Ban Salak Khok Community

Ban Salak Khok sits on the quiet eastern side of Koh Chang, tucked into a mangrove bay rather than on a beach. It’s one of the island’s best-known community-tourism spots — a working fishing village that has built a low-key ecotourism offer around its mangroves, well away from the resort strip on the west coast. Don’t come for sand: the draw here is the mangrove estuary, the stilt houses over the water, and the pace of a village that still runs on fishing tides rather than tour buses.

The signature activity is exploring the mangroves by kayak or on the community’s traditional gondola-style rowboats, known locally as reua maad — flat-bottomed boats poled by an oarsman, carrying up to four passengers through the channels among the mangrove roots and birdlife. Kayak hire runs around 100 THB per hour through the Salak Khok Kayak Station; the reua maad trips cost a little more but include the oarsman doing the work. Back on shore, fishing families run simple seafood restaurants built over the water, serving whatever came in that day — blue crab and grilled fish are the standbys — and you can watch net-mending and crab-trap repairs or arrange an overnight homestay with one of the families. Income from the tourism activities feeds a community fund that goes back into protecting the mangrove forest.

Insider Tip: Go out on the water in the late afternoon rather than midday — the light is softer for photos, the tide is usually more forgiving for kayaking the narrower channels, and you’ll catch the fishing boats coming back in with the day’s catch.

The absence of jet skis, parasailing and beach vendors gives Salak Khok a different rhythm to the rest of Koh Chang. Children play by the water while older residents mend nets in the shade of the stilt houses, and a conversation with someone at the kayak station often turns into an offer to show you how the crab traps work. Watch out: mosquitoes are persistent in the mangrove shade, especially at dusk — bring repellent, and expect muddy paths at low tide if you’re walking rather than boating.

Reaching Ban Salak Khok means taking the ferry from Trat to Koh Chang, then driving across the island to its east coast — about 20-30 minutes from the main piers, noticeably quieter than the western beach strip. The cool, dry months from November to February are the most comfortable for being out on the water; the rainy season (June-October) brings lush mangroves but also sudden downpours. Bring insect repellent, sun protection, and cash for the kayak station and seafood rafts, since card payment isn’t reliable this far from the resorts.