Trat Travel Guide
This eastern Thai city is the district capital of Trat Province and acts as a great access point to the islands of Koh Chang and Koh Kood in the Gulf of Thailand.
- Worth It?
- If you are passing through by bus from Bangkok en route to Koh Chang or Cambodia, then it's worth a look. Otherwise it's really only a stepping stone.
- What to Do
- visit the local markets for fresh fruit, seafood and in some cases, locally-mined rubies.
- Best Time to Go
- any time during the hot, dry period from December to April.
- How Long?
- You don't need more than a day in Trat.
- Trivia
- Trat Province is the only Thai province to share a land border with just one other province of Thailand, that being Chanthaburi.
The Cambodian border town of Hat Lek is around 120km to the east and buses from Bangkok take around 4 or 5 hours to reach Trat, which lies near to the border with Cambodia.
Trat is reported to have more markets per square kilometer than any other place in Thailand so bargain-hunters will not go short. Most travelers who visit Trat tend to arrive by air from Bangkok.
The major attraction of Trat is its geographical location. During the Indochina War it was considered a strategic site, and the French attempted to seize it on a number of occasions. Today its location remains its main benefit, offering as it does a convenient gateway by air or ferry to the popular island of Koh Chang.
Travel to Trat - Getting There
Flights from Bangkok to Trat are regular and good value can be had on the budget airlines. Traveling by road, however, is straightforward, with buses leaving Bangkok regularly and taking between 4 and 5 hours to reach Trat via national highways 7 and 3. Connecting ferries to Ko Chang take about 45 minutes to complete the crossing.
Trat Things to Do
Trat Attractions
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