Getting Around Thailand

Local Transportation: One Of The Best Cultural Experiences

The variety of travel options within Thailand is one of the country’s pleasures, from elephants and bamboo rafts, trains and planes, long-tail boats and ferries to tuk-tuks and taxis. Knowing all your options, then picking the best, will get you places faster, more enjoyably and definitely more memorable and unique. Trying as many as you can, within the limits of common sense, comfort and safety will surely enrich your visit.

Most cab and boat drivers do not speak nor read English and map reading skills are at minimum. With these in mind, it’s important to be sure the driver knows where you’re going - before you get moving. Hotels and other business establishments print their name and address, as well as directions, if necessary, in Thai script on their business cards and advertising, expressly for this purpose. Hold on to that card! Without it you’ll always be needing the help of a guide, translator, or dispatcher - all of which you may not always around you.

Skytrain

Bangkok. The first portions of Bangkok's long-needed elevated rail opened in December, 1999. If it's going your way, it will generally be the cleanest and fastest way around this congested city. No other Thai cities have rail systems for travel within the city.

Metered cabs

Within major cities; also feasible for short excursions into the countryside. Comfortable, often air-conditioned, which counts for a lot if you’re sitting in traffic. Drivers are required by law to charge on the meter. Some, especially late at night, will try to leave the meter off. Either insist that they turn it on, or negotiate a fare before you get in.

Tuk-tuks

Within a city. These 3-wheeled motorized cabs should be a part of your Thai experience, but are better for short distances. Anyone taller than 5’6" won’t see much, and the open-air ride loses its charm after you sit too long in a smog-belt of traffic. Tuk-tuks are cheaper than a cab, and often faster, as tuk-tuk drivers will weave between traffic, or down the wrong side of the road, to speed up the journey. Officially built for two; you can squeeze in a third. Or a fourth. We once counted eight young soldiers in the same tuk-tuk, all beaming happily. Tuk-tuks are not metered; negotiate a fare in advance.

Samlor

Short distances, e.g., within a neighborhood. These are three-wheeled bicycle rickshaws, kind of like a tuk-tuk without a motor. The driver pedals you around. Slow, but you know you’re in Asia. Samlors, along with elephants, have been banned from Bangkok streets but are still pedaled in some other cities. Negotiate a fare in advance.

Train

City to city. The state-run rail system is inexpensive, and comfortable, but often slow.  On some routes you have a selection of various speeds, from Special Express down to Ordinary. The slower trains can work to your advantage if you take a sleeper on an overnight train. You'll have time for a dinner (served on the train), a full nights sleep, and breakfast, when you journey, for example, from Bangkok to Surit Thani. Three classes of service are available. Most westerners will want to avoid the wooden benches of third class. Second class is comfortable with reclining seats and often air-conditioning, yet still economical. The pricier first-class ticket gets you a private air-conditioned cabin.

Local Bus

Within a city. Buses range from western-style passenger buses to songthaews, which are just trucks with a couple of benches in back. You’ll certainly be rubbing elbows with the local population when you use buses, and they're so cheap as to seem practically free, for a westerner. Figuring out the routes and schedules is difficult if you don't speak Thai or have a guide. The songthaews often run when the driver feels they’re full enough, rather than on a set schedule.

Inter-city coach

City to city. You can find direct bus or coach service from Bangkok to most other cities. It's often faster than train, priced about the same as a second-class train ticket, but will tend to feel more crowded than a train car.

Public ferries and boats

Within a city, or short distances to other cities and islands. In Bangkok, ferries on the Chao Phraya river are far more pleasant than cabs, as long as the river’s going in your direction. Very inexpensive; pay as you board, and bring a map so you can watch for your stop. Any other place there’s water — a river or a bay, canal or lagoon — boats may offer the fastest and most relaxing way to get around.