travel tips
How To Get Around
Navigating Thailands transportation is now a breeze with access to multiple taxi apps, budget friendly domestic and regional flights, bus and train options, ferries, speedboats, and local tuktuks, red trucks, and motorbike taxi. Here I will provide direct links to top ways of booking travel and tips on how to plan your trip.
if you are coming all the way to Thailand, you probably want to see more than 1 place. google flights explore option gives you the ability to see each destinations direct flights to other parts of the country. lets say you fly into Bangkok for the end of November. You stay a couple days in the city to shop and eat, now you need a one way flight to your next destination. you can filter the Stops button for nonstop flights and the Travel Mode button for flights only to make the results less congested. In the photo you can see direct flights from Bangkok on November 25th to the south of Thailand. the blue circles indicate available airports and the price will be shown for flights for that day, the left side of the screen will give the complete list as the map won't create a popup on each airport if the popups overlay each other.
Now that you've worked on your tan and SCUBA/snorkeled with some whale sharks in the Similan Islands, saw the stunning cliffs and coves of the Phi Phi islands, and tried amazing southern food at Tu Kab Khao, you are ready for a new destination. you would then use the same filters as before and using Phuket as your starting destination you can now see where you can fly direct next. in this case you could fly on November 29th to Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai in the north for about $65-70USD, go back to Bangkok for $25USD or even to Ho Chi Minh City for $85 or Singapore for $40 if you plan to do the SE Asia experience. you can find international flights to other SE asian countries for very reasonable prices originating from Phuket, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai, as well as limited options from Chiang Rai and Hat Yai.
Flights
Ferries and Speedboats
If you plan to travel to Koh Phangan, Koh Tao, or Koh Samui from the mainland, or you fly into Samui and want to island hop, you can book your tickets direct from Lomprayah Ferry. you can access the islands from both Chumphon or Surat Thani on the mainland or through the airport on Koh Samui however the flights are quite expensive to/from this airport. Smaller speedboat companies are available through your hotel or a local tour guide, book in advance if you travel to Koh Phangan during the full moon party.
To get around on the west coast between Krabi, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, you can book tickets direct from Phuket Ferry. You can also book speedboat tickets from your hotel or any tour agent. Many beaches will have local wooden longtail boat captains that offer day tours to the local smaller islands, beaches and reefs. you can also access the smaller southern islands in the south through many of these ferry/speedboat operators as well.
Gulf of Thailand Northeast
If you are headed to Koh Chang, Koh Kood or Koh Mak you can book your tickets direct with boonsiri. The ferries to Koh Kood and Koh Mak are passenger ferries only so you will have to rely on renting a motorbike once on the island (recommended) or using the taxi services which can be quite expensive.
Koh Lipe and southern West coast
You can access the smaller southern west coast islands like Koh Kradan, Koh Mook, and Koh Lipe from Krabi/phuket using speedboat services like those provided by TigerLinetravel or you can head down to Satun and use a company like ferrylipe to make the final ocean trip if you prefer to avoid boats. keep in mind travel is often limited to high season from November to April with very limited options in low season from June to October.
Trains and Buses
There is a huge appeal to waking up in a different city than you went to sleep in and that's why so many people love to take the overnight buses and trains here in Thailand. no its not quiet, smooth, or very comfortable, no you won't get a great night sleep, but what you will get is a unique experience, cheap transportation, and one less night of having to book a hotel. The old train cars going through rice fields and past mountains and small Thai villages is an experience everyone should try once. That being said, a 1.5 hour train trip from Chiang Mai to Lampang over the mountains and a day spent exploring a more off the map Thai city with amazing food and culture/history is a great way to enjoy this method of transportation without sacrificing your body to a rough night sleep. You could also book a 2.5 hour train trip from Bangkok to visit the site of the famous movie Bridge Over the River Kwai where the Japanese built a railroad bridge to connect Bangkok with Rangoon which was the capital of Myanmar at the time. Detailed steps in English on how to find and book train tickets through the state railways website can be found here:
State Railway of Thailand: https://www.dticket.railway.co.th/DTicketPublicWeb/help/#bookticket
Buses and Vans are used for transportation with many companies and routes being available. The overnight sleeper buses are actually pretty decent and depending on what class of bus you get (1st class, VIP, Super VIP) you will have large and cushiony seats that recline fairly far back with usb ports, a hostess to give out snacks and water, a toilet on the bus, and a stopover halfway through the trip for a buffet or a meal. Because there are so many bus companies and most do not have working English versions to book tickets, I would recommend using 12goAsia as your booking site for buses and vans. In high season and around holidays you will have many routes sell out in advance so I would recommend either booking in advance at least a few days in high season and a couple weeks in advance of traveling during a holiday. You can use 12goasia to book through them or to find what companies service the route you want and try to go to that companies website. As long as you are traveling to and from a government designated bus station and not some place like Khao san road in Bangkok where the companies are known to have security issues, then you will be just fine.
Bus/Van routes and booking (not a direct booking): https://12go.asia/en
Local Transportation
There are several ways to get around using local transportation from tuktuks, taxis, rideshare apps, buses, and car/motorbike rental companies (for public transportation around Bangkok using the BTS(skytrain) and MRT(subway) please visit the Cities page)
Tuktuks: these are modified motorcycles made to carry passengers and are a great way to sightsee or restaurant hop around an area. Make sure to negotiate a price beforehand and you can negotiate to go either to a destination or for a specific period of time if you want to hop around.
Taxis: Taxis are still prevalent in Thailand and found in most all areas. You can pay a flat rate from airports based on your destination distance, you can negotiate a price beforehand if you have an idea of what it would cost for an equivalent ride through a rideshare app, or you can use the meter.
Rideshare Apps: Grab is the big one in Thailand but is facing stiff competition from companies like Bolt and Indrive. These services are available in most of the bigger cities and tourist areas of Thailand.
Motorbike/car rental: motorbikes are hands down the easiest way to get around if you are traveling solo or as a couple. Thai law requires an international motorbike license to legally drive here and you will not be covered by your insurance for driving without the proper license if you have an accident here. Being one of the worst countries in the world for road deaths, I would highly recommend anyone renting a vehicle here have the proper license and always wear your helmet. Police here do not patrol for driving infractions, instead they set up checkpoints at various places where tourists frequent. I will list companies I have used in the past in their respective sections under the Cities Page
local buses: Phuket has a thorough and efficient bus system for getting around the island if you don't mind a longer travel time. you have the Smartbus that travels between the airport and hits all major beaches along the west coast down to Rawai and back for 100 baht per trip or 299 baht for a day pass($2.85 for single trip or $8.50 for a day pass). The Blue buses will run from each beach area to old town phuket but not between the different beach areas(25-50 baht per trip or around 75 cents to $1.50), some stop at the big mall in the center of the island as well. The Pink buses will run different routes around old town phuket and are the cheapest of the options at 15 baht per trip(45 cents). Chiang Mai has a new bus service called Hop and Go that hits many of the major tourist areas and attractions as well.
