Lonely Beach, Koh Chang
2025 – 26 Update
✔ Excellent beach but can get crowded
✔ Cheap and cheerful but now going more upmarket
✔ If you don’t have a tattoo when you arrive, you will when you leave. But please, no more geckos or anything tribal.
For Western visitors, Lonely Beach has long been regarded as the best beach to stay on Koh Chang if you’re a true party loving, backpacker. For Thais, Lonely Beach has long been regarded as the best beach to visit on Koh Chang if you want to see western girls topless.
Lonely beach backpackers
In the mid 1990s, Koh Chang was beginning to get on the map for adventurous backpackers. They congregated on a small, almost deserted coconut lined bay with a beautiful sandy beach. There were also a couple of laid back places to stay. The beach could only be reached by boat or by following a trail over the hill from Kai Bae, where the dirt road ended.
One budget bungalow outfit, at the far southern end of the beach – The Tree House, became well-known among the backpacker fraternity and the success of this ramshackle resort led to a whole host of imitators being set up nearby.
This also led to the beginning of the end for ‘Lonely’ beach. Nowadays, old time travellers would shake their heads in disbelief at the sight of novelty inflatables for sale on the beach which was once a stoner’s paradise hideaway.
Lonely Beach is steadily moving away from it’s low budget image. Increasingly, the old chipboard fan huts with a torn mozzie net, rock hard bed and single lightbulb are being torn down and replaced with air-conditioned bungalows with luxuries such as hot water, wifi and a bed that won’t damage your spine.
Today’s generation of flashpackers have more money in their bank account than ever before and are happy to spend it in order to have a safe place to leave their Macbook Pro whilst they are out partying.
It’s a far cry from when I was a lad and lived of $10 a day whilst travelling for a year in South East Asia. (I was riding a bicycle and ended up sleeping in all sorts of places from disused National Park offices, to temples and the cells in a few police stations in Burma. In mid-1997, I found myself in Bangkok with a $100 travellers cheque, 7kg of luggage and a bicycle. But that’s another story for another time.)
But the one thing Lonely beach isn’t nowadays is lonely. But there again if it was deserted who could you loudly tell your backpacking tales to? How could you enjoy a different party every day of the week? Where could you edit your Tiktoks whilst enjoying a cappuccino & banana pancake? And who would you get to reconfirm your bus ticket to Koh Pa-Ngan or help you report your stolen iPhone?
Another aside, as this guide isn’t very well thought out or planned. Anyone who visited Lonely beach in it’s late 2010s heyday will immediately notice the nightlife now is a shadow of it’s former self. After covid things changed. The gap year backpackers didn’t return in significant numbers. But new business have sprung up and it’s not all doom and gloom. The area gets more families and older visitors with more to spend on better quality food and booze.
It’s also a little known fact that Lonely Beach actually has a Thai name ‘Hat Tha Nam’ . . . .but it’s unlikely that anyone staying there really cares or is interested, just so long as a coffeeshop on Hat Tha Nam can do a good wholewheat gluten free toast, fruit and organic granola smoothie bowl breakfast. Plus has free wi-fi, plenty of plug sockets and will let you stay there all day if you identify as a digital nomad.
Map of Lonely beach
This is just the highlights to help familiarize yourself with the area.
Lonely Beach Accommodation
The actual beach is only home to three resorts. Bhumiyama Plus, Siam Beach Resort and Nature Beach Resort, which has undergone a reinvention in recent years.
Until covid Bhumiyama Plus was known as Bhumiyama Beach Resort. Before re-opening post-epidemic it was renovated and slightly rebranded. The architecture and design is a bit dated but it’s a pleasant place to stay. At the opposite end of the beach, Nature Beach Resort has decent aircon rooms but the pool villas are beginning to look their age now.
A better bet for bungalow accommodation is Nature Beach Resort. Originally a hardcore backpacker hangout it’s now a family friendly resort with a wide range of aircon bungalows and a very popular beachfront restaurant. It ticks all the boxes – beachfront / value for money / restaurant / pool quiet but easy to walk to busier party area.
Finally, Siam Hut, backpacker huts where time stood still. It was demolished in April 2020 as the landlord didn’t renew their lease. As of late 2025 nothing has been built on the site.
If you’re planning on staying any further south than Bhumiyama Resort then remember that the beach runs out here and bungalows to the south will either be roadside, among coconut trees or be a stone’s throw from a stony shoreline devoid of sand.
There are three popular places to hangout on the beach itself, Nature Rocks, the restaurant and bar from Nature Beach Resort is the largest. But a short walk up the beach will bring you to ‘Mimo beach bar’ and ‘Life’s a beach’. Two basic beach bars with menus of common Thai dishes and cheap beer and cocktails. You can rent a paddle board or kayak here, laze on the sand or party the night away.
Another major change post covid is that this stretch of shoreline is now being developed. The land has been cleared and split into plots that can be rented. The area is known at LB Complex. Initially there were just a few small bars and restaurants but the area has taken off and there’s an ever growing number of small restaurants and bars in this area.
The access road, leading from the main road towards the sea, has a few small bars on the right hand side and a couple of places with basic rooms, plus a few small restaurants on the other. Near the sea Beautiful Bar is popular, as is Thaitanic – a restaurant build in the shape of a fisherman’s boat. Rude Boy, 100 metres south is also worth checking out for the ramshackle decor and sunset views.
Down in the traditional tattoo & banana pancake enclave, you will find that the old Treehouse is now long gone. The site of the bungalows is now ‘Seaflower Resort‘. Concrete fan & AC bungalows in a garden setting. It’s a nice spot to stay, although the sea front rooms are way nicer than those at the back which have been packed in like sardines.
Sunset Huts and Blue Sky Resort, follow on from Seaflower and have pretty bland concrete bungalows on offer. Certainly no ‘Wow factor’ at either place, any emotion is more of a “Uh, Yeah, OK is cheap and it’ll do “.
At the far south of the shore, ‘Paradise Cottages’ also offer rather nice, quieter mid-range bungalows. The pool area and seafront have been tidied up and it’s a very nice spot to chill out. But it is Warapura Resort by the sea, midway between Blue Sky & Paradise, that offers the most comfortable accommodation in the area. Bungalows are aimed at older travellers who still like a night out but who appreciate a clean, comfortable place to sleep.
Warapura Resort’s individually furnished and decorated bungalows, with luxuries such as AC, LCD TV, wi-fi, hot water and priced from around 2,500 Baht/night up in High season. They also have a pool and laid back restaurant right by the water. Nearby the new Slumber Party (previously KLKL Hostel) is aimed squarely at younger tourists.
One upmarket option is Nest Sense, located at the far southern end of the rocky shoreline. This is a very nice boutique resort with well appointed sea view bungalows. Providing the lack of sandy beach isn’t a turn off, it’s one of the top boutique resorts on the island.
It’s the roadside areas to the south of the sandy beach, where all of the commercial growth has been – simply because this is the only area where land is available to rent. All manner of small bars, tattooists, small restaurants, dive schools etc abound.
Alongside all the small businesses are budget accommodation options of varying standards, from Magic Garden and Lonely Beach Resort for ensuite bungalows and large roadside restaurants, to Oasis and Little Eden for well run, good value bungalows a short walk away from the madness on a hillside overlooking the beach. Also by the roadside is the top rated, Aussie / Thai Beach Jungle, which has modern bungalows and bright, stylish dorm rooms for weary travellers.
If you choose to stay in the roadside area of Lonely Beach amidst all the bars and clubs, don’t plan on having too many early nights. Ear plugs can keep noise at bay but if your entire room is vibrating due to the bass, you aren’t going to get much sleep.
For food you recognise, try Ploy Talay Inn which often has cheapo deals on evening buffets and is a good place to hang out roadside and people watch. Nearby Lonely Beach Resort also has a good reputation for western food. Cafe del Sunshine and Thale also serve good food from early morning until late night.
You don’t get the range of good cheap Thai eateries that you get in areas of the island that have local communities, but there are a few small locally run restauyrants where you can get a properly spicy pad krapow.
If you can’t stomach dodgy foreign food after a night out, and hanker for the taste of home, then there’s a large kebab & burger stand just off the main road on the way to Sunflower & Seaflower resorts.
As the area gradually moves upmarket and businesses change hands the aim of catering to people looking for the cheapest booze and food is disappearing and the emphasis is more on providing a better value, better quality rooms, drinks and meals for visitors who aren’t trying to scrimp and save every last Baht.
Local landmarks for party goers are Ting Tong Bar and Himmel which regularly have ear splitting music playing late into the night for your ‘enjoyment’. An all night party at one or both of these is mandatory for any visitor to Lonely beach. If you want a place to kick back, drink cheap vodka/redbull shots and listen to the latest dance tunes, plus the ubiquitous ‘Bob Marley’s Greatest Hits’ and watch a fire show, then these places are for you.
For music that’s actually played by musicians, and not a guy with a computer, ‘Nhings’ ( formerly Stone Free ) and their Sticky Rice Blues band is a guaranteed good night out. They also have a full restaurant menu and a new guesthouse which, whilst cheap, is also a cut above a lot of the nearby huts. It’s a throwback to the old backpacking days.
Finally, if you’re female and want a holiday romance with a Thai bar-boy then there are all manner of dreadlocked, fire juggling, rastaboys loitering in this area who will do their utmost to convince you that you are the most beautiful, perfect, fair skinned, large breasted creation since Eve. ( And the most gullible too.)
Just Say No . . .or at least be careful
Wow how times change. Yep, that header is a throwback to the old days, pre July 2022, when being caught with a joint could entail getting locked up and / or expensive negotiations with the authorities in order to be able to continue with your holiday.
Situations such as someone being sold a joint by bar staff and then 5 minutes later the police appear and head straight for them, used to occur. When they did, the bewildered backpacker was in a whole shit load of trouble that the Lonely Planet Thailand Tips app on their Iphone didn’t even begin to prepare them for.
However, those days are now gone and the sale of marijuana is legal. Weed shops (technically ‘dispensaries’, as purchase is only allowed for medical use) are everywhere now. How long this freedom will last is anyone’s guess, as it’s not a policy that’s got much support from the Thai public. Enjoy it while you can. But remember smoking weed in public is still illegal.
Hotels on Lonely beach
These resorts and bungalows are mostly a few minutes walk from the actual beach. They 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.
Nature Beach Resort – Was a backpacker place but now redeveloped into an excellent mid-range bungalow beach resort with popular bar & restaurant – 1,600 Baht
Bhumiyama Resort – The most upmarket resort on the beach. Great pool and comfortable 3* hotel rooms – 3,800 Baht
Infinity Sweet House – Small, flashpacker hotel rooms in the bar area – 800 Baht
Sunflower Resort – Fan and Aircon bungalows in longstanding Lonely beach favourite – 550 Baht
Sea Flower Resort – On the site of the original Treehouse. Good value AC bungalows by the sea – 1,200 Baht.
Blue Sky Resort – Older AC bungalows by the sea plus fan huts inland – 1,250 Baht
Exotic Bungalows – Handful of AC bungalows and a small pool by the main road – 1,200 Baht
Beach Jungle – Covers all the bases from budget dorm beds to flashpacker family bungalows. – 400 to 4,000 Baht
Lonely Beach Resort – Large backpacker hut resort with pool in the busy bar area – 1,200 Baht
Nest Sense – Best small resort in the area. By the sea just south of the bar area, cosy boutique resort – 3,000 Baht
Warapura Resort – Comfortable, well appointed rooms by the sea plus pool and chill out deck – 1,500 Baht
More details and Reviews of hotels and resorts in the Lonely Beach area
Next: South to Bailan Bay
