hi all. my folks and myself, wife and little 'un are visiting LOS next month but while the missus and I visit the in laws my folks are doing their own thing. They want to get the train from bkk-chiang mai, is it easy for non-thai speakers to purchase tickets? do you need to purchase in advance or does it not get that booked up?

thanks

D

They will have no trouble at all other than possible problems due to the flooding, plenty of English speaking staff to help.

I did the journey for the first time November last year and can thoroughly recommend it.

It's a long journey and the train is always a couple of hours late arriving so I would suggest the overnight sleeper. If they choose this then yes you will need to book a few days in advance, best value is second class air conditioned.

More info here

Edited October 10, 201114 yr by jayceebee

Hopefully train service to the North will be resumed by Loy Khratong. Evidently a lot of repairs are required after the floods recede.

Trains sell out based on many factors: day of week; festivals, holidays expect travel around Loy Khratong to be heavy, and there will be pent-up demand owing to cancellation of service due to flooding.

I would recommend buying tickets as soon as your travel dates are firm. There is an advanced sales office off to the right if facing the main train status board. The agents can handle English but it would be best to know exactly which train(s), by number, travel dates and class of service as desired. You can buy within 60 days of travel so maybe best to buy the return at the same time?

Maybe best to consider an air ticket?

@OP,

You can purchase train tickets online at the State Railway of Thailand website. It is easy to navigate. Have used it a number of times. If you wait until you get to Thailand to get tickets, you may be out of luck for the reason the prior posters noted. And, if the trains are still not running, getting a refund is no problem though you do have to get it at one of the stations. I had 2 tickets for October and getting a refund took less than 5 minutes.

David

@OP,

You can purchase train tickets online at the State Railway of Thailand website. It is easy to navigate. Have used it a number of times. If you wait until you get to Thailand to get tickets, you may be out of luck for the reason the prior posters noted. And, if the trains are still not running, getting a refund is no problem though you do have to get it at one of the stations. I had 2 tickets for October and getting a refund took less than 5 minutes.

David

Really useful link! Thanks for posting it.

We just did this a few days back. The cheapseats were sold out and we saw a lot of backpackers sitting and waiting. If they just grab 1st class sleeper, they'll pretty much have no problems getting a train, and it's far more comfortable.

In my recent experience, if you want to do the overnight sleeper, you need to be at least a few days in advance.

They get sold out fast.

They can function well in English there....

thanks all for the info