Hat Ban Chuen

Hat Ban Chuen is a quiet stretch of sand on the Trat mainland, in Khlong Yai district near the Cambodian border — not, despite the similar name, on Koh Kood island. The beach faces the Gulf of Thailand, backed by a coast road that runs between Trat town and the Hat Lek border crossing. There’s no entry fee and no ticket booth; it’s simply open beach.

The sand runs for a few kilometres with a gentle slope into calm water, more sheltered than the open-sea beaches further south on Koh Chang or Koh Mak. Coconut palms line stretches of the shore, and small family-run seafood restaurants sit just behind the sand — the kind of places serving whatever the local boats brought in that morning rather than a printed menu. Fishing boats pulled up on the beach are as much a feature as the sand itself; this is a working coastline as well as a swimming one.

Insider Tip: Combine a stop here with Hat Mai Rut, a few kilometres up the same coast road — both beaches are quiet enough that you can have long stretches of sand to yourself outside weekends.

There’s little in the way of organised activity — no jet skis, no beach clubs, no vendors working the sand for business. Watch out: dining options are genuinely basic and cash-only in most cases, and public transport doesn’t reach the beach directly, so a rented car or motorbike from Trat town is the practical way in. The dry season (November-April) gives the calmest seas and easiest driving; the coast road can flood locally during the height of the rainy season.

Because it sits close to the Hat Lek border crossing, this stretch of coast sees more truck and border traffic than a typical Thai beach town, which is part of why it stays undeveloped rather than resort-lined.