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Inter-city
Thailand is a relatively big country but it has a reasonably well developed transportation infrastructure. There are three main ways of getting around; plane, train and bus.
Internal air services are pretty comprehensive but, by Thai standards, expensive and have the usual air travel drawback of being exactly the same as everywhere else in the world. We didn't do any flying.
Train is a good option when available. There are a number of main lines out of Bangkok to the South, North and Northeast, as well as some local lines. They run at North American rather than European speeds. The 750km or so between Bangkok and Chiang Mai takes about twelve hours by express. Fortunately the longer routes have sleepers on the overnight run. These come in first and second class. We found second to be quite adequate with comfortable berths, clean linen and adequate privacy. The price is right, about 500 baht for Bangkok-Chiang Mai compared with 2170 for a flight, and it saves a night's accommodation. For short trips we took the regular 3rd class trains. These are incredibly cheap; 15 baht from Ayuthaya to Bangkok for example. For me, the great thing about trains is that you can always see more than when travelling by train than by air or road. Courtesy of the train, I have a pretty good idea of what intensive rice cultivation looks like as well as a pretty good picture of Bangkok's slums. (For the record, the sort of shanty town of tin shacks next to stagnant water that I had only read about previously. What struck me though was that most every house had a line of very clean laundry drying outside it. It struck me as powerful testimony of people's will to make a life even in unpromising circumstances.)
The last option for intercity travel is bus. This is not a bad option if you know exactly where you are going or can get someone to write it for you in Thai. The price is similar to rail but the buses tend to be incredibly crowded. For places not only the railway, of course, buses are pretty much the only option.
Intra city
First, Bangkok is a special case for several reasons. It has a subway and two sky train lines and a river ferry/bus service. If these go where you want to go they are the best bet as not only do they get you out of the traffic they also get you out of the heat. The river boats in particular are great fun and a good way to see a lot of the city in one fell swoop. Bangkok also has metered, air conditioned taxis. These are a very practical way of getting around as even if you are stuck in Bangkok's appalling traffic you don't have to breathe the fumes. Most rides within any area you are likely to want cost 40-70 baht so it's a very affordable option. Other options include public buses (very crowded and hard to navigate unless you speak some Thai), tuk-tuk (dirty, noisy motor-cycle-trailer things with aggressive drivers who will try to rip you off) and motorcycle taxis (not tried but looks like a good, if scary option, for beating the traffic).
Outside Bangkok the options are usually tuk-tuk or song thaew (a pick up truck with two bench seats and a roof in the back). Song thaews are dual purpose. Some ply regular routes picking up and dropping off on request along the way for 5-10 baht. Others function like taxis but you need to negotiate the fare in advance, If you want to charter one for any distance, your hotel or guest house will usually be able to tell you how much the trip ought to cost or even do the bargaining for you. Tuk tuks function like song thaew but are less comfortable and noisier. Other options include renting bikes or motorbikes. I would probably have gone the motorbike route in Ayuthaya if there had been only two of us but with four it was a bit impractical (I have seen four people on a motorbike in Thailand but I wasn't risking it!).
For price comparison: USD 1 = baht 38
Thailand is a relatively big country but it has a reasonably well developed transportation infrastructure. There are three main ways of getting around; plane, train and bus.
Internal air services are pretty comprehensive but, by Thai standards, expensive and have the usual air travel drawback of being exactly the same as everywhere else in the world. We didn't do any flying.
Train is a good option when available. There are a number of main lines out of Bangkok to the South, North and Northeast, as well as some local lines. They run at North American rather than European speeds. The 750km or so between Bangkok and Chiang Mai takes about twelve hours by express. Fortunately the longer routes have sleepers on the overnight run. These come in first and second class. We found second to be quite adequate with comfortable berths, clean linen and adequate privacy. The price is right, about 500 baht for Bangkok-Chiang Mai compared with 2170 for a flight, and it saves a night's accommodation. For short trips we took the regular 3rd class trains. These are incredibly cheap; 15 baht from Ayuthaya to Bangkok for example. For me, the great thing about trains is that you can always see more than when travelling by train than by air or road. Courtesy of the train, I have a pretty good idea of what intensive rice cultivation looks like as well as a pretty good picture of Bangkok's slums. (For the record, the sort of shanty town of tin shacks next to stagnant water that I had only read about previously. What struck me though was that most every house had a line of very clean laundry drying outside it. It struck me as powerful testimony of people's will to make a life even in unpromising circumstances.)
The last option for intercity travel is bus. This is not a bad option if you know exactly where you are going or can get someone to write it for you in Thai. The price is similar to rail but the buses tend to be incredibly crowded. For places not only the railway, of course, buses are pretty much the only option.
Intra city
First, Bangkok is a special case for several reasons. It has a subway and two sky train lines and a river ferry/bus service. If these go where you want to go they are the best bet as not only do they get you out of the traffic they also get you out of the heat. The river boats in particular are great fun and a good way to see a lot of the city in one fell swoop. Bangkok also has metered, air conditioned taxis. These are a very practical way of getting around as even if you are stuck in Bangkok's appalling traffic you don't have to breathe the fumes. Most rides within any area you are likely to want cost 40-70 baht so it's a very affordable option. Other options include public buses (very crowded and hard to navigate unless you speak some Thai), tuk-tuk (dirty, noisy motor-cycle-trailer things with aggressive drivers who will try to rip you off) and motorcycle taxis (not tried but looks like a good, if scary option, for beating the traffic).
Outside Bangkok the options are usually tuk-tuk or song thaew (a pick up truck with two bench seats and a roof in the back). Song thaews are dual purpose. Some ply regular routes picking up and dropping off on request along the way for 5-10 baht. Others function like taxis but you need to negotiate the fare in advance, If you want to charter one for any distance, your hotel or guest house will usually be able to tell you how much the trip ought to cost or even do the bargaining for you. Tuk tuks function like song thaew but are less comfortable and noisier. Other options include renting bikes or motorbikes. I would probably have gone the motorbike route in Ayuthaya if there had been only two of us but with four it was a bit impractical (I have seen four people on a motorbike in Thailand but I wasn't risking it!).
For price comparison: USD 1 = baht 38
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