Planning a Koh Chang Trip
When to Go, How to Get There, What It Costs

🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026

Koh Chang isn't equally good all year. The clear-water, good-weather stretch and the monsoon months that get hammered with rain are very different, and because it's an island, getting to your hotel takes a few legs. We've laid out everything you need to sort out in order — from picking your dates down to the budget — so you can plan it all in one pass.

When is the best time to visit Koh Chang?

The best time to visit Koh Chang is November through April, the dry season on Thailand's eastern Gulf coast. The water is clear, the waves are gentle and the skies are open — great for swimming, snorkelling and hopping out to the nearby islands by boat. May through October is the monsoon: heavy rain, rougher seas, murkier water, and some boat operators skip trips altogether when the swell is high.

• Nov–Feb — the best weather, clear skies and calm seas. This is peak high season, so it's busy and rooms cost more. Book ahead, especially around New Year.
• Mar–Apr — still good for swimming and the water stays clear, but it starts getting hot. Things pick up again over Songkran.
• May–Oct — rainy season, with much cheaper rooms and a quiet island, but you're gambling on rain and waves. Boat trips to the nearby islands can be cancelled for days at a time.

How to get to Koh Chang from Bangkok

Koh Chang has no airport on the island. The main route is to take a road vehicle down to Trat province, then catch the ferry across. All up, from Bangkok to your hotel on the island takes around 6–7 hours.

• Van / minibus — board at Ekkamai or Mo Chit 2, running Bangkok–Chanthaburi–Trat, with several departures from morning to evening. It's about 5–6 hours to Trat town, and some services run straight to the pier.
• Self-drive — take the motorway / Route 3 down to Trat, turn toward Laem Ngop, and you can put the car on the ferry across. Handy if you want a vehicle on the island.
• Flight — fly into Trat Airport (limited flights), then transfer by road to the pier. It saves time but tickets cost a lot more.

If you take public transport down to Trat town, you'll need a songthaew on to Laem Ngop pier — about another 30 minutes for roughly 50–80 THB. Leave some buffer here, because songthaews wait until they're full before they set off.

The ferry across to Koh Chang

The most popular ferry crossing is from Ao Thammachat pier (Laem Ngop), because the crossing is quick — around 30–45 minutes to reach the island. Ferries run from morning to evening and carry both passengers and cars.

• Operating hours — first crossing around 6:30 am, last around 6:30 pm, running in rotations all day.
• Foot passenger fare — about 90 THB each way (roughly 190 THB return).
• Car (4-wheel) fare — about 200 THB each way (roughly 400 THB return), driver included.
• Crossing time — around 30–45 minutes.

Getting around the island — songthaew vs scooter

Koh Chang is a long island, with the main beaches strung along the road down the west coast — from White Sand Beach (Hat Sai Khao) through Klong Prao and Kai Bae, on to Lonely Beach (Hat Tha Nam) and Bang Bao bay at the southern tip. There are two main ways to get around.

• Red songthaew — shared pickups running the main road; you flag them down along the way. Fares are by distance, starting around 50 THB per person for a short hop and rising for longer rides. Good if you'd rather not drive yourself.
• Scooter rental — from around 300 THB/day (before fuel and insurance). It's the most freedom for beach-hopping and viewpoints, but you need to know how to ride and watch out for the steep roads.
• Car / automatic rental — available on the island and a great fit for groups or families.

Boat tours to the nearby islands and snorkelling

Another highlight of Koh Chang is taking a boat out to snorkel the coral around the nearby islands — places like Koh Wai, Koh Yak, Koh Khlum and the Koh Rang archipelago. Tours come as budget-friendly full-day wooden-boat trips (around 690–840 THB/person, including lunch and snorkelling gear) and faster speedboat trips that cost more.

A rough Koh Chang trip budget

Your budget depends a lot on how you travel, but here's a rough per-person estimate for a budget-to-mid 2-day, 1-night trip (not counting travel from Bangkok).

All in, a budget 2-day, 1-night trip can start around 2,000–3,500 THB/person. Pick a nicer hotel or add more activities and it goes up from there. These are all approximate figures — fine for setting a rough budget, but check actual prices again when you book.

What to pack and the small things people forget

• Cash — the ferry, songthaews and many small shops take cash only. There are ATMs on the island but not on every beach, so withdraw a buffer.
• Sunscreen and bug spray — the sun is strong and there's jungle all around the island. Choose reef-safe sunscreen if you're going to snorkel.
• Shoes with grip — the roads are steep and some spots are wet and slippery; flat-soled flip-flops slide easily.
• Personal meds / motion-sickness pills — the roads are winding and the boats roll, so pack these if you get queasy easily.
• Rain protection — if you're going in the late dry season into the rains, a light rain jacket is worth tossing in.