How to Get to Trat / Koh Chang (Ko Chang)

Traveling Around Trat
Moving around Trat is fast and convenient with various mode of transports. There are motorcycle-taxis which are identified by their bright-colored jackets. Fare starts at 15 baht and increases by the distance. Mini-pickups which locals call Mazda can transport up to 5 passengers and starts at 50 baht per charter. Should you want to rent a bicycle, available ones are parked right outside of places like Seahouse Restaurant at the intersection of Sukhumvit and Lhak Muang Road. For longer trips to the outskirts there is the songtaew, a pick up truck converted into a vehicle with two parallel rows of seats. Passengers sit facing each other and each songtaew accommodates 6 to 8 people. The following serves as a guideline on the route and approximate costs from Trat town:

Trat to Koh Chang (Ko Chang)
There are three piers in Trat for people to take the ferry to Koh Chang. All three are located in the amphur (district) of Laem Ngob and is a 30-minute ride from Trat.
A songtaew is easily found around the Trat municipal market from as early as 6:00 a.m. Also, main areas where any group of songtaew is parked may have a stand that sells ferry tickets. The fare to Laem Ngob is about 40 Baht per person.

Ferries
Ao Thammachat (Thammachat Bay) has two piers. Koh Chang Ferry (Tel: 039-518-588)aand Ferry Koh Chang (Tel: 039-518-528) operate from 6.30 am till 7.00 pm. The ferries depart every ? hour during the high season (November to April) and on long weekends landing at Ao Sapparos (Sapparos Bay). Both charge 50 baht per person and 150 baht per car for a one-way trip. Traveling time is approximately 25 minutes. Centre Point Ferry (Tel: 039-538-196) starts at 6.00 am until 7.00 pm. Traveling time is about 40 minutes landing at Dan Kao Cabana. The fare is 90 baht per person but there is no cost on the vehicle. There is no discount for a round trip ticket. The frequency is less during other times of the year depending on the crowd and the weather. On arrival at Koh Chang you will find some songtaew ready to take you to anywhere in Koh Chang. The fare ranges from 40-80 Baht per person depending on the distance. This applies to other piers as well.
Travelers should take note that no songtaew is available at Tha Thammachat after 6 pm. Passengers taking the last public ferry at 7 pm from Koh Chang may find themselves stranded without any means of getting into the city proper in Trat. However, if there are enough passengers, there are people who work at the pier with private cars who may be willing to charge a fee for bringing people into Trat.

To Other Islands
Near the Laem Ngob Pier, which serves only fishing boats, is the Kromaluang Chumporn Pier. This is the jumping off point to other islands including Koh Kood, Koh Mak, Koh Wai, Koh Kham and Koh Laoya. Wooden taxi-boats, speedboats and chartered boats are available. About 18 km from Trat town is Laem Sok Pier, also called Siriwhite Pier (Tel: 06-126-7860, 01-377-6475). Here, only taxi speedboat to Koh Kood are available. They carry up to 30 passengers and leave at 1.00 pm daily arriving Koh Mak at 1.40 pm and reaching Koh Kood at 2.10 pm. The fare is 400 baht to Koh Mak and 500 baht to Koh Kood. The fare between Koh Kood and Koh Mak is 300 baht. You can also charter the speedboat at 8000 baht to Koh Mak and 9000 baht to Koh Kood. Return trip from Koh Kood is 10.00 am and Koh Mak at 10.30 am arriving Laem Sok at about 11.15 am.
It is advisable to check the rate and schedule of the ferry services before embarking on the trip because of possible changes due to the season, passenger load and competition amongst the ferry and boat operators. The rates and schedules supplied here is effective at the time of writing and should serve as a guide only.