Salak Khok Fishing Village: Koh Chang Travel Guide (4.3★)

Planks, Posts and Mangrove Roots

Salak Khok faces the mainland, not the sunset. Koh Chang’s west coast has the resorts. This village sits on the east side, in Ko Chang Tai subdistrict, where houses stand on wooden stilts above a sheltered bay lined with mangroves.

You walk in on a boardwalk of timber planks set over the water. Fishing boats are moored beneath the houses. The mangrove channels start where the buildings end.

It stays under the radar because most visitors never leave the western beaches. Expect a working village with a small visitor trade on the side, not a staged attraction.

Getting Across the Island

Plan this as a half-day trip. Koh Chang’s coastal road does not loop the whole island, so the west coast and the southeast are not joined in the south. From White Sand Beach, Kai Bae or Lonely Beach, you drive back north past the ferry piers, then follow the east coast road south.

• Scooter or rental car: the most flexible option. The east coast road carries less traffic than the west side.
• Taxi or chartered songthaew: arrange one in advance. Shared songthaews mostly run up and down the west coast.
• From the mainland: ferries from Laem Ngop in Trat land on the island’s northeast, which is already on the side you need.

Allow one to two hours on site, and more if you kayak.

Paddling the Bay at the Right Hour

Kayaking is the reason to come. The village runs a community kayak rental, and the paddle goes through narrow channels between mangrove roots and out onto the flat bay. The water is sheltered here, so beginners manage it without trouble.

Check the tide before you go. At low tide, parts of the bay turn to mudflat and some channels become too shallow to paddle. A rising or high tide gives you the most room.

After paddling, the seafood places on stilts over the water are the obvious lunch stop. Order whatever came off the boats that morning, grilled or steamed.

Village Manners and Timing

People live in these houses. Treat the boardwalk as a street that runs past their front doors.

• Arrive early. The village opens at 8am every day. Between 8am and 10am, on weekdays and weekends alike, you share the planks with few other visitors and the light is soft.
• Skip weekend middays. From 11am to 4pm on weekends, day-trippers fill the boardwalk and kayaks run short.
• Finish by 5pm. That is closing time daily, so start a late kayak trip well before it.
• Ask before photographing people or looking into homes. A smile and “sawasdee khrap/kha” goes a long way.
• Pay in Thai baht cash. Kayak and food prices are posted at the rental point and on menus. Small notes make things easier.
• Dress modestly on the boardwalk. Put a shirt on over swimwear.

For a longer day, drive on to Salak Phet, another stilt village further down the same coast. Or stop at Than Mayom Waterfall on the east road as you head back north.