Transport

Driving to Koh Chang from Bangkok

Driving from Bangkok to Koh Chang

Getting to Koh Chang by Car

Thailand has bilingual road signs on virtually all roads.  They are usually pretty easy to follow and driving to Koh Chang from Bangkok by either your own vehicle or by rental car is straightforward.  Most of the drive is on either six lane motorway or four lane dual carriageway.  Only the final 30km is on a quiet rural road. In fact, there are just a handful of turnings you need to remember, so whilst a GPS is handy, it isn’t a necessity.  

Driving time from Bangkok Airport to the mainland pier is around 4 and a half  hours.   From the centre of Bangkok add on another 30 minutes to an hour.  ( These times assume there’s no delays enroute and you just stop for a quick snack on the journey.)

Briefly, all you have to do is follow the motorway 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 continue past Chanthaburi.  Then, about 23km outside Trat, turn left at the T-junction with 3156, signposted to Laem Ngop.   Around 20 mins later you’ll be at the first of the ferry piers – ‘Koh Chang Ferry’.   This is the better of the two car ferry companies, with a shorter crossing time and sailings every 45 minutes from 0700 (sometimes earlier) – 1900 daily.

To reach ‘Centrepoint Ferry’ the slightly cheaper service, with less frequent departures, continue a further 5km on the 3156.

( If you follow signs marked to the ferry pier which require you to turn off the 3156 before you pass the airport, you are going the wrong way.   These signs were put up by Centrepoint ferry and take you on an 18km ‘shortcut’ to a point close to their pier, avoiding driving past the Koh Chang Ferry pier.)

Route Map from Bangkok to Koh Chang

Video – Driving to Koh Chang from Suvarnabhumi Airport

This video shows the route from Bangkok Airport to Koh Chang.   If you were coming out of the centre of Bangkok, follow signs for the airport and then the route shown is the same as the Googlemap.

Ferries to Koh Chang

Ticket prices  for the 30 minute crossing from Ao Thammachat, on the mainland, to Ao Sapporot, on Koh Chang by Ferry Koh Chang are, as of 2023:

Passengers: 80 Baht one way ( Adults ) 30 Baht for kids.  Children under 7 years old are free.

Cars:  120 Baht one way

There is another ferry – Centrepoint – which is the same price but is slower and has less frequent sailings.  However, since September 2022 Centrepoint Ferry has been closed for renovations to the facilities and boats.  No date for the restarting of services has been announced yet. 

More information, including up to date timetable and ticketing details are on this Koh Chang Ferry website.

13 Comments

  • I’m looking for a transport – 4 people from bangkok-suvarnabhumi to Koh Chang /Kacha Resort/ on 30th April, we arrive at 9:45 /airport/ how much does it cost? If everything is ok, we would like a transport from Kacha /Ko Chang/ to the airport on 8th May!

  • Isn’t it better then to go from the airport to Pattaya and there is a shared minibus to Trat at 10.30? I should arrive at the airport at 6.30 so I think I could manage that. Better than going to Rayong and find out there are no more buses to Trat that day..
    Thank you for you help :)

  • I know there are regular minibuses but I don’t have a timetable.

    I can’t help with taxi fares to Rayong.

  • Thank you Ian,
    are there more busses per they from Rayong to Trat or Chanthaburi? Because I read there is only one very early in the morning. And how much would be the taxi from the airport to rayong?

  • I think you’ll have to take a taxi to Rayong. Then bus to Trat or Chanthaburi. Then pick up truck taxi to the ferry pier.

    There aren’t any direct minibuses or buses.

  • Hi,
    Is there a shared minibus to Koh Chang from the U Tapao airport? It’s two of us, we are arriving at 7 in the morning to the airport and we are looking for the cheapest but also reasonable way to get to the island. Can you help please?

  • A public taxi from the airport will be around 3,500 Baht. But you’ll have to negotiate a price with a driver. Not all taxis will want to come here.

  • Hi

    A taxi from bangkok-suvarnabhumi to Koh Chang South Delden 22/12 forv4 people what does it cost?

  • Hi,

    Can you give me a price. leaving bangkok on the 21/12 going to the marmot in rayon and then travelling on to koh chang Centara tropicana resort on 22/12 4 passengers in a mini bus

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Koh Chang Island Guide For Independent Travellers