Between Hua Hin and Chumphon the railway runs along the narrow part of the Gulf coast, and twelve trains make the 255 km trip in between 3 hours 13 minutes and 4 hours 51 minutes. Eleven are Special Express, Express or Rapid trains, and one is an Ordinary train that stops everywhere.
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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 cards 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.
How far ahead you can book depends on the train and how much of the route you ride. For full details on booking windows, see the when to book Thailand train tickets guide.
Hua Hin to Chumphon train tickets
About the route
Chumphon is where many travellers swap the train for a boat to Koh Tao, and a night train from Hua Hin can be timed to arrive for the early ferry. Departures are spread across the day, with trains at 00:10, 00:23 and 02:09, a morning Special Express at 10:36 and a run in the evening from 18:49 to 23:47. The Ordinary train leaves at 11:49, takes almost five hours and cannot be booked in advance.
There is no real reason to stop at Chumphon itself, since the town is small and the sights are outside it, but the ferry piers are within a short taxi or songthaew ride. Check the ferry times before you pick a train, as the first boats go early in the morning and the schedules change with the weather.
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