Bangkok to Koh Chang: Car-Ferry Guide

Koh Chang sits near the Cambodian border, so getting there from Bangkok is a real journey: about 320 km and roughly 5 hours by road to Trat province, then a car ferry across to the island. The neat part is that your car drives straight onto the boat, so you never touch your luggage between Bangkok and your hotel.

It’s a long trip — plan for it

Koh Chang is much further than Pattaya or Koh Samet. The drive to the ferry piers in Trat is around five hours in good conditions, more if you leave during a Bangkok rush hour or hit rain along the way. It’s a comfortable motorway route for most of it, but it is a half-day on the road, so an early start is your friend.

Because it’s long, this is a trip where a non-stop private car earns its keep. One driver, one vehicle, door to ferry, with a break when you want one. See Bangkok to Koh Chang for the fixed per-car fare, from ฿3,700 with the car ferry included.

The car ferry — why it changes everything

Koh Chang’s big advantage over other Thai islands is the car ferry. Instead of dragging bags off a bus and onto a passenger boat, your car simply drives onto the ferry, crosses with you inside or on deck, and drives off on the island. Your driver then continues straight to your resort.

That’s the difference between a smooth transfer and a fiddly one. With the car-ferry approach, there’s no repacking, no hauling suitcases across a pier, and no second vehicle to arrange on the island.

Which pier: Ao Thammachat vs Centre Point

There are two main car-ferry piers on the Trat mainland:

Pier	Notes
Ao Thammachat	Shorter crossing, generally the faster and more frequent car ferry; the usual choice.
Centre Point	Alternative pier, slightly longer crossing, useful as a backup or off-peak.

Both land on the northwest side of Koh Chang near the main resort strip. In practice Ao Thammachat is the default for most transfers because the crossing is quick and boats run often through the day.

One fixed price for car plus ferry

The reason we quote Koh Chang as a single fixed fare is that it bundles the two things that otherwise trip travellers up: the long drive and the ferry ticket for the vehicle. You agree one number before you leave Bangkok, and it covers the car, the driver, and the car-ferry crossing.

Compare that with the do-it-yourself route — a bus to Trat, a shared minibus to the pier, a passenger ferry ticket, then a songthaew on the island — and you’re juggling four separate legs, four sets of timing, and your luggage at every handover. The bundled car ferry removes all of that.

Ferry frequency and timing

The Ao Thammachat car ferry runs frequently through the day, roughly every 45 minutes to an hour during daylight, with the last crossings in the early evening. Exact times shift with season and demand, so the golden rule is simple: don’t aim for the last boat.

Because the drive alone is around five hours, an early Bangkok departure keeps you comfortably inside ferry hours with margin to spare. Miss the last car ferry and you’re stuck on the mainland overnight — a five-hour drive is a poor thing to cap with an unplanned Trat hotel. If you’re combining this with a nearby island, our Bangkok to Koh Samet route covers the shorter Rayong crossing instead.

Weekends and Thai public holidays add queues at the pier, since Koh Chang is a popular domestic getaway. It rarely means a long wait — the ferries are frequent — but it’s another reason not to cut your timing fine on a busy Friday or a long-weekend morning.

Arriving on the island

Once the ferry docks on Koh Chang, your driver continues on the island’s main coastal road to your resort. The west-coast beaches — White Sand, Klong Prao, Kai Bae, Lonely Beach — string along that road in order, so most resorts are a short drive from the pier. You arrive at your door with your bags exactly where you packed them in Bangkok.

Our honest take

Koh Chang is a long way from Bangkok, and there’s no getting around the five-hour drive — but the car ferry makes the rest of it genuinely easy. If you’re travelling with luggage, family, or just want one clean fare instead of four separate tickets, the bundled car-plus-ferry transfer is the sane choice. Check our prices or send your resort name and we’ll quote the whole journey, ferry included.