Bangkok to Chumphon

The choice comes down to arrival time, because the trains leave Bangkok at sensible hours and reach Chumphon at awkward ones. If Chumphon is where you're staying, the 07:30 Special Express is the train. It arrives at 13:50 with the afternoon to check in and walk to the night market, and it's seats only, about ฿430 on 12Go for air-conditioned second class. The early evening sleepers, No. 171 at 15:10 through No. 31 at 16:50, arrive between 22:17 and 23:55, which works if your hotel is near the station and expects you late.

If you're going straight on to Koh Tao, take the last ones. No. 85 at 19:50 arrives at 03:43 and No. 39 at 22:50 at 05:22, and the boat companies' vans leave the station at 06:00 for the morning catamarans. The trains in between arrive from 01:25 to 04:20, the worst hours to be on a platform with a bag. Leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat, on the MRT Blue Line at Bang Sue, not Hua Lamphong or Thonburi.

By SRT's booking rules, berths to Chumphon go on sale about 30 days ahead, and the lower berths on the late trains go first in December and January. A second-class air-conditioned berth is about ฿729 at the station, more on the booking sites, and first class about ฿1,230.

Buses to Chumphon leave from the Southern Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on Borommaratchachonnani Road, on the Thonburi side of the river, so allow a taxi from the center. Suwannatee is the main company. Its day buses leave at 09:00 and 12:00 for about ฿400, arrive about 6.5 hours later, and end at its own office in Chumphon town, with later departures up to about 21:00. ChokeAnan's VIP bus leaves at 12:30 and arrives at about 20:30 for about ฿620.

The bus is cheaper than a berth and a little faster than the day train, but you sit for the whole trip, and Travelfish's advice is to take the train and avoid the minivans. One recent Suwannatee passenger was moved to another bus near the end and dropped at the bus station rather than the stop on the ticket, so check where yours ends before you book a hotel near it.

Thai AirAsia's 07:25 from Don Mueang lands at Chumphon at 08:30, about ฿1,400–1,800 on the booking sites, and Nok Air flies in the evening. From December AirAsia adds a 14:05. Every flight is from Don Mueang, not Suvarnabhumi.

The catch is the airport. It's about 35 km north of town in Pathio district, so the flight saves time against the train only if you're going on to Koh Tao, when Lomprayah's counter at the airport sells the bus and boat in one ticket. For a stay in Chumphon itself, the day train arrives at about the same time of day without the drive back from the airport.

The train is the only option that leaves you in the center. Chumphon station is in the town, a short walk northwest of the night market, and the boat companies' vans to Koh Tao pick up right there. Suwannatee's buses end at its own office in town. The airport is the outlier, about 35 km north, so arrange a transfer before you land if you're not on Lomprayah's boat ticket.

Most people pass through Chumphon on the way to Koh Tao, and the town is set up for that, with travel agents around the station selling the boats. If you stay, the long beach at Thung Wua Laen is about 16 km from town.

From the station, Lomprayah's and Boonsiri's vans leave at 06:00 for the morning catamarans and reach Koh Tao at about 08:30 to 08:45, for ฿900 with the boat, and again at 11:30 (Boonsiri) and 12:00 (Lomprayah) for the afternoon ones. From the airport, Lomprayah's 09:00 bus and boat reaches Koh Tao at 15:00 for ฿1,000. Our Chumphon to Koh Tao guide has every boat, and Bangkok to Koh Tao has the through tickets from Khao San.

Going back, the night trains leave Chumphon from 20:51, and No. 86 at 22:19 reaches Krung Thep Aphiwat at 06:10. The one day train, No. 40, leaves at 11:18 and arrives at 18:05. Suwannatee's buses leave in the morning for the Southern Terminal, and the flights to Don Mueang leave at 09:00 and 19:30. Our Chumphon to Bangkok guide has every departure and how to reach the airports.