Train vs Plane Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Plane ✈️ vs Train 🚆 to Chiang Mai. We’re going to break down the highs and lows of taking each from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

Let’s start with air plane ✈️ GOOD POINTS:

It’s fast.

It’s efficient and head ache free.

If you have lots of luggage you can just check it in and it’s out of sight out of mind.

Cost is the same so there are no extra points on that.

BAD POINT
You get no views. Boooooo.

Train 🚆 GOOD POINTS:

You get to leave at either 6pm or 8pm. So there are 2 trains you can take overnight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

You get to sleep through the night and arrive at your destination the next day.

You get the most stunning views which is actually the main and only reason we went for the train option.

You can get a private cabin though from so many of your comments it seems extremely hard to get hold of tickets. We did it by walking into an agent office in Bangkok where they sorted our tickets out. Try to what’s app them, they’re slow at replying but they will get back +6695 506 5365 (Bangkok Buddy).

There are shared bathrooms in the private cabins carriage and even towels. So that’s a huge bonus.

LOWS:

We did the private cabin and even though it was private it was still pretty snug. So we had to drag our suitcases onto the train and then we crammed in with them into the cabin. So we lost a few points here.

Even though you sleep through the night, the sleep isn’t the best. So if you’re a light sleeper maybe reconsider this option. We went for the views and didn’t care about the lack of sleep.

Super hard to get 1st class tickets. Make sure you research in advance and try to get them. Otherwise you will have to share the other carriage which are simply beds on either side with a curtain across for privacy.

This is it for now. Have you taken the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai? If so, how was your experience? Let us know.