How to get there?

Bangkok to Trat: We used a van to Trat from Bangkok, there are 2 options to start, Ekamai or Mo Chit for this route.  

Ekamai bus terminal: We chose to start from Ekamai. From BTS Ekamai take exit 2 and go straight about 500m and you’ll find the terminal. This time we bought our tickets online for 390 baht/person and there was also a charge for the card payment. Overall, not too bad of a deal.

Tips: if you don’t need specific timing to go, it could be cheaper when you buy the ticket directly on the terminal but remember the last ferry from Trat is at 7:00 PM so leaving Bangkok any later than 12:00 PM could be too risky and you might spend an extra night in Trat to catch the ferry from the very morning the next day.
Also, it’s better to choose Ekamai / Mo Chit - Koh Chang cost 440 baht/person instead of to Ekamai/Mo Chit - Trat (I will explain later why). If you booked online like we did, you should check the company name, go the counter in the terminal and get the real ticket and they will tell you the bus number. It’ll take 5 hours from Bangkok to Trat.

Trat to Koh Chang (Ao Sapparot pier):
There will be a 2x stop for toilet breaks in between the journey. The small twist here was that we were dropped off in a small shop in Trat. Just for your information, if you happen to be dropped off like me, no worries just go to the small counter and buy another ticket for 80 baht/person for the ferry and wait for the Songthaew (name of the local taxi) came to go to Thammachat pier. Songthaew will take about 30 minutes to reach the pier.

Thammachat pier to Ao Sapparot pier:
Since we bought the ticket from the previous stop so we just directly went to the ferry. The ferry normally runs every hour. From Thammachat pier to Ao Sapparot pier it’ll take 40 mins by ferry.

Tips: the reason I suggest you choose a direct van to Koh Chang. Cause it’ll be less hassle for your trip and it’ll cost the same. However, if you like to explore on your now and do not mind a bit of a longer journey, go ahead with the first option.

How to go around the island?

Koh Chang is quite a big island so if you wanna explore all parts I suggest to rent a bike cause it’ll be more cost-effective and way easier. If you did not drive motorbikes before, no worries. It’s a normal way of transportation here and islands are in general the best place to start you learning experience instead big cities like Bangkok.

There will be a bike rental opposite of Ao Sapparot pier it’ll cost you 300baht / day. The rental in the city mostly cost 250baht/ day.

Tips: You might be asked to leave the passport in the deposit. I in general do this but always try to haggle to leave my id instead. Sometimes when you are a bit more persistent they let you do this. Remember to check your bike - mainly steering and breaks. Koh Chang has a lot of hills that go up and down so good breaks are important. Just take a short ride back and forth and if you do not like the bike, they will give you another one to try until you get your pick.  

Just for your reference, plan one the day of arrival and departure, we rent Songthaew to go to our accommodation since it will take about 40 mins driving from and to ao Sapparot pier. The price for the songthaew quite high it’s about 200-250 baht/ person. But maybe it depends on the destination. There is a bike rental at the pier but we did not used this one.