Trains, ferries and getting around
Travellers' room · 2 threads
Songthaews, sleeper trains, island ferries, and moving around once you have arrived.
Beyond the taxi rank sits the layer of transport that most visitors never quite crack: the shared pickup trucks that follow invisible routes, the overnight trains south, the ferries out to the islands. The threads here are readers piecing together how the local system really moves in the town or on the route they are heading for.
| Thread | Replies | Last post |
|---|---|---|
| How far ahead do I need to book the sleeper train from Bangkok down to the south? Terrified it'll be sold out started by backpackbecca, Jun 15, 2026 | 5 | backpackbecca Jul 2, 2026 |
| Do I actually need a licence to rent a scooter on Koh Lanta? Shop didn't even ask started by backpackbecca, Jun 12, 2026 | 5 | RetiredInUdon Jun 14, 2026 |
Reading the local version before you arrive
The lesson that repeats in this section is that the country does not run one system, it runs a dozen local ones, and the trick is reading the version for the place you are going rather than assuming the last town's rules apply. A red truck in the north, a baht bus on the coast and an island's own more expensive setup are all the same vehicle doing the same shared job, but the fare and the etiquette shift from one to the next. Naming your destination before you climb in, and settling any off-route charter price at the kerb, is the habit that travels everywhere.
Trains and ferries bring their own timing questions, because the overnight services and the island crossings do not wait for a late connection the way a city taxi will. Readers who booked the sleeper or checked the last ferry in advance tend to report the smooth trips; the ones who improvised late in the day less so. The regulars point newcomers first at songthaews explained to decode the shared trucks, then at getting around Chiang Mai or, for the crossings, Bangkok to the islands.
As everywhere on this board, treat the figures and timings in old threads as rough and dated. Fares drift, routes change and services vary by season, so confirm the current ones with the operator or a local information desk before you count on them.