Bangkok to Koh Chang Ferry

Thailand budget travel is at its most lopsided on the road to Koh Chang. The same journey from the same city, on the same morning, costs 469 baht a head on a government bus and a ferry, or about 4,600 baht for a private car to your resort door. That is roughly $14 against $138 — and because Koh Chang is a six-hour drive plus a boat, the expensive version is the one most people book from a hotel lobby in a hurry.

This budget travel guide prices every realistic way from Bangkok to Koh Chang in October 2026: the 999 bus out of Ekkamai, the airport minibus, the Trat flight, the ferry that is cash only, and the pier songthaews that charge by beach. At about 33.4 baht to the US dollar, a couple doing the whole return trip the shared way spends about 1,876 baht. The same couple in private cars spends about 9,200. That gap — 7,300 baht, near enough $219 — is four nights of a decent bungalow on White Sand Beach.

Thailand budget travel: every Bangkok to Koh Chang option priced

Read the unit column first. The top rows are per person, the bottom ones are per vehicle, and that single distinction decides whether a family of four should be on a bus at all.

The pattern is the same one that shows up in every Thailand travel costs comparison on this site: the shared option is roughly a tenth of the private one, and the time penalty is an hour or two, not a day. Where it flips is group size. Four adults paying 329 each plus four ferry tickets come to 1,676 baht, so a 4,600-baht door-to-door SUV is only about 2,900 baht worse and saves two transfers with luggage. Two people, though, should never be looking at the bottom of that table.

The 999 bus from Ekkamai, and the minivan that is not cheaper

Ekkamai is the terminal that matters, and it sits directly on the BTS, which is the cheapest piece of Suvarnabhumi airport transit you will use all trip: Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai, then the Skytrain to Ekkamai, for well under 100 baht. The 999 bus leaves at 07:45 and 09:00, stops at Suvarnabhumi about 35 minutes later, and runs straight to the Ao Thammachat ferry pier for 329 baht. The first departure reaches the pier around 13:30, comfortably inside ferry hours.

Ordinary services to Trat town cost about 260 to 315 baht, which looks cheaper until you add the 60-baht songthaew from Trat bus station out to the piers — roughly 30 minutes and a change you do not need with bags. Public minibuses from Ekkamai or Mo Chit run 300 baht to Trat and are faster, but the luggage space is a joke and the last useful departure is around 13:00 if you want to be on the island the same day.

The real trap is the hotel-lobby minivan. A Khao San package at 900 baht per person with the ferry included costs a couple 1,800 baht for a journey they could do for 838 baht on the bus, ferry and a pier songthaew. That is a 962-baht markup for not walking to a BTS station, and it buys you a cramped van rather than a reclining coach seat.

The Koh Chang ferry: 90 baht, cash only, and one dead pier

Two things about this ferry cost people money. The first is that there is now only one. Trat Ferry, the old Centrepoint service, has been suspended since July 2024, so guides that route you to that pier are sending you to a locked gate. Everything runs from Ao Thammachat to Ao Sapparot on Koh Chang's northeast coast.

The second is that the pier is cash only. There is no card machine, no QR workaround for a foreign card, and the nearest ATM charges the standard 220-baht foreign-card fee on top of whatever your own bank adds. Changing money properly before you leave Bangkok is worth real money here: a counter rate from SuperRich Thailand or a comparable exchange typically beats a hotel desk by 0.8 to 1.2 baht per dollar, so a lazy $500 Thai baht exchange costs you 400 to 600 baht — two ferry crossings and a songthaew to the far end of the island.

Miss the 18:30 boat and the cost is not the ticket, it is a night in Laem Ngop or Trat plus a wasted morning. Plan to be at the pier by about 17:00 and the whole thing is a non-event.

Koh Chang songthaew fares: 50 to 200 baht by beach

Shared songthaews meet every boat at Ao Sapparot, and their fares are fixed by destination and charged per person. Nobody is improvising a price — the board is posted at the pier.

Three surcharges are worth knowing before you argue about one. A drop at a resort down a side road adds about 50 baht per person. After roughly 22:00 fares rise, by 50 baht a trip on the posted list and by more in practice in the small hours. And chartering the whole truck from the pier runs 500 to 1,000 baht, which only beats shared seats once you are five or six people with luggage. Hops between beaches — White Sand to Kai Bae, say — are 50 to 100 baht per person, so a week of moving around is a real line in your average cost per day Thailand budget, not a rounding error.

Worked example: two people, four nights on White Sand Beach

Same island, same dates, same bungalow. Only the vehicles change.

The shared version costs about 7,300 baht less — roughly $219, or four nights of beachfront bungalow outside high season. Flying is the other temptation and it is worse value still: Bangkok Airways to Trat runs 2,500 to 4,000 baht one way, and a shared minibus with the ferry from Trat airport adds about 1,000, so two people fly one way for 7,000 to 10,000 baht against 838 on the bus. You buy back three hours and pay roughly ten times for them.

Thailand travel tips: where the rest of the money leaks

Koh Chang is an island, and island pricing is real: a supermarket beer that is 50 baht in Bangkok is 70 to 90 in a beach bar, and cheap food in Bangkok terms — a 50-baht noodle plate — lands nearer 80 to 120 at a resort restaurant. Buy sunscreen, mosquito repellent and snacks on the mainland. Sort data before you go too: a local SIM card Thailand-side from a provider shop or a 7-Eleven costs roughly half what an airport counter charges for the same 30-day package, and coverage on the island's west coast is fine for maps and messaging.

💱 Changing cash before you head east? Our money exchange finder shows the counters nearest you and whether the rate on the board is worth the walk.

Bottom line: your Thailand budget travel savings summary

• The 999 bus from Ekkamai is 329 baht to the pier. Buy at the terminal window; the 07:45 gets you on the island by mid-afternoon.
• The ferry is 90 baht per person, cash only. Cars are 200, motorbikes 90, and the last sailing is 18:30.
• Ignore anything that mentions the Centrepoint pier. That service has been suspended since July 2024.
• Pier songthaews are 50 to 200 baht by beach. The board is posted; there is nothing to negotiate.
• A hotel minivan package costs about 960 baht more per couple than bus, ferry and songthaew for the same arrival.
• Charter a truck only at five or more people. Below that, 500 to 1,000 baht beats nothing.
• Carry small notes. Ferry, songthaew and most beach bars are cash, and the island ATM fee is 220 baht a withdrawal.
• Budget about 1,900 baht per couple for the whole return trip — roughly one night's accommodation, not four.

Koh Chang rewards planning more than most Thai islands because the cheap route and the expensive one leave from different parts of Bangkok, hours apart. If you are weighing it against the south, our comparison of five Thai cities by daily cost puts the Gulf and the Andaman side by side, and Phi Phi ferry costs and pier fees prices the equivalent crossing in Krabi. Getting out of the airport cheaply is the other half of the arithmetic — see our guide to Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang transfers. Then put your own dates into the Thailand trip budget calculator and see what the private-car version would have cost you.

Bangkok to Koh Chang on a budget: quick answers

What is the cheapest way from Bangkok to Koh Chang?

The 999 government bus from Ekkamai Eastern Bus Terminal to Ao Thammachat pier at 329 baht, plus the 90-baht ferry and a 50 to 100-baht songthaew on the island. That is 469 to 519 baht per person door to door, against 650 to 900 baht for a minibus package and about 4,600 baht for a private car. Buses leave Ekkamai at 07:45 and 09:00 and reach the pier in about six hours, calling at Suvarnabhumi on the way.

How much is the ferry to Koh Chang in 2026?

A one-way adult ticket on the Ao Thammachat to Ao Sapparot crossing is 90 baht, up from 80 before the April 2026 increase. Children of roughly 110 to 150 cm pay 40 baht and smaller children travel free. A car is 200 baht and a motorbike 90, with driver and passengers paying their own fares on top. Sailings run from about 06:30 to 18:30 and tickets are cash only, bought at the pier window on the day.

How much are songthaew taxis on Koh Chang?

Shared songthaews from the ferry pier charge per person by destination: 50 baht to White Sand Beach, 60 to Chai Chet, 70 to Klong Prao, 80 to Kai Bae, 100 to Lonely Beach, 120 to Bailan, 150 to Bang Bao and 200 to Klong Kloi. A resort down a side road adds about 50 baht, and fares rise after about 22:00. Hiring the whole truck from the pier costs 500 to 1,000 baht, which is only worth it for five or more people.

Is it worth flying to Trat instead of taking the bus?

Rarely, on cost. Bangkok Airways is the only carrier to Trat and one-way fares run 2,500 to 4,000 baht, plus about 1,000 baht for a shared minibus and ferry from the airport to the island. That is 3,500 to 5,000 baht per person against 469 on the bus-and-ferry route, to save roughly three hours door to door. It makes sense on a short trip or with a tight connection, and almost never otherwise.