Trat · Central Thailand
Trat Travel Guide
The province and town at Thailand's far southeastern corner, against the Cambodian border, and the gateway to Koh Chang, Koh Mak and Koh Kood. Almost everyone who arrives is on the way to a boat, and which of the two piers that boat leaves from is the question this place exists to answer.
- Driest months
- November to February 4 months under 150mm, 15 rain days or fewer
- Best for
- Getting to the eastern islands
- Airport
- Trat (TDX), served by Bangkok Airways alone
- Getting around
- Songthaew and taxi. The two piers are an hour apart
Trat is a province at the far southeastern corner of Thailand, wedged against Cambodia, and a small town of the same name inside it. Almost everyone who arrives is on the way somewhere else: Koh Chang, Koh Mak and Koh Kood are all Trat, and all three are reached through it.
Which makes this page mostly about one question, and it is the question those trips actually turn on.
Which pier, which island
Laem Ngop, west of the town, serves Koh Chang. Laem Sok, southeast of it, serves Koh Kood. Koh Mak is served from both depending on which operator you booked.
They are roughly an hour apart by road, and taking a taxi to the wrong one is the single most common way to lose a morning here. The pier is a property of your ticket, not of your destination. Check the departure point on the booking before you arrange anything to reach it.
Out of season the schedules thin considerably on every route, and the last boats leave earlier than people expect.
Getting to Trat
By air is about an hour from Bangkok. Trat airport is privately owned by Bangkok Airways and served by it alone, which is why there is one timetable and no price competition on the route. It is a short drive from Laem Ngop.
By road is five to six hours from Bangkok by bus, minivan or car, and considerably cheaper. Buses run from Ekkamai and Mo Chit through the day.
The rain here is provincial, not insular
- Rainfall, millimetres per month
- Koh Chang, for comparison
Driest is December at 23mm over 4 rain days, wettest is July at 556mm over 30 rain days. Against Koh Chang, Trat is wetter in 5 months of the twelve, and the largest gap is in March.
This is the finding worth having from measuring the mainland, and it settles something the island pages could only guess at.
Trat town takes 556mm in July and 3,146mm across the year. Koh Chang, offshore, takes 566mm and 3,155mm. They are the same number. The extraordinary rainfall that makes the eastern islands the wettest places on this site is not an island effect at all: the whole province is like this, mainland included, and the islands simply sit in it.
The practical version is the same for the town as for the islands. November to March. December takes 23mm and January 40; from May to September the province runs between 356mm and 556mm a month.
The town itself
Trat is a working provincial town of the sort most visitors to Thailand never see, and it has one genuinely good quarter: a few streets of old teak shophouses near the canal, two storeys, shuttered, still lived in. It takes half an hour to walk and it is the reason to be out before dinner.
The night market is the other reason. It is a market for the town rather than for visitors, the food is very cheap, and it is the best evening available to anyone whose boat leaves in the morning.
Almost nobody stays in Trat who is not catching a boat, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. One night, well spent, on the way through.
The Cambodian border
Hat Lek, about ninety minutes southeast, is the crossing for Koh Kong and the Cambodian coast, and it is the reason the province feels different from the rest of Thailand: the signage in places is bilingual Thai and Khmer, and the traffic is trade rather than tourism.
Border rules and visa arrangements change more often than a page can track, so we publish none of them. Check the current position directly before planning a crossing around it.
How the three islands compare
Koh Chang is the big one: a mountain under rainforest, four beaches, a road, and the only nightlife on this coast. Koh Mak is flat, small and cyclable, and the wettest place on this site. Koh Kood is the quietest and the prettiest at the waterline, and the furthest to reach.
They make an obvious chain, and boats connect them in season. Where they sit against every other island in the country is on the islands overview.
Trat FAQs
Which pier do you use for Koh Chang, Koh Mak and Koh Kood?+
Laem Ngop for Koh Chang, Laem Sok for Koh Kood, and either for Koh Mak depending on the operator. They are about an hour apart by road, so booking the wrong one is a real and common mistake. Check which pier your boat leaves from before you book the transfer to it.
How do you get to Trat from Bangkok?+
Five to six hours by bus or car, or about an hour by air. Trat airport is served by Bangkok Airways alone, which owns it, so there is one carrier and the fares reflect that. The bus is much cheaper and takes the day.
Is Trat town worth stopping in?+
For an evening, if your boat is the next morning. It is a working provincial town with a quarter of old teak shophouses and a good night market, and almost nobody stays who is not catching a boat. That is a fair description rather than a criticism.
Is Trat wet?+
Extremely, and this is the useful part: the mainland is as wet as the islands. 556mm in July and 3,146mm across the year, against Koh Chang's 566 and 3,155. The rainfall that makes the eastern islands remarkable is a provincial fact, not an island one.
When should you go to Trat?+
November to March, for the same reason as the islands it serves. December takes 23mm and January 40. From May to September the province runs between 356mm and 556mm a month, and the boat schedules thin out with the weather.
Can you cross to Cambodia from Trat?+
Yes, at Hat Lek, about ninety minutes southeast of the town, which is the usual crossing for Koh Kong and the Cambodian coast. It is a working land border rather than a tourist one, and rules for it change; check the current position rather than trusting a page.