Koh Chang transportation - getting here
Koh Chang, despite being an island, is very convenient to get to since it is located in eastern Thailand not too far away from the transport hub of Bangkok. The Thai road system, at least on the mainland, is excellent and one of Thailand’s main routes, highway three, threads southeast from Bangkok towards the island.
There are also good roads leading from the Koh Chang ferries to the Cambodian border at Hat Lek at the southeastern tip of Koh Chang’s Trat province. There is an airport at Trat which handles direct flights from Phuket, Koh Samui and the Thai capital through Bangkok Airways.
 | Trat AirportAlthough Koh Chang's mountainous national park interior prohibits an airport on the island, there is a terminal nearby at Trat with regular flights to Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui...more |  | BusesGetting to Koh Chang by bus is easy with direct services to the ferry port from Bangkok which stop at Suvarnabhumi Airport plus minibuses from Koh Samet, Pattaya and the Cambodia border...more |
 | FerriesThere are two Koh Chang ferry companies which take vehicles and passengers frequently for the brief hop over to the island with the first departure at 06:00 and the final one at 19:00...more |  | Getting aroundKoh Chang is an easy island to navigate with just one main road that travels most of the way around the coast. Renting cars or motorbikes is popular while shared taxis are regular and cheap...more |
More on Koh Chang transportation
Finding your way around on Koh Chang is simplicity itself. Since there is only one road you only ever really need to figure out whether you need to go right or left. However, it is worth noting that the road doesn’t go all the way around the island so backtracking is often necessary.
There is a stretch of hills separating the end of the road near Bang Bao in the southwest and Salak Phet in the southeast. Speculating on when this loop might be closed is a common topic of Koh Chang conversation. It doesn’t seem like it will happen in the short term though.
The island has public transport in the form of taxis, and in addition you can hire cars, motorbikes and bicycles. But the condition of the island’s road is not very good in some places and there some white knuckle sections of extremely steep and winding hills so you might choose to rely on public transport to make sure that an accident doesn’t ruin your holiday plans. If you do rent a motorbike for getting around Koh Chang then always wear a helmet and refrain from driving after drinking. It is simply not worth the risk at accident statistics are disturbing.
