Thailand’s Overnight Trains: Everything You Need to Know

The best ฿700 you’ll spend in Thailand

I’m a genuine evangelist for Thailand’s overnight train network and I’ve converted a lot of skeptical friends. The idea of sleeping on a train sounds uncomfortable until you’ve actually done it — the sleeper cars are genuinely decent, the rhythm of the train is soporific, and you wake up somewhere completely different having spent nothing on accommodation.

The main routes

Bangkok–Chiang Mai: The classic, 13 hours, departs evening, arrives morning. My favorite train journey in Southeast Asia.
Bangkok–Surat Thani: 9 hours, the gateway to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao. Gets you to the pier at dawn perfectly timed for the first ferry.
Bangkok–Hat Yai: The far south, 13–15 hours. Less traveled by tourists, interesting if you’re heading to the Malaysian border.

What the classes actually mean

First class: private two-berth air-conditioned cabins. Lovely if available, often sold out. ฿1,200–1,800.
Second class sleeper: curtained berths in an open car, AC. This is what I always book — upper berth is cheaper (฿600–800) and slightly more private. Lower berth is ฿700–1,000.
Third class: seats only, no sleeping, no AC on older trains. Fine for day trips, not for overnight.

Booking

The State Railway of Thailand website works in English. Alternatively book through 12Go Asia or Klook. Book at least a week ahead for popular routes on weekends and holidays — second class sleepers go fast.

The one thing nobody mentions

The dining car serves actual food — Thai dishes for ฿60–120, cold beer, and usually a few other travelers to talk to. Eating dinner in a dining car as Thailand’s countryside rolls by at dusk is one of those simple travel pleasures that costs almost nothing and feels like everything.