Trains from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

The train journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok has the best scenery of any train journey in Thailand. This long distance journey can be completed either in the day time when you can enjoy the views or at night when you can book an inexpensive sleeper berth and wake up when you arrive in Bangkok thereby saving on the cost of a hotel for the night.

Train times from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

There are five direct train services per day from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

• Fastest Train: Train #8 departing from Chiang Mai at 08:50 is scheduled to complete the journey in 10 hours 05 minutes making it the fastest service on this route.
• Slowest Train: The slowest service is the 06:30 departure on Train #102 which takes a tedious additional 4 hours to do the journey in 13 hours 55 minutes.

Buy Tickets from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

Use the Search Box below to buy your train tickets from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

• Sleeper seats are available to book online as well as the cheaper seat only options.
• After booking your tickets will be sent to you by e-mail.

The best train to catch, and the most popular, is Train #8, departing at 08:50 which completes the journey the fastest and during daylight hours for the majority of the trip giving passengers the opportunity to enjoy the great scenery on route. Experienced train travellers in Thailand book their seats on Train #8 in advance because this service often sells out in advance of the day of travel.

Ticket Prices from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

For online booking of train tickets from Chiang Mai to Bangkok there is an additional charge of 250 to 300 THB per ticket extra on top of the cost of the actual ticket.

If you have the opportunity to go to the train station a few days before you plan to travel to buy your ticket in advance then this is cheaper than booking online. The route between Chiang Mai and Bangkok is popular with both foreign and Thai travellers and the 1st and 2nd Class A/C Sleeper seats tend to sell out a few days, or even weeks (especially during the April Songkran festival and Loi Kratong in November), before the day of travel. 3rd Class are the only type of ticket where advance booking is not normally required.

About Train Travel from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

The train journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok is a classic, and probably the best journey on the Thai railway network. What makes this journey great is the variety of scenery on the way. After the first hour of the journey the train reaches an area with several lakes and then ascends into the mountains. From the mountains the train passes through a flat landscape of rice paddy fields with towns, cities and temples dotted across the prosperous and fertile central plain of Thailand.

As a final treat for passengers, the train negotiates its way through the back streets of old Bangkok past iconic features of the Thailand railway system, such as the Rot Fai market where vendors set up their stalls within inches of the passing trains, and the customers move to the side of the tracks for only as long as it takes a train to pass.

Chiang Mai Railway Station

Chiang Mai Train Station is about 3.7 km from Chiang Mai’s Old Town and about 1.9 km walking distance from Chiang Mai’s night bazaar area. It’s too far to walk so take either a shared pick up truck taxi or a tuk-tuk. Expect to pay around 100 THB for the trip from the Old Town.  There are some restaurants and small shops in, and near, the railway station to buy some drinks and snacks for the journey.

Location of Chiang Mai Railway Station

Location of Bangkok Railway Station

• From the 19th January 2023 the main railway station in Bangkok is Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (also known as Bang Sue Grand Station).

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