How to Use This Book, and Five Rules Before You Choose a Route
Thailand has more ways to get from A to B than most countries: overnight sleeper trains, VIP buses that leave every hour, shared minivans, ferries and…
Thailand has more ways to get from A to B than most countries: overnight sleeper trains, VIP buses that leave every hour, shared minivans, ferries and speedboats, and dozens of budget flights a day. The same route can be done five ways, and each way suits a different traveler. This book does not tell you the way to go. It tells you who each option suits and where people usually get it wrong, so you can decide quickly.
Five rules
1. Count door-to-door time, not ticket time
A flight is "one hour", but with the trip to the airport, check-in, boarding and the ride into town it is usually four to five hours. An overnight train is "twelve hours", but most of that is time you would have spent asleep. Compare the time you actually lose, not the number printed on the ticket.
2. Never plan around the last departure
Every island has a last ferry, every border has a closing time, and trains run late. If your plan only works if you catch the final departure, you have no margin. Plan for the one before it.
3. Book your bed before your seat
For destinations with several beaches or piers (Koh Chang, Koh Samui, Phuket), knowing where you will sleep tells you which pier and which onward transfer to use. Otherwise you may end up crossing the island twice.
4. The way back is a different problem
On Sunday evenings and at the end of Thai long weekends, every road into Bangkok is jammed. A train that is slower than a minivan on a weekday can be the faster choice that day.
5. Prices change; structure does not
This book deliberately avoids fixed fares and timetables — they change every season. What stays the same is the structure of each route: "Koh Tao is reached via Chumphon", or "southern-line trains leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal". Use the book to plan the skeleton, then check fares and times with the operator before you book.
Bangkok's departure points
| Departure point | Used for |
|---|---|
| Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (Bang Sue) | All long-distance trains: north, north-east, south and east. Hua Lamphong, the old station, no longer handles them. |
| Mo Chit 2 (Northern Bus Terminal) | Buses to the north and north-east, plus several eastern routes |
| Sai Tai Mai (Southern Bus Terminal) | Buses and minivans to the south (Hua Hin, Phuket, Krabi) |
| Ekkamai (Eastern Bus Terminal) | Buses to the east coast (Pattaya, Trat / Koh Chang) — on the BTS Skytrain line |
| Don Mueang / Suvarnabhumi airports | Most low-cost carriers use Don Mueang; full-service and international flights use Suvarnabhumi |
How each chapter is built
Every route chapter follows the same order: an overview table of options → each option with its pros, cons and traps → a short "which one for you" summary → what to prepare. Read only the chapters for the trips you are taking; nothing depends on reading in order.
A note on booking
Thai operators sell tickets through their own counters and websites, and most routes are also listed on aggregator sites that show trains, buses and ferries side by side in English. Using an aggregator is the easiest way to see all options for a route on one screen and to buy combined bus-plus-ferry tickets. Prices are usually the same or slightly above the counter price; the trade-off is convenience and an English-language interface.