Ko Si Chang

Ko Si Chang forms its own administrative district within Chon Buri province and is accessible by ferry from the Si Racha pier in under an hour. King Rama V built a summer palace on the island whose name commemorates a son born there; portions of the palace were dismantled in 1893 following a brief French occupation and later reassembled in Bangkok as part of Vimanmek Mansion. Today the island supports a modest fishing community alongside day-tripping tourists who come for the palace ruins, Chinese Taoist shrines, and quiet coves. The island has a tropical savanna climate with temperatures peaking around 33 °C in April and a monsoon season lasting from May to October. Ko Si Chang is far less commercialised than Pattaya and appeals to visitors seeking an unhurried, historically layered coastal experience.