Photo: Ajtnk · Public domainEastern Gulf Road Trip
Follow the coast east from Bangkok through Bang Saray, Rayong and Chanthaburi to Trat, stopping before the island ferry becomes a different trip.
- Allow
- 4–5 days
- Route
- 396 km
- Drive time
- 5 hr 10 min
- Stops
- 5
Thailand’s eastern seaboard is often reduced to Pattaya or a transfer to Koh Chang. The better road trip finds quieter beach towns south of the resort strip, Rayong’s fishing and fruit country, Chanthaburi’s old riverfront and gem history, and Trat’s wooden-town calm.
Four or five days reaches Trat without forcing an island stay into the same logistics. If Koh Chang follows, return the car or confirm vehicle-ferry and rental terms explicitly; the island deserves its own road and weather plan.
The road, in one glance
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Drawing the route…
The route earns
its distance
Each pin is selected as a place to do something—not merely proof that you passed through.
Photo: Ninara from Helsinki, Finland · CC BY 2.0Bangkok
Start the car portion at the city’s edge or airport and let the eastern motorway handle the least interesting distance efficiently.
Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 9.1 million people as of 2024, 15.9% of the country's population.
Photo: Kieron Wood · CC BY-SA 4.0Bang Saray
A fishing-town coast south of Pattaya offers seafood and a lower-key first night without pretending the resort corridor is wilderness.
Sattahip is a district (amphoe) in Chonburi province, Thailand. It is at the southern tip of the province southeast of Bangkok. In 2014, the district had a population of 157,000 in an area of 348.122 km2.
Photo: Андрей Бобровский · CC BY 3.0Rayong & Ban Phe
Markets, orchards and the working gateway to Ko Samet shift the route from resort coast toward the east’s food landscape.
Rayong is a city (thesaban nakhon) on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of tambons Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within Mueang Rayong district. As of 2016 the population was 64,256 (est.).
Photo: Ajtnk · Public domainChanthaburi
An old riverside community, cathedral, gem trade and distinctive local food make this the route’s strongest city stop.
Chanthaburi is a town (thesaban mueang) in the east of Thailand, on the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi District. The town covers the two tambons Talat and Wat Mai of Mueang Chanthaburi District.
Photo: Éclusette · CC BY-SA 3.0Trat
A compact wooden-town center provides a thoughtful mainland ending before ferries spread travelers across the islands.
Trat, also spelt Trad, is a town in Thailand, capital of Trat province and the Mueang Trat district. The town is in the east of Thailand, at the mouth of the Trat River, near the border with Cambodia.
Drive the conditions,
not the itinerary.
Separate the mainland route from any island-car decision. Confirm rental and ferry terms, avoid late arrivals at unfamiliar piers and keep wet-season buffers.
Checked against
the people who run it
Distances and driving times are planning estimates. Conditions, closures, ferries, permits and park rules can change, so check the linked official guidance before setting out.