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Chiang Mai is about 700 kilometres north of Bangkok by road, and you have three real ways to cover it. Flying takes an hour and a quarter in the air and is often the cheapest option if you book early and travel light. The overnight train takes 12 to 13 hours and saves you a night in a hotel. The VIP bus is faster than the train, cheaper than a last-minute flight, and far less fun. Here’s what each costs in 2026, which of the five daily trains to book, how to buy tickets, and how to get from the station or airport into the Old City.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai at a glance
- Flight
- about 1 hour 15 minutes from Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang; low-cost fares often start around 1,300 to 1,600 baht one way, bags extra.
- Overnight train
- train 9 leaves Krung Thep Aphiwat at 6:40 pm and reaches Chiang Mai at 7:15 am; about 940 to 1,040 baht for a second-class sleeper berth.
- Day train
- train 7, 7:30 am to 5:50 pm, air-conditioned seats only, about 560 baht.
- VIP bus
- 9 to 11 hours from Mo Chit 2; the state 24-seat buses cost 924 baht.
- Train tickets
- the SRT D-Ticket site sells up to 180 days ahead; you need your passport number.
- In Chiang Mai
- the airport is 5 km from the Old City, the train station and bus station about 3 km.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai: train, flight or bus?
| Option | Journey time | One-way cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight | About 1 h 15 min, plus 3 hours or so at the airports | From about 1,300 baht (low-cost, no checked bag) to about 2,900 (Thai Airways, 23 kg) | Short trips, saving a full day |
| Overnight train | 12 h 30 to 13 h | About 730 to 1,650 baht for a berth; about 2,450 for a private cabin | Saving a hotel night, the ride itself |
| Day train | About 10 h 20 | About 560 baht | Scenery on a budget |
| VIP bus | 9 to 11 h | About 600 to 925 baht | When the train is full and you won’t fly |
The overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Northern trains no longer leave from Hua Lamphong. Since January 2023 they have started at Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, the huge station once called Bang Sue Grand, which you reach on the MRT Blue Line. Most of them also stop at Don Mueang, where a skybridge links the station to the airport, which is handy if you land there and want to go straight north.
Five Bangkok to Chiang Mai train services run every day:
| Train | Leaves Bangkok | Arrives Chiang Mai | Our take |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Special Express | 7:30 am | 5:50 pm | Daytime, air-con seats, the mountains after Lampang in daylight |
| 109 Rapid | 2:15 pm | 4:00 am | Gets in before dawn; we’d skip it |
| 9 Special Express | 6:40 pm | 7:15 am | The newest sleeper cars and a dining car. Book this one |
| 13 Special Express | 8:05 pm | 8:45 am | Older sleepers; second class is fan-cooled, first class has air-con |
| 51 Express | 10:30 pm | 11:40 am | The cheapest air-con berth, arrives late morning |
Times moved a little when the new Lopburi bypass opened in December 2025, so check the exact departure on your ticket.
Sleeper classes and fares
Ask anyone who has done the overnight train Bangkok to Chiang Mai trip and they’ll tell you to book train 9. Its Chinese-built sleeper carriages date from 2016, are air-conditioned and clean, and include a carriage for women and children only. On train 9, a second-class berth costs about 940 baht for the upper bunk and about 1,040 for the lower. A first-class cabin sleeps two: about 1,450 baht for the upper berth, 1,650 for the lower, or around 2,450 to have the cabin to yourself.
The later trains cost less. On train 13, second-class berths run about 770 to 840 baht, but they’re fan-cooled, with open windows. First class on the same train has air-con and costs about 1,250 to 1,450. Train 51 has second-class air-con berths for about 730 to 800 baht and arrives nearly at lunchtime.
Pay the extra 100 baht for a lower berth if you can. It’s wider, it has the window, and you don’t climb a ladder at 2 am. The seats are turned into beds in the evening, with sheets and a pillow provided. The air-con is cold, so keep a warm layer out of your bag.
Sleepers sell out. Lower berths on train 9 go quickly from December to March, and in 2026 all five northbound trains were full for 10 to 12 April, just before Songkran, two weeks ahead; the railway added six extra trains.
How to book Thai train tickets
The State Railway of Thailand sells tickets on its D-Ticket website and app. Foreigners register with a passport number and pay by card or with a PromptPay QR code. For a full Bangkok to Chiang Mai trip, sales open 180 days ahead and close three hours before departure. Search from “Krung Thep Aphiwat” rather than “Bangkok”: searching “Bangkok” can come back with no trains at all. Refunds go back to the card you paid with.
Agencies such as 12Go and Baolau sell the same tickets with a booking fee on top, and are worth it only if the SRT site refuses your card. You can also buy at any station ticket window with your passport, which is fine for the day train but risky for a sleeper in high season.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai flights
The flight takes about an hour and 15 minutes, and there are dozens a day. From Don Mueang (DMK), Thai AirAsia runs up to 17 flights a day in late 2026, alongside Nok Air and Thai Lion Air. From Suvarnabhumi (BKK), Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways and Thai Vietjet fly the route, and Thai AirAsia returned there on 1 October 2026 after pausing the Suvarnabhumi flights over the summer, when soaring jet-fuel costs led Thai airlines to cut domestic capacity.
Low-cost fares often start around 1,300 to 1,600 baht one way when booked ahead, with a 7 kg cabin allowance and checked bags extra. Thai Airways economy works out at roughly 2,350 to 2,900 baht a leg with a 23 kg bag included. Door to door, count on four to five hours once you add the ride to the airport, check-in and the transfer at the other end. Our guide to getting from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Bangkok covers both airports.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai by bus
Long-distance buses leave from Mo Chit 2, the Bangkok Bus Terminal in Chatuchak, mostly in the evening. The state Transport Company put new “VIP 24” buses on the route in December 2025, with 24 wide seats, for 924 baht. Nakhonchai Air and Sombat Tour run similar first-class coaches for roughly 850 to 900 baht, and cheaper classes start around 600. The trip takes 9 to 11 hours, and you arrive at Chiang Mai Arcade bus station, about 3 km east of the Old City.
A Bangkok to Chiang Mai bus is quicker than the train, but a reclining seat is not a bed. We’d only take it when the sleepers are sold out and flying is out of the question.
Arriving in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai airport (CNX) is only 5 km from the Old City, 10 to 20 minutes by car. The airport taxi counter charges about 150 baht for a sedan and 200 for a bigger car, and Grab or Bolt usually quote a little less. The train station and Arcade bus station are both about 3 km east of Tha Phae Gate. A red songthaew, the shared pickup taxi, costs 30 to 40 baht a person, and a private taxi 120 to 150. Get your Thailand eSIM working before you land and the apps do the rest.
Dates to plan around
Chiang Mai’s burning season fills the valley with smoke from about March to April; in 2026 it was bad through March and April and only cleared in early May. Trains, buses and flights sell out around Songkran (13 to 15 April) and for Yi Peng and Loy Krathong, which fall around 24 and 25 November in 2026. For those dates, book the sleeper the day sales open. Our best time to visit Thailand guide has the month-by-month picture.
What we would actually do
With a night to spare, we’d take train 9 in a lower second-class berth, booked on the D-Ticket site as early as we could. On a short trip, we’d fly from whichever Bangkok airport is closer and pay for a checked bag up front. If the sleepers were gone and the trip was tomorrow, we’d take the VIP 24 bus from Mo Chit.
Before you fly into Thailand, fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card, and read our guides to Thailand currency and tipping in Thailand.
Looking for the rest? Every Thailand guide we’ve published, from the TDAC to the eSIM, is sorted by topic in our Thailand travel guide.
Going south as well? Our guide to Bangkok to Phuket covers the flight, the overnight bus and the train via Surat Thani.
Heading for the coast instead? Our Bangkok to Pattaya guide covers the buses from Ekkamai and Suvarnabhumi, and the one train a day that still leaves from Hua Lamphong.
Taking the same D-Ticket site south? Our Bangkok to Koh Samui guide covers the overnight train to Surat Thani and the Donsak ferries.
Visiting Chiang Mai’s temples? Cover your shoulders and knees. Our Thailand temple dress code guide has the rules, plus the alcohol hours and the vape ban.
Want a stop on the way north? Train 7, the day train to Chiang Mai, calls at Ayutthaya, and our Bangkok to Ayutthaya guide covers the fares, the other ways there and the temple tickets.
Sources
- State Railway of Thailand, D-Ticket — online booking, passport registration and payment.
- Royal Thai Government (thailand.go.th) — train tickets on sale up to 180 days ahead.
- Thai PBS — long-distance trains moved from Hua Lamphong to Krung Thep Aphiwat.
- Thai Airways — Bangkok to Chiang Mai fares.
- Nation Thailand — Thai AirAsia domestic schedule for late 2026.
- Thansettakij — Transport Company VIP 24 buses to Chiang Mai.
- Chiang Mai City Life — sold-out trains and extra services at Songkran 2026.
Data checked: 2026-10-06
