Surat Thani is an attractive city in its own right, but most travellers know it as the gateway to even more beautiful destinations. If you’re in Bangkok and on the lookout for an interesting route to such places as Phuket or Koh Samui, it’s likely Surat Thani will be on your radar.
Easily accessible by several daily services, taking the train from Bangkok to Surat Thani is a popular, affordable and memorable part of any trip to Thailand.
Travelling the other way? Check out our guide for taking the train from Surat Thani to Bangkok.
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Route map and details
The journey from Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal Station to Surat Thani takes around ten hours, with sleeper service available.
You’ll notice that the arrival timings aren’t particularly convenient, with many services arriving in the middle of the night. This is because Surat Thani isn’t the terminus for most of these train routes, with most carrying on into southern Thailand.
As a result, the final three departures of the day from Bangkok (EX85, RP167, SP39) tend to be the most popular and difficult to book.
Timetables
There are ten trains per day from Bangkok to Surat Thani, all of which have Sleeper carriages apart from SP43 and SP39.
| Train number | Depart Bangkok | Arrive Surat Thani |
|---|---|---|
| SP43 | 07:30 | 16:20 |
| RP171 | 15:10 | 01:11 |
| SP37 | 16:10 | 01:49 |
| SP45 | 16:10 | 01:49 |
| SP31 | 16:50 | 02:20 |
| RP169 | 17:30 | 04:06 |
| EX83 | 18:50 | 04:58 |
| EX85 | 19:50 | 06:23 |
| RP167 | 20:30 | 07:16 |
| SP39 | 22:50 | 07:50 |
Average journey time: 9 hours 52 minutes
How to buy tickets
The easiest way to buy train tickets in Thailand is online rather than going to the station. You do pay a very small commission but the ease and convenience makes it worthwhile in our opinion.
Baolau is the best site to use for buying train tickets, they have access to the live Thai Railways booking engine, so you can easily see availability, timetables and prices.
Payment can be made using international credit card and PDF confirmation tickets are sent to your email address within a few minutes. This is the actual ticket you need to board the train, so there’s no need to exchange it at the station before travel. You may prefer to print the pdf out, but it’s also fine to show it on your mobile phone to the conductors and station staff.
Bangkok to Surat Thani train tickets
How much does it cost?
On the Bangkok to Surat Thani train, you have several different classes to choose from, although our recommendation is a second class berth (AC):
| Train | 1st class berth (AC) | 2nd class berth (AC) | 2nd class seat | 3rd class seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP43 | – | – | ✓ 1 | – |
| RP171 | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SP37 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SP45 | – | ✓ | – | – |
| SP31 | ✓ | ✓ | – | – |
| RP169 | – | ✓ 2 | ✓ | ✓ |
| EX83 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| EX85 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| RP167 | – | ✓ 2 | ✓ | ✓ |
| SP39 | – | – | ✓ 1 | – |
1 Air-conditioned carriages
2 Non-AC berths also available
The prices for each class are:
| Class | Cost |
|---|---|
| First class berth (A/C) | 1370 |
| Second class berth (A/C) | 720 – 1010 |
| Second class seat (A/C) | 520 |
| Second class seat | 350 – 440 |
| Third class seat | 210 – 300 |
Useful reads before you go:
Top 10 tips for Southeast Asia train travel
7 reasons why you should travel by train around Southeast Asia
5 AMAZING train journeys in Southeast Asia
10 essentials experienced travellers always take on trains in Southeast Asia
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