Lonely Beach (officially called Hat Tha Nam) is a charming small beach on Koh Chang’s western coast. It’s located roughly in the middle of the island, just after Kai Bae when travelling from north to south. These two beaches are separated by quite a high hill with a couple of sharp turns that require very careful driving, especially for inexperienced drivers.
Lonely Beach got its romantic name when there wasn’t a proper road leading there and few travellers made it this far. Now there’s a tarmac road from the pier to the beach, with songthaew minibuses bringing tourists to local hotels.
Beach Overview
Lonely Beach is my second favourite beach on Koh Chang (White Sand comes first). It’s small, about 1,600 feet (500 metres) long. The beach is divided into two halves by a small river with a pedestrian bridge crossing it. Standing by the river facing the sea, the right half of Lonely Beach has excellent sandy beach, whilst the left half has no beach at all—just rocks.
The right section has fairly decent resorts (almost all beachfront), though services aren’t brilliant. The left side houses the village where all the entertainment and services are concentrated, along with budget hotels and guesthouses.
You can reach the village via the main road or along a path by the water—about a 10-minute walk. Since the shore by the village is rocky, there’s nowhere to swim (bear this in mind), but you can sit in various cafĂ©s.
I think Lonely Beach suits young travellers best—those seeking affordable accommodation, beautiful spots, and lively parties. They should definitely stay in the left part of the beach. For peaceful holidays, choose hotels away from the party areas, meaning the right section.
Swimming
Lonely Beach’s main advantage is its depth. Just 7-10 feet (2-3 metres) from shore, you’ll have water up to your neck. Even at low tide, you can swim at Lonely, though you’ll need to walk further out. Remember that in windy weather, you’ll get a beautiful show with high waves—depth has its downsides too.
The second plus: despite being an excellent beach, there aren’t that many people here. Apparently, most holidaymakers stay at White Sand, Klong Prao, and other more popular beaches.
Since Lonely is somewhat removed from the well-known spots, people mostly just visit for a while rather than planning to stay for their entire trip. By the way, “lonely” means exactly that—it really is a beautiful, lonely little beach with quite a tiny village.
Sunbeds and Shade
There are sunbeds and umbrellas, but not many. They’re positioned near resorts and belong to them.
There’s shade on the sandy beach section, but selectively—where trees grow. The sand strip becomes wider to the right, and that’s where you’ll find the most trees at the beach’s right end. And as you’d expect on the western shore, shade only exists until midday, then the sun’s overhead and shines directly in your face for the rest of the day.
Beach Photos
Amenities
The village has lots of budget accommodation options, travel agencies, cash machines, massage parlours, and tattoo shops. There aren’t any large supermarkets near Lonely Beach, but you can buy all the holiday essentials—there are shops with bright summer clothes, fruit stalls, and Thai grocery stores.
Including a mini-mart trying to look like 7-Eleven. Lonely Beach’s infrastructure is quite limited; anything serious shopping-wise remains at White Sand and Klong Prao.
The village at Lonely Beach is a party place with loads of Rastafarian-style establishments made from wood, driftwood, and planks with palm roofs and all those island-themed touches. Cafés and bars come alive in the evening—some show films, others have live music, and others blast out disco music.
But unlike Pattaya’s Walking Street, there are no go-go bars, transvestite shows, or numerous “bored” girls. That’s why Lonely Beach mainly attracts young people, backpackers, and alternative types. Incidentally, parties with fire shows and sand dancing sometimes happen on the beach itself.
When you’re tired of lying on the beach and swimming, you can hire a kayak and paddle along the coast or reach small islands. The beach itself isn’t rich in underwater life, but any travel agency will happily sell you an island-hopping excursion around Koh Chang, featuring beautiful beaches, crystal-clear water, and fish.
Another active option is Treetop Adventure Park, located nearby. The tree park has platforms at various heights, and you move between them via rope ladders, cables, suspension bridges, Tarzan swings, and other interesting methods.
Accommodation
The village fun continues well past midnight, so if you’ve settled in one of the nearby bungalows, prepare to enjoy nightly concerts and loud music. Peace-seekers should look for hotels slightly away—either in Lonely’s far right section with expensive resorts.
Or even further left towards Bailan Beach. It’s about a 20-minute walk to Bailan along the road. There’s accommodation near there too—from cheap bungalows to expensive hotels, but the beach is small and virtually all rocky.
If seeking accommodation right by the water, choice is limited:
- Siam Beach Resort Koh Chang
- Nature Beach Resort
- Bhumiyama Beach Resort
A special mention for Siam Beach Resort. Its rating isn’t high because the interior’s quite shabby, but apparently the Thais are gradually renovating and it’s getting better. I stayed at Bhumiyama Beach Resort—the island’s only 4-star hotel, so it was interesting to check. Here’s my review.
To expand choice, look for accommodation not by the shore but in the village near the left rocky section, where unlike the right section, there isn’t just one or two accommodation rows, but many more. Beach cafĂ©s are also limited—these are hotel restaurants and a cafĂ©-bar with pool near Siam Hut bungalows.
There are no rental houses at Lonely, as indeed throughout almost all of Koh Chang.
How to Find the Beach
You can visit Lonely from White Sand, or base yourself here initially, with options ranging from expensive beachfront resorts to cheap village guesthouses.
Access to the sandy beach is through Siam Beach Resort—this marks the beginning of the right sandy section.
The hotel has large parking where you can leave your bike. Then there’s a very long wall and road barrier along the road practically to Siam Hut bungalows and the beachside cafĂ©, with a wide direct turn to shore just beyond (recently built). This road essentially separates the rocky and sandy beaches. There are signs to the sea along the road, so it’s hard to get lost.
For exploring other beaches and island attractions, hire a motorbike. This is easy at one of the local rental shops, but the journey itself can be quite challenging, especially for beginners. Koh Chang isn’t the best place for novice drivers—constant climbs and descents combined with sharp turns make driving dangerous.
One of the trickiest turns is right on the approach to Lonely Beach. So if you’re not confident, better use songthaew services or buy an island tour.
