Bangkok to Chiang Mai: Overnight Train or Flight?

The overnight sleeper from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is one of Southeast Asia’s classic journeys. It’s also 12–14 hours against a 70-minute flight that often costs less. Whether it’s worth it depends entirely on what you want from it.

The comparison

Once you count the saved hotel night, the train is usually the cheaper option — but only just, and only if you’d otherwise have paid for that night.

What the train is actually like

Book second-class air-conditioned sleeper. Seats convert to bunks with curtains, sheets and a pillow. It’s clean, safe, and perfectly comfortable — closer to a basic hostel than a hotel.

• Lower bunks are wider, have a window and cost a little more. Worth it.
• Upper bunks are narrower with no window, but quieter and more private.
• First class gives you a two-berth private cabin. The nicest way to do it if you’re two people.
• Skip fan-cooled carriages entirely.

Trains leave Bangkok early evening and arrive Chiang Mai around dawn. Delays of one to three hours are routine — don’t plan a tight morning.

When the train wins

• The journey itself appeals — this is the main reason, and a legitimate one
• You want to save a hotel night and arrive early
• You’d rather see the countryside than an airport
• You’re travelling as a couple and can book a first-class cabin

When to fly

• Short trip. On ten days or fewer, 13 hours is a lot of your holiday.
• You sleep badly on moving vehicles. You’ll arrive wrecked and lose day one anyway.
• Travelling with young children. Romantic in theory, long in practice.
• Peak season without a booking. Sleepers sell out weeks ahead.

Booking

Tickets open 60 days ahead and second-class lower berths go first. Book as early as you can — availability, not price, is the constraint.

👉 Compare Chiang Mai tours and transfers

Verdict

Do it once, if you have the days. It’s a genuinely memorable journey and the cost works out fine. On a tight two-week itinerary covering Bangkok, the north and the islands, fly — and spend the time you save in luxury hotels in Chiang Mai.

Full route: two weeks in Thailand.

This article contains affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We don’t sell tours or own hotels.

Frequently asked questions

Is the overnight train worth it?

Once, if you have the days. It’s a genuinely memorable journey, but it costs 13 hours against a 70-minute flight.

Which class should I book?

Second-class air-conditioned sleeper, lower berth. Wider, with a window. Skip fan-cooled carriages entirely.

Is the train cheaper than flying?

Marginally, once you count the hotel night saved. Flights are often $35–90, the train $25–55.

How far ahead should I book?

Tickets open 60 days out and sleepers sell out in peak season. Availability, not price, is the constraint.