Bangkok to Surat Thani

All ten southern trains stop at Surat Thani, and they all leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue Grand) on the MRT Blue Line, not the old Hua Lamphong station that older guides still send you to. Nine are overnight trains heading for the deep south that pass Surat Thani in the night or early morning. The tenth is Special Express No. 43, an air-conditioned railcar that leaves at 07:30 and arrives at 16:20.

The one I'd book is Express No. 85, 19:50 to 06:23. It arrives after dawn with the whole morning ahead of you, in time for every bus and boat that meets the trains, and it carries first-class two-berth cabins, second-class air-conditioned sleepers and cheap fan seats. Rapid No. 173 (20:10 to 06:46) and Rapid No. 167 (20:30 to 07:16) arrive a little later without the first class. Special Express No. 31 (16:50 to 02:20) has the newest carriages but drops you at Phun Phin in the middle of the night, and No. 83 (18:50 to 04:58) and No. 169 (17:30 to 04:06) arrive before dawn. The 22:50 railcar (No. 39/41) is seats only, the cheapest way to arrive at 07:50.

If you're staying in Surat Thani town, an early arrival matters less, because a taxi into town at 05:00 is easy. If you're going on to the islands or Khao Sok, take No. 85 or a later train, because the first connections leave the station around 05:30 to 06:40.

Station fares depend on the train as well as the class. On Express No. 85, a second-class air-conditioned berth is about ฿755 for an upper and ฿825 for a lower, and a first-class berth in a two-berth cabin about ฿1,265–1,465, or ฿1,965 to have the cabin to yourself. On Special Express No. 31 the same berths are about ฿910–1,010 in second class and ฿1,380–1,580 in first. A third-class fan seat is about ฿250–280 and the railcar seat on No. 43 or No. 39 is ฿524.

Buy on the State Railway's D-Ticket site, at any station counter or on 12Go, which adds a fee but takes foreign cards without fuss. Sales open 90 days ahead on every train here except the two Sungai Kolok trains, No. 171 and No. 37, which open 30 days ahead. That rule changed in April 2026, and most guides still say 180 days. Outside December to February and the Thai holidays you can often buy a berth a few days ahead, but I wouldn't count on a lower berth on No. 85 in high season without booking.

Second-class air-conditioned sleepers are pairs of facing seats that the attendant turns into an upper and a lower bunk in the evening, each with a curtain, a mattress, a pillow and a blanket. The lower is wider and has the window, which is why it costs more. First class is a two-berth cabin with a lockable door, and a solo traveler buying one berth may share it with a stranger, so pay for the whole cabin if that matters to you.

The carriages have squat and Western toilets and washbasins at the ends, the corridor lights stay on through the night, and alcohol isn't sold or allowed on board. The restaurant car and the snack cart are priced for tourists, so I'd eat before boarding or bring food from the 7-Eleven at the terminal. The southern line often runs 30 to 60 minutes late overnight, so leave slack before anything you've booked at the other end.

About a dozen flights a day leave Don Mueang for Surat Thani, with Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air, from 06:50 to 19:15. They take 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 20 and cost about ฿1,000–1,650 a few weeks out. Four more leave Suvarnabhumi, at 07:30, 09:35, 11:50 and 17:00, and they're often dearer. The budget carriers charge for checked bags, so add that before comparing with the train.

Surat Thani airport is 28 km from the town. A morning flight connects with the bus-and-ferry tickets sold in the arrivals hall for Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, and with the vans to Khao Sok. If you only want the town, 12Go lists a van-and-bus ticket from the airport from about ฿100, about 45 minutes.

Buses to Surat Thani leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on the Thonburi side and from company offices on and around Khao San Road. Most leave between 18:30 and 19:30 and arrive around 05:00 to 06:00. On 12Go, Krungsiam's VIP 32 coach leaves the Southern Bus Terminal at 18:50 and arrives at 05:00 for about ฿780, Sapthaweephol's bus leaves its Khao San office at 19:00 and reaches its Surat Thani office at 06:00 for about ฿650, and Nara Travel's leaves Khao San Road at 19:00 for about ฿890. Transport Co. runs express buses from the Southern Bus Terminal through the afternoon and evening, plus a morning one at 06:45.

It's the cheapest way down, but not by much once you price a train berth, and you sit up all night. The private companies drop at their own offices, some on the edge of town, so check where your ticket ends before you book, and keep a little cash for the ride into the center. If the night trains are sold out, the bus is the fallback I'd use.

The station signs say Surat Thani, but it's at Phun Phin, 14 km west of the town. When a train comes in, the bus-and-ferry sellers wait on the forecourt, and the Phantip office is across the road. To reach the town, local red buses run from the station roughly every 15 minutes, and taxis and tuk-tuks wait outside. A taxi is the easy choice before dawn.

The piers are farther than the town. Donsak, where the ferries to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan leave, is about 80 km from the station, 66 km from the town and 92 km from the airport, so buy the bus and the boat as one ticket rather than finding your own way there. The night boats to Koh Tao and Koh Phangan leave from the riverfront pier in the town itself.

Most people get off the train at Surat Thani to go somewhere else. For Koh Samui, the coach-and-ferry tickets from the station forecourt start at about ฿420, with the first coaches to Donsak at about 05:30, and the last Raja coach leaves at 16:00. For Koh Tao and Koh Phangan, Lomprayah's station bus leaves at 09:30 for the catamaran, and the night boats leave the town pier in the evening. Our Surat Thani to Koh Samui, Surat Thani to Koh Phangan and Surat Thani to Koh Tao guides have every operator, time and fare.

For Khao Sok, buses toward Phuket leave the station forecourt at about 06:40, 07:20, 09:20, 10:20 and 13:45 and pass the park in about two hours, which is why No. 85 and the 06:40 bus work so well together. Our Surat Thani to Khao Sok guide covers them, and our Bangkok to Krabi guide covers the train-and-bus route to Krabi.

I'd treat Surat Thani as a place you pass through rather than a place to come for. A night in the town makes sense if you arrive on the 16:20 day train or a late flight, too late for the last boats, or if you're taking a night boat to Koh Tao or Koh Phangan from the town pier. The town has far more hotels than Donsak or Phun Phin, and a morning bus-and-ferry ticket has you on Samui by lunchtime. Khanom, with its pink dolphins and quiet beaches, is about an hour and a half from Surat Thani by road if you want a mainland stop instead.

The trip back is easier, because the timetable is on your side. Nine northbound trains leave Phun Phin between 18:25 and 23:28 and reach Krung Thep Aphiwat between 03:45 and 10:50 the next morning. Express No. 86 (19:31, arrives 06:10) and Express No. 84 (20:23, arrives 07:05) carry first-class cabins and second-class sleepers and arrive at a sensible hour. The 09:00 railcar No. 40 is the only daytime train and arrives at 18:05 for ฿524. Fares are the same as southbound, and tickets open 90 days ahead except on the two trains from Sungai Kolok. Phun Phin's counter sells whatever is left on the day, but don't rely on it in high season.

These trains start in the deep south and can reach Phun Phin an hour late, so wait in the station cafés rather than in town. Night buses leave in the evening too, Jarinthon's at 18:25 (arriving at 05:55 for about ฿550 on 12Go) and Sapthaweephol's at 19:00, and flights back to Bangkok run until about 20:00. Coming straight off an island, a ferry-and-van ticket to the station by early afternoon connects with any of the night trains, which our Koh Samui to Bangkok guide covers.