Timetables for planes, buses and boats

Before you email to ask, there are no trains due to the lack of  railway tracks in this part of Thailand. The timetables below probably won’t vary too much over the 2011-12 High Season.  Inter-island boat schedules are at the bottom of the page and these too remain pretty similar year on year.

If there are any major changes/additions I will update the info accordingly.  But getting here has never been easier, with more buses, direct minibuses and even flights from exotic locations such as Bangkok and Samui, being added every year.

Buy tickets for minibuses and inter island boat services from any tour agent.  Prices should be the same everywhere, although some hotels like to up the prices they charge guests for tickets for tours and transport, and it’s worth haggling if you have a group of people as a sensible agent should be willing to earn a little less commission rather than miss out on a sale.

Buses

Ideally take the bus between Ekkamai Bus Station and the ferry piers, highlighted in orange below. Ticket prices are around 250 Baht per person.

The buses from Bangkok are very rarely full, so outside the peak season and Thai holidays, there’s no need to book tickets in advance.  If you fancy trying to negotiate your way around a mainly Thai language website then www.transport.co.th is a good site for online bus booking. But in reality, just show up at the bus station 30 minutes before departure time and you should be fine.

Buses going to Laem Ngop don’t go through Trat and will save travelling time. However, buses heading to Trat will often stop about 25km before Trat, if they know passengers are heading to Koh Chang.  So, if you are heading here,  and get asked to get off the bus, don’t worry.  You will be put on a pick up truck taxi to the ferry pier.  (This isn’t free, but you would have to pay for a pick up truck taxi from Trat to the pier anyway, and it does save you time.)

Laem Ngop – Suvarnabhumi Airport
Bus Company	Timetable
Transport Co., Ltd.	Suvarnabhumi – Laem Ngop	Laem Ngop – Suvarnabhumi
	06:40, 10:10, 11:40,13:10, 16:10, 18:10	07:30, 08:30, 09:3011:30, 12:30, 16:00

Ekamai Bus Station Bangkok – Koh Chang
Bus Companies	Timetable
Transport Co., Ltd.	Bangkok – Laem Ngop	Laem Ngop – Bangkok
	07:45, 09:45	14:00, 16:00
	Bangkok – Trat	Trat – Bangkok
	04:00, 08:45	09:30, 12:00
	07:00, 09:00, 11:0012:30, 16:00, 17:3024:00	06:30, 08:30, 10:3013:30, 16:00, 17:3024:00
Cherdchai Tour	Bangkok – Trat	Trat – Bangkok
	06:00, 07:00, 09:3011:00, 12:30, 14:0015:30, 17:30, 19:30 20:30, 22:00, 23:30	07:00, 08:00, 09:0010:00, 11:00, 12:0013:00, 14:00, 16:00 18:00, 23:00, 23:30
Suparat Tour	08:30, 10:30, 12:0016:40, 18:30, 22:30	08:30, 10:30, 12:0014:30, 17:00, 23:00
Chokanukul Tour	13:15, 23:30	09:30, 23:00
Government Bus 99	Bangkok – Laem Ngop	Laem Ngob – Bangkok
	07:45, 09:45	14:00

Minibuses from Bangkok

In late 2011 the number of big bus services form Bangkok to laem Ngop, the mainland ferry piers, was reduced.  BUT new minibus services were introduced.  Minibuses, ticket price 300Baht, no depart from Ekkamai Bus station at 0600, 0800 and 1000. In addition other minibuses leave hourly from Victory Monument, just north of the city centre to Laem Ngop. These all drop passengers at Ao Thammachat, one of the ferry piers for Koh Chang. Returning to Bangkok, there are minibuses every hour from 0730 onwards.   Only downside of these minibuses is that the drivers often have the need for speed.  So if safety is paramount or you are a nervous passenger then maybe best avoiding them.  On the plus side, they rarely crash and when they do not everyone dies.

New Airport Bus & Minibus

The first direct bus service from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Klong Son, on Koh Chang, began on 1 December 2009.  The departure from Suvarnabhumi Airport Transportation Terminal is at 07:30, ticket price is 308 Baht including ferry ticket.  The buses used are brand new, 40 seat Scania’s.   Heading from Koh Chang to the airport, the bus departs from the Klong Son office, located on the main road approximately 200 metres north of the 7-eleven, at 13:30. There is just one big bus running in each direction daily.

In High Season 2010-11 three additional minibus services were being run and a minibus is also substituting for the big bus if demand was limited.  These  start & terminate at Siam Beach Resort, but also pick up at hotels enroute and stop at Klong Son. These depart Siam Beach at 06.40, 09.00, 10,00 and 17.00.

Coming from Bangkok airport,the minibuses pick up and drop off at the airport terminal itself near the Siam Beach Minibus booth at Door 8 on the ground floor at the airport..  At present ( Dec 2011 ) departures are at 07.50, 11.00 & 14.00

Ticket price for the minibus service is 600 Baht for Bangkok Airport – Koh Chang; 400 Baht for Koh Chang- Bangkok Airport and a round trip ticket is 800 Baht. ( Excellent value and the same price as a round trip ticket by shared minibus between a hotel on Koh Chang and Trat Airport.)

Note: You wont find many tour agents selling tickets for this service as the prices are very low – so very little commission in it for them.

Planes

Bangkok Airways owns Trat Airport and so has a monopoly on the daily flights to/from Bangkok.  The prices for the 40 minute sky hop aren’t that cheap, you can often fly Bangkok – Singapore for less, but it is a stress free, convenient way to get here.   The airline has a habit of cancelling flights if they aren’t too full,  so be sure to double check your flight is still running, even in high season.

PG303, PG305, PG304, and PG306 usually only operate during the high season.  PG301, PG302,PG307 & PG308 are sometimes scheduled to depart an hour earlier.

Prices from 1,700 – 2,500 baht/person one way depending on time of year and how desperate for bookings the airline is.  Book online at the Bangkok Airways website.  Flights are rarely full.

Flights		Schedule
		Departure	Arrival
Bangkok to Trat Airport	PG301	09.00	10.05
	PG303	11.00	12.05
	PG305	14.45	15.50
	PG307	17.30	18.35
Trat Airport to Bangkok	PG302	10.35	11.30
	PG304	12.35	13.30
	PG306	16.20	17.15
	PG308	19.05	20.00

New, daily flights between Samui and Trat began in December 2010. These are the High Season schedules, the service runs daily throughout the year but from late march – mid November flight times are 15-20 minutes earlier.

Flights		Schedule
		Departure	Arrival
Samui to Trat Airport	PG260	14.20	15.40
Trat Airport to Samui	PG261	16.15	17.30

Ferries

Koh Chang Ferry

Round Trip: 120 Baht per person

One Way: 80 Baht per person

Round Trip: 200 Baht per 4-wheel vehicle

Koh Chang Ferry Timetable
From	To	Times	Schedule
Ao Thammachat, Mainland	Ao Sapparot Pier, Koh Chang	06:45 – 19:00	Every 45 minutes
Ao Sapparot Pier, Koh Chang	Ao Thammachart, Mainland	07:00 – 19:00	Every 45 minutes

Centrepoint Ferry

Round Trip: 100 baht per person

One Way: 50 Baht per person

Motorbikes & 4-wheel vehicles are carried free.  ( On Friday & Saturday in High Season  ferries sometimes run until 21.00 )

Centre Point Timetable
From	To	Times	Schedule
Centrepoint Pier	Dan Kao Pier	06:00 – 19:30	On the hour, every hour
Dan Kao Pier	Centrepoint Pier	06:00 – 19:30	On the hour, every hour

Inter Island Ferries

Bangbao Boat run services from Koh Chang-Koh Wai-Koh Mak-Koh Kood for around 8-9 months per year.  They will stop running during the worst of the rainy season when the conditions are bad and there are very few visitors on the islands.

Getting between Koh Chang and Koh Kood always entails changing boats in Koh Mak.

Slow Wooden Boat -Out of Bangbao

Depart	From	To	Arrive		Price
09:00	Koh Chang	Koh Wai	09:45		300 Bt
10:00	Koh Wai	Koh Mak	10:45		300 Bt
13:00 Connect	Koh Mak	Koh Kood	14:00
	Koh Chang	Koh Mak			400 Bt
	Koh Chang	Koh Kood			700 Bt

Returning to Bangbao

Depart	From	To	Arrive		Price
12:00	Koh Mak	Koh Wai	12:45		300 Bt
13:00	Koh Wai	Koh Chang	13:45		300 Bt
	Koh Mak	Koh Chang			400 Bt

Speedboat

Depart	From	To	Arrive		Price
10:30	Koh Mak	Koh Wai	10:50		400 Bt
11:00	Koh Wai	Koh Chang	11:20		400 Bt
12:00	Koh Chang	Koh Wai	12:20		400 Bt
12:30	Koh Wai	Koh Mak	12:50		400 Bt
13:00 Connect	Koh Mak	Koh Kood	14:00
	Koh Chang	Koh Mak			550 Bt
	Koh Chang	Koh Kood			900 Bt

Koh Kood Speedboat

Depart	From	To	Arrive		Price
09:00	Koh Kood	Koh Mak	10:00		400 Bt
	Connect to	Koh Wai
	Connect to	Koh Chang
13:00	Koh Mak	Koh Kood	14:00		400 Bt

In 2010, Kai Bae Hut began operating speedboat services to Koh Mak and Koh Kood.   Prices are the same 600 Baht from Koh Chang to Koh Mak and 900 to Koh Kood.  In High Season 2010-11 there were two boats daily in each direction.  These departed Kai Bae at 0900 and 1100.  A good alternative if you don’t fancy the long pick up truck ride south to Bangbao. I use this service when I go to Koh Mak.