Backpacking Southeast Asia - Getting Around Thailand

Are you thinking of backpacking Thailand? Here is some information on the different modes of travel throughout Thailand.

General: Getting around Thailand is very simple. Often, there are numerous ways to reach the same destination. The cost of travel is fairly cheap when compared to North America or European equivalent. All modes of travel in Thailand are also safe for tourists.

Train: Thailand has a vast train network. The primary lines that travelers would use are North-South line, a North East line, and the South East Line. Most major tourists destinations, such as Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and Surat Thani (To catch Ferries to Ko Samui, and Ko Pha-Ngan) fall on/near the North-South Line. The North-South line can also be taken into Malaysia.

The North East line has less tourist destinations on it, but it does connect to Nong Khai for access into Laos.

The South East line is primarily used for access to the Cambodia, however, most travelers take the bus on this route.

Train travel is relatively cheap and they are reliable for the most part. There are overnight trains on some portions of the trip, with sleeper berths.

Bus: The majority of travelers to Thailand use the bus to get from destination to destination. You can get to almost every mainland destination by means of public bus. Again, costs for bus are relatively cheap and reliable.

Boats: There are a few type of boats used for travel in Thailand, Ferries, Long tail's, and small passenger boats. Some of the more popular routes, such as Surat Thani to Ko Samui have large passenger ferries. On some of the smaller routes, a small passenger boat is used to shuttle between the island and mainland. These boats typically hold about 50 people.

While on the islands, some places on the mainland are hard to access by land, so instead most tourists take Long Tail boats. Long Tail boats are like a large canoe with an engine attached to it and hold 10-15 people.. These boats are used in places such as Ko Pha-Ngan to reach other beaches on the island.

Airplane: Over the years, more and more destinations in Thailand have become accessible by commercial air travel. Now, most major tourist centers, such as Phuket, Ko Samui, Chiang Mai, and Krabi can be reached by air. Air travel in Thailand is also cheap due to the amount of discount airliners operating within the region. Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, offer discount service to most the major tourist centers.

By : Matt_Blaschuk