Thailand intercity public transport: trains, buses and ferries

Transport in Thailand: domestic railway

Thailand – railway. Trains in the country – transport with a century of history. The first train was launched in 1894. Now the Thai road network, although it does not cover all regions of the country, is still quite developed and includes all important cities. There are four main branches: south, north, northeast and east. They all start / end in Bangkok, so you can get to the capital from any station.

Thailand Railways Official Website
Train timetables

Service on intercity trains, what is the difference between trains and wagons

Four types of trains run on Thai Railways:

• ordinary trains, third class cars (rarely second class);
• fast trains, cars of the second and third class (rarely – the first);
• express trains, first and second class cars (rarely third class);
• special express trains, first and second class carriages.

The difference in speed between ambulance and express, express and special express is usually insignificant and only matters if you travel long distances. But ordinary trains are much slower than the rest. The level of service in them is also the worst, therefore, if possible, traveling on ordinary trains should be avoided, especially if you are spending holidays with children in Thailand .

See what different types of trains look like and in what directions they go.

What are the different classes of wagons?

First class . Single or double compartments, there is air conditioning, a shower (per car) and access to drinking water.

Second class . Seating or sleeping places in a comfortable reserved seat with upper and lower shelves. Each place has a curtain, there are stairs to the second shelf, air conditioning or a fan. Places in sleeping cars are provided with bed linen. The upper shelves are cheaper, but they are often either hot or cold (depending on the availability and operation of the air conditioner).

Third class . Places – only on the benches (not very comfortable). It looks like an electric train, but at the same time, trains with such cars run over long distances, and not just to the suburbs.

You can see what the cars of the first, second and third class look like on the website .

Railway tickets Thailand. The ticket price includes the distance, the class of the train and the carriage. An example for comparison: a trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (about 11 hours on the way) by express in a first class car will cost about 1,500 baht / $ 49, the second – 400-600 baht / $ 13-20; in a fast train in a second class car – about 400 baht / $ 13, in the third – about 200 baht / $ 6.5.

Trains to Thailand: price and tickets

At the checkout . You can buy a ticket for the Thailand train at the box office at the station.  You need a passport to buy .  Check the correctness of the data in the ticket without leaving the ticket office!

Call 1690 (24/7) at least five days prior to travel date. You need to pick up the ticket booked by phone the next day no later than 22.00, otherwise the booking will be automatically canceled. Find out how expensive mobile data is in Thailand to save on calls while traveling.

Online on the official website . Register, select the route of the trip, date, number of passengers, then the type of train and carriage, free seat (available options are highlighted in green). Enter passenger information and make payment. A ticket will be sent to the specified e-mail, which must be printed! See website for detailed instructions . You can also order tickets on other services, for example here , here or here . At the same time, the number of free seats on different resources may be different, so it is reasonable to look for tickets everywhere.

Early booking and ticket redemption

During the high season (November-March), train tickets for first and second class carriages must be taken in advance, because they are in great demand. You can buy tickets at the box office in advance from 1 to 90 days, depending on what part of the entire train route you will travel: less than 25% – booking is available in 1 day, 25-59% – in 30 days, 60% and more – for 90 days. Online booking is available according to the same scheme, but no later than two hours before the departure of the train and no earlier than 60 days.

Special tickets:

Thailand Rail Pass is a travel pass for tourists for 20 days. Valid in second and third class carriages on express, fast and regular trains, costs about 3,000 baht / $ 98 (there is a cheaper version of the pass, but it is not profitable to buy).

Combined ticket “train plus Thailand-bus and/or ferry-Thailand”. Suitable for routes such as Bangkok-Samui, Bangkok-Phuket, etc..

Rules and features of using the train:

• For children under three years old, up to 100 cm tall, the ticket is free, for children from three to twelve years old up to 150 cm tall, there is a 50% discount on tickets.
• You can carry luggage up to 50 * 50 * 50 cm in size for free. You can store your suitcase under the seat or, if there is no space, next to the seat (if the luggage does not interfere with free passage).
• Smoking and drinking alcohol in carriages and vestibules is prohibited.

• You can transport motorbikes for an additional fee (up to 1200 baht/$40).
• Stations and cars are usually quite clean, and yet among the passengers you can sometimes find a family of cockroaches.
• Express trains and special express trains rarely stop, only at important stations.
• Trains are sometimes delayed by an hour or more (up to five hours during floods and other natural disasters). Consider this moment and do not plan everything “back to back”.

Railway stations

Bangkok’s main railway station Hua Lamphong is located in the city center (near the metro station of the same name). It serves intercity trains to all destinations except Kanchanaburi. There is a special cash desk for foreigners, with an English-speaking cashier. In Pattaya, the location of the station is inconvenient, far from the tourist areas. You will have to take a taxi to get there. Chiang Mai Station is located near the city center, you can get there by tuk-tuk.

The railway station in Hua Hin deserves special attention. This is one of the oldest and most unusual stations in the world – it was built at the beginning of the last century. A wooden station with a bright red roof looks like a toy! Antiquarian bells, an old locomotive-monument and ideally smooth rails going to the very horizon add color.

Thailand: buses between cities

Thailand’s intercity bus network is much better developed than the railway, prices are lower, and buses are not much inferior to trains in terms of comfort. Both state-owned companies and private traders serve different directions: Transport Co. , Nakhonchai Air , Sombat tour , etc.

Service on intercity buses

Single-decker regular buses run on short routes, single- and double-decker buses run on long routes. In one row – from three to four chairs. 

All buses are divided into several classes, which differ in the level of comfort and service:

VIP-24 or First vip class-24 – up to 24 seats*. There is an air conditioner and a toilet. Passengers are given a blanket, drinks, snacks. For longer distances, dinner/lunch is served at one of the stops.

VIP-32, VIP or First vip class-32 – up to 32 seats. There is an air conditioner and a toilet. Passengers are given a blanket, drinks, snacks.

Second class, Express and First class  – from 40 to 50 seats. There is air conditioning and a toilet (only in the first class). The ticket, as a rule, goes without indication of a seat.

*Indicates the standard number of seats in a single-decker bus or on the second floor of a double-decker bus. On the ground floor of a two-story building, 6-10 people can fit. 

Externally, scheduled buses in Thailand differ little, all have approximately the same length, width and height (with the exception of double-deckers). Therefore, the level of comfort during the trip depends on how large the capacity of the bus is: the fewer seats, the wider the seats, more legroom and you can recline more. So when buying a ticket, first of all, find out not the VIP / First / Second category (different companies may have other class names), but the capacity of the transport. If the number of seats is unknown, be guided by the price – bus tickets for 24 people are the most expensive (but also the most comfortable). Comparison prices for seats on Bangkok-Chiang Mai buses (11 hours on the way): VIP-24 – $29, Second class – $19.

Where and how to buy bus tickets?

At bus stations, bus stations and ticket offices . Cashiers do not always speak English, so they may ask you to show on the screen which place you want.

By phone or on the website of Thai carriers (when such a service is available). The method is not the most convenient, since many sites are not translated into English, or only partially translated. Operators also do not always speak English. In addition, in search of tickets, you will have to wool several sites at once.

On aggregator sites , for example, 12go . The advantages of this method: English and Russian-language interface, all offers from different carriers in one place. Minus – tickets are sometimes more expensive than at the box office and on the official websites of carriers, but sometimes the opposite is true. The ticket received by e-mail must be printed and presented to the controller or driver.

At the reception . Thailand hotels and travel agency offices provide this service. The method is not the most reliable, because instead of a ticket for a regular bus, they can sell you a ticket for a private or tourist bus, and this type of transportation is more like a lottery – maybe you will arrive on time and in comfort, or maybe the bus will be uncomfortable and late for a couple of hours.

Tickets for cheap seats can be bought literally an hour before the bus departure. But if you want a comfortable seat, book or redeem a ticket at least a day in advance. Be sure to buy your tickets before the holidays in Thailand . As a rule, a ticket can be purchased 60 days or less before the date of travel. Return, if necessary, can be made no later than three hours before departure.

Rules and features of using the bus:

• The bus leaves not only from the station at the bus station, but also from bus stops. This information must be indicated on the ticket.
• Regular buses run strictly on schedule and are rarely delayed. You can check the timetable at the station or buy a booklet at the ticket office.
• The maximum baggage weight is 20 kg.
• All buses are constantly air-conditioned, the cabin is usually quite cool.
• All buses make stops for 5-20 minutes every few hours.
• The worst seats are in the very back row. Here the backs of the seats do not recline, and the air conditioner blows the strongest. The best seats in double-decker buses are on the second floor in the first row (the most legroom, less motion sickness).

Air communication between the cities of Thailand

You can travel within the country not only on the ground, but also in the sky. There are several low-cost airlines in Thailand that offer very low prices for domestic flights. The cost is so attractive that a flight may not cost much more or as much as a bus or train trip of the same distance.

Advice. To save as much as possible on the flight, take tickets in advance and follow the discounts and sales on the airline’s website (you can subscribe to their newsletters).

There are airports in many major cities in Thailand:

• Bangkok – Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang Airports
• Phuket Airport
• Koh Samui airport
• Pattaya – U-Tapao Airport
• Chiang Mai Airport
• Krabi airport

There are other small airports that serve domestic flights: Hat Yai, Hua Hin, Trat, Chiang Rai, Buriram, Lom Sak, Bhumibol Dam, Maesot, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Surin, Trang, Udon Thani, Tak, Uttaradit, etc.

Estimated cost and flight time for popular flights:

Bangkok – Chiang Mai. The cost is from $21. Flight duration – 1.10 hours.

Bangkok – Phuket. The cost is from $19. Flight duration – 1.20 hours.

Bangkok – Koh Samui. Cost – from $ 90. Flight duration – 1.10 hours.

Bangkok – Pattaya. The cost is from $45. Flight duration – 2.30 hours.

Bangkok – Krabi. The cost is from $21. Flight duration – 1.25 hours.

Water transport in Thailand

Water transport in Thailand is a full-fledged means of transportation both along the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, and along rivers. Many islands that do not have an airport (Phangan, Koh Chang, etc.) can only be reached by water. Communication is established between the mainland and the islands, between the islands, as well as between some provinces on the mainland, between which it is faster to move by water than by land (for example, Pattaya-Hua Hin).

Thailand port. The largest ports are in Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok. They serve different directions, both large carriers and private traders.

Several types of transport are used:

Speedboats , Thailand. Speedboats (speed boats, catamarans and ferries) are the fastest, most convenient, but also the most expensive means of transport.

Low-speed ferries are inexpensive, different in terms of comfort. There are ferries serving cars and motorcycles. In addition to daytime flights, there are night flights (for example, Suratthani-Koh Samui).

Longtails  are long-tailed boats with benches under a canopy. They are used for short distances, they are sent mainly not according to the schedule, but as they fill up. More suitable for water walks than for movement.

Where to buy tickets?

• in hotels and travel agencies.
• Online on the carrier ‘s website or on an aggregator website .
• At the box office at the pier and in ports.

It is convenient to take Internet tickets, but there is more choice at the box office. It is better to buy tickets in advance, one or two days in advance, especially on major holidays and during the high season. At some marinas, you need to pay an additional environmental fee or a pier maintenance fee (from 10 to 200 baht / $ 0.3-6.5)

Rules and features of using water transport:

• The traffic schedule is often lost, ferries are late for an hour or more, travel time may be longer than indicated in the schedule. The weather in Thailand varies from month to month and flights are often canceled due to the threat of a storm. Sometimes water communication is generally closed (mainly in the Andaman Sea).
• Sometimes the flight includes a transfer from ferry to ferry, directly into the sea (passengers transfer to another ship via a suspension bridge).
• You need to be at the pier one hour before departure.
• Passengers suffering from seasickness should not use small boats – they are most chatted on the water.

• On the open upper deck of the vessel (if there is one), the views are, of course, beautiful, but keep in mind that it is easy to burn out or catch a cold (in windy weather) on it.
• The maximum baggage weight is 20 kg. Usually it must be handed over to the ship’s employees.
• Large boats are air-conditioned, so don’t forget to take a warm jacket on your trip.

Ferry tickets, Thailand: prices, service, travel time

Bangkok → Koh Chang

Carrier: Boonsiri High Speed ​​Ferries .
Transport: Haad Thanam high-speed catamaran ferry with a capacity of up to 288 people.
Travel time: approximately 8 hours. Departure daily 1-2 times a day. Schedule .
Price: 600 baht/$20.
Service: regular seats, VIP rooms, outdoor upper deck.

Pattaya → Hua Hin

Carrier: Royal Passenger Liner Co.
Transport: Royal high-speed catamaran with a capacity of up to 300 people.
Travel time: approximately 1.5-3 hours. Departure daily from Pattaya at 13.00, from Hua Hin at 16.00.
Price: adult – 1,250-14,000 baht / $ 40-457, children – 950-14 thousand baht / $ 31-457. Transport – bicycles only (214 baht/$7).
Service: economy class seats, business and VIP rooms for 4-8 people. Business and VIP lounges have access to a snack bar and drinking water.

Samui → Koh Tao

Carrier: Songserm Company .
Transport: speedboat for up to 600 people.
Travel time: approximately 3-4 hours. Departure daily at 11.30.
Price: adults 500 baht/$16, children 250 baht/$8.
Service: comfortable seats on the lower deck, snack bar, TV, open upper deck.

Other carriers operating in this direction:  Seatran Discovery , Lamprayah .

Koh Samui → Koh Phangan

Carrier: Seatran Discovery .
Transport: high-speed ferry-yacht Seatran Discovery with a capacity of up to 275 people.
Travel time: approximately half an hour. Departure daily three times a day. Schedule .
Price: adults – 300 baht / $ 10, children – 220 baht / $ 7.
Service: Seating in closed cabins on two floors, bar, TV, seating area on the upper open deck.

Other carriers operating in this direction: Songserm Company , Lamprayah , Lamprayah