After a wonderful few days in the Thai capital, we were ready to hit the beach and prepared to travel from Bangkok to Koh Tao. I’m assured this is a regular reaction after arriving in the big city and soaking up the atmosphere but after perspiring all your body’s liquid it’s soon time to move on.
If you’d like to see a full video of our journey from Bangkok to Koh Tao (under 6 minutes) then click below to watch.
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The Sleeper Train Travel from Bangkok to Koh Tao
To get there, after looking at the various options available we decided on a sleeper train. Personally I just can’t stomach an 11-hour sleeper bus journey and much prefer a train where you can at least get up and go for a wander if you fancy it.
One of the trip planning resources we’ve started to lean on heavily is the excellent Man in Seat 61 website. It goes into amazing detail about rail travel wherever it is possible in the world and provides handy interactive maps, timetables and costings to help you plan out a journey.
TOP TIP: If you can plan a few days ahead then use the excellent 12GO Asia website for cheap advance tickets which you can pick up from just outside Hualamphong train station in Bangkok.
Use the search box here to find the cheapest tickets for your Bangkok to Koh Tao trip.
Leaving it late we paid over the odds for 2 train tickets combined with bus transfer and ferry to the island. These were purchased upstairs at the tourist agency in Hualamphong Railway Station in Bangkok. It cost us 1,620 THB per person for the train/bus/boat combination.
In retrospect, I’m not sure that’s the best option as mentioned in our Chinatown, Bangkok post but the general advice is to book further ahead when possible!
The train journey takes 7.5 hours from Bangkok to Chumphon and we departed Hualamphong Station at 7.30pm in our 2nd class car. 2nd Class here doesn’t equate to what it might in some other countries and we found ourselves in air-conditioned, comfortable wide seats facing each other with lots of legroom as we rolled away from the sweaty city.
I couldn’t resist a sniff of the restaurant car to see what delights could be obtained onboard a Thai train. To get there you have to walk through 3rd class and see all the backpackers saving money by avoiding a bed or aircon, something we ended up doing on the return trip!
There was an interesting array of foreigners and locals in the restaurant car, most people seemed to head there to smoke which is a shame when you are trying to eat. The food itself though was very nice, I had a decent red curry with a few side dishes for a reasonable 220 THB (£4.10) with a can of Coke.
Back in our seats the attendant came along and started making up the beds. This is a mesmerising art form in itself and you should watch the clip below to see how any job can be performed with grace and style!
Sleeping on a Thai Train?
Soon after the beds were made we turned in for the night as we would be jumping off at around 4.15am. Kristina took the bottom bunk and I the top one as we settled down for some shut eye.
It was one of those instances where you feel like you’ve had no sleep at all but you know you must have caught some. The train jolts and bounces around a lot which of course you notice more when you’re horizontal and despite having some earplugs in, it was still very noisy.
I think it was the fear of falling out of the top bunk that keeps waking me up what felt like every 5 minutes, but I can say with experience, it still beats a night in 3rd class!
The Bus and Ferry from Chumphon to Koh Tao
Bleary-eyed we left from the train around 4.20am onto the platform at Chumphon station. It seemed quite lively for such an early hour as most of the train seemed to also alight here.
We were taking the boat with Lomprayah High-Speed Catamaran and they have a ticket window right outside the station. You line up and present your ticket to check-in and get a sticker to make sure you get the correct bus transfer down to the pier.
The bus eventually left at 6am and took about 20 minutes to arrive at the pier. We then joined another line to check-in for the ferry but this was fairly quick and we were soon on board and heading out to Koh Tao across the Gulf of Thailand.
By now the sun had risen and it was a beautiful sunny morning as the palm-lined coast disappeared behind us. A short way out it quickly became obvious that this might not be the smooth crossing everyone onboard had expected and people soon came rushing to the top deck for some air.
Despite it being a bit choppy it was relaxing, rocking back and forth in the sun, and without the ‘train lag’ we might have enjoyed it more. It takes closer to 2 hours than the 1.5 advertised as when you near Koh Tao the vessel first docks at Koh Nang Yuan, a small island meters from the Koh Tao shoreline.
Finally arriving at the harbour I saw they were in the process of building a new pier. This is much needed as the current one looks like a strong breeze will take it away and it struggles to cope with the hundreds of people disembarking with all their luggage.
We swiftly exited the pier and ignored all the regular touts and taxi folk heading off to our bungalow on the tiny island, our home for the next few days.
Tired but happy, we found that the journey from Bangkok to Koh Tao was fairly easy and comfortable to make as a couple.
Have you travelled from Bangkok to Koh Tao? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments below and if you found this post helpful please share it!
I was at Koh Tao about 30 years ago and there was hardly any accommodation. I remember seeing about 3 or 4 operators as far as I recall.. just a few basic huts. Now it looks like Disneyland, so I have no interest to ever go back. What is happening to our world… being destroyed by mass tourism!
Hello Charlie & Christina. I’ve recently released Window Seater – a mobile app that delivers offline audio stories about the surprising and amazing things you can see from trains in Thailand. I did a trip for the Southern Line too, from Bangkok to Surat Thani (past Chumphon). It’s all free, and lovingly made.
I doubt you’ll be going back, but I thought your readers might like to know about it – they can find out more at the link in the description.
Happy travels!
Hey Peter, that is a lovely idea, and a really nice explainer video too. I’ve removed the link in your comment but it’s linked from your name. Keep in touch and let us know how it goes. It would be nice to have a guest post about this at some point to share it with our readers’ fully 🙂 Cheers C&K
I flew from Bangkok to Chumphon, cheap 1 hour air Asia flight, then had private taxi to prior and boat over! Still takes an hour to transfer but wasn’t that bad.
Hey James, do you remember the cost? We took this route but booked it last minute so flying might have been cheaper!
Hi! Don’t recall the exact cost but it was around £100 each return, but then extras if you add luggage and better seats. So we paid around £150 for speedy boarding, luggage and seats at front.
I would do it again but the only bit I didn’t like was the 1 hour drive to the ferry and then waiting an hour before finally getting the ferry, then that trip too! Long day!
On the return we booked in to a hotel in Chumphon and chilled before going to the airport for the morning flight. Made it much better than leaving the island very early and potentially missing the flight!
Thanks for sharing the costs James. Yeah, I think a break in the journey is the way to go as the island is still a fair ride from the mainland. Hopefully next time we both venture that way we’ll be able to afford a private helicopter to the private beach 😉
I am glad you have enjoyed your Bangkok to Koh Tao journey. I did myself several times. It’s fantastic.
How was your experience in Koh Tao? Would you re-visit Koh Tao?
Hey Kim, I don’t think we would rush back there but take some time to explore the other islands in a bit more detail next. We do enjoy a good sleeper train though 😉 – Charlie