Today we rented a kayak at our hotel to go to the small island Koh Suwan, which is approximately two kilometers away. The sea was flat and there was nearly no wind which made it so much easier to paddle than the last time. A little bit south of Koh Suwan is another rocky island which one can also go to by boat, but it was difficult to land there.
It took us around 45 minutes to get to Koh Suwan from Kai Kae Beach. Probably you can go there faster, but we weren’t in a hurry at all.
Right after we landed on a small beach at Koh Suwan, we grabbed our snorkeling gear and jumped into the water. However, we were disappointed, because there were nearly no fishes and all the corals were destroyed. We continued snorkeling along the coast line heading north and then, the farer away we got from the “main” beach, we could see some fish and plants.
By the way, another island which is easy to reach by kayak is Koh Man Nai. You better start at the south end of Kai Kae Beach and then it is only about a kilometer to Koh Man Nai. There are also islands which are accessible for experienced kayakers. They are called Koh Yuak, Koh Pli and Koh Man Nok. But they are around 4 kilometers away and should only be accessed by experienced paddlers.
After our kayak tour, we got a lovely massage at the beach. Just walk along the beach and you’ll find a massage place. Listening to the waves of the sea make a massage double as nice. Massages in Thailand are really a must do!
Here are some tips for a kayak tour on Koh Chang:
- Have a look at the weather – windy conditions can make it double as hard and can also be very dangerous
- You should definitely take some water! You cannot buy it on the way
- Take some snacks to enjoy during break time (fruits are perfect!) but don’t forget to take your garbage
- Don’t forget sun screen
- Bring snorkeling equipment to explore the underwater world (but take care not to destroy anything)
- Bring a waterproof backpack for your camera, mobile, books and other equipment
Diving on Koh Chang
We definitely wanted to go diving, although it wasn’t the best season for it. In Bang Bao there are some different diving schools. We decided pretty fast that we wanted to go with BB divers, as they made the best impression and we can say that we were more than happy with our choice!
We went two days diving with BB divers and we went three times each day. On the first day we took a short refresh course because it was already some time ago that we went diving.
On both days, we had a dive instructor named Chris from South Africa and he did such a great job. Before the different dives we always talked in detail about the route where we would go diving and what we would see. Moreover, the pace was simply perfect for us – we felt very save and completely contented.
Our personal highlight was the first dive on the second day, where we went to a ship wreck (HTSC Chang). There were so many fish – simply amazing! Unfortunately, the sight wasn’t that good, because we went diving in the end of the rain season. Nonetheless, we had six really nice dives where we saw sea turtles, barracudas and other beautiful fish.
The next day we even saw a video on BB divers Facebook page that they saw a whale shark directly where we went diving the day before. So, if you are lucky, you can also see whale sharks on Koh Chang.
The next stop on our trip was the neighbouring island Koh Mak.
