Hua Hin is a natural stop on the way back north from Surat Thani, and eleven direct trains make the 422 km trip, taking between 5 hours 31 minutes and 7 hours 7 minutes. All eleven are Special Express, Express or Rapid trains, which can be booked in advance.
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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.
Surat Thani to Hua Hin train tickets
About the route
The only morning train is the 09:00 Special Express, which gets you to Hua Hin in the late afternoon. Everything else leaves in the evening, from 18:25 to 23:28, which means a night on the train and an arrival well after midnight.
Hua Hin has a long beach, a famous night market and a handful of tourist sights, including the old railway station and a teak palace, Maruekhathaiyawan, a little way up the coast. For travellers heading north it makes a good place to break the long journey to Bangkok and spend a day or two before going on.
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