How to get from Bangkok (or wherever) to Koh Chang.

In brief, as it’s taken for granted you:

a) Will be clutching 800+ pages of Lonely Planet  / Rough Guide guidebrick when you arrive in Thailand and will have spent plenty of time sitting in airport lounges memorising large tracts of it in order to avoid looking like an obvious tourist and wandering around wide eyed and gawping as soon as you arrive in Thailand. Head permanently bowed and buried in a well bookmarked guide doesn’t mark you out as a worldly wise traveller.  It marks you out as someone likely to want to load up on cheap gems at a top secret government sale, that’s only on today, but fortunately is open to luck folks like YOU.  Or perhaps you will be interested in a complimentary tuk-tuk tour of the tailors shops of Bangkok as, unfortunately,  the Grand Palace is closed for Spring Cleaning / Third Tuesday of the Month / Buddha’s Birthday or something equally plausible.

b) Possess enough wisdom, as an independent, worldly wise traveller, to be able to buy a ticket for the transportation of your choice from a tour agent.  If not then a couple of words of Thai and a bit of sign language will get you sorted.  Walk into any travel agent and say the magic words “Koh Chang” to the nearest available member of staff, gesticulate at the wall calendar to indicate your desired departure date and then point at a picture of a minibus, bus or plane.  Hand over the requested amount of Baht & don’t forget your “Kop khun ka/krap” on the way out.  All you then have to do is to find your way to the pick up point or bus station without being taken on the 2 hour scenic route by a friendly taxi driver who’s brother in law just happens to have some ancient Thai artifacts that he’ll sell to you, as you really are a very nice person, for a bargain  price.

You’ll find timetables and schedules for all transport services on this aptly named ‘Timetables & Schedules‘ page

By Plane

Trat Airport opened in April 2003 although very few people either knew or cared.  There are daily flights from Bangkok for those with money to burn or who are horrified by the alternative prospect of a 5 hour bus ride.  The Trat office of Bangkok Airways can be reached on 039 525 299-30.  But you’ll find it far easier and cheaper to book tickets online via www.bangkokair.com. Don’t expect much change from 5,000 Baht for a return trip during high season.  There are two , three or four flights per day depending on the time of year.  But be sure to reconfirm your flight the day before as flights do get cancelled even in high season as they are rarely full, or even half full.

From Dec 2010 Bangkok Airways began operating new services between Trat and Samui ( and on to Phuket ).  The flights aren’t cheap but do make sense if you are doing a two centre holiday and don’t want to either waste a day travelling or have to spend the night in Bangkok.

From Trat Airport you’ll also need transport to your hotel on Koh Chang.  If you don’t want to pay rather a lot for your hotel to pick you up privately a shared minibus service which can be booked in advance operates from the airport to all Koh Chang hotels. The price is currently 470 Baht/person including ferry ticket.  In an ideal world cheap taxis would be hanging around the airport waiting to take people to their hotels – but there aren’t.  You can try walking to the main road and flagging down  local pick up truck taxi to take you to the ferry pier – but that isn’t a fun way to start your holiday.  And if you were planning to save money, you wouldn’t have flown in the first place

Book the shared transfer between Trat Airport and any hotel on Koh Chang here.

By Car

Companies such as Hertz or Budget Car Hire will provide a GPS in English which makes life much easier.  But the majority of roadsigns are in English and Thai, so driving is pretty simple in Thailand. Anyway . . . follow the Bangna-Trat road or motorway (Highway 7) out of Bangkok until you see Highway 344.  Stay on the 344, looking out for police checkpoints as they like to stop drivers for no reason on this stretch of road.  Join Highway 3 again near Klaeng and then, about 23km before  Trat, turn left at the T-junction with 3156, signposted to Laem Ngop.  20 mins later you’ll be at the first of the ferry piers – ‘Ferry Koh Chang’, known as Ao Thammachat to most Thais.  This is the better, but more expensive, of the two car ferry companies, with a shorter crossing time and sailings every 45 minutes from 0700 – 1900 daily. To reach the cheapest ferry, Centerpoint, head about 5km east of Ferry Koh Chang. Crossing time is about 45 mins to an hour but cars go free, so you only pay for the number of passengers in the vehicle.

See this Google Map for the best route from Bangkok to Koh Chang by car.

By Minibus/Bus

You may have thought that getting 4 Israelis with backpacks the size of ATM machines, 3 full figured Swedish chicks, a honeymooning English couple reliving their backpacking days and now regretting it, a muscle bound middle aged German and a bewildered Chinese guy loaded down with camera gear into the back of a minivan was a physical impossibility.  It isn’t, as you’ll discover if you make the trip from Khao San Road to Koh Chang using this form of transport.

Taking the full size bus from Ekkamai bus terminal in Bangkok  might not be as convenient or as sexy, but it means you’ll still have some circulation in you legs when you eventually arrive at the ferry pier.   Figure on 600 – 750 baht for the minibus experience, or for the services that pick up at hotels in central Bangkok around 900 – 1,000 Baht, and around 250 baht for the regular, new airconditioned big bus to the ferry pier. Convenience is  the main selling point of the minibus experience. as it will pick you up at or near your hotel in Bangkok.  Taking the regular bus means getting to the bus station in the morning which can be a hassle if you are staying near  Khao San Road, for example.  But if you are anywhere near the skytrain then it is a doddle as Ekkamai BTS station is only 1 minute walk from Ekkamai Bus Station. Time wise you’re looking at about 4 and a half hours for the direct minibus and  5 hours and a bit for the big bus.

In mid 2009,  a new minibus service between Victory Monument in Bangkok to Koh Chang Ferry pier started running with minivans departing from both locations every 2 hours from 0700 – 1900.  Price 300 baht/person.  Sounds like a good deal, and it is, providing you are travelling light as the vans don’t have much luggage space. The advertising for this service is all in Thai language at present and it isn’t always easy to find the minivans at Victory Monument -  a huge roundabout, just north of the city centre in Bangkok.  But it is a good option for getting from Koh Chang back to Bangkok quickly.  These minibus services also run to Pattaya and Rayong. Tickets can be bought from the mainland ferry pier at Ao Thammachat or from the booths on the main road adjacent to the Ferry Koh Chang pier at Ao Sapporot on Koh Chang.

New minibus and big bus services also started running from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok to Klong Son, a village on Koh Chang and back in 2010. The big bus runs on a fixed schedule, the minibus services tend to operate depending on demand.  In High Season 2010-11, there are three minibuses running on the route at different times of day.  Ticket prices are a very good deal at 308 Baht including ferry ticket for the big bus and 600 Baht from BKK Airport to Koh Chang, 400 Baht for the return trip or buy a round trip ticket for 800 Baht.  The minibus will also pick you up / drop you off at your hotel on Koh Chang.

Why is getting from Bangkok Airport to a hotel on Koh Chang by minibus the same price as getting from Trat Airport to a hotel on Koh Chang by minibus? I have no idea.

There are regular  minibuses and public buses making the trip from Pattaya to Koh Chang. *Tip for independent travellers:-  Don’t feel left out – rent a Thai g/f (or b/f) before boarding the bus.  If not you’ll be the only person on there not playing ‘touchy feely’ and with the neighbouring seat for the entire trip.  To feel one of the crowd aim for a 30 year age difference, or whatever is still legal, between you & the partner of your choice.

By Taxi

It is possible to hop in a taxi at Bangkok Airport and go to one of the mainland ferry piers for Koh Chang.  It’ll require some negotiations with the taxi driver and the cost will depend on both your haggling skills and how desperate the driver is to spend the next 10 -12 hours on a round trip.  With a bit of luck you’ll be quoted around 3,500 baht, if you look wealthy or desperate expect the price to be nearer 4,500 or more.  It’s worth bearing in mind that most Bangkok taxi drivers wont have ever driven to Trat before so you’ll have to have an idea of which direction you should be going in.  The taxis  usually won’t go onto the island, they’ll drop you off at the pier and then head back to Bangkok.  So you’ll still have to buy ferry tickets and then hop on a crowded songtaew to your resort.

Private Transfer by car/minivan

Maybe you want to see a bit of Thai countryside after a long flight.  Maybe you don’t enjoy jumping on and off public transport with suitcases and children.  Maybe the cost of flying a family or a group is prohibitive.  Whatever the reason, more people are now booking private transfers between Bangkok and Koh Chang.  The cost for a van that will comfortable accommodate 6-8 people and their luggage is around 5,500 Baht for a one way transfer, less for couples or smaller families.  Since 2005  I have partnered with both a reliable, well-known Koh Chang based tour agency and also a group of drivers with their own vehicles, in order to provide a private transfer service through this site.  To date, getting on for 1,000 couples, families and groups have used the service and lived to tell the tale. It isn’t the cheapest service, you maybe able to save a couple of hundred baht elsewhere, but if you wanted cheap then you would be on the bus. Instead I use drivers  that I know provides a good, reliable service and wont screw up advance bookings or fail to show up.

No deposit or advance payment is required for transfers.  Prices have been reduced for 2011-12 High Season, a couple of examples:

Private transfer for two people by Toyota Camry or Altis. Hotel in Bangkok or Bangkok Airport to any hotel on Koh Chang.  Price: 4,600 Baht – total.  Including tax, driver, gasoline, expressway tolls and ferry tickets.

Private transfer for group or family, 4 or 5 passengers by Toyota Commuter minibus. Hotel in Bangkok or Bangkok Airport to any hotel on Koh Chang.  Price: 5,200 Baht – total.  Including tax, driver, gasoline, expressway tolls and ferry tickets.

Here are full details of the Koh Chang transfer service.

Ferries

In the old days, pre 2007, there was a wooden boat service from Laem Ngop, a less than riveting mainland  fishing village, where travellers caught an over-crowded passenger boat (a converted wooden trawler) to Koh Chang.  These have stopped running.  Everyone uses the larger, safer, vehicle ferries.

There are two car ferry companies running regular services to Koh Chang from piers on the mainland.  These are ‘Ferry Koh Chang’ and ‘Centrepoint Ferry’ that run from piers about 5km apart on the mainland. Both run services from around 0700 – 1900.  Although during 2010-11 High Season Centrepoint ran later services over the weekends and Thai holidays. Several buses from Bangkok will stop at the piers and you can also catch a bus or minibus back to Bangkok from the mainland piers, rather than having to do a detour to Trat in order to get between Koh Chang & elsewhere.