Train from Hua Hin to Bangkok

[Bernard]

Went to the station today and enqured about trains to Bangkok. Was told that there is a train at 6am and a train at 3pm.

Is anyone able to expand on that please. Ideally I would want to get to Bangkok at 2pm.

.........or, is there a "Big Bus" that goes from Hua Hin to Bangkok as I am not keen on the minibuses !

[Pleng]

There are big buses. I guess now they go from the new bus station opposite(ish) the Intercontinental hotel.

The big buses land up at the southern bus terminal which is way out of town, so you'll need to factor in a taxi to get you to central Bangkok.

If you're going by train you need to allow 4-5 hours for your journey so you'd want to be travelling around 9am. I'm sure there are more that 2 trains going. You can find timetables here.

[Big Boy]

There are more trains than that, but they do take a while, and are often running late. You can pick up the official times from this site http://www.railway.co.th/home/

[KateB]

The train service being what it is, you may find you get there near to 2pm anyway. We were booked on the 6am train, it arrived at 7.30am (apparently quite common - it's a sleeper train coming from the South), it then took 5 hours and got us to Bangkok for about 12.30pm.....very hot, sweaty and grubby! Quite enjoyed it though.
(Enjoyed the return leg much more as it was afternoon and we found the buffet car - aircon and cold Singhas made the journey fly by.)

[Lung Per]

The train service being what it is, you may find you get there near to 2pm anyway. We were booked on the 6am train, it arrived at 7.30am (apparently quite common - it's a sleeper train coming from the South), it then took 5 hours and got us to Bangkok for about 12.30pm.....very hot, sweaty and grubby! Quite enjoyed it though.
(Enjoyed the return leg much more as it was afternoon and we found the buffet car - aircon and cold Singhas made the journey fly by.)

CAUTION: Thai train toilets are not, well, need I say more? Know what I mean, notch notch.

[Dr Michael]

The High Speed train system in China is amazing the Chinese are now 'Advising" in building a line from Kunming in China through Laos to Vientiane-- then Thai is supposed to take it and create a HSR thru to the Malaysian border.
I read an article when I was in China-it said one problem is that the State Railway of Thailand authority is the most corrupt and incompetent agency in Thailand, lots of competition for that title.
It could be several years but BKK >>HH in a little over an hour could be a possibility.

[alleykat]

I've found that the two digit trains, are a lot faster & have a lot less stops than the triple digit ones.

[Bernard]

There are big buses. I guess now they go from the new bus station opposite(ish) the Intercontinental hotel.

The big buses land up at the southern bus terminal which is way out of town, so you'll need to factor in a taxi to get you to central Bangkok.

If you're going by train you need to allow 4-5 hours for your journey so you'd want to be travelling around 9am. I'm sure there are more that 2 trains going. You can find timetables here.

Thought I should clarify this for future readers: I went to the Bus Station opposite the Intercontinental Hotel and asked a guy, who spoke good English, about buses to Bangkok. He said that no buses leave here for Bangkok and that I should go and get a bus from the Night Market area?

[Big Boy]

That sounds about right. Have a look here http://www.tourismhuahin.com/busses-huahin.php .

[Bernard]

That sounds about right. Have a look here http://www.tourismhuahin.com/busses-huahin.php .

Thanks for that BB. Do you know where they leave from as "The Night Market" area is a bit vague ?

[Big Boy]

If you look at this map http://www.huahinafterdark.com/hua-hin-map.htm just below where it says Night Market, you'll see the bus station marked.

Personally, I haven't caught one for many years, but that's where they departed from then, and that's what it says in the above link as well.

[Bernard]

If you look at this map http://www.huahinafterdark.com/hua-hin-map.htm just below where it says Night Market, you'll see the bus station marked.

Personally, I haven't caught one for many years, but that's where they departed from then, and that's what it says in the above link as well.

That's it BB. I now know where the buses go from. It is right outside the Siripetchakasem Hotel. Just didn't click until I saw your map. Thanks again.

[chelsea]

Bernard, I am not sure of the type of buses they are using now, but we took one from BKK to Hua Hin 5/6 years ago and the bus was the pits. Vinyl Seats, A/C that did not work and toilet door that came open on rough roads or going round corners.
At the time the bus station was no where near BKK city from what I could make out, and the facilities were not really good.
It was the one and only time we used them (we may have been unlucky). But from what I have seen of the same Blue/White buses in other parts of Thailand, they all seemed to be of the same standard to the one we had from BKK to Hua Hin.
If you can afford it, a taxi is a much better option, or take your chance with a mini bus. At least the A/C works in them.

[Pleng]

I'd say the big old busses are still a billion times more comfortable than the minivans. The issue with the bus station is a big one, though - it's miles away, you're going to need to spend an extra 300+ bt on a Taxi to central bkk. Add that to the price of your ticket and you'd probably be better off going by first class train (do they have first class trains to bkk from here) - the extra time it takes you is at least partially compensated by the time you spend getting from the bus station into central bkk, especially on a busy day.

Had no issues with the facilities at the BKK bus station, though.

[Big Boy]

do they have first class trains to bkk from here

We considered that recently, but apart from being sold out, the cost was over 1700 Baht one way, which is a bit excessive when compared to other means of transport.