Advices to visitors

Preparation for your trip

1. Remember to book hotels in advance. In areas where booking ahead is not possible, bring a tent for camping along just in case.
2. Transportation requirements, such as car rentals, train and plane tickets, should also be booked well in advance, especially during high season, starting from 1 October to 31 May.
3. Clothes should be appropriate for your destination, and generally light weight materials that dry easily are best.
4. When chartering a boat, ask plenty of questions to ensure it's the right boat for you. Is it a new or an old boat? How many passengers can it carry? Is there sufficient safety equipment on board?
5. For camping, especially on remote islands or in national parks, be sure to pack plenty of non-perishable food and drinking water, along with other basic supplies such as a good waterproof tent, sleeping bags, and garbage bags.
6. A well-stocked first aid kit is a must on any trip. For a trip to the beach, be sure it contains an extra supply of sun screen.


Facilities on Koh Chang

ATMs & Banks

Currency exchange, money transfers etc, operating on White Sand Beach and Klong Prao are open daily, from 8 am until 8 pm and sometimes 9 pm. ATMs can be found in Klong Son, White Sand Beach, Klong Prao, Kai Bae and Bangbao.

They all take overseas-issued Visa and MasterCard credit cards and global ATM cards, such as those bearing the 'Cirrus', 'MasterCard' or 'Plus' logos.

Post Office

There is a small post office in White Sand Beach. It offers all kinds of postal services that you could expect.

Police Station

Koh Chang's administrative centre is situated on the east coast at Dan Mai and several police boxes are commonly found in tourist areas along the west coast.

Note : For all travelers, if you have any problems during your stay, please contact the tourist police telephone 02 6521721-6 extension section 4. The Tourist Police will co-ordinate with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and is more than happy to provide help for tourists who have experienced difficulties during their stay in Thailand.

Immigration

On Laem Ngob Trat road Immigration Office can easily be found by noticing a blue shuttered shop. You can have a Tourist Visa extended here. A 30-day visa on arrival can be extended for an addition of 10 days. The cost in both cases is 1,900 baht. You'll need passport photos and photocopies of your passport.

In the case that you lost your passport, it is wise to contact your embassy for advices before you contact Thai authorities. It is recommended to have a photocopy of your passport and immigration stamps.

Another way to have your visa extended by 30 days, all you need to do is to make the crossing into Cambodia, get a Thai exit stamp, walk into Cambodia, then go to the office and fill in visa forms. Your Cambodian visa will cost you 1,000-1,100 Baht.

Then cross the road for your exit stamp where, inexplicably, you will be asked for 300 Baht. Walk back across the bridge to the Thailand side, complete the forms for your Thai visa and get your 30-day extension (Hooray!).

Note : A couple of things to be aware of are that there are many touts operating on the borders offering to fill in some papers for you. Don't! And if you haven't brought any passport photo, it is going to cost you a further hundred Baht.