Muko Chang National Park

Mu Ko Chang National Park protects 52 islands scattered across Trat province’s coastal waters, with Koh Chang itself the largest and most developed — home to nearly all the park’s hotels, restaurants, and its two fee-collecting waterfalls. The park’s boundary covers land and sea together, taking in coral reefs, mangrove channels, and rainforest-covered mountains that drop straight into the Gulf of Thailand.

Entry fees only get collected at two spots: Klong Plu Waterfall (daily 08:00-16:30), Koh Chang’s busiest and easiest falls to reach, about a 600-metre walk from the car park to a 30-metre drop with a swimmable plunge pool; and Than Mayom Waterfall (daily 09:00-16:30), a quieter multi-tier cascade on the island’s east side. One ticket covers both if you visit them the same day. Everywhere else in the park — the smaller islands, the trails, the mangrove channels — carries no separate landing fee of its own.

Insider Tip: Buy your Klong Plu ticket first thing in the morning if you’re also planning Than Mayom later — the same-day ticket saves you paying twice, but only if you keep the receipt.

The outer islands are where the park’s character really shows. Ko Wai, a small car-free island off Koh Chang’s south coast, has a reef running close enough to shore to snorkel straight off the beach. Koh Mak, further out, trades snorkelling for quiet coconut plantations and a slower pace. On Koh Chang itself, Hat Sai Khao — White Sand Beach — is the developed strip most visitors base themselves on, a contrast to the barely-touched smaller islands a short boat ride away.

Watch out: Boat schedules to the outer islands thin out drastically in the rainy season (roughly May-October) — some operators suspend crossings altogether when seas get rough. Confirm your return trip before committing to a day trip.

November through April brings the calmest seas and the best conditions for island-hopping; expect afternoon downpours and a quieter, cheaper island through the monsoon months instead. Ferries from Laem Ngop pier on the mainland run to Koh Chang year-round; getting to the smaller islands means a longtail or speedboat charter from there.