Koh Chang Taxi
What you are actually buying
Three journeys, three payments, one of them ours.
Anyone quoting a single door-to-beach price is either including a ferry ticket they cannot pre-book, or arranging the island leg for you as a second service. Here is the whole chain, with ours marked.
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Bangkok or Pattaya to the pier, by road
310–320 km to Ao Thammachat in Laem Ngop district, Trat. Four to four and a half hours from Suvarnabhumi, longer from Don Mueang. Fixed price per vehicle, tolls included, paid to the driver.
We drive this -
The crossing
Ao Thammachat to Ao Sapparot, 25–35 minutes. About 90 THB a foot passenger, about 200 THB for a car. Cash at the window, on the day — there is no online booking, no app, no card and no QR, for anyone, us included.
You buy at the pier -
The island road to your beach
Shared songthaews meet the boats until roughly 17:00. After that it is a pickup arranged with your hotel, booked before you leave Bangkok. Nobody publishes a rate for it; ask your resort.
Your hotel arranges
Taking the car across is separate. A standard transfer drops you at the pier and you board on foot. Putting the vehicle on the ferry costs about 200 THB plus the passengers, and on a Thai public holiday the vehicle queue at Ao Thammachat is what makes people miss boats. Agree it when you book, not at the pier.
Thirteen sailings · identical both ways
The whole timetable.
One operator, one route. Apart from the first and the last, boats tend to leave when they fill rather than on the clock, so allow for a wait of up to an hour in high season.
- 06:30First
- 07:45
- 08:45
- 09:45
- 10:45
- 11:45
- 12:45
- 13:45
- 14:45
- 15:45Songthaews still run
- 16:45Marginal
- 17:45Book a pickup
- 18:30Last of the day
15:45 is the last departure that reliably lands you while shared transport is still running. The 16:45 gets in around 17:20, which falls either side of the two published songthaew cut-offs depending on which source you believe.
Miss the 18:30 and you stay on the mainland — there is no night service and no scheduled alternative. Laem Ngop is fifteen minutes from the pier if you want the 06:30; Trat town has more rooms and a proper dinner.
Ferry times and fares come from our drivers running this road and from the operator's published schedule. Full detail, including the vehicle fares and both piers' history, is in chapter 1 of the guide.
Fixed fares to the pier
Per vehicle, not per person.
| Between | Sedan up to 3 |
SUV up to 5 |
Van up to 7 |
Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading today's fares… | ||||
Every route runs both ways at the same price — leaving the island, the driver collects you at the pier. Somewhere not listed, or want the car on the boat? Ask us.
Four and a half hours is a long time
Two places worth stopping, both on the route.
Chanthaburi · about 3 h in
Thailand's gem-trading town: the weekend gem market, an old quarter of French-Vietnamese shophouses along the river, and the largest cathedral in the country. The natural lunch stop.
Trat old town · 30 min from the pier
Wooden shophouses and a day market — and where to spend the evening if the arithmetic above puts you past the last boat. Rooms are easier to find here than at Laem Ngop.
Ask when you book and the driver builds the time in — but check it against the planner first before adding an hour to the day.
At the airport
Where the driver waits.
Suvarnabhumi & Don Mueang
Floor 4 (Departure), Gate 4 at both. Lift from Arrivals on Floor 2 up to Floor 4, cross one crosswalk, and the car is in the pickup lane rather than the arrivals crush.
Late flight
We track it and the driver waits, at no charge. What we cannot move is the boat — give us the flight number and we will say honestly whether it still works.
Cash, and an eSIM
The ticket window is cash only and no ATM is confirmed at either end, so draw baht before you go. Airport pickups get a free 500 MB eSIM for messaging your resort about the island leg.
Before you book
Questions we get asked.
Does the taxi take me all the way to Koh Chang?
No — and be careful with anyone who says theirs does. The transfer ends at the Ao Thammachat pier on the mainland, where you buy a ferry ticket for cash and board on foot. Tickets cannot be bought online, through an app or in advance by any method, so a single door-to-beach price either includes a ticket the seller cannot hold or quietly adds a second service on the island.
Which pier do I use for Koh Chang?
Ao Thammachat, in Laem Ngop district, Trat — the only mainland pier operating. Centrepoint's service stopped in mid-2024 and has not resumed, although plenty of material online still lists it. If a hotel email mentions Centrepoint, read it as "the Trat pier area" and confirm the drop-off is Ao Thammachat.
What time is the last ferry to Koh Chang?
18:30, both directions, every day. It docks at Ao Sapparot around 19:05 — after the last scheduled songthaew off that pier, which runs around 17:00 — so the last boat means arranging a resort pickup before you leave Bangkok. Miss it and there is no night service.
How long does it take from Bangkok airport to the pier?
About 4 to 4.5 hours from Suvarnabhumi and 4.5 to 5 from Don Mueang, for 310 to 320 km of road. Counting immigration, the drive, the wait for a boat, the crossing and the island road, a realistic door-to-beach total from BKK is six to seven hours.
How much does a taxi from Bangkok to Koh Chang cost?
From Suvarnabhumi to the pier: 3,700 THB sedan, 4,000 THB SUV, 4,600 THB van. From Don Mueang, 4,000 / 4,200 / 4,800. From Pattaya, 3,000 / 3,600 / 4,000. Per vehicle, one way, tolls included, unchanged by the number of passengers. Add about 90 THB a head for the ferry.
Can I book a taxi from Koh Chang back to Bangkok airport?
Yes, every route runs both ways and the pickup is at the mainland pier. Work backwards from your flight: an 18:30 boat off the island puts you at Suvarnabhumi around 23:30 at best, so an early flight the next morning means a night on the mainland or a very early ferry.
What if my flight is delayed?
We track it and the driver adjusts, at no extra charge and no charge for the waiting. What we cannot move is the 18:30 boat, so if the delay puts you past it we will say so rather than drive you to a closed pier.
Free · 8 chapters · English
The Koh Chang guide.
Written because the same questions kept arriving by LINE. Which beach suits which kind of trip, what closes in the monsoon, and what the hills do to a scooter.
Piers, Ferries & Real Travel Times
The one pier that runs, the timetable, what each leg costs
Which Beach Is Right for You
West coast in order, from the busy end to the quiet one
By Season
Monsoon, high season, and what actually closes
Snorkelling & Island Hopping
Which outer islands are worth the boat, and when
Waterfalls, Viewpoints & Jungle
Inland Koh Chang, and which falls have water
Songthaews, Scooters & Those Hills
Getting around once you are on the island
Eating, Sleeping & Practical
Where to base yourself, and what to bring
Itineraries: 3, 5 and 7 Days
With the ferry times already built in