Train Travel

Bangkok is connected to Sri Racha and Pattaya via one daily train; there are more frequent trains to Hua Hin, Chumphon, and Surat Thani. There are regular express trains to Surat Thani, the closest station to Phuket, which leave Bangkok's Hua Lamphong Station. From Surat Thani you can take a bus to Phuket. Express trains from Bangkok's Hua Lamphong railway station stop at Surat Thani on their way south. The journey takes 12 hours or so; if you leave Bangkok at 3 pm, you'll arrive at a dark train station in Surat Thani at around 3 am. Bus services or flights, though, are generally considered to be a far better way to get to the Andaman coast.