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Home » Reader question » Reader question: How can I travel cheaply and safely through Thailand?
Hello everyone,
My boyfriend and I are planning a backpacking trip through Thailand. We arrive in Bangkok and sleep near Kao San Road. From there we also want to go to the North and later to the South.
How can we best do that? I mean safe and cheap travel. We have already read from you that those minivans are very dangerous. But how should we travel, by train? That will be much more expensive, right?
We also want to go to the Full Moon Party at Koh Samui, do you have to buy tickets in advance or can you go there on spec?
Bye,
Marielle
Nakhon Chai air is a reliable bus company, has VIP and Goldstar Bangkok-Chiangmai TB 680, have been traveling with them for 17 years without any problems CM>Pattaya
Or why not fly very cheap with eg Air Asia or Nokair Thai airways also fly cheap with Smile to the north. With the train do it at full moon otherwise you won't see anything outside.
If you mean the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, you don't have to buy tickets in advance, if that is possible. As far as I know, the entrance fee is 100 baht, I live on Koh Phangan but I don't go that often anymore and I know how to avoid that entrance fee.
Marielle, I personally prefer the train to the bus, the bus drivers drive like crazy, terrible accidents sometimes happen. I myself also drive large parts of Thailand by car and see the most terrible accidents along the way. As said, if I use public transport I take the train or fly, I have been on such a VIP bus once, never again, for 1 hours straight the TV was blaring loudly.
If you go to Chiang Mai by train, for example, take the night train, you have a wonderful bed and you arrive rested and you save a hotel night.
About that full moon party, book a room in time because it can get busy sometimes!!
About the full moon party, almost all resorts can only be booked for a minimum of 5 days during the full moon period. From Samui you can go by speedboat. These sail all evening, you must have a ticket for this. They go back when they have a boat full, so when you're done partying. Watch out for moped driving there, I'll have a look when the Ferry comes back from Pangang. The sick cars of the various hospitals are already waiting to take away the seriously injured or not.
My Thai wife and I almost always travel by VIP bus. State buses 999 buses. No ice-cold air conditioning, no music, just an occasional DVD. With the last bus trip from Samui to Bangkok we could even see the speed on a display in the bus. Have traveled by bus dozens of times, and so far always on time. I cannot recommend a mini bus. On Koa San Road many bus trips are sold as VIP, but this is not the case. 36 seats instead of 24. These buses only contain tourists, so the bus stops for a long time along the way. During this stop, tour operators try to sell accommodation.
I went backpacking from north to south and back to Bangkok for 2 years. I have booked a number of airline tickets for that time. (at Air Asia) and spent around 30 to 40 per ticket. I haven't been to a full moon party myself. That is on Koh Pangan (near Samui), but on a different island. If you want to sleep on Koh Pangan, you seem to have to book well in advance, often for 3 days. Otherwise it is full and you can sleep on the beach (not safe) or wait for the boat back to Samui. Which also seem to be overcrowded. There are plenty of stands on Koh Samui where they sell full moon tickets with a speedboat trip. Good luck planning a great holiday and keep an eye on your bucket of drinks! 🙂
Minibuses are often called unsafe on Thailand blog, but I wonder if someone bases that on statistics. Accidents happen everywhere, buses, buses, trains, mopeds, pedestrians and soon perhaps also an airplane. I often travel by train at low fares. See web. I often fly with Nok Air. I often buy tickets well in advance on the internet. They often have special promotions (midnight sales). So check regularly. Air Asia first asks your shirt off before your ticket price becomes clear and then they have included surcharges for seat reservation, extra weight, insurance. So I never fly with it. Just local bus is also fine. You see a lot and experience something. You must have the time. I would prepare my trip well by consulting the internet extensively. Choose what you want to see and try not to see everything. Traveling with a backpack in a high temperature is not easy. Good luck!
@ Pieter L I have no data on accidents. However, the following information:
Minibuses and buses
53 percent of minivans and 67 percent of buses exceed the speed limit on the highway, according to a 2012 study by the Thailand Accident Research Center of the Asian Institute of Technology and the Thai Roads Foundation. Measurements were taken quarterly on Highways 1, 34, 35 and 338 and on Motorway Highway 7.
Road accidents are a leading cause of death in Thailand and speeding is the leading cause. The number of victims rises especially during the Songkran and New Year holidays. During the seven-day Songkran holiday in 2012, the number of road casualties (deaths and injuries) was 27.881.
There are other risk factors that threaten road safety. Many minivans have an extra gas cylinder to reduce the need to refuel. When the van is loaded with passengers and the cylinders are full, the van weighs 3.500 kilograms, much more than the 2.000 kilogram limit allowed. The extra weight makes the van unstable and unsafe and increases the risk of an accident.
Double-decker buses that have been involved in accidents are often found to exceed the maximum permitted height of 3,5 metres. Some are up to 5 meters high. The extra weight weakens the superstructure [cage construction?] of the bus, making it unstable and prone to overturning. It's a familiar sight along Thailand's roads: a tilted double-decker bus.
The traffic authorities are planning UNECE Regulation No. R66, which requires buses to undergo a test to measure the strength of their superstructure.
(Source: Bangkok Post, April 1, 2013)
Dear Dick,
Doesn't superstructure just mean construction?
Regards, Peter
Searched on http://nl.bab.la/woordenboek. Come across superstructure there, but also superstructure. http://www.mijnwoordenboek.nl says superstructure. So maybe not the whole structure is meant, but only the top part. I often have trouble translating technical terms. I should have a technical dictionary. Suggestion?
Marielle,
me and my wife have been traveling by train during the holidays in thailand for about 35 years.
cheap, safe and cozy.
the sleeper trains 2nd class are quite good.
for 550 km by train you pay about 850 baht (€12).
The journey takes up to 10 hours.
around song crane it is possible that many trains are fully booked
jeffrey,
You write that 850 thb is 12 euros, may I please know where you exchange your money, I will be on your doorstep on Monday morning!!
You get an exchange rate of 70.83 thb for the euro.
Groet
850 bath = 12 euros ??? With the current exchange rate, 850 baht is about euro 22,50.
It's still dirt cheap though.
In this case, superstructure refers to the entire body structure. The chassis with the engine, etc., is obtained from a manufacturer - such as DAF in the Netherlands, for example - by a specialized coachbuilder who builds a bus based on the wishes of the customer.
Dick: Thanks for your translation. That I didn't come up with the word bodywork. Stupid actually.
Hi Marielle,
I have traveled back and forth through Thailand quite a bit with all kinds of transport, the last two times by bike about a thousand kilometers per trip. In general I feel quite safe in traffic, especially and perhaps oddly enough as a weaker party on the bike. Even safer perhaps than in the Netherlands. I don't have a lot of minibus experience but what I have went well. There is perhaps one major exception if the Thai are intoxicated. I also once had a taxi driver who had probably been using jaba (a kind of speed I understand) for a few days and who went through traffic like a dangerous idiot. And I don't dare to get out because I had to catch my flight back home… In my experience at least quite well overall so use your common sense, like with that taxi driver I wrote about above. The train is a must almost as an experience in itself. Take a sleeper compartment, third class a night can be really hard and book well in advance at busy times, but the train doesn't go everywhere, the network is limited. I hope it is of some use for you.
the train is a cheap and safe way to travel, I find the night train the most pleasant.
Hi Marielle
first of all….the full moon party is not on Koh Samui but on Koh Pagnan. It's a matter of partying from the right island, isn't it? Ha ha
In Thailand you can travel very well with the minivans. As things sometimes happen to buses, taxis, trains, etc., something will also happen to one of them, but I have only had good experiences with them. However, the train is cheaper than the minivan.
The train is often not cheaper or you have to travel 3rd class, but that is very heavy for a long ride. But you can also take a big bus often to most destinations. For example 1st class bus 550 euros from Mo Chit to Chang Mai.
Lompraya is the most expensive but the shortest or Ruang to Koh Phagnang, because then the boat is included and also cheaper as a train. Because then you have to buy transport and boat separately.
So minibus is not necessarily the cheapest, but a larger bus is.