Korat or Buriram by car to Krabi

[watgate]

I am considering traveling by car from either Korat or Buriram to Krabi next February and am trying to get some info as to what it might entail. By bus I think it takes around 16-17 hours so it is obviously not a short trip. Some of the questions that come to mind is are their any mountains or high passes you have to travel on? My g/f will be doing most of the driving and does not like having to negotiate tricky roads at higher elevations. Also, can you hopefully avoid most of the Bangkok traffic when heading south to Krabi? It would be nice to be able to not have to contend with the Bangkok traffic if at all possible. Ideally, we would probably stop 1 night somewhere on the way down so any suggestions as to where the spend the nite before continuing our journey to Krabi would be appreciated. I take it most of the roads we would be traveling on would be main roads or highways. Is that correct? Any info would be most appreciated so  I can try to put together this trip.  Thanks

[Isaanbiker]

Even when you take off from Korat, it's more than 1,000 km to Krabi. I'd think that she'll need a break, or two.

 

    You'd usually come from Korat using the number 2 highway and you can't fully bypass Bangkok, but you can take the highway 9 to Baeng Khun Tian, then Samut Sakhon. 

 

There are no high p[asses you have to master, no worries. There's a wonderful place that belongs to Prachuap Khiri Khan, called Bankrud, sometimes also spelled Bankrut.

 

Here's a video of Bankrud, 140 km south of Hua Hin, belongs to Bangsaphan Noi. 

 

 

It's a fishermen village with resorts at a nice beach and worth a visit. Only crowded on weekends when Bangkokians come for a short trip.

 

But you can also make a stop in Hua Hin, Cha Am, or Prachuap Khiri Khan. If you didn't plan your destination in Krabi, please check out Ko Lanta, we were there last August and it was fantastic.

 

Ferries go from Krabi starting at 8am to 6pm. Beautiful beaches and a great place to swim, dive, snorkel and relax.

 

  But we flew from Ubon to Krabi as we'd even have around 350 km more than you've got from Korat.

 

    You still have enough time to plan your trip, best of luck with your driving. 

 

 

   

 

  

 

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Isaanbiker

[bwpage3]

Although driving out of Isaan during the night you encounter many crazy truck drivers, I found it was better to get around Bangkok in the early hours, like 2 or 3 AM

 

If you leave Isaan at 8 PM or so, can get around Bangkok during early AM when traffic is lightest and although by that time you might have 6 hours on the road, the worst of the traffic is over.

 

Once the sun comes up, it is easier to continue south

 

Once you get to Samut Songkhram [highway 35] you are pretty much in the clear.

 

The rest of the drive from Isaan down [highway 4 and 37] , albeit long, is not hard and as a foreigner there are lots of interesting things to see on the way once the sun is up.

 

If you take the leave at night plan and keep driving when the sun comes up all day, you can probably make it at least to Phrachuap Khiri Khan and likely to Chumphon.

 

Plenty of places to crash for the night and continue on to Krabi the next day.

 

The road is a double lane highway as far as the turn-off past Surat Thani, then it becomes a scenic winding road to Krabi, about 3 hours.

 

If you are not in a rush to get there would be even better. It all really depends on how far you want to drive each day.

 

I found as long as I don't get stuck in any Bangkok traffic the trip is quite enjoyable, even with long hours in the car.

 

 

[Denim]

If it sounds too dangerous you could always take the train.

Perfectly safe and relaxing.

 

Train to Bangkok then overnight near the station ( many hotels near station for all budgets )

 

Next day get a first class cabin down south to the nearest station ( Nakorn Sri Thamaraht ) then private taxi to Krabi.

Very relaxing journey and considering the price of petrol and stress, worth the money.