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 (around £20), see
www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk. They are waiving the 1,000
baht visa fee from June 2009 to 4 March 2010.
Page last
updated:
17 February 2010
Seeing Thailand by train...
Above: Arriving in Bangkok
by train from Singapore, you really feel a sense of arrival...
Here, the International Express from Butterworth (Penang) in Malaysia
has just arrived at Bangkok Hualamphong Station. Note the
picture of the King of Thailand, just visible over the central exit
from the platforms.
The
State Railways of Thailand are easily the best way to get around and
see the country. Train travel in Thailand is comfortable, safe,
cheap, environmentally friendly. And unlike flying, it's a genuine
Thai experience that makes the journeys as much part of your trip as
the destinations... In fact, Thailand has one of the best metre-gauge rail systems in the
world. Taking the train is the best way to travel between
Bangkok & Chiang Mai, and a
train+ferry combo is the best way from Bangkok to
Ko Samui. Train+bus is the best way from
Bangkok to Krabi or Phuket. Heading for Laos? Hop on
the new Bangkok-Vientiane
train. Taking the train is also a
wonderful way to travel between
Bangkok, Penang, Kuala Lumpur & Singapore,
the whole 1,249-mile journey to Singapore taking 48 hours and costing
a mere $50/£33 one-way including sleeper berths for both nights.
This page explains how to travel by train in Thailand, with train
schedules, fares, and how to buy tickets both within & from outside
Thailand.
Perhaps the most adventurous timetable ever published, the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable has train, bus and ferry times for
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and every
country in Asia, Africa, America, Australasia. Updated every 2
months, it's essential any serious overland traveller and an inspiration
for armchair travellers. It costs £13.99
from any UK branch of Thomas Cook or online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com
(with worldwide delivery).
Most
trains use Bangkok's main Hualamphong station, a major landmark right in the city centre, although trains to
Kanchanaburi leave from Bangkok Thonburi station (also known as Bangkok
Noi) across the river in the West of the city. However, 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. All long distance trains still see
to be using Hualamphong at the moment, but please double-check when you get to Bangkok.
Trains
between Bangkok and Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai and 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, be warned that
from 28 September 2006, commercial flights were transferred from
the original Dong Muang Bangkok Airport to the brand new Bangkok
Suvarnabhumi
Airport, which hasn't got a mainline station.
Thai trains have three classes: 1st, 2nd and
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.
1st class sleeping-cars are
modern and air-conditioned, with
lockable 2-berth compartments with washbasin. Clean bedding, soap and 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 very good choice if you want
space and privacy, although the cheaper 2nd class sleepers are perfectly adequate
for most people. 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 150 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. Interior
photos
courtesy of Sally & Dominic O'Regan.
A 1st class sleeping-car, just
arrived at Chiang Mai at the rear of Special Express number 1 from Bangkok...
1st
class 2-berth sleeper in evening mode with sofa folded out.
Photo courtesy of Sally & Dominic O'Reagan
...The same sleeper in night-time
mode with the beds folded out. Photo courtesy of Sally &
Dominic O'Reagan
Most western visitors are
quite happy using 2nd class sleepers, which are comfortable, safe, and
great fun.
Berths are not in compartments, but are arranged 'open plan' along the
coach wall 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. 2nd class sleepers come in both
air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned varieties. 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.
Above: Air-conditioned
2nd class sleeping-car, of the most modern type...
Above left: in the evening,
pairs of seats face each
other on each side of the aisle. Above right: At night,
the seats pull together to form the lower berth, the upper berth
folds out from the wall, and there are curtains for privacy...
2nd class sleepers:
The sleeper attendant converts the beds back to seats in the morning...
Above: Air-con sleepers (older type).
Non-air-con sleepers are identical, but with ceiling fans and
windows which open.
2nd class seats -
air-conditioned express railcars
The express railcar is an
excellent option for daytime travel on routes such as Bangkok to Chiang
Mai and Bangkok to Hua Hin & Surat Thani. These modern
air-conditioned railcars have comfortable 2nd class
reclining seats. There is a hostess service of light
meals and refreshments included in the fare. Relax and enjoy the
journey as the scenery rolls by...
Fast diesel railcar...
...with hostess
service...
... & comfortable
air-conditioned 2nd class seats.
Watch the video - Taking the express railcar
from Bangkok Hualamphong station...
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. However, 2nd class would be better for
long trips such as Bangkok to Nong Khai or Chiang Mai. 3rd class
may have wooden or padded seats, is normally non-air-con, but air-con
3rd class exists on a few long distance routes.
Ordinary train, 2nd &
3rd class
3rd class with padded
seats...
...and with wooden
seats.
Watch the video - Shows 3rd class seats on a Bangkok -
Kanchanaburi train...
Traveller David Mitchell reports:
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 gets very full so it is
worth turning up early to make sure that there is enough space in it to
accommodate your bike. One thing to watch for is station staff
trying to earn a bit of extra money by insisting that you have to pay
another fee at the destination – just be firm and threaten to involve
the police if necessary. I had someone try this scam on me at
Bangkok but had no problems in Chiang Mai. One oddity: In
Bangkok the cargo office issued the bike ticket but in Chiang Mai the
cargo office don’t issue bike tickets, you have to buy tickets for
bicycles from the cloakroom (yep, the place where you can leave your
coat) which is not exactly obvious!
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.
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).
Buying tickets at Bangkok station...
Bangkok's main Hualamphong Station has a
well-organised reservation office, open daily 08:00-16:00. From
the main entrance, walk towards the platforms, and the reservation
office is tucked away on the extreme right, more or less level with
the entrance to the platforms. There's a queuing system:
When you enter, take a numbered ticket from the machine and wait until
your number appears on the display, directing you to a particular
reservation counter. The staff are friendly and helpful, and
there are ticket counters for English-speaking customers.
Bangkok also has a normal ticket office, open at all other times.
Other ways to buy Thai train tickets...
Although it's easy to book at the station,
if you want to travel at peak Thai holiday periods (for example,
around Christmas & New Year) or absolutely positively have to be on a
specific
train soon after arrival in Thailand, it's a good idea to book in
advance. You can do this in several ways: Online, using
the new system introduced in February 2009; By email direct to Thai
Railways; Or by email from one of several reputable Thai travel agencies
such as Traveller2000.
Each of these options is explained below.
Thai Railways have at
last launched online booking, at
www.thairailwayticket.com in conjunction with
their partners Prida
Pramote. The system will currently book 2nd class sleepers or
2nd class seats (but
not 1st class sleepers) on a few key routes & trains, including
all the main trains between Bangkok & Chiang Mai (trains 1, 2, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14),
trains 69 & 70 between Bangkok & Nong Khai, and most key trains
between Bangkok & Surat Thani or Hat Yai, for example. Once it is running
successfully they plan to extend it to other classes, routes & trains.
So give it a go! Bookings open 60 days before departure, you can
use this system from 60 days down to a minimum of 3 days before departure
(less than 3 days and you'll need to book at the station).
You need to register. It won't accept UK postcodes, so use that
old favourite '12345'. You pay securely by Visa or MasterCard
and print out your own ticket, which is valid for travel. You
can buy tickets for one to four people at a time, but not for more than
4 people unless you repeat the process. It doesn't offer a
choice of upper or lower berth, but if you get an upper at the end of
the booking (before payment), simply go back and reselect the train
and it may well offer you a lower. The emails that I receive now
usually report success with this new system, but
further feedback is always welcome.
Traveller Graham
Roberts reports (Feb 2009): "I have just used it successfully to
book some Thai train tickets. Besides the limitations stated
above, it will only accept bookings for 2 persons maximum at a time
[this has now increased to 4]
and it will not allow you to select upper or lower berth. I
booked two tickets and was given one upper and one lower both
together, and then I made another booking and was given one upper, no
choice (it is in the same coach but some distance from the other two).
Credit card payment went through successfully. I made a booking
52 days ahead. The website states you can go up to 60 days in
advance. One is able to print off one’s tickets which look
similar to those you actually get in Thailand. Once in Thailand
I will try to change my tickets for the berths that I prefer."
To
book with the State Railways of Thailand, email them at least 15 days
(but less than 60 days) before your date of travel on
passenger-ser@railway.co.th or fax + 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, 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 Traveller2000 or Thaifocus as shown below.
You can book Thai train tickets through
several reputable Thai travel agencies such as those listed
above. These agencies will book trains for you and have
the tickets waiting for you at your hotel in Bangkok, or they can send
them to you in the UK by courier. Naturally, they charge a small
fee for this. Traveller 2000 charges the normal Thai Railways
fare plus (normally) a 300 Baht (£6/$10) booking fee but they now say
they'llreduce this to 150 Baht (£3/$5) if you say you're
been referred by seat61.com. You can pick up tickets at
their office or have them delivered to your hotel. They charge 500 Baht
(£6/$10) for airport delivery or whatever the actual overseas courier
costs to your home country. Five seat61 correspondents have
highly recommended
www.traveller2000.com, saying they give good and reliable service,
and two have recommended
www.thaifocus.com (though two others have reported that Thaifocus charges
higher fees and fares) Shop around to check what fees each agency
charges before booking. Reservations open 60 days (2 months)
before departure, so you can't book before then.
People often ask, "Will I
be OK booking my Bangkok-Chiang Mai ticket at the station on the
day?". 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
important 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.
You can get a feel for whether to
pre-book or just buy tickets when you get there by using the real-time
seat availability check below. This shows how many seats/berths remain
available on each train on key routes today, tomorrow
and the day after tomorrow. Would you have got a seat or berth in
the class you want on the train you want if you'd been trying to buy tickets today
for travel tomorrow?
How to check seat / berth
availability at the Thai Railways website (Update 2010:
System not currently working)
To get a feel for how quickly Thai trains get
booked up, there's a seat availability check on the Thai Railways
website, which will show you how many seats remain available in each
class on each train on each date over the next month. The
English version hasn't worked for some years, but the Thai version
works, so here's how to use it, with thanks to traveller Bob
McCormick:
It's easy to
travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by train, for just
781 baht (£11 or $19) one-way
by overnight sleeper or 511 baht (£7.50 or $13) by day through the countryside on the air-conditioned express railcar.
Travelling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by sleeper is effectively faster than flying, less hassle,
far more environmentally friendly, more of a real Thai experience, and saves you a hotel
bill, too. 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 a great experience.
* Recommended
Bangkok-Chiang Mai trains (sleeper train with most modern cars by night or express
railcar by day).
Minor changes from April
2010: Train 1 will leave Bangkok at 18:10 not 18:00,
arriving Chiang Mai 07:25; Train 11 will leave Bangkok at 18:00
not 19:20, arriving Chiang Mai 06:15;
Note: You can check
these train times at the Thai railways website,
www.railway.co.th.
Trains 101 & 110 stopped running in January 2007.
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.
The 2nd class sleeper fares shown here
are for a lower bunk, a narrower upper bunk is 50-100 baht less.
Non-air-con 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.
Railway to Laos open from March 2009... This
is the new
rail terminal at Tha Naleng, 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.
New rail connection to
Vientiane as from March 2009: Work to extend the Bangkok-Nong Khai
railway across the Friendship Bridge into Laos started in 2007, and
the new line
opened as far as a new rail passenger terminal at Tha
Naleng, just on the Laos side of the Friendship Bridge some 13 km from
Vientiane, on 5 March 2009 (it had been due to open in April 2008, but
was delayed). Train 69/70 now has a connection by local train to/from
Laos (this train originally had Bangkok-Thanaleng through cars, but
the Laos connection now runs as a separate connecting train). See the Laos page for
information on the new Bangkok-Tha Naleng train service, and on local
transport between Nong Khai & 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.
The 2nd class sleeper fares shown here
are for a lower bunk, a narrower upper bunk is 50-100 baht less.
Non-air-con 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.
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:
3rd class with wooden seats, as used on Bangkok-Aranyaprathet
trains. Photo courtesy of Steve252
Aranyaprathet,
255 km from Bangkok, is just 15 km from the Cambodian border post at
Poiphet from where buses run to Siem Reap and Battambang for the
Cambodian train to Phnom Penh.
See the Cambodia page for more information on
Cambodian trains and the bus onwards from Phnom Penh to Saigon in
Vietnam. Trains 275-280 have 3rd class seats only, but
Thai 3rd class is quite clean and comfortable, and a pleasant way to
travel.
Bangkok ► Aranyaprathet
Aranyaprathet ► Bangkok
Train number:
275
279
Train number:
280
276
Class:
3
3
Class:
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): 58 baht (£1 or $1.50)
No reservation required -
just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on.
The best way to reach
Kanchanburi is by train, using the infamous Death Railway itself, for
just $2..! 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 Kanchanburi.
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 09:30, Nam
Tok 11:30, returning from Nam Tok at 14:40 and Kan'buri at 16:55
arriving Bangkok 20:00. Special fares apply, reservation
required.
Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of
Thailand, with many impressive ruins to visit, a great day trip from
Bangkok. It's easy to get there by train. There is a train
from Bangkok (Hualamphong station) to Ayutthaya
roughly every hour or so with basic but clean 3rd class seats.
No reservation is necessary -
just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on. 3rd class is not crowded outside peak times,
and 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... See
www.railway.co.th
for exact train times if you really feel you need them.
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 could also stop off at Ayutthaya on the
way to or from Chiang Mai or Nong Khai. 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.
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.
The 2nd class sleeper fares shown here
are for a lower bunk, a narrower upper bunk is 50-100 baht less.
Non-air-con 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.
Simply take any train from Bangkok
to Chumphon shown in the train times above,
then hop on a ferry to Koh Tao, see the ferry times below. You
can buy combined train+ferry tickets from State Railways of Thailand
ticket offices.
KJCF = Ko Jaroen Car Ferry;
NB = Night Boat. The Lomprayah Catamaran fare is 600 baht (£12
or $17) one-way.
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.
It's easy to travel from Bangkok to Ko Samui using a combined train+ferry
ticket for about 950 baht (£14 or $20) one-way. 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.
You can buy the combined train+ferry tickets at Bangkok Hualamphong
station reservations office, or online for a small handling fee from
www.traveller2000.com.
Bangkok ► Ko Samui
Ko Samui ► Bangkok
Train
classes:
DRC
1,S,2,3
Train
classes:
DRC
1,S,2,3
Bangkok (Hualamphong) depart by train
08:05
19:30
Ko
Samui depart by ferry:
07:00
17:00
Surat
Thani (station) arrive:
16:30
06:27
Surat
Thani (Don Sak pier) arrive:
08:30
18:30
---
shuttle bus from station to ferry terminal ---
---
shuttle bus from ferry terminal to station ---
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 train times
above. 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.
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.
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 overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Surat Thani,
see the train times above. Train 85 leaving central Bangkok
at 19:30 is a good choice. Next morning, take a bus from Surat Thani to Phuket taking around 6
hours. There are about 14 buses a day between 05:00 and 15:30.
The bus fare is unlikely to be more than about 280 Baht (£5).
Buses are run by the Thailand Transportation Co.
Returning, buses leaves Phuket for Surat
Thani at 04:45, 05:30, 07:00, 07:30, 08:00, 08:20, 09:00, 09:40,
10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 12:20, 13:50, 15:30. Information on
departure times from Surat Thani is not available, but times are
likely to be similar.
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 train to Surat Thani
or Hat Yai, and then by bus.
Bangkok to Krabi by train+bus...
Using the comfortable
overnight sleeper 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. Take
a comfortable train
from Bangkok to
Surat Thani - see the see the train times
above. Train 85 leaving central Bangkok at 19:30 is a good
choice. Then take a bus from Surat Thani station to Krabi. 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 150 baht
(£3 or $5), the journey time from Surat Thani to Krabi is about 2
hours. You can buy combined train+bus tickets from Bangkok to
Krabi sold by the State Railways of Thailand or online from
www.traveller2000.com.
Fares
Combined
train+bus fare...
1st class sleeper
a/c express train
2nd class sleeper
a/c express train
Bangkok
to Krabi
1,379 (£28)
850
(£17)
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur
or Penang to Krabi by train+bus...
Travel by train
from Singapore, KL or Penang to
Hat Yai in Thailand, as shown on the Malaysia
page. Then take a bus from Hat Yai to Krabi. Detailed
bus info is not yet available.
It's
remarkably easy, safe, and comfortable to travel from
Bangkok to Malaysia & Singapore by train. The whole 1,946 km
(1,249 miles) trip costs just £33 or US$ 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 13:45 next day. You could change trains at
Hat Yai onto train 7, shown two columns to the right. Or you
could stay on till Butterworth, spend the afternoon seeing Penang,
then catch train 9 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.
Important: A new timetable start on 15 January 2010 in
Malaysia. The timetable below has been updated to reflect the
new trains and their times at their origin and destination, but I have
not yet been able to update the exact times at all the intermediate
calling points within Malaysia. So please double check locally.
Bangkok & Southern
Thailand ► Malaysia ► Singapore
3 = 3rd class (Economy) seats. Modern & comfortable but basic.
** = This train doesn't call at Butterworth, the time shown is
the time it calls at Bukit Mertajam, a small station about 11 miles
from Butterworth by bus or taxi.
Train 7 & 8: Express
Langkawi. Gemas-KL - Hat Yai daily. No longer calls at
Butterworth. Only 2nd class sleepers (Malaysian) & 2nd class
seats run all the way between Kuala Lumpur & Hat Yai.
Train 9 & 10: Express Senandung
Utara: Daily KL-Butterworth (Penang) overnight train.
This train is not recommended as it has no sleepers, just 1st
& 2nd class sit-up-all-night seats. For overnight travel
between KL & Penang travel, you are advised to take train 7 or 8
(Ekspress Langkawi, with sleepers) between KL and Bukit Mertajam.
Although train 7/8 doesn't call at Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam is
about 11 miles from Butterworth by bus or taxi.
Train 35 & 36:
International Express. Bangkok-Penang
(Butterworth) daily. Please double-check
exact times locally, as there is a discrepancy between the Thai and
Malay railway websites. Also known in Malaysia as the Ekspress Antarabangsa,
it has direct air-conditioned 2nd class sleepers Bangkok-Butterworth.
Between Bangkok & Hat Yai it also has a restaurant car, a 1st class
sleeping-car and additional 2nd class sleepers. This train is
provided by State Railways of Thailand.
Train 41 & 42: Fast air-conditioned railcar with 2nd class
reclining seats. This train actually goes to/from Bangkok, but
is not recommended for Bangkok passengers as it has no
sleepers.
Train 172: Rapid train, 2nd & 3rd class non-AC.
Fares
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.
The 'International Express'
2nd class sleepers from
Bangkok to Butterworth (for Penang) on the International
Express (Right - older type. Below -
modern type. You could get either sort)
A main course in the wood-panelled Thai
restaurant car costs about £1.50 - language is no problem, as you can
choose your dish from an illustrated menu. There is a set
breakfast menu costing about £2.50 or $4. 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
There is one other option for
train travel between Bangkok, Butterworth and
Singapore... This is the luxurious
'Eastern & Oriental Express' which runs direct once a week 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 £600, compared with the £19 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..!
Hotels
in Bangkok, Chiang Mai & other cities in Thailand &
Southeast Asia...
Don't be afraid to find hotels as you go, to stay
flexible. A good guidebook like the Lonely Planet or
Rough Guides will point you at some good hotels in each town
or city when you get there. Alternatively, you
can pre-book hotels (budget, mid-range and upmarket) in
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and most of Southeast Asia through
www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box
below. It's the best hotel search system I've seen.
This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms,
Asiativ.com, Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide.
Personal recommendation:
The
Royal Hotel in Bangkok is very central, just round the
corner from the Grand Palace, has an upmarket feel and gets
good reviews, and costs only around $30 (£15) for a single
room or $50 (£25) for a double. You might also want to check Tripadvisor's recommendations:
Tripadvisor
Thailand hotels.
Backpacker hostels...
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 insured...
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 after clicking these
links.
Get a pre-paid currency MasterCard from Caxton FX...
You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX currency card, available in euros, dollars or the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' card.
Find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, but 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%. 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.
Overland travel by train & bus around Southeast
Asia is an essential part
of the experience, so once there, don't cheat and fly, stay on the ground! But
a long-haul flight might be unavoidable to reach Asia in the first place.
Opodo.com is a good place to book flights, and it's
usually where I start looking myself. Seat61 gets a small commission
if you buy through this link.
If you're a UK resident, try
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
