by the shore and more traditional ones behind. Also has a large Korean restaurant – well worth trying, the owner is Korean.
For at least a little bit of a sandy beach you then have to head back to the main road and south a couple of hundred metres, take the turning to Lucky Gecko Garden, flashpacker bungalows that always get good reviews, to ‘The Whitehouse’.
This has pretty good bungalows and a very nice freeform pool right by the sea. There are cheaper rooms in a hotel block at the rear of the restaurant, these look out over the car park. But as the resort is usually quiet, you should be able to get a good deal on a bungalow even in high season. They have a small beach which seems to be formed from sand that has washed over from the Mercure Hideaway next door.
The Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway is a resort owned by the ferry companies but managed by Accor. The resort itself isn’t what you’d call attractive, it’s concrete and more concrete with not a lot of garden area or open space, other than the car park. However, prices are often very good for a 4 star hotel – with some excellent deals outside of the High Season. And the rooms are stylish and modern. Nice place if you want to relax by the pool, not so good if you want to swim in the sea ( shallow water and rocks underfoot ) or walk along the sand for more than 50 metres.
There was never a real beach here. Just rocks. However it’s amazing what a couple of breakwaters and several thousand tons of sand can do.
The big plus is that adjacent to the resort is a very laid back beach bar / restaurant called ‘Lisca Beach‘. If you stay at the Mercure you’ll probably find yourself hanging out beachside here. It’s only open from November – April.
Map of Bailan beach
This is just the highlights to help familiarize yourself with the area.
Bailan bay itself is very beautiful, a kilometre wide crescent of shallow water. At low tide you can see locals and workers from the hotels wading out a couple of hundred metres to collect shellfish and crabs. The shore is still lined by mangrove in some places, although most resort owners have decided that their properties are more attractive to visitors if it’s cut down.
Back in 2003, we met the guy who was supervising the land clearing in preparation for the construction of, what is now, the Mercure Hideaway. He had a small shack on the land and used to get up early to watch the dolphins that could be seen off the southern tip of the bay. He’s long gone and so are the dolphins.
On the main road the village centre of Bailan is one of those ‘blink and you miss it’ places, it’s hard to tell when you are in the centre of the hamlet and by the time you realise you are, you are already heading up the hill and on towards Bangbao.
In the centre there is a cluster of small restaurants and a couple of local families have also now turned their houses into small homestays and discovered that visiting backpackers would prefer cornflakes for breakfast rather than rice and Thai curry. A revelation made all the more pleasing by the fact that the profit margins on cornflakes, sandwiches and English teabags are far higher than those on a plate of ‘Pad kapow moo sap’ and a 15 Baht bottle of Coke.
Opposite the Mercure Hideaway is ‘Rock Inn’, the last place to stay before you leave Bailan, this has a restaurant and bungalows with scenic views overlooking the Mercure Hideaway.
Adjacent to the Mercure Hideaway, on the cape, is the Treetop Adventure Park, an example of an eco-friendly attraction that provides fun, thrills with a unique way to see the island from way up in the jungle canopy.
Safety is obviously a concern when there’s just a wire preventing you from plummeting to your death, but the multitude of ziplines, rope climbs, bridges and obstacles way up in the trees have been put together by a French team that specialise in such things.
There are safety procedures and a mandatory training session before you are allowed to head off on your own. A deservedly popular attraction and one where you can easily spend a half day. There is also a course for young kids aged 5-9, so no need for to leave them locked in the hotel room whilst the rest of the family go out and have fun.
And a more Artistic Map
This excellent map of Bailan village was made by Arm Yoojarearn from Lisca Beach in Bailan.
Whilst Bailan isn’t for beach bums and not really ideal for families with young kids, anyone looking for a place to stay long term, is looking for good value accommodation or planning a dive holiday should consider Bailan as a place to base themselves. The simple reasons are that it offers a fairly cheap, quiet place to stay whilst being only 5 minutes motorbike ride from the nightlife on Lonely Beach to the north and under 10 minutes ride to the dive centres and laid back Klong Kloi beach in Bangbao to the south.
Despite the current development it’s still far less tacky and loud than Lonely Beach, making it a good spot to do nothing except enjoy the views from your hammock and read a book.
Hotels in Bailan
These resorts and bungalows are in Bailan and are all 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.
Bailan Beach Resort – The beach is a bit of a misnomer, but good value rooms by the sea & a pool – 1,600 Baht
Koh Chang 7 Guesthouse (Formerly Bailan Hut) – Budget fan and aircon bungalows by the sea – 650 Baht
Elephant Bay Resort – Laid back flashpacker bungalows around large beachfront garden with a pool – 850 Baht
Lazy Republique – Small, friendly resort with just a handful of rooms and great reviews – 1,100 Baht
Red Moon Hideaway – The top rated resort in Bailan. Cosy, boutique bungalows and pool in the centre of the village – 2,600 Baht
White House Bailan – Older resort with seafront bungalows and pool – 1,400 Baht
Mercure Hideaway – Large 4 star resort with private beach from the well know resort chain – 2,800 Baht
Baansanook Bungalows – AC bungalows set around a pool just off the main road – 900 Baht
Jungle Garden – Wooden huts and the island’s best hammock store – 700 Baht
Fresh – New, value for moneyAC bungalows in a garden setting – 1,000 Baht
Google Map of the Lonely Beach area
More details and Reviews of hotels and resorts in the Bailan area
Next: Winding down to Bangbao
