Is it worth it to go by train? I heard the view and experience is worth it need some suggestions.

There is no Train from Phuket, bus or plane only

Edited July 16, 20241 yr by Hummin

Surat thani/Bangkok, about 10 hours

As stated, no train to Phuket.

 

Worth it ... yes & no ...

... for the experience, maybe, did it once, and longest only bkk to Hua Hin, 4 hrs, and once was enough.  it is nice, one time, and scenery is nice, daytime.  Short leg to Bang Saphan also, and OK.  Took the bus back ... nuff said.

 

Did it 2X since, to & from PKK, out of necessity, and couldn't wait for it to be over.  If doing, daytime better.

 

Phuket ... FLY

IF want to experience the train, take the tourist train to Kanchanaburi or sunflower fields & lake (Lopburi & Pasak Chonlasit Lake)

Edited July 16, 20241 yr by KhunLA

16 hours ago, Conan The Barbarian said:

Is it worth it to go by train? I heard the view and experience is worth it need some suggestions.

Not really, bit of a trek to the nearest railway station.

All train-related questions can be answered by consulting either Richard Barrow's ThaiTrainGuide.com ( and he has an Asian Train Guide too) or TheManInSeat61.com

 

Train travel in Thailand takes a lot longer but the experience is unforgettable ( ....as the actress said to the bishop) 

 

 

I love the trains in Thailand. I’ve travelled on almost every line and can’t say I’ve had a single bad experience. Overnight trains can be convenient as the usually arrive in the mornings and take the hassle out of negotiating the airports. Many of the longer distance trains have a food carriage with drinks and basic fare. I totally recommend the experience if time is not a priority. 

Thai trains are usually late. And not by minutes. And they stop and leave passengers to get to their destinations without assistance. And the lines are often shared with trains coming from other direction. i.e. one line north and south. Fly perhaps.

43 minutes ago, oscarsmum said:

Thai trains are usually late. And not by minutes. And they stop and leave passengers to get to their destinations without assistance. And the lines are often shared with trains coming from other direction. i.e. one line north and south. Fly perhaps.

Hasn't been my experience, 6 trips, and they've all been rather prompt.  Don't leave people behind, and the duel line should help with the occasional 'wait' for the other one to pass issue.

 

That said ... FLY

1 hour ago, Zack61 said:

Many of the longer distance trains have a food carriage with drinks and basic fare.

 

But still no alcohol.

1 hour ago, Drumbuie said:

All train-related questions can be answered by consulting either Richard Barrow's ThaiTrainGuide.com ( and he has an Asian Train Guide too) or TheManInSeat61.com

 

Train travel in Thailand takes a lot longer but the experience is unforgettable ( ....as the actress said to the bishop) 

 

 

RBTG ... link

Seat 61 ... link

SRT ... link

30 years ago, I did it.  Train to Surat Thani, stayed overnight in a flophouse near the train station and took a bus for 6 hours the next day to Phuket.  Never again!!  The bus was the worst part.  Its a very mountainous route with a lot of twists and turns.  Depending on your driver, it can be quite an adventure-and I don't mean that in a good way.

I took a train from Hat Yai to Bangkok once for "the experience".  Never again. 

 

I actually started out in Kuala Lumpur, with a hotel overnight in Penang (that was good).  And cobbled together trains, buses and a taxi from the Malaysian border to Hat Yai.  Then a train onto Bangkok.

In fairness, a lot of the scenic stuff ended up being in the dark, which made it totally not worth it.  Maybe different if you can schedule during daylight, but the "bed" was miserable.

 

Edited July 17, 20241 yr by impulse

If you love the smell of piss from a lavatory in the morning, take the train - it’s a great experience.

 

Back in the days before affordable domestic air travel, on my first trip here I sat opposite one western guy, he bought a bottle of sang som with him, he spoke Thai which blew me away, we drank until the guard made the beds and shut down the party, backpackers would be play cards, you could get up and smoke in between the carriages and we all had a great time. Ever since then I never had an enjoyable experience on the train, nowadays the stopped people drinking, backpackers seem to change, everyone flies.

 

Slightly  but some years ago I took a train from BKK to Pichai (Uttaradit) to see an old friend.

Going, I took the "VIP" train from Hua Lamphong which, apart from the ice-cold carriages (note to self: take long trousers and long sleeve shirt next time!) was very pleasant.

This train stopped many times  at lovely stations, manned by people with a pride in keeping them that way. I forget the fare but it was (I think) about 300 Baht; for that I was fed twice en-route and the seat, was "sort of" cushioned.

 

My return journey, the only ticket available was 3rd class, open-sided carriage with folding plastic "windows" for use if it rained.

That was interesting:  hot and sticky, far less comfortable, and I was glad i had a towel to use as a seat cushion!

 

A nice Thai lady shared her food with me, on most stations there were vendors on the platform selling cooked food to the passengers at "street food" prices, so I reciprocated after the next station stop - we ended up as firm travel friends, despite her speaking no English and my Thai being extremely limited.

 

The whole journey was a real experience which i wouldn't have missed for the world.

 

Whether I want to do it again, 30 years older is another question!

23 hours ago, KhunLA said:

As stated, no train to Phuket.

 

Worth it ... yes & no ...

... for the experience, maybe, did it once, and longest only bkk to Hua Hin, 4 hrs, and once was enough.  it is nice, one time, and scenery is nice, daytime.  Short leg to Bang Saphan also, and OK.  Took the bus back ... nuff said.

 

Did it 2X since, to & from PKK, out of necessity, and couldn't wait for it to be over.  If doing, daytime better.

 

Phuket ... FLY

IF want to experience the train, take the tourist train to Kanchanaburi or sunflower fields & lake (Lopburi & Pasak Chonlasit Lake)

I have only done a few shorter train rides, but for Phuket and Krabi I did bus a few times. 

 

Wouldnt done it now unless I had my own private toilet. For me the absolute worst think is those shared toilets along the rode when travelling. 

4 hours ago, impulse said:

I took a train from Hat Yai to Bangkok once for "the experience".  Never again

Me too. Never again.

6 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

But still no alcohol.

I wonder why? lol

46 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

5 hours ago, impulse said:

I took a train from Hat Yai to Bangkok once for "the experience".  Never again

Me too. Never again.

 

Still, I have to admit...  I'm glad I did it once, so my reluctance is based on experience and not some blog. 

 

Looking back over photos and videos from that trip, I forgot that I went from the border to Songkhla and stayed a few days there.  I love Songkhla town and Samila Beach (shameless plug...).  Then I went back to Hat Yai and hopped the train to BKK.  If I ever do it again, it'll be on a daytime train, or at least one that has some good scenery in the light of day.  If that's an available option.

 

 

 

Planned Phuket train and the route marked out and land reserved by King 5.

 

They haven’t got around to building yet.

 

Coming soon, will link Krabi as well to Surat.

7 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

But still no alcohol. 

 

Are you allowed to BYO?    Not that I care since I took the oath in 1988, but just curious...

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, impulse said:

If I ever do it again, it'll be on a daytime train, or at least one that has some good scenery in the light of day.

Night train from Hat Yai leaves at 5PM (I might be wrong but about that time)

We had to checkout from wonderful hotel with huge TV and brand new make over. 

So we roamed around on that heat for almost 4 hours - not much pleasure I'd say

The train was from the past, I guess ~50 years old, but well maintained

Restaurant had crazy prices - we didn't eat whole trip but there was water @ 250ml 

Bang Sue railway station is scary, but that was close to MRT

 

Over all I'd rather take super VIP 24 seats couch and sit on the second floor with scenic views than on the train, which one derailed while I was on it. Not funny

1 minute ago, NativeBob said:

Over all I'd rather take super VIP 24 seats couch and sit on the second floor with scenic views than on the train, which one derailed while I was on it. Not funny

 

My dodgiest train experience was on the weekend tourist train to (and beyond) Kanchanaburi.  A few miles away from civilization, the wheels started spinning on the wet tracks.  So they let us out to walk the last bit.  More funny than any kind of scary.

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

I have only done a few shorter train rides, but for Phuket and Krabi I did bus a few times. 

 

Wouldnt done it now unless I had my own private toilet. For me the absolute worst think is those shared toilets along the rode when travelling. 

I did BKK - CM & BKK - Phuket ... both time flew back 

 

I think CM was last time I did bus.  Pre car owning (2001-2003) ... never again.

8 hours ago, Drumbuie said:

All train-related questions can be answered by consulting either Richard Barrow's ThaiTrainGuide.com ( and he has an Asian Train Guide too) or TheManInSeat61.com

 

Train travel in Thailand takes a lot longer but the experience is unforgettable ( ....as the actress said to the bishop) 

 

 

I loved traveling by Thai railways long distance. Second class AC was the cheese. Lower bunk of course.

The restaurant car was an experience though, so I usually took my own food.

Using the toilet was also interesting as I could see directly down onto the track sleepers. If I was lucky it was a sit down job, otherwise the squat version.

43 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Still, I have to admit...  I'm glad I did it once, so my reluctance is based on experience and not some blog. 

 

Looking back over photos and videos from that trip, I forgot that I went from the border to Songkhla and stayed a few days there.  I love Songkhla town and Samila Beach (shameless plug...).  Then I went back to Hat Yai and hopped the train to BKK.  If I ever do it again, it'll be on a daytime train, or at least one that has some good scenery in the light of day.  If that's an available option.

 

 

 

Just take a train that starts early or arrives early as good view for a few hours. I took sleeper as saved a hotel cost, also that day time train was not very good to be polite.

5 hours ago, recom273 said:

If you love the smell of piss from a lavatory in the morning, take the train

Can't agree with that. For a start there was always a door between seats and wash area. That was on second class sleeper, so your carriage may have been different.

30 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

Restaurant had crazy prices - we didn't eat whole trip

That was why it was a good idea to take your own food. At stations there were hawkers selling food too.

7 hours ago, LALes said:

Train to Surat Thani, stayed overnight in a flophouse near the train station

Was that Queen Hotel by any chance? I always stayed there if I was waiting for a train. Even if I didn't sleep there it was better than hanging around the station for hours and it had internet. Cheap too.

Every train journey was an adventure.

7 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

But still no alcohol.

If you can't go without for a day that makes you an ............................