Round trip in the North/NorthEast - any ideas?

[0069]

Been to LOS for Buddha knows how many times but i have never done a round trip to the north and north of north east (have been to Isaan several times but only the Roi Et district, Yasothon and Mukdahan) and travelled by bus a lot af times – and in the back of a pick-up a few – can not be reccomended...

 

This time i am thinking about spending some of my stay travelling around by bus and/or train, and i would like to go from Bangkok and visit Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nong Khai, Udon (Thani) Sakhon Nakon, Khon Kaen,, Roi Et (the city itself) and then back to Bangkok and possible to Pattaya)

 

Anyone here have tried to do such a roundtrip – and if so any ideas of how to do it (train or bus)?

 

Have read that you can buy a Visit Thailand Railpass valid for 20 days and valid for any train but is it worth the 1500 Baht (3000 baht fees included whatever that means) – beeing told that trains are going at a very slow speed – or is it better to go by bus?

 

I prefer to travel during daytime so i am able to watch the landscape.

[Colin back in Pattaya]

Thailand's rail network is very limited, only 4000 kms covering a country the size of France. The best trains tend to be the overnight sleepers from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Nong Khai.

For more rail info, check www.seat61.com

 

Buses cover far more destinations and are more frequent than trains. I'd suggest sticking to The Transport Company which is government owned. They tend to be safer than private operators.

To speed things up, you might consider flying Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen or Ubon to Bangkok. There are plenty of airlines to choose from, Thai Air Asia, Thai Lionair, NokAir etc - so fares are quite cheap.

[wackyjacky]

I won't ever take the CM train again. It's gone off the rails once a month the last couple years. Google it.

[themosch]

I visited many of the cities from your list, seperately but your roundtrip sounds great ! As BM Colin stated traincoverage is limited and awfully slow too. A good option is rent a car or motorbike and drive yourself. Traffic up north is less crazy as in many tourist arear's so much safer to drive.

[0069]

Thx for yor replies! I am well aware of the problems about the trains, just thought it might be a good and relaxing way to get up north and a new experience as i have never used the trains in LOS before. Second thought thoug - ill stick with the buses as they are cheap and fairly reliable and are going all around the country - also between the cities up north.

 

Themosch - thax but i am used to drive in the right side of the road and in LOS the beleive that left is right so i will never drive a car there (or in any other country with left side drive) Motobike will never be an option for me - no matter if it is the right side or the wrong (left) side of the road. Never drove one and never will .- they just scare the shit out of me...

[bgtp]

I did a big loop around the north and northeast about 6 years ago. The trip took itself took a couple of months and I stopped in 18 different places. Since train coverage is limited, I took the train if there was one between where I had been and where I was going next and if the schedule fit mine. But, most of the time I ended up using the buses. I tried to arrange my stops so that each bus or train ride would be around 4 or 5 hours. Didn't always happen that way, but most of the time it did.

 

The express trains can sell out on busy days like weekends or holidays for the more popular routes, so booking ahead is a good idea. Buses get the job done nicely though and they go just about everywhere. Sounds like you're already familiar with the bus system. The one tip I would have is don't just go to the bus station when you're ready to move on. You might miss the only VIP or air-con bus of the day as happened to me one time, and it was a long songthaew ride from Kamphaeng Phet to Sukhothai that day. As you mentioned, riding in the back of a pick-up is no fun. Check things out before you're ready to travel as there may be various bus companies offering different levels of service and comfort. After a while, I just got in the habit of looking at the timetables to my next destination when I first arrived at a bus station in a new destination and jotted them down. Buses are cheap enough that I'd always go for the best one I could.

 

If you do it, I'm sure you'll have a great time. It was probably my best trip. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.