To travel by train from Chiang Mai to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan you need to change trains in Bangkok and connect from the railway network to a ferry at the town of Surat Thani. There are direct bus and ferry services from Surat Thani train station to both Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. See below for more information about travel from Surat Thani train station.
Joint tickets to Surat Thani
You can book a joint ticket for the both parts of the journey by train from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani. The seat type on both trains is a 2nd Class A/C sleeper which means you can sleep comfortably on both journeys.
- Train 1: Chiang Mai to Bangkok
| Train No. | Chiang Mai | Bangkok | Service | Cost |
| 10 | 18:00 | 06:50 | Special Express | 1,291 THB |
- Train 2: Bangkok to Surat Thani
| Train No | Bangkok | Surat Thani | Service | Cost |
| 171 | 13:00 | 00:22 | Rapid | 998 THB |
- Cost: The total cost of the joint ticket booked online is 2,289 THB.
- Waiting Time: The scheduled waiting time between trains is 6 hours 10 mins minute.
- Thing to do in Bangkok: Bangkok’s main train station is located in the exciting China Town district of Bangkok. You can easily spend a full day exploring this part of Bangkok and you are always a short trip by public ferry away from the major temples such as Wat Po and Wat Arun, as well at the famous Grand Palace. See our guide to Hua Lamphong Railway Station for more information.
- Left Luggage at Bangkok Train Station: We recommend that you make use of the inexpensive left luggage service at Bangkok train station. Click on the link in red for more details.
Buy Tickets to Surat Thani
Use the Search Box below to find your train tickets from Chiang Mai to Surat Thani:
You can book the joint ticket using the ‘Chiang Mai train station’ to ‘Surat Thani’ search option. If you would like to take different trains then you will need to make two separate bookings:
- Chiang Mai to Bangkok Train: For the first section of the journey search for ‘Chiang Mai train station’ to ‘Bangkok’ to find Surat Thani to Bangkok train tickets.
- Bangkok to Surat Thani Train: For the second section of the journey search for ‘Bangkok’ to ‘Surat Thani’ to find Bangkok to Surat Thani train tickets.
Trains to Bangkok
There are 5 trains a day from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.
| Chiang Mai | Bangkok | Train No. | Service |
| 06:30 | 21:10 | 102 | Rapid |
| 08:50 | 19:25 | 8 | Special Express |
| 15:30 | 05:25 | 52 | Express |
| 17:00 | 06:15 | 14 | Special Express |
| 18:00 | 06:50 | 10 | Special Express |
All trains except for the two day time train (#102 and #8) departing at 06:30 and 08:50 from Chiang Mai have sleeper berths available.
Chiang Mai Train Station
Chiang Mai train station is on the Charoen Muang Road 3.3 km from Chiang Mai’s old town.
A tuk-tuk to the train station should cost around 60 THB from most part of Chiang Mai.
Train Times to Surat Thani
There are 10 trains a day from Bangkok to Surat Thani.
| Bangkok | Surat Thani | Train No. | Service |
| 08:05 | 16:45 | 43 | Special Express |
| 13:00 | 00:22 | 171 | Rapid |
| 14:45 | 01:23 | 31 | Special Express |
| 15:10 | 02:00 | 37/45 | Special Express |
| 15:35 | 03:45 | 169 | Rapid |
| 17:05 | 04:24 | 83 | Express |
| 17:35 | 05:48 | 173 | Rapid |
| 18:30 | 06:23 | 167 | Rapid |
| 19:30 | 07:06 | 85 | Express |
| 22:50 | 08:05 | 39/41 | Special Express |
All services except Train #43 (departing at 08:05) and Train #39/41 have sleeper berths available. The most popular train service from Bangkok to Surat Thani is Train #85 departing at 19:30 because this train has a full range of seat types and a convenient arrival time in Surat Thani.
Surat Thani Train Station
Surat Thani train station is located 16 km from Surat Thani city in the town of Phunphin.
There is a public service from the train station to Surat Thani as well as taxis which wait for customers at a taxi rank in front of the station. the taxi fare from Surat Thani train station to Surat Thani city is 140 THB.
Travel from Surat Thani
You do not need to travel into Surat Thani city to travel from Surat Thani train station to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. Surat Thani train station is transport hub with a variety of direct bus services departing from the small car park to the left hand side of the station building to the ferry ports in Donsak. From Donsak you have a wide choice of ferry services to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan.
Ferry services to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan depart from Surat Thani- Direct bus and ferry services to Koh Samui depart from Surat Thani train station at 07:30, 07:45, 08:00 and 08:30.
- Direct bus and ferry services to Koh Phangan depart from Surat Thani train station at 07:30, 07:45, 08:00, 08:30 and 09:00.
If you miss the direct services because your train is delayed then make your way by bus or taxi into Surat Thani city centre. Joint bus and ferry services on the inexpensive car ferry (which runs until 17:00) depart from the Phantip Travel office on the Talad Mai Road in the centre of Surat Thani city very near to where the public bus from the train station terminates.