Bang Bao Pier: Koh Chang Travel Guide (4.3★)

A village on stilts, one plank wide

Bang Bao began as a fishing village. The houses stand on stilts over the water, joined by a single long walkway that runs out into the bay. Most of those homes are now shopfronts, and the walkway has become a covered market street with sea on either side.

It is one of the most visited spots on Koh Chang, so don’t expect it to yourself. What you do get is the island’s clearest picture of how the south coast used to live. Boats tie up straight below the shop floors, and the bay opens out at the far end.

Walking the wharf end to end

Pretty much everyone walks the whole length, entrance to tip. The first stretch is shops almost door to door, and the walkway is narrow enough that you are always passing someone.

• Handicraft and souvenir stalls: clothes, shell work, carvings, beachwear.
• Dive and tour offices: snorkelling day trips and speedboat tickets to the outer islands.
• Small cafés and ice-cream counters: handy for a shaded break halfway along.
• Seafood restaurants: these cluster toward the far end, with tables right over the water.

Give it an hour at an easy pace, and two if you stop to eat. There is no gate, and the wharf itself is open around the clock. Once the shops close for the night, though, there is little to do beyond looking at the water.

Seafood over the water

Food is the main reason to stay. The restaurants at the seaward end display the catch in ice trays and tanks at the entrance. Typically that means crab, prawns, squid and whole fish, and you choose from them.

Because the dining rooms sit on stilts, the views go all the way across Bang Bao Bay. Book a table on the outer edge if you can, since those face west toward the sunset. Lunch is quieter. Dinner is when the lights along the pier come on and the place feels most like itself.

Ordering fish by the kilo

Seafood here is usually sold by weight, and that catches first-timers out. Pick your fish or crab and ask to have it weighed before it goes to the kitchen. Then check the price per kilo on the board or menu, and agree on the cooking style: grilled, steamed with lime and chilli, or fried with garlic.

A few habits make the visit smoother:

• Carry cash for the small stalls. Some restaurants and tour desks take cards, but many souvenir sellers don’t.
• Bargain gently at the handicraft stalls. A friendly counter-offer is normal; hard haggling isn’t.
• Tipping is optional. Leaving the small change or rounding up at a sit-down restaurant is appreciated but never expected.
• Compare boat trips at more than one desk before booking snorkelling or island transfers. Ask what’s included, such as lunch, gear and hotel pickup, rather than just the price.

Day trips usually leave in the morning, so you’ll share the walkway with groups heading to their boats. If you’re only strolling and eating, going later in the day avoids that departure rush.

Getting down to the south coast

Bang Bao is on the south-west corner of Koh Chang, beyond Kai Bae and Lonely Beach on the west-coast road. Coming from White Sand Beach, you follow the same road south through those beach areas.

• Songthaew: the white shared pickup taxis run along the west coast and will take you to Bang Bao. Agree the fare before you get in, and ask about return times if you’re staying for dinner.
• Scooter: the road south goes over some steep, winding hills around Kai Bae. Only ride it if you’re confident on a bike, and be especially careful after dark.
• From the mainland: car ferries cross from the Trat coast to the north of the island. Allow extra time to drive the length of the west coast after you land.

Around Bang Bao

The pier fits easily into a half-day on the southern end of the island. Lonely Beach, a short drive north, is known for backpacker bars and its rocky shoreline. Klong Kloi beach lies to the east of Bang Bao and is a calmer, longer stretch of sand if you want to swim before dinner.

If you’re heading on to Koh Kood, Koh Mak or Koh Wai, Bang Bao is where most of the speedboats and island-hopping tours leave from. Keep the trip-desk tip above in mind. Arrive early enough to find your operator’s boat among the many tied up along the wharf.