Air con trains from Bangkok to Hua Hin

[wpcoe]

I was always puzzled when I went to the Hualamphong station in Bangkok to buy tickets to Hua Hin. I usually ask for Second Class air con, and routinely they tell me the only departures are around 800am and after 500pm. I usually don't want to get up early enough for the morning train, and my hotel has a 1200n check-out time, so I'd have five hours to kill otherwise.

What confused me was that I *knew* there were air con trains leaving in the early afternoon passing through Hua Hin to the South.

I just realized by checking the online SRT booking site that I can book seats from Bangkok to Prachuap Khiri Khan on the air con 100pm, 315pm and 350pm departures. SRT simply doesn't let you book those particular trains only as far as Hua Hin. Go an hour further to Prachuap, and you can book them.

So, my question is: Would I encounter any difficulty booking one of the afternoon air con trains, e.g. the 100pm Rapid 171 from Bangkok to Prachuap, and simply step off the train when it reaches Hua Hin? My "logic" tells me I can do that, but...

[lomuamart]

I'm pretty sure that SRT won't lock you up in your carriage!!
As long as the train stops in HH, you'll be able to get off there surely.

[Big Boy]

We got the A/C train to Prachuab and back a few weeks ago. Compared with the regular trains, it was very expensive (over 300 Baht each way). I was sure then that I was paying a fare all the way to/from Bangkok, even though I was only going as far as Hua Hin. Still cheap though.

[Rone]

I have the same problem because we were thinking of getting the 11.00am (aprox) sprinter to Ban Krut and we have booked the hotel with confirmed dates. The problem is as you say that you cannot book the usual 60 days in advance - only 24 hours. So if when you go to book 28 hours before and the train is full then problems because the hotel is booked. Similarly for coming back to Hua Hin. However the price from Hua Hin to Ban Krut is 350 baht and if I book the seat from Bangkok through to Ban Krut the price is just 100 baht more - 450 and I can book 60 days ahead. If we decide to use the train it would be worth paying an extra 100 baht for the peace of mind. Cant see why we could not book from Bangkok, reservce a seat but not get on until Hua Hin - unless some one knows different. What compounds the issue is that we travelled down to Prachuap last year on the stopping train (because the sprinter was full) with fans wihich was inundated with mossies everytime the train stopped and when we returned on the sprinter it was much smaller than the normal trains so could understand why it gets booked full.

[wpcoe]

I have the same problem because we were thinking of getting the 11.00am (aprox) sprinter to Ban Krut and we have booked the hotel with confirmed dates. The problem is as you say that you cannot book the usual 60 days in advance - only 24 hours. So if when you go to book 28 hours before and the train is full then problems because the hotel is booked.

Hey, thanks for tipping me off to the fact that they open up the seats for sale the day before! I hadn't realized that. It's not a problem for me to wait until the day before. Plan A will be to book the train the day before, and if it's full, then it'll be my usual Plan B to take a bus from Sai Tai Mai station.

Already today (13-Oct, at 0100), the 1300, 1445, 1510, and 1535 trains (which are usually not available for advance booking from Bangkok to just Hua Hin), were available for booking on 13-Oct and 14-Oct. Maybe it's 48 hours in advance?

We got the A/C train to Prachuab and back a few weeks ago. Compared with the regular trains, it was very expensive (over 300 Baht each way). I was sure then that I was paying a fare all the way to/from Bangkok, even though I was only going as far as Hua Hin. Still cheap though.

The early afternoon trains that suit me have sleepers, so air con Second Class is B302/B252 (lower berth/upper berth) from Bangkok to Hua Hin -- First Class is B503/B423 lower/upper -- which is kind of a joke since a 1300 departure arrives Hua Hin before 1730. But, I guess even before the beds are made it is a nicer seat than on the DRC (Diesel Rail Cars).

I guess there's no need to pay extra for a lower berth if the bed won't be made before it gets to Hua Hin, huh?

[margaretcarnes]

It beats me why they need air con 2nd class in the evenings anyway. OK 8 am or so maybe yes. But I used to sometimes use the HH to Bangkok train about 1 am ish and it was always flippin aircon and then you get a blanket!
But yes just hop off at HH regardless. Tickets aren't checked there on arrival. I guess the reasoning is that people usually only want aircon for longer daytime journeys and they have to have a cutoff point somewhere - and it just happens to be Prachuab.

[wpcoe]

For booking those only-available-in-the-last-days seats, I found more info when I booked a Bangkok-Hua Hin seat on the train on the 18th at 100pm.

On the 16th at 1130pm I checked and it was not bookable. I checked 35 minutes later (at 1205am on the 17th) and it was showing available on the SRT site, but when I tried to confirm it, it said bookings could only be made between 0030-2330, so I waited a half hour and was confirmed.

So, you need to check the calendar date before your intended travel date, after 1230am.

For booking online there is a B20 online booking fee, and for credit card payment, there is a % fee (I forget, but maybe 3%?) with a minimum of B20, so I paid an extra B40 booking fees to do it online, but considered that to be reasonable.

You will receive an e-mail with a .PDF file as an attachment that is your ticket/boarding pass.

[Pagey]

Check out this web site for all rail travel in Asia. Www.seat61.com

Shows all routes, times, description and photos of sleepers, how to buy tickets etc

[wpcoe]

Never mind the convenient online booking and ticket purchases: