How to Get from Bangkok to Rayong

The fastest way from Bangkok to Rayong is by car on Motorway 7: about 2.5 hours to Ban Phe, the pier town for Koh Samet. The cheapest way is a public minibus or coach from Ekkamai: about 180–210 THB per person to Rayong city, or from about 184 THB to Nuan Thip pier in Ban Phe, in about 3 to 3.5 hours. For door-to-door travel, a Smile Taxi Service private transfer from Bangkok to Ban Phe Pier takes about 2.5 hours and costs 2,000 THB per sedan, tolls included.

Distance and travel time overview

The road distance from Bangkok to Rayong is about 182 km (bus booking sites' figure). The fast road is Motorway 7, which runs past Chonburi and Pattaya and, since an extension opened in May 2020, continues to Map Ta Phut in Rayong province.

A car takes about 2.5 hours to Ban Phe, longer in heavy traffic. Minibuses take about 3 hours to Rayong city, and the direct coach about 3.5 hours to Ban Phe.

Rayong is both a province and a town. Decide where you are going:

• Rayong city is the provincial capital. Buses and minibuses from Bangkok to Rayong city arrive at Rayong Bus Terminal 2, on Highway 3215, outside the old town centre.
• Ban Phe is the pier town for boats to Koh Samet.
• Beach areas such as Mae Ramphueng and Laem Mae Phim lie along the coast; most trips there need a local ride or a private car.

Bangkok to Rayong: options compared

Third-party prices and times were checked in September 2026. Bus fares in Thailand changed five times between April and September 2026 with diesel prices, so confirm the fare with the operator.

Private transfer with Smile Taxi Service

A private transfer takes you from your hotel, home or airport straight to Ban Phe Pier. The fare is fixed, per vehicle (not per person), one way, with expressway tolls included. There is no meter, and the price is the same for one passenger or a full car.

• Bangkok to Ban Phe Pier: book a sedan, SUV or van.
• Suvarnabhumi to Ban Phe Pier: book a sedan, SUV or van.
• Don Mueang to Ban Phe Pier: book a sedan, SUV or van.

Going to Rayong city or a beach? There is no fixed fare to Rayong city, Mae Ramphueng, Laem Mae Phim or other Rayong addresses. Send the address on WhatsApp or LINE for a quote. All fixed routes are on the fare list page.

Included: tolls; at the airport, 60 minutes of free waiting from the time your flight actually lands (a person checks your flight); the driver's name, car and plate number sent before the trip; and a free 500 MB Thailand eSIM with an airport pickup, if you ask when booking.

Meeting your driver: at Suvarnabhumi, Level 4 (Departures), near Gate 4, in the pickup lane. At Don Mueang, Level 3 (Departures); the airport has two terminals, so the exact door comes with the driver's details. At both airports, message on WhatsApp or LINE once you have your bags; the car pulls up in about 5–10 minutes. At hotels, the driver meets you at the door.

Extras on request: name sign at arrivals +100 THB, child seat +100 THB, extra stops +250 THB per hour, and Bangkok pickups or drop-offs west of the Chao Phraya river (Thonburi side) +100–200 THB. Not every driver speaks English; you can request an English-speaking driver when booking, subject to availability.

Payment and cancellation: pay the driver in cash (Thai baht) at the end of the trip. The website takes no online payment and no deposit. If you can only pay by card, for example because you have not changed money yet, message the team for a PayPal payment link; a 5% fee is added. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before pickup.

Pros: door to door, no change of vehicle, and one price for the whole car. Cons: more expensive than the bus for one or two people, and the fixed fare covers Ban Phe Pier only.

Smile Taxi Service is rated 5.0 on Google and 5.0 on Tripadvisor.

Minibus to Rayong city: Rayong Tour

Rayong Tour (ระยองทัวร์ขนส่ง 789) runs air-conditioned minibuses with about 20 seats. Departures from Bangkok run between about 05:00 and 20:30, roughly every hour from Ekkamai. The fare is about 180–210 THB.

Boarding points in Bangkok:

• Ekkamai (Eastern Bus Terminal), counters 19–20.
• Mo Chit new van terminal in Chatuchak, Building C, counter C4.
• Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai), platform 8.
• MRT Si Iam station, and the Airport Rail Link station at Lat Krabang (not inside the Suvarnabhumi terminal).

Stops in Rayong: Nong Bon, Map Ya intersection, Rayong Bus Terminal 2 (about 2 hours 40 minutes to 2 hours 55 minutes from Ekkamai), Passione Shopping Destination and the Rayong Tour office (Sai 4, about 3 hours).

Be at the counter 30 minutes before departure. Tickets are sold at the counters and through BusX (website, app or LINE @BusX); book ahead at weekends. See the Rayong Tour page on BusX, or call Rayong Tour on 096-494-6395.

• Pros: cheap, frequent, several boarding points, and a stop at Lat Krabang for travellers from Suvarnabhumi.
• Cons: fixed stops only, and Terminal 2 is outside the centre, so you may need another ride.

Coach from Ekkamai to Ban Phe: Cherdchai Tour

For Koh Samet, the Cherdchai Tour (เชิดชัยทัวร์) coach is the simplest public option: it goes straight from Ekkamai to Nuan Thip pier in Ban Phe.

• Vehicle: first-class air-conditioned bus (some trips by minibus).
• Fare and time: from about 184 THB, about 3.5 hours.
• Departures: only a few a day, mostly in the morning. Published times differ between sources, so check the Cherdchai Tour timetable page (in Thai) for your date or call the Ekkamai counter on 02-391-2804.
• Cherdchai also lists one daily departure from Ekkamai to Laem Mae Phim, at 12:30.

Pros: no change of vehicle. Cons: few departures, and a late one can miss the last ferry.

Booking platforms also list other companies from Ekkamai and Mo Chit 2 to Rayong, such as Mitdee and Rungcharoenwan Tour, with fares of about 155–250 THB.

Getting to Ekkamai: the Eastern Bus Terminal is next to BTS Ekkamai, about 50 m from Exit 2, and has left luggage open 06:00–18:00.

Meter taxi and ride-hailing apps

A Bangkok meter taxi, or a Grab or Bolt car, can also take you to Rayong.

• Meter: 35 THB for the first kilometre, rising by distance band to 10.50 THB per kilometre beyond 80 km. For 182 km that comes to about 1,745 THB by calculation, before tolls (paid by the passenger) and slow-traffic time.
• Airport taxi queue: at Suvarnabhumi, Floor 1 between Gates 4 and 7; at Don Mueang, Terminal 1 Gate 8 or Terminal 2 next to Gate 15. Airport taxis add a 50 THB surcharge. For trips outside Bangkok, the driver may propose a fixed price instead of the meter: agree the total, and who pays the tolls, before you leave.
• Grab and Bolt: the app shows the fare before you book. Grab advance bookings are possible from 90 days to 75 minutes before pickup and are cashless only (see Grab's advance booking page).

Trains and flights

There is no train to Rayong: the eastern line's trains to Pattaya and Sattahip stop short of it. U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) is in Rayong province but has no flights from Bangkok. If you fly into U-Tapao from another city or from abroad, the Loma Pattaya Taxi Co-operative there serves Rayong, Ban Phe and Bangkok 24 hours a day, without published fares.

From Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang airport

Suvarnabhumi (BKK): the airport's intercity bus list has no Rayong route. Take the Airport Rail Link one stop to Lat Krabang and board a Rayong Tour minibus there, or take the Smile transfer to Ban Phe Pier (1,800 / 2,100 / 2,600 THB).

Don Mueang (DMK): take city bus A1 to Mo Chit 2 (30 THB, about every 15 minutes, 05:45–24:00; it boards at the Service Hall next to Terminal 1), then a Rayong Tour minibus from the Mo Chit new van terminal in Chatuchak. The Smile transfer from Don Mueang to Ban Phe Pier costs 2,000 / 2,400 / 2,800 THB.

Ban Phe piers and the boat to Koh Samet

Ban Phe has several private piers, including Nuan Thip, Tarua Phe, Chok Krisda and Seree Ban Phe (Ao Prao). Boats land at Na Dan pier on Koh Samet.

• Wooden ferry: about every hour from 07:00 to 18:00, about 45 minutes, about 50 THB to Na Dan (about 70 THB to Ao Wong Duan, about 100 THB to Ao Wai or Ao Kui).
• Speedboat: about 10 minutes, from about 200 THB to Hat Sai Kaew and about 300–500 THB to other bays; scheduled trips run around 09:00–14:00, and boats can be chartered.
• National park fee: 200 THB for foreign adults and 40 THB for Thai adults (children 20–100 THB, depending on nationality), paid with the boat ticket or on arrival on the island.

Check boat times on the Koh Samet Ferries website. Coming from Pattaya instead? Read how to get from Pattaya to Koh Samet.

Practical tips for the Bangkok–Rayong trip

• Avoid peak traffic. Friday evenings leaving Bangkok and Sunday afternoons coming back are the slowest times on the road east, so leave extra time before a flight.
• Plan for the last ferry. Wooden ferries run until about 18:00, so leave Bangkok in the morning if you want to reach Koh Samet the same day.
• Tell the driver which pier. Ban Phe has several separate private piers, so give the name of the one your boat or hotel uses.
• From Terminal 2 to Ban Phe: songthaews (shared pickup trucks) run via the old town terminal, and taxis and Grab also work; current fares could not be confirmed.
• Arriving at night: the last Rayong Tour minibus leaves Bangkok at about 20:30. After a late flight, stay the night in Bangkok or Ban Phe, or take a private car; Smile Taxi Service works 24 hours a day.
• Luggage: choose the car by bags as well as people. A sedan takes 2 bags, an SUV 4 and a van 5.
• Children: Thai law requires a child seat for children up to 6 years old in private cars, and anyone up to 135 cm must wear a seat belt. Buses and vans are outside this rule, and taxis do not have to provide a seat. A Smile child seat costs +100 THB on request.

The return journey

• Rayong Tour minibus: departures from Rayong run from early morning (around 04:00) until the evening; check the times for your day on BusX. At Rayong Bus Terminal 2 the Rayong Tour counter is number 4. The minibuses stop at Lat Krabang, where you can change to the Airport Rail Link for Suvarnabhumi.
• Cherdchai Tour coach: leaves Ban Phe (Nuan Thip pier) a few times a day and takes about 2 hours 40 minutes to Ekkamai. Check the timetable, or call the Cherdchai counter at Ban Phe pier on 0-3867-4144.
• Smile private transfer from Ban Phe Pier:

Book the return from Ban Phe Pier to Bangkok by sedan, SUV or van; to Suvarnabhumi by sedan, SUV or van; or to Don Mueang by sedan, SUV or van.

If you book both directions, ask by message about the return-trip discount. For a pickup in Rayong city or at a beach hotel, ask for a quote.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Bangkok to Rayong? The road distance is about 182 km. A car takes about 2.5 hours to Ban Phe, minibuses about 3 hours to Rayong city and the direct coach about 3.5 hours to Ban Phe.

How much is a taxi from Bangkok to Rayong? On the meter it comes to about 1,745 THB by calculation, plus tolls. Smile Taxi Service charges a fixed 2,000 THB by sedan from Bangkok to Ban Phe Pier, tolls included; other Rayong addresses are by quote.

Do minivans to Rayong still leave from Victory Monument? No current timetable lists them. Rayong Tour minibuses leave from Ekkamai, the Mo Chit new van terminal in Chatuchak and the Southern Bus Terminal.

Is there a direct bus from Bangkok to Ban Phe for Koh Samet? Yes. Cherdchai Tour runs a few coaches a day, mostly in the morning, from Ekkamai to Nuan Thip pier in Ban Phe, from about 184 THB and in about 3.5 hours.

How do I get from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Rayong? Take the Airport Rail Link one stop to Lat Krabang for a Rayong Tour minibus, or book a private transfer to Ban Phe Pier from 1,800 THB by sedan.

Is there a train or a flight from Bangkok to Rayong? No. No passenger train serves Rayong, and U-Tapao airport has no flights from Bangkok.

To travel from Bangkok to Rayong door to door, book your transfer online or send a message on WhatsApp or LINE.