Bangkok to Khao Yai

Trains to Pak Chong run on the northeastern line toward Ubon Ratchathani and leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat, the big terminal at Bang Sue with the MRT underneath, not from Hua Lamphong. The one I'd take is No. 21 at 06:10, the special express with air-conditioned seats, which reaches Pak Chong at about 08:45 and leaves you the whole day. It's the train that sells out, so book it. No. 135 at 07:10 is the cheaper rapid, about ฿135 in third class or ฿180 in second on 12Go, and arrives at about 10:45.

All of them stop at Don Mueang station, across the road from the airport, about 17 minutes after leaving Krung Thep Aphiwat, which makes the train the easy option straight off a flight into Don Mueang. The only train from Hua Lamphong is the slow ordinary No. 233 at 12:00. By SRT's booking rules, seats for Pak Chong should open about 30 days ahead, and you can buy them on SRT's D-Ticket site or on 12Go, which adds a fee.

Pak Chong station is in the middle of town, about 300 m from the night market. From there it's about 40 km to the park's visitor center.

Every van and bus to Pak Chong leaves from Mo Chit in Chatuchak. The vans that used to wait at Victory Monument moved there in 2016. Vans from the Mo Chit van terminal run about hourly from 06:00 and take about 2 h 50 min, about ฿220 to ฿290. The big buses, Nakhonchai 21's VIP coaches and Cherdchai Tour's expresses, run through the day and night for about ฿230 and take about two and a half hours. Many buses are heading on to Korat, so make sure yours stops at Pak Chong and the ticket says so.

Buses and vans drop in Pak Chong town. If your resort is on Thanarat Road, ask it about a pickup before you set off.

A car is the easiest way to do Khao Yai, because you'll want one inside the park anyway. It's about 165 km from central Bangkok to Pak Chong and about 190 km to the visitor center, two and a half hours or a little more depending on how you leave the city. The park recommends Motorway 6 to the Pak Chong toll plaza and then Thanarat Road, Highway 2090, straight to the gate. The Bang Pa-in to Pak Chong section of M6 opened as a toll-free trial on Friday afternoons and weekends from 21 August 2026, for cars at up to 80 km/h, and full tolls are due in 2027. On weekdays, and on the way back, you're on Highway 1 and Mittraphap Road through Saraburi.

12Go lists private cars from Bangkok, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi to Khao Yai National Park from about ฿2,050, with the recommended ones at about ฿2,400 to ฿2,650, door to door. Thai National Parks lists drivers from about ฿2,200 one way or ฿3,300 for a full day.

This is the part people don't plan for. The park's own bus from Pak Chong to Khao Yai runs about every 30 minutes through the day for ฿15 and songthaews run the same road, but both stop at the northern gate by the Chao Por Khao Yai shrine. The visitor center, the trails, the campsite and Haew Suwat are all another 14 km and more inside, and you aren't allowed to walk it.

So in Pak Chong you have three choices. Rent a scooter, about ฿300 a day in town against ฿600 at the gate. Hire a driver through your guesthouse. Or join a park tour from town, like Greenleaf Guesthouse's full day at ฿1,500. If you're staying inside the park, a driver from Pak Chong to the campsite is the simplest answer.

A day trip only makes sense as a tour. The small-group tours from Bangkok leave around 07:00, reach the park about three hours later, walk the km 33 trail to the Nong Phak Chi tower, stop at Haew Suwat and the deer at Lam Ta Khong, and get you back about 11 hours after pickup. Haew Narok, the big waterfall many tours list, has been closed since the bridge washed away in September 2026.

I'd stay at least one night. The animals are out at dawn and dusk, the night safari runs at 19:00 and 20:00, and the park gates are open only from 06:00 to 18:00, so a night on Thanarat Road or at the campsite gets you all three. My Khao Yai guide has what to see and where to stay.

The northeastern trains run through Ayutthaya, so you can pair the two. From Ayutthaya to Pak Chong is a little over two hours by train. Off a flight, the trains stop at Don Mueang station, and 12Go's private cars collect from both Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi, about two hours from Don Mueang to the park on a clear road.

Trains back from Pak Chong to Krung Thep Aphiwat leave at 11:18 (express No. 72, in Bangkok at about 14:10), 13:51 (rapid No. 136, about 18:00) and 19:48 (special express No. 22, about 22:15), plus three overnight trains at 01:06, 01:41 and 03:12. The 13:51 is the one that suits a last morning in the park.

Vans to Bangkok leave Pak Chong about hourly from 05:00 to 18:30 for about ฿270 to ฿290, and 12Go lists about 50 private cars from Khao Yai back to the city or straight to either airport, from about ฿2,150. If you're driving, the M6 trial doesn't yet run toward Bangkok from Pak Chong, so you'll rejoin it at Muak Lek or take Mittraphap Road.