Koh Si Chang

Koh Si Chang is a small, hilly limestone island in the Gulf of Thailand, reached by a roughly 20-minute speedboat crossing from a private pier in Sriracha rather than by road. Unlike the mainland Eastern Seaboard, the island moves at a slower pace, known for the 19th-century ruins of King Chulalongkorn's former summer palace, a hillside Chinese temple built into a cave, and troops of wild monkeys that wander near the old palace grounds. With only one hotel currently on the island, it functions as a quiet day-trip or overnight escape from Sriracha and the nearby Laem Chabang port area rather than a standalone beach destination.