Trat

Trat is a town in Thailand, capital of Trat Province and the Mueang Trat district. The town is located in the east of Thailand, at the mouth of the Trat River, near the border with Cambodia.

Travel

Trat is at the south-eastern end of Sukhumvit Road, which connects it with Chanthaburi, Rayong, Chonburi and Bangkok.

Trat Airport caters primarily for tourists who travel directly from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Ko Chang without passing through the town.

Trat town is the main centre for road travellers to the Eastern Islands of Thailand including Ko Chang, Ko Mak and Ko Kood. There are regular buses, mostly hourly – taking 4-5 hours, from Bangkok Ekkamai (for Downtown Bangkok) and Bangkok Moh Chit for other destinations in Thailand. Many tourists stop over in a pleasant but cheap tourist area in Trat before going to the islands from Laem Ngop or Leam Sok (15-20 km from Trat); all guest houses can arrange for this although there is a shared taxi from the market (centre of town). There are ferry services and speedboat services to the Eastern Islands, ferries to Ko Chang taking 30-60 minutes - with the speedboat the time to Ko Kood is reduced to an hour.

Trat is also a transit point for people travelling to Cambodia, as it is a 90 minute minibus ride to the border at Hat Lek (again easily available at the bus station). After crossing the border there is a short journey to Koh Kong town where people can stay, or continue on to Sihanoukville by road or by sea.

Early 2006, all bus stops were moved from the central marketplace to a new station at the outskirts of town. However the buses are usually met by local taxis and representatives from the Guest Houses so finding accommodation in Trat is therefore very easy.