Chiang Mai to Koh Chang Trat

[kcore]

Anybody do this trip by bus? Would like to know the logistics and recomendations. Is there a bus that does a one stop or do you have to change? Spend the night on bkk? Where close to bus stop if have to transfer?

[eyecatcher]

Unlikely you will get a complete trip from Cm.

The buses to that side of thailand go from Ekkachai bus station which is the other one to Morchit...the main one.

But you can get on the skytrain. morchit to Ekkachai aboutn 30 mins.

I once came back from ko chang on a direct bus to the airport as well if you want to fly into swampy .

You can always go to the bus station and see if any coach company are now doing a direct.....expect a 16hr plus trip.

[zippydedodah]

did it last july... fly to don muang then picked up by hired van and driver ... who took us all the way to hotel on koh chang...

3 families sharing roundtrip cost of the van, so it was not too expensive... took about 4 hrs if i remember correctly.

Picked up at hotel for return trip and since we had the time, asked driver to meander along the coast, enjoying the sights

and stopping for a leisurely nice seafood lunch on the way back... turning it into a very nice 6 hr return trip... cuz that is the way we planned it.

[FolkGuitar]

We went to Koh Chang last month...

Booked tickets for a bus from the Bangkok train station here in Chiang Mai (corner travel agent just inside Chiang Puak Gate) We booked our own round-trip tickets for the night train, and this gave us about 90 minutes safety cushion time-wise for the bus.

The bus loaded just around the corner from the front of the station. We were told to wait at the KFC for the agent. He arrived promptly and took us to the VIP bus. The bus was roomy, clean and comfortable, and made a 30 minute lunch stop along the way. The bus took us to the ferry dock in Trat. There I asked the lady behind the counter how to get to our resort on Koh Chang, and she offered a mini-van from her office to the ferry and onward to our hotel. Very convenient.

Coming back, I called the woman at the ferry dock, and she arranged our bus ride back to Bangkok train station. Because of the early nature of the particular bus we wanted, we had to arrange our own taxi to the ferry, but the rest was as smooth as can be.

[Oscar2]

very, very simple. fly to Don Muang or Suvarnabhumi. both airports have mini-vans that will take you all the way to Koh Chang! the mini-van will take you through Chantaburi (very nice) and then on to Trat where the mini-van will go on the ferry to Koh Chang and drive you right to your door of your hotel. and the good news is that it is very cheap. i forget how much exactly but very cheap. pay round-trip in advance for an additional discount. when you are ready to come back, call the number on the mini-van ticket 24 hours before-hand and let them know what time your flight back to C.M. is. they will tell you what time they will pick you up in Koh Chang in order to get you to the airport 2 hours before your flight leaves. they will even come to get you at 5:00 a.m. if necessary.

i recommend Had Kai Bae. nicest beach there. forget the first beach as it's all Russians and very dirty.

have fun!

[FolkGuitar]

I'm surprised so many folks like mini-vans. I find them rather uncomfortable for anything more than an hour's ride. For long trips I much prefer the large reclining seats of a big VIP bus.

[Oscar2]

i just re-read your post. FORGET a bus. fly to one the airports and the mini-van will come and get you. couldn't be easier. why would anyone subject themselves to 16 hours+ on a dangerous bus? plus the time it takes to get to the pier, take the ferry, then take a songtaew to your hotel??? what's that 18-19 or more hours?

[stament]

how long does the minivan take?

[Microwave]

The minivan from Swampy takes about 5 hours. If I remember correctly, the last minivan leaves Swampy around noon or 1 pm. The minivan counter is tucked away in a corner of the ground floor of Swampy. Kinda tough to find, just ask for the Koh Chang minivan and you'll eventually find it.

I also prefer Kai Bae beach. Not many tourists. To take the minivan back to Bangkok, take a taxi from Kai Bae beach to the 7-11 on White Sands beach as most taxis won't take you from Kai Bae beach to the pier. From the 7-11, take a taxi which goes to the pier. Might have to wait awhile at the 7-11 for the pier taxi to show up. Taxis on Koh Chang are songteows marked TAXI btw.

I flew to Swampy and took the minivan to my hotel on Kai Bae beach. On the return leg, I took a minivan to Victory Monument, a taxi to the train station and returned to CM via the overnight sleeper (tickets purchased in advance at the CM train station). Obviously returning to CM via airplane would be quicker, but I decided to get a bottom berth on the overnight train to CM instead of flying back to CM.

Hope this helps and have a great trip if you do visit Koh Chang.

[kcore]

Thanks everybody. Good stuff.

[FolkGuitar]

Let me throw in a plug for 'Lonely Beach.' It's down past most of the others, outside of the 'town' areas, and as a result, almost empty. There are several resorts and hotels on the beach, with prices to suit every taste. We opt for the private bungalows at 'Nature Resort' as they are less than 20m from the water's edge. Four days, three nights cost us 2,000 baht for a room with en suit facilities. The restaurant's menu was well filled, and although the meals weren't anything special, they were tasty enough to please us.

[elektrified]

i thought Had Tha Nam (Lonely Beach) was grotty with older falang biker types, drugged out, tattooed Thai dudes and falangs, and elderly tattooed, dark Isaan prostitutes there. at night fights break out and it's seedy. Had Kai Bae is much more upscale and very few Russians - although on the strip where the restaurants, shops, and bars are located, signs are also in Russian (like everywhere on the island). note prices have risen on everything on the island a good 50% over the last 3 years. i'll be there myself later in the month for a couple of days.

[cloghead]

u thought wrong

by the time u come it will be raining 12-18 hours each day and you'll be dissapointed

so, don't come...

[Microwave]

Lonely Beach is also good, those pics. look luscious.

I last visited Koh Chang in late May of last year for 5 days and there was rain on just one night. The days were hot, so sunscreen was a necessity.

You may wish to post on the Eastern Thailand subforum about how to travel from Bangkok to Koh Chang as well as where to stay. The many replies to your post here strike me as enough information, but perhaps someone living in Trat can add to what has already been posted in this subforum.

[FolkGuitar]

i thought Had Tha Nam (Lonely Beach) was grotty with older falang biker types, drugged out, tattooed Thai dudes and falangs, and elderly tattooed, dark Isaan prostitutes there. at night fights break out and it's seedy.

Didn't see anyone fitting that description while we were there. Didn't see any Thai tourists at all where we were staying, though we did see plenty of all the above when we rented motorscooters and explored the island. The western side has all the 'action' while the eastern side has all the quiet nature, but not many beaches.

By the way, don't rent motorscooters if you aren't an experienced rider. Those steep hills with the U-turns in the middle were a challenge for those without experience, and we saw a LOT of western tourists wearing bandages...

[elektrified]

Right. There is one hairpin turn that suddenly goes straight downhill at a very steep incline on the way to Hat Sai Khao and there is a natural spring or something that continuously drains on to the road at exactly that point! It is an absolute death trap and the place on the island where the most injuries or deaths occur. Non-experienced motorcycle riders should stick to songtaews on Koh Chang.

Edited March 5, 2014 by elektrified

[Microwave]

The road between Kai Bae beach & Lonely Beach is a difficult section of road for bikes as well. Taxis cost 50 baht per ride.

[femi fan]

I can recommend klong prao beach, the one after white sands beach. Fantastic and well chillled out. I always stay at tiger huts, basic bungalows for sure, but step off your verhanda immediately onto the beach. Prices are about 600 baht in high season, and i've paid 300 or 250 a night in low season. Even in high season the beach doesn't get crowded at all, yet it's a magnificent beach. Tiger huts have about 20 bungalows all along the beach with a few second tier ones too. Easy to just pitch up and most likely to get a hut, even in high season.

Their menu prices are the same for beer and food as they were about five or six years ago.

It's a wonderful one km walk through the jungle(ish) ot the town which is not built up at all. All chilled.

Another option for getting there is to hire a car. The journey is almost exactly 1000 kms. When we drive, we stop off at lopburi, the monkey town. Great place in itself to spend time. We drive through the khao yai way and a few of the less busy roads. Marvellous journey. Straight to the pier and on the ferry, and then you're in tiger huts 20 minutes later! If you work out the cost of flights, buses/minivans, songtaews, etc, hiring a car can often work out no more expensive, and if there's two or three of you it will be much cheaper. And you can plot your own journey. Thailand at its very best!!

[daoyai]

Lonely beach is ok but at night the BOOM BOOM of euro-zombie disco makes sleeping nearly impossible (for me).... I used to work there and a room was included in my job, even so I opted to rent further south so I could sleep. Nice island, fun for scootering, dangerous only in a couple places as noted, interestingly almost all scooters for rent are 135cc yamahas, need that extra bit of power to carry the chubby ruskies. Have seen some horendous injuries there .

[FolkGuitar]

Lonely beach is ok but at night the BOOM BOOM of euro-zombie disco makes sleeping nearly impossible (for me).... I used to work there and a room was included in my job, even so I opted to rent further south so I could sleep. Nice island, fun for scootering, dangerous only in a couple places as noted, interestingly almost all scooters for rent are 135cc yamahas, need that extra bit of power to carry the chubby ruskies. Have seen some horendous injuries there .

I wonder if there has been some zoning ordinances passed? While the music was really loud from 7pm-9pm, by 10 it was quiet enough to hear the surf where we were. I'll second the beauty of riding around the island, and the friendliness of the locals too. We had a flat tire mid-way up the west side of the island, and some people living there took my wife in, gave her cold drinks and a place to sit in the shade while I went off in search of a new tire. By the time I got back two hours later, it was as if my wife (who is NOT Thai) was part of the family. Kids on her lap, dogs at her feet, and the family gathered around chatting. Of course language-wise, they didn't speak my wife's language, and she isn't particularly versed in Thai, but that didn't seem to slow down the party.