UK citizens can visit
Thailand for up to 15 days (if entering overland, 30 days
otherwise) without a visa. For stays longer than 15 days,
or to avoid any problems with airlines not allowing you to board
flights to Thailand without an onward return ticket, you can buy
a tourist visa for 1,000 baht (£20), see
www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk.
Page last
updated:
21 January 2012
Seeing Thailand by train...
Above: Arriving in Bangkok
by train from Singapore, you really feel a sense of arrival...
Note the
picture of the King of Thailand, just visible over the central exit
from the platforms.
Thailand has one of the best metre-gauge rail systems in the
world, and train travel is easily the best way to get around & see the country. Train travel in Thailand is comfortable, safe,
cheap, environmentally friendly. And unlike flying, it's a genuine
Thai experience making the journey as much a part of your trip as
the destination. Taking the train is easily the best way to travel between
Bangkok & Chiang Mai, a
train+ferry combo is the best way from Bangkok to
Ko Samui, and a train+bus combo is the best way from
Bangkok to Krabi or Phuket. Heading for Laos? Take
the new Bangkok-Vientiane
train. Taking the train is also a
wonderful way to travel between
Bangkok, Penang, Kuala Lumpur & Singapore,
the 1,249-mile journey to Singapore takes 48 hours & costs
a mere $60/£40 or so one-way including a sleeper berth for both nights.
This page has schedules & fares for key train routes in Thailand, and
explains how to buy tickets both within & from outside
Thailand. On this page you'll find:
(1) Train times & fares for the most popular routes...
You can check train times
in Thailand at the Thai Railways website,
www.railway.co.th.
They completely revamped their website in March 2011, and it's now easy
to check train times and fares online. It can
help to know that 'Northern Line' means the line to Chiang Mai, 'Southern Line' means the
line south to Surat Thani and Hat Yai, also the line to Kanchanaburi &
the River Kwai. The Thai Railways main website doesn't sell
tickets, so to buy tickets,
see the advice here.
Thai rail expert Dave
Bernstein has produced a superb PDF format timetable for the State
Railway of Thailand which you can
download, print out and take with you to help you travel around
Thailand. It features timetables for all the main routes in
English, fares, refund & ticket purchase arrangements, details of
bus/ferry connections and much more. Highly recommended!
There is now also a summary version showing just the principal trains
between major stations, without the local trains or bus & ferry links,
download here.
A modern rail link
between Suvarnabhumi airport and central Bangkok opened on 23 August 2010, see
http://airportraillink.railway.co.th or
www.bangkokairporttrain.com. Trains
now run between the airport and the City Air terminal at Makkasan ('Makkasan
Express') every 30 minutes, journey time 15 minutes, fare 90 baht (£2
or $3) and between the airport and the city centre at Phaya Thai
Skytrain station ('Phaya Thai express') every 30 minutes, journey
time 17 minutes, fare 90 baht (£2 or $3). There is interchange stations with the MRT (metro) at Phetchaburi
station and with the Skytrain at Phaya Thai station. It does not
directly serve Bangkok's main Hualamphong station. State
Railways of Thailand trains between Bangkok and Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai
& Nong Khai (for Vientiane in Laos)
call at Don Muang station, right next to the old
Bangkok Airport, about 50 minutes (22 km) from central Bangkok.
However, most commercial flights were transferred from the original
Dong Muang Bangkok Airport to the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
in September 2006.
Thai trains have three classes: 1st, 2nd,
3rd. 1st class only exists as modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars on overnight
trains. 2nd class comes in seat and sleeper versions, in
air-conditioned and non-air-con varieties, and is very comfortable
especially on sleeper trains and the air-conditioned express railcars.
Even 3rd class
is surprisingly clean and acceptable by European standards, and is an enjoyable way
to travel for many shorter trips. The photos below will help you decide which is best for you.
The sitting and sleeper areas of all trains are non-smoking.
1st class sleeping-cars are
modern and air-conditioned, with
lockable 2-berth compartments with washbasin. Clean bedding, soap
& towels are provided. The toilet at the end
of the car even has a shower (cold water, but very welcome). Passengers
travelling alone share with another passenger of the same sex
unless they to pay for sole occupancy. The berths convert to a
sofa for evening & morning use. A 1st class sleeper is a good choice if you want
space and privacy, but the cheaper 2nd class sleepers are perfectly adequate
for most people and in many ways more fun. On key routes such as
Bangkok-Chiang Mai, a steward or stewardess from the restaurant car will
come round and take your food or drink order, which will be delivered to
your compartment. You'll be offered a set menu with a few choices,
around 180 baht for dinner and 100 baht for breakfast. If there are 3 or
4 of you, you can book two adjacent 2-berth sleepers with an
inter-connecting door between them. Train 13/14 between Bangkok &
Chiang Mai also has an ex-Japanese first class sleeper, with
single-berth compartments.
A 1st class sleeping-car, about
to leave Hualamphong Station at the rear of Special Express
train number 1 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai...
1st class 2-berth
sleeper in evening mode. You can see how the seat back
folds up to form the upper berth.
Most western visitors use
2nd class sleepers, which are comfortable, safe and
great fun.
Berths are not in compartments, but are arranged 'open plan' either side of a central aisle. During the evening and
morning
part of the journey, pairs of seats face each other on each side of the
aisle. At night, each pair of seats pulls together to form the
bottom bunk, and an upper bunk folds out from the wall. The
attendant will make up your bunk with a proper mattress and fresh clean
bedding, and will hook up the curtains which are provided for each bunk
to give you privacy (see how he does this in the video below!). 2nd class sleepers come in both
air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned varieties, with the air-con ones
usually being cleaner and more modern, but the non-a/c ones offering
windows that open, better for photography. The fare for an
upper berth is a fraction cheaper, but the upper bunks tend to be
narrower. There's plenty of luggage room, take a bike lock if you
want to chain up your luggage for peace of mind. Security is not a
problem, it's a great way to travel which saves time even compared to
flying, and saves a hotel bill too. Upper berths are fine for
anyone up to 6' 2" tall, if you're taller than that you should choose a
lower berth as these are significantly wider, allowing tall people to
sleep comfortably on the diagonal.
2nd class air-con sleepers, most modern type: These
modern air-conditioned sleepers operate on trains 1 & 2
between Bangkok & Chiang Mai, trains 35/36 between Bangkok & Hat
Yai, and Bangkok to Butterworth (Penang) on the
International Express. There is a washing area with two
sinks, and both western & squat toilets, at the end of the coach.
Soap & toilet paper are provided.
This
is the International Express from Bangkok at
Butterworth (Penang).
By
night, upper & lower berths, each with curtains...
The cars are open-plan, with bays
of seats either side of the aisle.
By
day, a pair of spacious armchairs for two people...
2nd class air-con sleepers,
older type:
These older air-conditioned sleepers operate on train
69/70 between Bangkok & Nong Khai, and on many other overnight
express trains in Thailand. The layout is the same
as the newer type shown above.
2nd class air-con sleepers,
train 13 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai: Trains 13
& 14 between Bangkok & Chiang Mai now use very comfortable
air-conditioned sleepers bought second-hand from Japan.
Unlike other Thai sleepers, the berths are arranged in bays of 4
in door-less compartments opening onto a side corridor.
Each berth has its own curtains for individual privacy.
2nd class
non-air-conditioned sleepers: These tend to be older and
grubbier, but the fare is a fraction cheaper and some people
prefer the ability to open a window, for example to take
photographs. There are fans on the ceiling, and window
shutters to keep out the sun as well as glass panes. I'm
not sure about that green, though...
The most important
trains have a restaurant car, including trains 1/2 & 13/14
Bangkok to Chiang Mai, train 35/36 Bangkok to Hat Yai, train
69/70 Bangkok to Nong Khai. Some restaurant cars are
air-conditioned like the one shown below, some are non-air-con.
The food is remarkably cheap and good, a set meal costs around
150-200 baht (£3-£4 or $5-$6). You choose from a leaflet
with both pictures and English captions. Beer is also
readily available and not expensive.
An air-conditioned
restaurant car on train 1 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
The seafood
dinner, 200 baht (£4 or $6).
2nd class seats on
a Special Express DRC (Diesel Rail Car)
The air-conditioned express diesel railcars
(DRC) are an
excellent option for daytime travel on routes such as Bangkok to Chiang
Mai and Bangkok to Hua Hin, Chumphon & Surat Thani. These air-conditioned trains
were built by Daewoo in the mid 1990s and have comfortable 2nd class
reclining seats. There is a hostess service of a light meal,
coffee & soft drinks included in the fare. The pre-packed
rice-based lunch isn't hugely substantial, so feel free to take some
other supplies with you (and perhaps some beer) if you're hungry. Relax and enjoy the
journey as the scenery rolls by...
Boarding train 9
from Bangkok to Chiang Mai...
A hostess serves
complimentary refreshments...
On board
train 9, the daytime 'Special Express DRC' from Bangkok to
Chiang Mai. It has 2nd class air-con seating.
A 'Special Express DRC', as used
from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on
trains 9 & 12 and Bangkok to Surat Thani on trains 40 & 43.
A pleasant and comfortable
way to travel for long-distance daytime journeys, although slower than
the express railcars. There are both air-conditioned and
non-air-con varieties. The advantage of the non-air-con coaches is
the open windows and unrestricted views, a breeze wafting in as the
train clickety-clacks through the Thai countryside. Photos
courtesy of Graeme Thorley.
In spite of its name, 3rd
class is a perfectly good option for short trips such as Bangkok to
Kanchanaburi or Ayutthaya, as it's generally clean, not usually crowded
outside the commuter peaks, unbelievably cheap, and sitting next to an
open window as the train clickety-clacks through the countryside is a
very pleasant experience. Although, 2nd class would be better for
long trips such as Bangkok to Nong Khai or Chiang Mai. 3rd class
usually has padded seats, but some older carriages have wooden seats. It's normally non-air-con, but air-con
3rd class exists on a few long distance routes.
3rd class non-air-conditioned
coaches.
3rd class seats. Note the soft
drinks & beer vendor!
It's easy to buy tickets yourself at the
station when you get to Thailand. All long-distance express
trains require a reservation, which can be made on the day of travel
or up to 60 days in advance. Reservations are computerised, and
the booking office at any main station can reserve seats or berths for
any journey in Thailand. Your ticket will have the train time
and your seat or berth number printed on it. 3rd class local
trains such as Bangkok-Ayutthaya or Bangkok-Kanchanaburi don't require
a reservation, you just turn up, buy a ticket from the ticket office
and hop on.
Buying tickets at Bangkok's Hualamphong station...
Bangkok's main Hualamphong Station has a
well-organised ticket office on the main concourse. TV screens
above each window show what tickets each window sells. Windows
15-22 are open
for advance ticket sales daily from 08:30-16:00, see the photo below.
The other ticket windows are open at all other times
selling tickets for travel today. Incidentally, the old 'advance
ticket office' in the corner near platform 3 closed in early 2011, you now need
windows 15-22 of the main ticket office.
Bangkok's
Hualamphong station information point, on the main concourse...
Busy periods...
New Year (30 December
to 3 January) & Songkran (Thai New Year, usually 11-16 April).
Normally there's no problem buying tickets when you get to Thailand,
although obviously if it's mission-critical that you travel on a
particular train on a particular date, it's better to pre-book using
one of the methods
suggested below. However, there are a few
holiday periods when booking ahead is strongly recommended under all
circumstances. The two biggest are New Year (30 December to 3
January) and Songkran (Thai New Year, usually 11-16 April). If
you want to travel at these periods you should definitely pre-book,
preferably on the very day booking opens (60 days before departure).
Example train
ticket...
As you can see from
the example below, long-distance train tickets include a reservation
on a specific train, in this case train 35 from Bangkok to
Butterworth. It's for a 2nd class sleeper, upper berth, in
coach 2, berth number 17. The 'TRV' at the bottom is the
issuing office, in this case Travex, in other words ticketing agency
www.thailandtrainticket.com.
Although it's easy to buy tickets at the station when you get there,
if you absolutely positively have to be on a specific train soon after
arrival in Thailand, or you want to travel at peak Thai holiday periods (for example,
around Christmas & New Year), it's a good idea to book in advance.
You can do this in several ways: (1) Online, using the new
system introduced in February 2009, discontinued in September 2010,
but online again as from August 2011; (2) By email or online
enquiry form from one of several reputable Thai travel agencies such
as
www.thailandtrainticket.com; (3)
By email direct to Thai Railways.
Each of these options is explained below.
Option 1: Buy train tickets online at
www.thairailticket.com:
Online booking now available!
Thai Railways finally launched online booking in February 2009,
originally at
www.thairailwayticket.com. This became 'temporarily unavailable'
in September 2010, but an updated system was reinstated at
www.thairailticket.com on 1 August
2011. So once more you can book Thai trains online!
Go to
www.thairailticket.com.
Click 'EN' for English, top right. There's a 20 baht (50p or $1) fee for online booking, plus a 3%
credit card fee.
Bookings open 60 days before departure, down to a minimum of
2 days before departure. Less than 2
days and you'll need to buy tickets at the station.
You can buy
tickets for one to four people at a time, but not for more than
4 people unless you repeat the process.
The system will
book tickets for most long-distance trains. However, it will
not book cross-border tickets to Butterworth or Kuala Lumpur
in Malaysia, or the combined
train+ferry fares to Ko Samui, or the combined train+bus fares
to Phuket or Krabi. For any of these I recommend contacting
Thai ticketing agency
www.thailandtrainticket.com as explained below.
You need to
register first. It won't accept UK postcodes, so use that old
favourite '12345'. If you're told 'Thai ID not valid',
don't worry, ignore this!
After
registering, log on and run your enquiry on the journey planner. Children
under 100cm high travel free, 100cm to
150cm at half fare. Children over
150cm high count as adults.
After selecting a
train, you need to select a class. In the 'coach' column
it can help to know that 'ANF24' means is a first class sleeper
with twelve 2-bed compartments;
ANS40 is the most modern type of air-con
2nd class sleeper with 40
berths, ANS36 the slightly older type. ANSJR is one of the
ex-Japanese sleepers.
If you find
your train fully-booked, don't assume it really is
fully-booked, especially if you're trying to book 1st class
sleepers. The online
booking system uses a limited allocation of seats or
berths separate from the
bulk of places held on the main Thai reservation system used at stations or by ticketing
agency
www.thailandtrainticket.com. So if the online system shows
no places available on the train you want, don't assume that the train is full. There may
well be plenty of places left on
the main reservation system, try contacting
www.thailandtrainticket.com. This particularly applies to
1st class sleepers, where it seems that only a handful of 1st
class berths are allocated to the online booking system so it
often shows them as not available.
The system allows
you to choose a seat or berth. I recommend choosing a
berth in the middle of the car, where you're not over the wheels
or near the toilets or saloon entrance doors, as it's quieter
and smoother. Lower berths cost a bit more, but are
slightly wider than upper berths, so if you're over 6' 1" choose
a lower berth. Reports suggest that if you have problems
using the manual seat selection, let the system choose a seat
automatically for you.
The system holds
the selected berths for about 20 minutes while you make payment.
Just remember that if something goes wrong and you re-start the
whole booking process, those same berths will be unavailable
until the 20 minutes expires, so if the train is busy and these
are the only places left, just wait a bit.
You pay securely by Visa or MasterCard and
print out your own ticket. You can now simply get on the train
and travel.
Most emails
I receive about this system report success, but if you use it, feedback
would be welcome. Where a failure has been reported,
it's usually at the credit card payment stage, and it could be your bank
that's blocking the card, not the website, so try contacting
your bank first and telling them you are about to make a foreign
transaction at
www.thairailticket.com.
If you really can't get
www.thairailticket.com
to work for you, simply buy your tickets with a small fee from
reliable Thai ticketing agency
www.thailandtrainticket.com.
Print-at-home online ticket...
This is a print-at-home ticket bought online at
www.thairailticket.com, laid out in a similar
way to regular tickets. You can simply board the train with
your self-print ticket and find your allocated seat or berth.
You can book Thai train tickets through
several reliable Thai travel agencies such as
www.thailandtrainticket.com, and this is probably the best option. These agencies will book trains for you and have
the tickets waiting for you at your hotel in Bangkok. Naturally, they charge a small
fee for this.
One of the best agencies is
www.thailandtrainticket.com (formerly Traveller2000.com), who charge
the normal Thai Railways fare plus a 200 Baht (£4/$6) handling fee but they
will reduce this to 150 Baht (£3/$5) if you say you've
been referred by seat61.com. You can pick up tickets at
their office in Bangkok or have them delivered to any hotel in Bangkok
or any other Thai town or city free of charge. Alternatively,
they can leave the tickets at the Information Counter at Hualamphong
station in Bangkok for a delivery fee of 300 Baht (£6 or $9).
They can also courier tickets to any country worldwide, but expect
this to cost typically over 2,100 Baht to a European country (£43),
or over 1,200 Baht ($38) to North America. Five seat61 correspondents have
highly recommended
www.thailandtrainticket.com, saying they give good and reliable service,
and indeed I've used them myself.
One correspondent has so far recommended
www.asia-discovery.com, and two have recommended
www.thaifocus.com, but be warned that Thaifocus charges
much higher fees & fares. Shop around to check what fees each agency
charges before booking. Reservations open 60 days (2 months)
before departure, you can't book before then.
Option 3: Buy train tickets by email direct to State
Railways of Thailand...
This option saves you paying any agency fee, but it can be a slow
process! You can
book direct with the State Railways of Thailand by emailing them at least 15 days
(but less than 60 days) before your date of travel on
passenger-ser@railway.co.th or by faxing them on + 66 2 225 6068.
Your fax or e-mail must include the journey, date, train number,
departure time, class, seat or sleeper (upper or lower berth), number
of passengers, your name and e-mail address. You eventually will receive an e-mail
confirmation, and you then collect and pay for your tickets at Bangkok
Hualamphong
station booking office at least 1 hour before departure. Bookings
open 60 days before departure, but email bookings are only accepted
more than 15 days before departure to give them time to respond.
The Thai railways charge 200 Baht (£3 or $5) per email booking.
Booking this way normally works well, but recently several people have
said they waited up to 2 weeks for a reply, another correspondent says
it took Thai railways 18 days to reply, and one correspondent says
he waited a month, so you may just have to be patient. Some
people have recently (2009) reported that they haven't had a reply.
If you have any problems, or need to make a booking less than 15
days before departure, try using an agency such as
ThailandTrainTicket.com or Asia-Discovery.com as shown above.
People often ask, "Will I
be OK booking my Bangkok-Chiang Mai ticket at the station on the
day?". You might be fine, as it's normally fairly easy to find seats or berths
available even on the day of travel or perhaps the day before,
especially if you aren't fussy about which train you take or in
which class. But trains do get fully booked at peak Thai holiday periods. If you're flexible and aren't travelling in a peak holiday period, you'll be fine
buying tickets when you get to Thailand. But if it's
mission-critical to be on a specific train in a specific class on a specific
date, then
book in advance as shown above, it's worth
the small agency
fee to be sure of a place.
All trains operate from Bangkok's
wonderful Hualamphong station right in the city centre, except for a
few local trains (notably trains to Kanchanaburi & the River Kwai)
which use the much smaller Thonburi (Noi) station on the far bank of the
river.
Map of Bangkok showing Hualamphong station
& Thonburi (Noi) station
Hualamphong Station opened in 1916, designed by an Italian architect
brought to Thailand by the King of Siam...
The concourse
inside Bangkok
Hualamphong Station. Note the King's picture hanging above
the entrance to the platforms...
Bangkok station
facilities...
Train information
counter: In the photo above, it's on the far right-hand
side of the concourse, with the white lightbox visible above it.
They can give you a simple pocket timetable in English for any of
the main Thai rail lines.
Tickets for travel
today: To buy tickets for immediate travel, go to any of
the ticket windows each side of the King's picture in the photo
above. In theory, the TV screens above each window say for
which trains that window is selling tickets, but most screens merely
say 'All trains'.
Advance ticket
sales: To buy tickets from 1 to 60 days in advance, go to
the Advance Booking Office, open daily 08:30 to 16:00. In the
picture above right, head to the far right-hand corner of the
concourse past the information counter and round the right-hand side
of the concourse/platforms dividing wall towards platform 3.
The Advance Booking office is tucked away on the right. When
you enter, look for the machine issuing numbered queuing tickets,
and wait till your number is called. The helpful staff will
soon sort you out with a train ticket!
Left luggage:
If you need to leave your bags somewhere, there's a staffed
privatised left luggage office at the rear left-hand corner of the
concourse, roughly underneath where the photo above was taken.
It's open 04:00 to 23:00 daily, prices 30, 50, 70 or 80-100 baht for
a small/medium/large/extra large item per 24 hours, although what
constitutes a small or large item isn't specified!
Food & drink:
There's a KFC outside the front of the station just outside the main
front doors. If you're desperate for a cappuccino,
there's a good coffee shop on the left-hand balcony (the one from
which the photo above is taken) or a more basic Thai restaurant on
the right-hand balcony. To buy supplies of water, beer and
snacks for the journey, there's a 'Tiffy Mart' in the far left-hand
corner of the concourse towards the taxi rank.
Taxis:
The taxi rank is on the left-hand side of the station. In the
photo above, you'd head towards the King's picture then turn left.
Expect a taxi to any city centre hotel to cost around 50 baht (£1 or
$1.50).
Toilets & showers:
The toilets and showers are beyond the information counter in the
far right-hand corner of the concourse. They are of a
reasonable standard, and a small fee is charged, 20 baht for
toilets, a bit more for showers.
To ease congestion,
State Railways of Thailand ultimately intend to move long-distance
services out to a new terminal at Bang Sue junction station, 7km
North of Hualamphong station, and at some point all long-distance
trains will start from there instead of Hualamphong. Suburban
and short-distance trains will continue to run from Hualamphong,
linking it to Bang Sue. The new Bangkok metro also links Bang
Sue to the rest of Bangkok. For a metro map, see
www.bangkokmetro.co.th. However, all long distance trains
are still using Hualamphong at the moment.
Luggage arrangements are
very simple: You take your own luggage onto the train with you,
and put it on the luggage rack next to your seat or berth or inside your
1st class sleeper compartment. It will be quite safe, although some
travellers take a bike lock with them to padlock it to the rack at night.
You can put your daypack with camera, passport, and so on, in the berth
alongside you at night.
Luggage limits:
Officially, every passenger is allowed one big suitcase and one smaller
item although this is not rigorously enforced. Your bags won't be
weighed, but in principle baggage limits are a generous 60 Kg (110 lbs) for 1st class
passengers, 40 Kg (88 lbs) for 2nd class passengers and 30 Kg (66 lbs)
for 3rd class passengers.
Excess baggage:
Large items in excess of the allowance such as golf clubs or additional
suitcases can be carried in the baggage car if you buy a cargo ticket.
You follow exactly the same procedure as for taking a bike, see the
paragraph below.
Taking a bicycle on Thai
trains:
You can take a bicycle on any train on any route in Thailand for a small
fee, except on the diesel railcar (DRC) trains which don't take
bikes or any other sort of cargo (and also not on the Bangkok airport
rail link) and except on the trains to and from Malaysia south of
Hat Yai as there is no baggage car. First, buy your passenger
ticket, either in advance or at the station on the day. You cannot
pre-book your bike, even if you pre-book your passenger ticket. On
the day of travel, go to the station with your passenger ticket, locate
the cargo desk and buy a cargo ticket for your bike. The cargo
desk will be a chair, a desk and a set of scales on or near the
platform, the location varies from station to station and some smaller
stations don't have a cargo desk. A cargo ticket costs around 90
to 130 baht (£2.00-£2.70 or $3-$5). The price is a flat fee based
on where the train is going, not on where you're going, so on a train
going from Bangkok to Hat Yai, the cargo price is the same to Hua Hin as
it is to Hat Yai. Part of the cargo ticket will be attached to
your bike, the other part to your
passenger ticket. If you arrive immediately before the train
departs, or if there isn't a cargo desk at that station, you may be told
to pay on the train. When the train is ready for boarding, you
take you bike to the baggage car for loading. It's a good idea to
provide something to secure your bike, a couple of luggage elastics or
even just some plastic string picked up from one of the vendors on the
platform, don't rely on this being provided. Ask if you can secure
your bike to the inside of the baggage car yourself, which they usually
allow, as otherwise they may just lean it against other cargo and it
could be damaged when the train is in motion. Some 3rd class
trains don't have a baggage car, so on these you'll have to manhandle
your bike into a passenger carriage and stash it in the corridor next to
one of the washrooms. Now take your seat in the train. At
your destination, go to the baggage car, show your cargo ticket and
collect your bike. There is nothing further to pay when you
arrive.
Left luggage offices:
There are left luggage offices at Bangkok Hualamphong station (see
above), Chiang
Mai, Surat Thani, Ayutthaya and most other major Thai stations where you
can leave your luggage for a small fee whilst you explore the town.
Traveller David Mitchell reports
on taking a bike on a train in Thailand: "I can confirm that it is indeed possible to take bicycles on Thai
trains, or at least the Bangkok to Chiang Mai route, though I’m sure it
is similar for the others. You have to send the bike as cargo and it
travels in the cargo/guards van. The procedure is to buy your
ticket, then locate the cargo office where they will fill out a cargo
ticket. They will attach part of the cargo ticket to the bike and
part to your passenger ticket – the cost for a bike was 90 baht each
way. You then have to drop off the bike in the cargo car yourself before
taking your seat. At your destination you go to the cargo car and
collect the bike – you will have to show your ticket & cargo ticket
before they will release it. The cargo car sometimes gets full so
it is worth turning up early to make sure that there is enough space in
it to accommodate your bike."
All aboard for Chiang Mai!
Special Express train number 1 to Chiang Mai, boarding at Bangkok's Hualamphong
station...
It's easy to
travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train, for just
881 baht (£18 or $25) one-way
by overnight sleeper or 611 baht (£12 or $18) by day through the countryside on the air-conditioned express railcar.
Travelling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by sleeper is effectively faster than flying,
far less hassle,
far more environmentally friendly, more of a real Thai experience, and saves you a hotel
bill, too. Think you don't see much from a night train? In
fact, the scenery on the last third of the trip up into
the mountains approaching Chiang Mai is particularly good, and even
on the sleeper, watching the sunrise from the train
in the morning is wonderful. And of course, the sleeper train
itself is the scenery, a real Thai train with a chance to
meet Thai people.
Bangkok ► Chiang Mai
Km
Train number:
111
9 *
3
109
1 *
11
13 *
51
Facilities on board:
2,3,R
DRC
DRC
s,2,3,R
1,S,R
DRC
1,S,R
S,s,2,3,R
0 km
Bangkok (Hualamphong) depart:
07:00
08:30
10:50
14:30
18:10
18:00
19:35
22:00
22
Don Muang
depart:
07:52
09:14
11:40
15:19
18:57
18:46
20:23
22:49
71
Ayutthaya
depart:
08:37
09:43
12:15
16:00
19:45
19:25
21:01
23:30
133
Lopburi arrive/depart:
09:44
10:29
13:00
17:00
20:41
20:15
21:55
00:28
389
Phitsanulok arrive/depart:
14:14
13:19
16:00
20:44
|
23:06
01:34
04:20
729
Lamphun arrive/depart:
-
20:05
-
04:37
07:15
05:52
09:12
12:15
751
Chiang
Mai arrive:
-
20:30
-
05:10
07:45
06:15
09:45
12:45
* Recommended
trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. It's reported in
summer 2011 that train 13/14 may temporarily have no 1st class sleepers.
You can check
these train times at the Thai railways website,
www.railway.co.th
(see the advice on translating it
here).
Many additional trains link Bangkok & Ayutthaya.
Children aged 0 to 3 and
less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under
150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or over
150cm high) pay full fare.
Sole occupancy of a 1st
class sleeper: The 1st class fare is for travel in a shared
2-berth sleeper. Sole occupancy is available for an extra 500
baht (£10 or $16).
Upper or lower berths? The sleeper fares shown here
are for a lower bunk, a narrower upper bunk is 50-100 baht less.
Non-air-con 2nd class sleepers (available on a few trains) cost 160-200 baht less than the
air-con variety. You
can check fares at
www.railway.co.th
(but do this by selecting 'timetables' as the fares shown at the bottom of each timetable page include
the air-conditioning supplement, sleeper & special express
supplements. If you select the 'fares' option, the fares shown
don't include those supplements.
Above: The international train from Thanaleng to Nong
Khai. Photo courtesy of Glen Chivers.
Railway to Laos open from March 2009... This
is the new
rail terminal at Thanaleng, just on the Laos side of the
Friendship bridge. See the Laos page.
Photo courtesy of Bob
Fletcher
Here are trains between Bangkok & Nong Khai, near the border with
Laos. If you're travelling into Laos,
see the Laos page for
information on the new Bangkok-Vientiane train service & on local
transport across the Friendship Bridge between Nong Khai & Vientiane.
IMPORTANT:
From 9 January 2012 for several months, probably until May, SRT will be rebuilding the
tracks for 52 km between Udon Thani and Nong Khai. Buses may
replace trains for this section.
A train connection
to Vientiane started in March 2009: The Bangkok-Nong Khai railway
has been extended across the Friendship Bridge into Laos, to a new
station at Thanaleng on the Laos side of the Friendship Bridge some
13 km from Vientiane. Two daily local shuttle trains link Nong
Khai with Thanaleng in each direction, one of them providing a
connection out of / in to train 69/70 to/from Bangkok, to provide a
cheap and comfortable Bangkok-Vientiane train service. See the Laos page for
information on the new Bangkok-Thanaleng train service, and on local
transport between Nong Khai or Thanaleng & Vientiane.
Children aged 0 to 3 and
less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under
150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or over
150cm high) pay full fare.
Sole occupancy of a 1st
class sleeper: The 1st class fare is for travel in a shared
2-berth sleeper. Sole occupancy is available for an extra 500
baht (£10 or $16).
Upper or lower berths?
The sleeper fares shown here
are for a lower bunk, a narrower upper bunk is 50-100 baht less.
Non-air-con 2nd class sleepers (available on a few trains) cost 160-200 baht less than the
air-con variety. You
can check fares at
www.railway.co.th
(see the advice on translating it
here).
Children
aged 0 to 3 and less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4
to 11 and under 150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old
and upwards (or over 150cm high) pay full fare.
Traveller Ian Craven from Sydney reports
(2008): I recently travelled on the State Railways of
Thailand on the Bangkok-Ubon run. We took daytime train 21, the
express diesel rail car, in 2nd class air conditioned seats. We
easily bought tickets the day before from a Bangkok travel agent for a
very reasonable commission, about 50 baht. The train consisted
of only three cars, and predictably we were the only
farang on board. Train left just 5 minutes late, at
0550, and took at least an hour to get out of the suburbs of Bangkok,
with the country eventually giving way to rice paddies as far as the
eye can see; the train then climbs through some low hilly country with
mainly teak plantations and orchards, and eventually gives way to a
vast plain, again with rice predominate, along with sugar and
banana’s, and all kinds of towns and villages, large and small.
The seating was very comfortable, the air con just right (not too cold
which is often the case), and the service impeccable. Despite a
rather gruff visage, the conductor was in fact a very amiable fat
controller, turned out in an immaculately pressed uniform. The
train even features a 'trolley dolly', who serves breakfast (croissant
& sweet bun), water, orange juice, tea and coffee (why is railway
coffee uniformly bad everywhere in the world?!) and lunch (like an
airline pack featuring a small chicken curry and rice, and some kind
of putrid fish that even the locals were poking at with disdain!).
All this comes included in the price of the ticket. Train
arrived in Ubon dead on time at 1410, despite some unscheduled stops
along the way to let off passengers. While it is certainly not
one of the great train journeys of the world, it is not overly long
and provides some excellent views of Thai rural life, and is a cheap,
efficient and very effective way to get to the southern Lao PDR
frontier. I would highly recommend it to anyone. The
international bus from Ubon-Pakse runs twice daily, about 3 hours, 200
baht.
Above: The morning train from Bangkok arrives at Aranyaprathet.
Photo courtesy of Michael Allsop.
Aranyaprathet,
255 km from Bangkok, is just 6 km from the Cambodian border post at
Poiphet from where buses run to Siem Reap and Bttambang for onward bus
or speedboat to Phnom Penh.
See the Cambodia page for information about
onward bus transport to Phnom Penh & Seam Reap (for the Angkor Wat
temples) in Cambodia, and about onwards bus transport from Phnom
Penh to Saigon in
Vietnam. Trains 275-280 have 3rd class seats, but
Thai 3rd class is quite clean and comfortable, and in fact a very pleasant way to
travel, with vendors selling food, soft drinks and beer. Train 279/280 is a diesel railcar.
Bangkok ► Aranyaprathet
Aranyaprathet ► Bangkok
Train number:
275
279
Train number:
280
276
Facilities on board:
3
3
Facilities on board:
3
3
Bangkok (Hualamphong) depart:
05:55
13:05
Aranyaprathet depart:
06:40
13:55
Aranyaprathet arrive:
11:35
17:35
Bangkok (Hualamphong) arrive:
12:05
19:55
Fares
Bangkok to Aranyaprathet (255 km): 48 baht (£1 or $1.60)
No reservation required -
just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on.
The best way to reach
Kanchanaburi is by train, using the infamous Death Railway itself, for
just 100 baht (£2 or $3)! A regular State Railways of Thailand passenger
service still runs over the 'Death Railway' from Bangkok via
Kanchanaburi as far as Nam Tok, crossing the famous 'Bridge over the
River Kwai' a few km beyond Kanchanaburi.
There are two trains a day from Bangkok Thonburi station (also known as Bangkok Noi, on the
West side of the
river in Bangkok) to Kanchanaburi and Nam Tok, calling at River
Kwai Bridge station on the Bangkok side of the Bridge a
few minutes after Kan'buri.
The trains are 3rd class
only, but don't let this put you off - they are
clean and comfortable, and sitting next to an open window whilst clickety-clacking through the Thai countryside is easily the most
pleasant way to reach Kanchanaburi.
If you're coming from Singapore, Malaysia
or Southern Thailand, you can travel direct to
Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai Bridge without going into
Bangkok - just change trains at Nakhon Pathom (64 km south of
Bangkok), where the branch line to Kanchanaburi leaves the main line.
There is also a
special railcar (2nd class air-conditioned) for tourists at weekends,
leaving Hualamphong station at 06:30 for Kanchanaburi at 09:25, Nam
Tok 11:30, returning from Nam Tok at 14:40 and Kan'buri at 16:55
arriving Bangkok 19:30. Special fares apply, reservation
required,
details here.
Sukhothai has no rail station, but you
can take a comfortable train from Bangkok to Phitsanulok on the
Bangkok-Chiang Mai main line, which is about 59 km from Sukhothai by
bus. Buses leave Phitsanulok for Sukhothai frequently
between 07:00 and 19:00, fare around 40 baht or so, journey time 1
hour. On arrival by train at Phitsanulok, simply ask one of
the tuk-tuk taxis waiting outside the station to take you to the
nearby bus station. This train/bus combo avoids a nightmare 7
hours on a bus from Bangkok. The 08:30 or 11:50 DRC express
railcars from Bangkok would be a good choice to reach Phitsanulok,
see here for train times.
Once capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom, the
UNESCO-designated ruins are 12 km outside Sukhothai town, easily
reached by local transport.
To reach Chiang Rai, first take a train
from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, see
above for train times. Ordinary (non-air-con) buses leave
Chiang Mai Arcade bus station every hour or two from 06:00 to 17:30,
journey time 3 hours 50 minutes, fare around 60 baht.
Air-conditioned buses also leave from Chiang Mai Arcade bus station
every hour or so from 07:00 to 17:00, journey time 3 hours 10
minutes, fare 102 baht.
Ayutthaya station, just 90 minutes from Bangkok by local train...
Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of
Thailand, with impressive ruins and temples to visit. It
makes a great day trip from
Bangkok, and it's really easy to get there by train. There is a
local train
from Bangkok (Hualamphong station) to Ayutthaya
roughly every hour or so with basic but clean 3rd class seats, taking
a leisurely 1 hour 45 minutes for the 71 km (44 miles).
No reservation is necessary,
just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on. 3rd class is not crowded outside peak times,
and as a day tripper from Bangkok you'll be going in the opposite
direction from the commuter crowds in any case. It's a very pleasant way
to get there, sitting next to an open window with a cool breeze
blowing in, as the train clickety-clacks along, and you'll often find
vendors selling soft drinks or beer on board. See
www.railway.co.th
for exact train times if you really feel you need them. The
ruined capital is walking distance from the station.
Fares
Bangkok to Ayutthaya (71 km): 15 baht (£0.30 or $0.45) 3rd class
No reservation required -
just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on.
You can also
travel between Bangkok & Ayutthaya on a faster air-conditioned
express train taking only 1 hour 15 minutes, but these are less
frequent. A reservation is necessary on express trains, but
tickets to Ayutthaya on these trains are only sold on the day of
travel, assuming there are still seats available, you cannot
pre-book. This is so that short-distance passengers to Ayutthaya don't take up
seats that could be used by longer-distance passengers.
Why not stop off at Ayutthaya on the
way to or from Chiang Mai or Nong Khai, as trains between Bangkok and
these destinations stop at Ayutthaya? It's easiest to use 3rd
class local trains for the Bangkok-Ayutthaya section rather than
booking a seat on an express, as the local trains are cheaper, more
frequent and no reservation is necessary. Then see the
Chiang Mai or
Nong Khai timetable above for
express train times Ayutthaya-Chiang Mai or Ayutthaya-Nong Khai.
Ayutthaya has a left luggage office (on the platform, marked 'Cloak
Room') where you can stash your bags for
a 10 baht fee between trains.
You may have heard of a little train near
Bangkok that runs right through the middle of a market. This
is the Bangkok - Mahachai - Mae Khlong Line, which runs within inches of the
market stalls approaching its terminus at Samut Songkhram, some 70 km (45 miles) from Bangkok and known locally as Mae Khlong after the river on
which it is situated. In fact, it's not one rail line but two,
separated by a ferry across the Tha Chin river in the middle.
These two lines are part of the State Railways of Thailand, but were
originally built in 1905 as private lines and they are not physically
linked to the rest of the network. A trip to Mae Khlong makes
an interesting trip from Bangkok if you've a day spare.
Watch this
video to see the train pass through a busy market, when the
train passes the market traders replace their canopies and you'd
never know a train track was there...
Outward journey:
To reach Samut Songkhram, you first take a little silver diesel
railcar from Bangkok's Wong Wian Yai station to
Samut Sakhon, known locally as Mahachai. Bangkok's Wong Wian
Yai station is located on the west side of the Bangkok river, a 20 minute
walk from the BTS Skytrain station at Wangwan Yai,
see map of Bangkok showing stations. Trains run from
Bangkok Wong Wian Yai to Mahachai roughly every hour from 05:30 until 20:10, journey
time around 59 minutes, 3rd class only, fare 10 baht, distance 31km
(19 miles). Most trains are non-air-conditioned
with opening windows (better for photography), but you'll find
some air-con cars on a few departures. You then cross the Tha Chin
river by ferry to Ban Laem, 3 baht. On the other side, four
trains a day run from Ban Laem to Samut Songkhram (Mae Khlong),
departing 07:30, 10:10, 13:30, 16:40, journey time 1 hour, fare 10
baht, distance 33 km.
Return journey:
In the return direction, trains leave Samut Songkhram (Mae Khlong)
at 06:20, 09:00, 11:30, 15:30 taking 1 hour to Ban Laem. Cross
the river by ferry from Ban Laem to Samut Sakhon (Mahachai).
Trains return from Samut Sakhon (Mahachai) to Bangkok every hour
from 04:30 to 19:00. See the
downloadable timetable page 51 for a complete timetable.
Above:
Scenery on the line from Bangkok to Surat Thani & Southern
Thailand...
There are plenty of good trains from
Bangkok to southern Thailand, with connections by bus or ferry to
Thailand's beaches and islands. Sungai Kolok is on the frontier with
Malaysia. You can walk across the frontier and get a bus a few
miles on to Kota Bharu. The railway station for Kota Bharu is
Wakaf Bahru (3 miles or so from Kota Bharu), from where there are
daily trains to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur via the scenic 'Jungle
Line', see the Malaysia page. This
route forms an interesting alternative to the more usual mainline
route from Bangkok to KL and Singapore via Butterworth.
Bangkok ► Hua Hin ► Surat
Thani ► Hat Yai ► Sungai Kolok
Children aged 0 to 3 and
less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under
150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or over
150cm high) pay full fare.
Sole occupancy of a 1st
class sleeper: The 1st class fare is for travel in a shared
2-berth sleeper. Sole occupancy is available for an extra 500
baht (£10 or $16).
Upper or lower berth?
The sleeper fares shown here
are for a lower berth, a narrower upper berth is 50-100 baht less.
Non-air-con 2nd class sleepers (available on a few trains) cost 160-200 baht less than the
air-con variety. You
can check fares at
www.railway.co.th
(see the advice on translating it
here).
Security warnings in Southern Thailand: You may be aware of the security
warnings for southern
Thailand. These primarily apply to the eastern end of the
Malaysia-Thailand border around Yala & Sungai Kolok, where there
is a risk of being in the wrong place
at the wrong time if you were to hang around. Bombs have gone off outside bars and police stations
in Yala and Sungai Kolok, and
the eastern Sungai Kolok-Yala-Hat
Yai rail line has been affected on a number of occasions, so use
this route with extreme care if at all. However, the
Bangkok-Hat Yai-Penang-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore main line passes
through the border at the
western end which isn't as badly affected. Although I
must make it clear that I'm no security
expert, there are unlikely to be problems simply passing through a
small part of the less-affected area non-stop on board a train via the main
Singapore-KL-Penang-Hat Yai-Bangkok line via Padang Besar. However, travellers should always take advice and be aware of the
current situation. I certainly don't claim to provide current
security advice!
KJCF = Ko Jaroen Car Ferry;
NB = Night Boat. The Lomprayah Catamaran fare is 600 baht (£12
or $17) one-way.
Combined train + ferry fares
One-way
train+ferry
fare...
1st class sleeper
a/c express train
2nd class sleeper
a/c express train
Bangkok
to Koh Tao
1,744 (£35)
1,240
(£23)
These combined train &
ferry fares include the Bangkok-Chumphon train, bus transfer from
Chumphon railway station to pier and the ferry to Koh Tao. They
can be bought at Bangkok Hualamphong station or through the usual
agencies such as
www.thailandtrainticket.com. Children aged 0 to 3 and less
than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under
150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or
over 150cm high) pay full fare.
Bangkok to Ko Tao by
train+ferry, via Surat Thani...
The train-ferry connections
actually work better via Surat Thani and Ko Samui, even though it's
the long way round. To travel from Bangkok to Ko Tao via Surat
Thani, see the Bangkok to Ko Samui section
below, looking for the Lomprayah ferry option.
Singapore, Malaysia to
Koh Tao by train+ferry...
Travel by train from
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, or Penang via Hat Yai to Surat Thani,
see train
times & info Singapore-Malaysia-Surat Thani. Then hop on a daytime or
overnight ferry from Surat Thani to Koh Tao, see the ferry times
below.
Surat Thani ► Koh Tao (ferry)
Koh Tao ► Surat Thani (ferry)
Ferry
operator:
NB
Ferry
operator:
NB
Surat
Thani (Bandon Rd pier) depart:
23:00
Koh
Tao depart:
20:30
Koh
Tao arrive:
08:30
Surat
Thani (Bandon Rd pier) arrive:
05:30
Ferry operators: NB =
Night Boat. Fare: 500 baht. Tickets are sold at the
pier.
Above:
A poster advertising the combined train & ferry service from Bangkok to Ko Samui.
An excellent way to get there!
Bangkok to Ko Samui by train + ferry...
It's easy to travel from Bangkok to Ko Samui or Ko Phangan using a combined train+ferry
ticket. It's the safe,
comfortable & environmentally-friendly way to travel, too, far better than cramped buses or
short-haul flights. The overnight sleeper option
takes no more time out of your holiday than flying and is a lot more
fun, and far more of an experience. Simply take a train from Bangkok to
Surat Thani.
On arrival at Surat Thani railway station (located at Phun Phin, 14 km
from Surat Thani town centre), shuttle buses meet the train and take
you to the Don Sak ferry
terminal 60 km east of Surat Thani. The bus is included in the
train+ferry fare. Ferries sail every hour from Don Sak
to Ko Samui, crossing time 1.5 hours, see the ferry information below.
Some ferries continue to Ko Phangan. You can buy the combined train+ferry tickets at Bangkok Hualamphong
station reservations office, or online for a small handling fee from
www.thailandtrainticket.com. Here is the recommended timetable
via both the Raja and Lomprayah ferry companies. Just pick
whichever looks most convenient.
The ferries shown here are
operated by Raja Ferry, leaving from Don Sak pier. Others are
operated by Seatran ferries from Ban Don pier.
Combined train + ferry fare
One-way
train+ferry
fare...
1st class sleeper
a/c express train
2nd class sleeper
a/c express train
2nd class seat
a/c fast railcar
Bangkok
to Ko Samui
1,539 (£32)
968
(£21)
778
(£16)
Bangkok
to Ko Phangan
1,639 (£34)
1,068
(£22)
878
(£18)
How to buy tickets:
These combined train +
ferry fares can be bought at Bangkok Hualamphong station or through an
agency such as
www.thailandtrainticket.com. They cannot be booked online. Children
aged 0 to 3 and less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4
to 11 and under 150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old
and upwards (or over 150cm high) pay full fare.
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur
& Penang to Ko Samui...
It's also easy to reach Ko Samui from Malaysia or
Singapore. Take a train from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Penang via Hat
Yai
to Surat Thani, see the Malaysia
page. On arrival at Surat Thani station (located at Phun Phin, 14km
from Surat Thani town centre), shuttle buses run to the Don Sak ferry
terminal just outside Surat Thani. Ferries sail every hour to Ko
Samui, crossing time 1.5 hours, see the ferry information below.
Surat Thani to Ko Samui ferry information...
Several ferry companies
operate from Surat Thani to Ko Samui, including the
Seatran ferry
(hourly sailings, 1.5 hour crossing), the Songserm express catamaran
(1 hour crossing, 2 daily sailings), and the Songserm overnight boat.
Surat Thani ► Ko Samui
(Seatran ferry)
Surat Thani
(Don Sak pier) depart:
06:00
and
hourly until...
19:00
Ko Samui arrive:
07:30
20:30
Ko Samui ► Surat Thani (Seatran ferry)
Ko Samui depart:
05:00
and
hourly until...
18:00
Surat Thani
(Don Sak pier) arrive:
06:30
19:30
You can check ferry times
and fares at
www.seatranferry.com. The ferry fare is 110 baht
(£2 or $3) one-way. A combined bus+ferry ticket from Surat
Thani railway station to Ko Samui costs about 250 baht (£5 or $7).
The Songserm overnight boat can be useful if you arrive in Surat Thani
after the last Seatran ferry. It sails from the Ban Don ferry
pier close to central Surat Thani at 23:00, and arrives Ko Samui
05:00. Upper deck tickets give you a mattress and pillow, the
lower deck just has straw mats.
Train & bus from Bangkok to
Phuket:Take the
cheap, safe & comfortable overnight sleeper train from Bangkok
to Surat Thani, then a bus to Phuket.
Bangkok to Phuket by
train & bus...
Taking train+bus from
Bangkok to Phuket is the comfortable & environmentally-friendly way to
go, avoiding a gruelling 14-16 hour overnight bus journey in a cramped
bus seat or an unnecessary short-haul flight. You simply take
the comfy overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, and
next morning hop on an air-conditioned bus from Surat Thani to Phuket taking around
4-6
hours. Here is the recommended timetable for Bangkok-Phuket
journeys:
The buses shown here
which accept the combined train+bus tickets are modern air-conditioned buses
run
by The Phantip Company,
www.phantiptravel.com. There are actually around 14 buses a day from
Surat Thani to Phuket between 05:00 & 15:30, run by various
operators. If you buy separate train and bus tickets, the bus
fare is around 220 Baht (£5). Phantip also operate an hourly
minibus service between Surat Thani station and Phuket 06:00-17:00,
fare 220 baht, journey 4 hours.
Combined train + bus fare
Combined
train+bus fare:
1st class sleeper
a/c express train
2nd class sleeper
a/c express train
Bangkok
to Phuket
1,589 (£32)
1,018
(£21)
How to buy tickets: These combined train
+ bus
fares can be bought at Bangkok Hualamphong station or through a
reputable agency such as
www.thailandtrainticket.com. They cannot be bought online. Children aged 0 to 3 and less than
100cm in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under 150cm
travel at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or over 150cm
high) pay full fare. Bus tickets to Phuket can also be bought at
Surat Thani rail station for 220 baht each way.
Singapore &
Malaysia to Phuket by train + bus...
Travel by train
from Singapore or Malaysia to
Hat Yai in Thailand, see the train times on
the Malaysia page.
Then take a bus from Hat Yai to Phuket, taking about 6 hours.
Buses leave Hat Yai at 05:45, 07:45, 08:45, 09:30,
10:05. Buses are run by Phuket Tour and Trang Tour, and the fare
is in the region of 160 Baht (£3). Returning, there are buses from Phuket
to Hat Yai at 06:20, 07:40, 08:00, 09:00, 09:30, 10:20, 11:20.
Ko Phi Phi...
A ferry links Phuket and Ko Phi Phi.
The ferry sails from Phuket at 08:30 and 13:30, and from Ko Phi Phi at
09:00 and 14:00. Crossing time 90 minutes.
Krabi hasn't
got a railway station, but it's easy to get there using a comfortable train to Surat Thani
(or coming up from the south, a train to Hat Yai) and then an air-conditioned bus
for the last leg. Using the overnight sleeper
train from Bangkok, the train+bus to Krabi takes no more
time out of your holiday than flying, but is a lot more interesting,
cheaper, and far more environmentally friendly. You're
likely to find a number of buses to Krabi waiting at Surat Thani
station after the arrival of your train. The bus fare is about
220 baht
(£4.50 or $7), the journey time from Surat Thani to Krabi is about 3
hours, but you can buy combined train+bus tickets from Bangkok to
Krabi. Here's the recommended timetable for through train+bus
journeys:
Bangkok ►
Krabi
Krabi ► Bangkok
Train
number:
43
85
Train
number:
84
40
Facilities on board train:
DRC
1,S,2,3,R
Facilities on board train:
1,S,2,3,R
DRC
Bangkok (Hualamphong) depart by train
08:05
19:30
Krabi depart by
bus:
16:00
06:30
Surat
Thani station arrive by train:
16:45
07:16
Surat
Thani bus terminal arrive by bus:
19:00
09:30
Transfer
from station to bus terminal in central Surat Thani
The buses shown here
which accept the combined train+bus tickets are modern air-conditioned buses
run
by The Phantip Company,
www.phantiptravel.com. They in fact run up to 12 daily
buses between Surat Thani station and Krabi, see
www.phantiptravel.com.
Combined train + bus fare
Combined
train+bus fare:
1st class sleeper
a/c express train
2nd class sleeper
a/c express train
Bangkok
to Krabi
1,539 (£32)
968
(£20)
How to buy tickets: These combined train & bus
fares can be bought in person at Bangkok Hualamphong station or by
email through the
usual agencies such as
www.thailandtrainticket.com. Children
aged 0 to 3 and less than 100cm in height travel free, children aged 4
to 11 and under 150cm travel at half fare, children 12 years old
and upwards (or over 150cm high) pay full fare. Bus
tickets to Krabi can also be bought at Surat Thani rail station for
170 baht each way.
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur
or Penang to Krabi by train+bus...
First, travel by train
from Singapore, KL or Penang to
Hat Yai in Thailand, you can see train times, fares & how to buy
tickets on the Malaysia
page. Then take a bus from Hat Yai to Krabi. Detailed
bus info is not available, as these are generally small bus operators
without a website.
It's
remarkably easy, safe, and comfortable to travel from
Bangkok to Malaysia & Singapore by train. The whole 1,920 km
(1,233 miles) trip costs just £33 or US$ 50 one-way, including
sleepers, a real bargain. It's the environmentally sound way to
travel, too. Trains are daily, and you change trains in either
Hat Yai & Kuala Lumpur or Butterworth (Penang) & Kuala Lumpur.
If done all in one go, the complete journey from Bangkok to Singapore takes two nights,
though you can stop off wherever you like for as long as you like.
I'd suggest stopping off at least in Penang and KL.
Map
of train routes in Southeast Asia.
The daily 'International Express'
links Bangkok & Butterworth (linked by frequent ferry to Penang island)
in less than 24 hours, with modern air-conditioned 2nd class
sleeping-cars of the Thai railways. A Thai restaurant car (pictured right)
runs between Bangkok and Hat Yai,
serving dinner & breakfast. From
Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur there is a daily
overnight sleeper train or two daytime trains. From
KL to Singapore there is a choice of 2 daytime & one overnight sleeper
train.
How to read the timetable below: Each column is a
separate train, and you read downwards. So for example, in the
second column you see that train number 35, with 2nd class sleepers,
runs daily, leaving Bangkok at 14:45, and arriving Butterworth (for
the Penang Ferry) at 13:51 next day. You could change trains at
Hat Yai onto train 21, shown two columns to the right. Or you
could stay on till Butterworth, spend the afternoon seeing Penang,
then catch train 23 to KL from there. You can book any train
between any two stations, on any date you like. It's up to you. How to buy tickets.
Bangkok & Southern
Thailand ► Malaysia ► Singapore
3 = 3rd class (Economy) seats. Modern & comfortable but basic.
* = Train 20/21 by-passes Butterworth, but going north train 20 calls
at Bukit Mertajam at 04:19, going south train 21 calls
at Bukit Mertajam at 21:47. Bukit Mertajam is a small station about 11 miles from
Butterworth by bus or taxi,
see location map.
** = Only one 2nd class sleeper & a 2nd class seats car runs to/from Hat Yai.
Most of this train including the 1st class sleepers only runs between Kuala Lumpur & Padang Besar.
Train 1 & 2: Ekspress Rakyat.
Runs every day.
1st & 2nd class seats with
refreshment trolley, all fully air-conditioned.
Train 10 & 11: Ekspress Sinaran Utara. Runs every
day.
1st & 2nd class seats,
all air-conditioned, refreshments available.
Train 12 & 13: Ekspress Sinaran Selatan. Runs
every day.
1st & 2nd class seats, air-conditioned, refreshments available.
Train 20 & 21
Express Senandung Langkawi. Runs every day. Bypasses Butterworth,
but calls at Bukit Mertajam some 11 miles from Butterworth by bus or
taxi. Most of this train including the
1st class
sleeper only run
between Kuala Lumpur & Padang Besar on the Thai frontier.
Just one Malaysian
2nd class
sleeping-car & one
2nd class seats
car run to/from Hat Yai in Thailand.
Train 35 & 36:
International Express (Ekspress Antarabangsa). Runs every
day. Consists of two or three modern air-conditioned
2nd class sleepers
between Butterworth & Bangkok provided by the State Railways of
Thailand. Between Hat Yai & Bangkok, these are attached to a
restaurant car, a 1st class sleeper & more 2nd class sleepers.
However, I strongly recommend sticking with the
excellent Thai 2nd
class sleepers and not worrying about trying to travel 1st
class, it's really not necessary.
Train 41: Hat Yai-Surat Thani fast air-conditioned
railcar with 2nd class reclining seats. Actually goes to/from
Bangkok, but is not recommended for Bangkok passengers as it has no
sleepers.
The cost
of a Bangkok-Singapore train journey is the sum of 3 separate
train tickets. Just add them up!
1.
Bangkok to Butterworth (Penang)
1,161 km
1,210
(£24 or $35) in 2nd class sleeper (only 2nd class sleepers
available).
2. Butterworth (Penang)
to Kuala Lumpur
388 km
About 40 Ringgit (£7, $14) one-way in a 2nd class open-plan
sleeper, or 67 Ringgit (£13 or $25) in a 2-berth 1st class
sleeper.
3.
Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
397 km
About 34 Ringgit (£6 or $12) in a 2nd class seat or 68 Ringgit
(£13 or $25) in 1st class on a daytime express. For sleeper
fares on the overnight train, see the
Malaysia page.
Children aged 0 to 3 and less than 100cm
in height travel free, children aged 4 to 11 and under 150cm travel
at half fare, children 12 years old and upwards (or over 150cm high)
pay full fare.
This
is train 35/36 from Bangkok at
Butterworth (Penang).
By
night, upper & lower berths, each with curtains...
The cars are open-plan, with bays
of seats either side of the aisle.
By
day, a pair of spacious armchairs for two people...
A restaurant car
is attached between Hat Yai and Bangkok. The food is
remarkably cheap and good, a set meal costs around 150-200 baht
(£3-£4 or $5-$6). You choose from a leaflet with both
pictures and English captions. Beer is also readily
available and not expensive.
An air-conditioned
restaurant car on train 35 from Bangkok to Hat Yai.
The seafood dinner,
200 baht (£4 or $6).
...and onwards
from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur & Singapore by Malaysian Railways
(KTM)...
2nd class seats on a the Ekspres
Rakyat, train 1, from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur & Singapore...
Above, the Ekspres Rakyat
from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur & Singapore
calls at a wayside station.
See the
Malaysia page for details of Malaysian train fares, and
what Malaysian trains are like.
Yes. All long-distance
express trains in Thailand & Malaysia are 'reservation obligatory', so
you will need a seat or berth reservation for each
train you take. Reservations open one month before departure. A Bangkok to Singapore journey
involves three trains and will be ticketed as three separate train
journeys, either Bangkok-Hat Yai, Hat Yai-Kuala Lumpur and KL
to Singapore, or Bangkok to Butterworth, Butterworth to KL, KL
to Singapore. Each ticket will have your date of departure, the
train number and your seat or berth number printed on it.
Can I stop off along the
way?
Yes, of course! But
you cannot buy an open ticket and randomly hop on and off
trains without a reservation. All express trains in Thailand &
Malaysia are 'reservation compulsory', so you need to buy a separate
ticket (which will include a reservation on a specific train) for each
individual train journey you make, for the
specific date you want to make it.
You can arrange
all your tickets in advance or buy them as you go, keeping your
options open, it's entirely up to you. Penang and Kuala Lumpur are both
well worth a stopover.
How to buy Bangkok to
Singapore tickets...
You need a separate
ticket for each of the two or three trains involved in this journey.
To spell it out, if
you choose to change at Butterworth & KL, this means booking (1) a sleeper
ticket for the Bangkok-Butterworth 'International Express', (2)
another sleeper ticket for the Butterworth-KL overnight train, and (3)
a KL-Singapore ticket either for one of the two daytime express trains
or for the overnight sleeper. If you choose to change at Hat Yai
& KL, you need (1) a Bangkok-Hat Yai ticket on one of the several
overnight trains, (2) a ticket for the Hat Yai-KL direct sleeper, and
(3) a ticket for one of the two daytime trains or the overnight
sleeper from KL to Singapore. Penang is a wonderful historic
city for a stopover, even if that's just an afternoon between trains,
so I'd suggest changing at Butterworth (the station for Penang) rather
than Hat Yai.
Step 2 is to buy
your
onward Butterworth-KL & KL-Singapore tickets. You must buy
these separately, as
reservations for trains within Malaysia are
held on the Malaysian Railways (KTM) computer reservation system which
is not accessible by Thai station reservations offices or Thai travel
agencies. So
either wait till you get to Butterworth and buy your onward tickets at
the station there (but be warned that if you're travelling straight through without a
stopover you may find the sleepers on the Butterworth-KL train
sold out for that evening's departure), or (probably the better
option) book your Butterworth-KL and KL-Singapore
trains online at the Malaysian Railways website,
www.ktmb.com.my.
Look for 'e-ticketing'. You pay by credit card and either print
out your ticket on your PC printer or pick up tickets at the station
in Malaysia. Remember that reservations only open 60 days before
departure. You can't book before reservations open! If you
have any difficulty booking online, you can book by email with KTM's
call centre, via
callcenter@ktmb.com.my, who should reply within 3 days. If all else fails, call KTM
reservations on +60 3 2267 1200.
How to buy northbound
Singapore to Bangkok tickets...
See the
Malaysia page for information on how to
book a northbound journey from Singapore to Bangkok
Security warnings
for parts of
southern Thailand...
If crossing into
Thailand, you should be aware of the security warnings for some parts
of southern
Thailand. These apply mainly to the eastern end of the
Thailand-Malaysia border around Yala & Sungai Kolok, covering the
provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and to a lesser extent
Songkhla. The terrorists aren't
targeting western travellers, but in these provinces, bombs have
gone off outside bars and police stations, and the rail lines to
Yala and Sungai Kolok have been affected on a number of occasions (see
map).
However, the main rail line from Bangkok to Singapore passes
through the largely-unaffected
western end of the Thailand-Malaysia border via Padang Besar.
It does not pass through any part of Pattani, Yala or Narathiwat
provinces, there's just a relatively short 80 km (50 mile) stretch
through the northern part of Songkhla province via Hat Yai. I must
emphasise that travellers should always take advice and be aware of the
latest situation, I certainly don't claim to provide current
security advice, your decision is entirely your own. But purely
for myself, whilst I would not visit Sungai Kolok or Yala, I
would not worry unduly about passing swiftly through 50 miles of the
northern part of Songkhla Province on a direct train on the
Singapore-Bangkok main line.
There is one other option for
train travel between Bangkok, Butterworth &
Singapore... This is the luxurious
'Eastern & Oriental Express' which runs direct once, twice or
three times per month between
these cities. It's operated by Venice Simplon Express Limited,
and uses sleeping-cars originally built in Japan for the New Zealand
Railways Wellington-Auckland 'Silver Star' sleeper train (1972-1979). However, a one-way ticket even from Butterworth to
Bangkok costs at least £700, compared with the £22 charged for travel
in a sleeper on the daily International Express (although admittedly,
meals on the International Express are extra!). If you're interested, visit
www.orient-expresstrains.com.
UK companies such as Great Rail Journeys (www.greatrail.com)
offer inclusive escorted tours to Malaysia and Thailand, using the
Eastern & Oriental Express.
Bangkok to Phnom Penh & Saigon
For train &
bus travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, & Saigon (Ho Chi
Minh City), see the Train travel in
Cambodia page.
If you have the time (we're
talking a minimum of 3
weeks one-way), you can travel from London to Bangkok overland.
The links below cover travel in either direction, from London or to
London:
Step 1:
London to Moscow by train. Daily
departures, 2 nights, from about £160 one-way with sleeper. Spend
at least 1 night in Moscow.
There aren't any travel agencies
who can arrange the whole trip, so you will need to plan
it out and arrange each stage of the journey yourself. It's an exercise in project
management! Unless time is absolutely no object, you should book
the key sections in advance through various travel agencies, for
example, book London-Moscow through a UK European train ticketing agency
such as DB's UK office or europeanrail.com, then book Moscow-Beijing &
Beijing-Hanoi through a local Russian agency such as Svezhy Veter or
www.realrussia.co.uk. Tickets for other parts of the trip, for
example, Hanoi-Saigon-Phnom Penh-Bangkok can all be bought locally, as
you go along. You'll need to pre-arrange visas for Belarus,
Russia, possibly Mongolia, China & Vietnam, and in many ways complying
with the various visa requirements (and in some cases, requirements for
confirmed onward tickets to be held) is actually the biggest hassle, not
buying the tickets for the trains, so check this out carefully using the
relevant embassy websites.
Where do you start?
First, read through the seat61
pages linked above. Then sketch out your
itinerary using a simple spreadsheet like this, deciding where and
for how long you want to stop off. Next, check out the visa
situation for each country. Finally, follow the advice on each
seat61 page to buy tickets for each train journey that you want to
pre-book.
Make sure you take a good guidebook.
Easily the best guidebooks for the independent traveller are the
Lonely Planets and Rough Guides. Both have stacks of practical
information plus historical and cultural background. You won't
regret buying either one of these guides! Alternatively, you
can download just the chapters or areas you need in .PDF format
from the Lonely Planet Website, from around £2.99 or US$4.95 a
chapter.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a
tight budget,
don't forget the backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers has online booking of cheap private
rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Bangkok, Chiang
Mai and most other cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & SIM cards...
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance..
Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up a £1,000 bill
in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also works for laptop or PDA data
access. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
