White Sand Beach (Hat Sai Khao), Koh Chang

Hat Sai Khao - White Sand Beach - runs along the north-west coast of Koh Chang and is the island's longest and most developed beach, the first most visitors reach after the ferry from Trat.

The sand is pale and the bay faces west, so it takes the sunset directly. Behind it runs the main strip of restaurants, bars and shops, busier at the northern end and quieter as you walk south.

The beach shelves steeply in places and there is a known undertow, particularly in the monsoon months from roughly May to October. Koh Chang is in Trat province, far from the Andaman islands, and its weather runs on a different pattern.