6 best weekend railway journeys from Bangkok

Thailand’s royal beach resort, Hua Hin, was little more than a rural hamlet before the railway arrived. As the Southern Line extended down the Malay Peninsula, it developed as a stop off on the international route. 

In 1923, the colonial-style Railway Hotel (now the Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas) opened. Three years later, the original stationhouse was redesigned in the Victorian-Thai mode next to a royal pavilion originally intended for the world expo. Boasting the prettiest station in Thailand, Hua Hin cemented its reputation as the kingdom’s pre-eminent railway destination.

There are 14 daily services leaving from various stations in Bangkok, each taking between three and four hours (all of which are preferable to a bus ride down Thailand’s most dangerous highway, Rama II Road). 

The Rapid 171 departing from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal at 3.10pm is the best train to catch the sunset between Phetchaburi and Cha-Am –– a majestic, natural spectacle that hues the palm trees and distant hills orange and purple.

The train arrives after dark at 6.44pm, just beyond the old station at the new elevated station, just in time to frequent one of a number of foreign-friendly bars and restaurants situated in close proximity to the station. 

Time Out tip: Book a table at the Centara’s Railway Restaurant, inspired by the 1920s railway station.

What distinguishes Kanchanaburi from other quaint Thai river towns is its association with the iron road, namely the Thailand-Burma Railway. Built under Imperial Japan, the line has become known as The Death Railway due to the horrific suffering of allied and Southeast Asian POWs who laboured on it, inspiring numerous books and films, including 1957’s Oscar-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai. 

Despite its ugly origins, it’s a stunning journey. Two trains leave daily from Thonburi Station. The first is recommended for a time-poor weekender, the Ordinary 257, which departs at 7.45am, arriving at the River Kwai Bridge at 10.35am, and Nam Tok at 12.05pm. It’s a short songthaew ride from Nam Tok to the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre, which movingly documents the story of POWs driving the railroad through the unforgiving terrain that defines the Myanmar frontier.

It's worth stopping overnight at Kanchanaburi, which boasts some excellent riverfront restaurants as well as the sobering Thailand–Burma Railway Centre and Kanchanaburi War Cemetery.

Time Out tip: From November 27 to December 7 2025, Kanchanaburi will host The River Kwai Bridge Festival featuring a light show and cultural performances.

Bangkok might be the beating heart of contemporary Thailand, but throughout history, the centre of power has moved around. Former capitals include Sukhothai, Lop Buri, and, of course, Ayutthaya.

Founded in 1351, Ayutthaya served as the capital of Siam until its destruction by the Burmese in 1767. Most of the main sites, as well as accommodation and restaurants, are located on a Four km-wide island at the confluence of the Lopburii, Pasak and Chao Phraya rivers. This includes the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a graveyard for brooding red-brick temples that still evoke bygone grandeur.

Over 20 trains depart the capital daily, including 11 from centrally located Hua Lamphong (as well as Don Mueang and Krung Thep Aphiwat stations), to make the 80km journey north. Journey times range from 55 minutes to almost two hours, but they all transport you back centuries.

For our money, the Ordinary 201 9.30am departure is ideal for weekend visitors as it gets you there at a comfortable 11.27am. You’ll need to hop on a tuk-tuk from the station to get to the old city.

Time Out tip: The State Railway of Thailand offers special steam train excursions to Ayutthaya, often to commemorate historical events like King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day.

Thailand’s Northeastern Line connects Bangkok with the Laos border. But it’s a section of the railway 138 kilometres from the capital that’s become a hit with the Instagram crowd. 

The so-called ‘Floating Train’ earned its moniker as the train rolls across a series of viaducts above Pasak Jolasid Reservoir. 

While regular services to Isan simply roll on, the State Railway, in collaboration with the Tourism Authority, operates a weekend excursion service between November and January that stops at a viewpoint in the middle of a lake for 20 minutes.

The train heads on to Khok Salung Station then returns to Pasak Jolasid Dam Station, where day-trippers can have lunch or visit the surrounding scenic spots, including sunflower fields, before departing for Bangkok at 3.30pm.

Time Out tip: Pack a picnic as the area around the dam has plenty of space to dine al fresco.

Rarely visited and yet within easy reach of Bangkok, the tiny estuarine province of Samut Songkhram is nourished by the Mae Klong River as it meanders to the Gulf. 

In 1901, construction began on the first section of the Mae Khlong Line, which opened in 1907 to transport goods and seafood to central Bangkok. Since the 1950s, the line has been operated as a commuter service. 

The journey begins at the food stall-flanked Wongwian Yai Station to the south of the Chao Phraya. Trains are pretty regular but the 7am or 7.40am services will keep you ahead of the crowds and heat. 

The track bisects the crowded city, rolling within inches of houses and temples, clunking over canal bridges until arriving at Maha Chai an hour down the line.

Adjacent to the station is a large fish market that must be navigated on the way to Maha Chai Pier from where you can hop a ferry to Tha Chalom located on a bulb-shaped peninsular sculpted by a bend in the river. 

The second leg of the journey begins here at Ban Laem Station, rolling through salt fields and shrimp farms overseen by traditional wooden stilt-houses until arriving at the sublimely photogenic Mae Klong Railway Market, known locally as the ‘Folding Umbrella Market,’ as whenever a train passes through, vendors pull back awnings, so the locomotive can inch past their stalls.

Time Out tip: Dine out at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market located nearby.

Pattaya has long been a place of pilgrimage for those seeking to lose a long weekend. Buses bound to the kingdom’s neon-lit party town by the sea plough the Burapha Withi Expressway with great frequency, 

But there’s a far more charming means of getting to Pattaya. On weekends, Rapid Train 997, with air-conditioned carriages, departs Bangkok at 6.45am and arrives at 9.13am en route to Chuk Samet, while a slower, daily service, the Ordinary 283, leaves at 6.55am, getting to Pattaya at 10.34am. Both services make the return journey in the early-afternoon. 

Beyond the greater Bangkok sprawl, the train forges a passage through rice fields and wetlands, rewarding train travellers with views of bucolic Southeast Asia deprived to those who take the road. 

Time Out tip: Trains on the Eastern Line still depart from historic Hua Lamphong, which now houses a railway museum.