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Phuket to Kuala Lumpur or KL and Hat Yai by Bus

This is a scenic drive via Krabi, Trang, Hat Yai and the border crossing is at Sadao and Padang Besar, this is about 13 hours on good roads. Down to the border takes about 8 hours, after the border it takes about 7 hours on a good motorway, actually the KL motorway starts after a couple of kilometers before the exit to Langkawi. On the road are Butterworth with a turn to Penang via Penang Bridge or the ferry.

After the drive passes Ipoh and leads to Kuala Lumpur from the north. The excessive time is mostly on the Thai side because the bus stop every couple of km to take passengers, on the Thai side it functions like a local bus they don't know how to handle long haul buses. On this trip it is always necessary to change the bus at Hat Yai.

 

There is one direct bus connection from the capita to Padang Besar, but there also is a change, the alternative is a flight. Trains are available on this route they runs along the eastern side of southern Thailand and take longer than bus.

 

All what's written here is the same as for south to Singapore. If you start there on the way back use the public transport to the Malaysian border, they start every half hour, move through Singapore immigration (extremely slow) and custom, go through Malaysian passport check and

 custom (very fast) and take any transportation to the downtown long distance terminal, all this is clearly marked. From there they have plenty possibilities to Melaka and KL. There are vehicles with 3 seats in a row and other with 4. All are amazingly comfortable, similar to the old airline business class seating.
 

Phuket to KL by air

 

The fastest way to do the trip is take a Air Asia, Firefly or Malaysian Airlines flight, they do it twice a day and its just about 1 hour time, the bus is the best alternative.

   
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Phuket Bus Station
Phuket Bus Station

Its below Euro 100,- for a one way ticket.

To Hat Yai on the road it's a bit less than Baht 400,- there are different busses, fast and slow. From Hat Yai to Kuala Lumpur its about Baht 800,- .

This long haul travel are excellent vehicles with service inside, toilet and frequent stop, at the Malaysian part is no integrated toilet and service but they also help you through custom and

Phuket Airport
Flights from Phuket  to Kuala Lumpur by Air Asia

immigration at Sadao border.
 

Using the train via Surat Thai

 

if you want to do this in slow motion get to Surat Thani, or check at Bangkok Railway Station or at Hat Yai. A typical route could be to Hat Yai, after to Langkawi, stay some days, move on to Penang by ferry, stay there a few days and continuo to Kuala Lumpur.

 

On the way is one of the best Malaysian National Park, Taman Negara, its great stuff, almost a must when you travel there. There is lots to see, great nature and real oriental experience.

Train Bangkok Kuala Lumpur at Hat Yai
Train Bangkok Kuala Lumpur at Hat Yai

Rent a car

and return the car in KL is not possible. You could rent a car using Pure Car Rent drive with the car all the way down to the border, cross into and very important, make a full car insurance, covering everything and proceed to Kuala Lumpur. The car insurance will cost about baht 1500,- for a few days.

In the Thai car insurance is not valid there and if they catch you without insurance it costs Malaysian Ringit 300,- fine, you run into deep trouble when having an accident and

Rent a Car in Phuket
Rent a Car in Phuket, in general if you rent a car in Thailand and drive to Malaysia you must bring the car back, there is no drop off service. The car rental company will do the necessary paperwork for the vehicle it will take some days because all car papers must be translated.

no insurance. The insurance offices at the Thai - Malaysian border are only open from about 8 am to about 6 pm. Use a insurance office before the border on the Thai side, there are small booth on road side. Don't do it on the other side, the people in the offices there are very lazy and unwilling to work at all.

The people in both countries can get their driver license without any serious driving education, means a real helter skelter on the roads. If a accident happens on your drive in both countries they will always blame the foreigner to be responsible. It wont matter what actually happen even if it absolute and 100%  clear that you might not be responsible. They will bend and twist and come up with some strange excuses to make you responsible.

Between Krabi and Trang
Between Krabi and Trang
James Bond Island

James Bond Island

To Penang or KL trip

 

you could first drive to Phang Nga, on the motorway just before the city and right behind the Phunga Hotel is a right turn to the bay. At the end of the road is a jetty with plenty of long tail boats for hire. Just take one for about baht 1000,- for maybe 3 or 4 hours and have a look around, there is great scenery. Land distance is about 900km.

 

You will see "James Bond Island", Ko Panyi with the Muslim fisherman village built on stilts and great limestone formations in this part of the Andaman Sea there is plenty to see. The next stop on your travel to Hat Yai is between Phang Nga and Krabi, it could be at Ao Luk. Have a look for the great limestone caves, mangrove forest and maybe do a kayaking tour. After about 2 hours the turn to Trang will come, keep on going straight and after a while

Road Phuket to Penang
Road  Phuket to Penang, Phuket Asia.
Cave kayaking tour at Ao Luk

Cave kayaking tour at Ao Luk. Phuket to Kuala Lumpur.

 

Railay Beach Krabi
Railay Beach west of Krabi Town

 the right turn to Ao Nang will come. At the end of the road starts one of the most exiting beaches in the world, this is

 

Krabi Railay Beach

Take a long tail boat at the end of the road and have a small Krabi beach tour along Railay Beach, passing some limestone islands, around the cap to Railay beach east and have a look for some of the most spectacular rock climbing area on the world. The long tail boat is about Baht 300,-. If you want to stay there, no problem, there are several small beach resorts on Railay beach. A bit south of Ao Nang is Krabi fossil shell beach cemetery with a marvelous panorama over the beach the islands, one is Chicken I

islands, the name came because the limestone formation looks like a gigantic chicken, this is a top Krabi sightseeing spot attracting several hundred visitors per day.

The Krabi fossil shell slabs are about 80 million years old and have been layered with shell fossils over time. Today a flat platform of slabs from compacted fossils is along the shore. About 40 million years ago today's Ban Laem Pho Cape in Krabi was an large freshwater swamp with large amounts of snails. More about Krabi fossil shell beach is here. From time to time take a turn from the main road towards the coast, there are beautiful beaches.

Ao Nang Krabi
Railay Beach Front seen from the water
Trang Island
Trang Island

Next sector is Trang and Pak Meng Beach

At the waterfront are miles of fine sandy beaches along the coast and on the islands of the archipelago. There are plenty of island beach resorts.

The best non island beach resort in Trang Thailand is at the southern part of Pak Meng, its the Amari Trang Hotel, this is quite a isolated location but it is the best hotel around.

This Trang beach resort is very popular by guys from Bangkok who go for a weekend with their girlfriends without being seen. On the islands are all kind of other hotels and resorts.

More on Trang is here. Probably the most famous attraction in the archipelago is the Morakot or emerald cave use the link above for more info. From Trang to Patthalung is a ride through a mountain range with breathtaking views and lush tropical jungle. Behind the mountain range is Patthalung and at the first intersection we meet the Thailand north south highway.

A side trip to Songkhla City makes sense since this is the most interesting city in the deep south with even some history, a fishing harbor and an old town. There is moderate nightlife at Songkhla and some museums showing what  happen in the past.

Sonkhla
Sonkhla and KL Hat Yai Bus.

Songkhla is for sure a city worth a stop over and a look around, they have some good and not expensive hotels such as the Pavilion Hotel Songkhla, that's around Baht 1000,- per night.

Songkhla has a interesting old city and is the main fishing harbor in south Thailand on the west coast of the gulf. The other harbor is Ranong at the west coast of southern Thailand bordering Myanmar.

After Hat Yai, Sadao on the border is the destination. All the way down there is not much to see, its just a flat piece of land with limestone formations popping out from the paddy fields plus endless rubber plantings.

Arriving at the border,

the border crossing is closed from 11pm to 5 am, if you get stranded enjoy

the great nightlife at this remote Thai village, its unbelievable what energy sexy business can unfold bringing hundreds of good paid jobs, especially to Thai bar girls who come from all over the country to make money in the nightlife businessThere are plenty of discos, nightclubs, bars and pubs, everything is dedicated to all kind of fun mainly for the guys. This is a typical small Thai city, is quite chaotic but as long as it is the private sector it works quite, in the country the problem always starts when the state is involved because there most jobs are not distributed via qualification. It's a bit confusing, no straight line through and long slow cues, just as Bangkok Airport. At the other side its very well planned and organized, you go through in 2 minutes. The charge money for going through when coming with a car, be aware that they sometimes ask the foreigner a much higher price as they are allowed, especially when you pay in Baht.

Sadao
Sadao
Ko Tarutao
Ko Tarutao
Travel via Satun,

 

Satun is on the south west coast, several buses leave for Satun every day. Traveling down from Trang on the west coast is a good option since there are plenty of beaches and islands, but for the west coast travel it makes sense to rent a scooter or car maybe at Trang or further south and move around since it needs frequent stops which the bus naturally wont do on demand, actually they stop everywhere you like but only for exit after they are gone.

 

The small town of Pak Para is the gateway to Ko Tarutao, Ko Lipe and more. At Pak Para is also a ferry to Langkawi, but no regular. This is a nice coastal area with plenty of beaches and interesting scenery although it's finally always the same, be careful when you buy boat tickets that they don't cheat you.

Hat Yai Bus
Hat Yai Bus, usually this buses run every two hours from around 9 am to 6 pm.
KL Hat Yai Bus

KL Hat Yai Bus Station, this is the bus interchange between Thailand and Malaysia, but its not the only one, there are two more. One bus company has a office at a other place, they use buses which are in size just between the bus at the left pics and the one on the right side. Another bus station is a bit to the east from this one. A alternative is to go to a travel agent in down town and let them handle it, they charge more or less the same price but they only put you into a bus who give them a higher commission, means you wont get the fastest connection and have to wait. Considering this the best is do the trip to the terminal after no need to ask Hat Yai where to go and search around for the KL Hat Yai bus.

Hat Yai Bus

Every long haul Thailand bus is quite comfortable and has some service and a functioning toilet on board. Most seats are even better than some old business class seats in the airplane. From here you also can travel to Langkawi by road and ferry.

 

A train to Kuala Lumpur starts at least once per day from the Hat Yai station. Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur train connects via Padang Besar and all the way down to the south reaching finally Singapore.

 

Interchange is not coordinated and it's not possible to make reservations out of Bangkok beyond the border.

 

Downtown stands for shopping, fun and nightclubs, the city is mainly frequented by Malaysians and specially the guys, its sex business and entertainment.

 

KL Hat Yai Bus

 

Here are the long haul buses for Kuala Lumpur and Penang. There are three terminals one for the big buses, another one for the small and another one where one company serves Phuket and Krabi only, actually that's the best northwards bound. It is a little bit off down town, take a motor bike taxi, or tuk-tuk to go there.

Hat Yai Bus Station
Hat Yai Bus Station, this minibuses serve destinations parallel to the big busses, usually the minibus is around 25% faster and casts marginally more.Hat Yai
Hat Yai Downtown, this is the bustling center of southern Thailand in Songkhla province. The city is the third biggest and the majority of people seems to be Chinese who came into when the tin mining and rubber planting started. Its a nightlife and shopping town without any history. Some historic data can be found in the Songkhla Museum. Songkhla also has a very interesting fishing harbor. At the area around the fishery harbor the guys are unloading the catch, repairing nets and more.
Between Hat Yai and Sadao
Between Hat Yai and Sadao

If you are with a car and coming from Trang, just keep on driving the motorway towards Pattani, the road signs are very confusing and not thought through. If you see a road sign indicating Sadao, its not marked orderly, drive to the left and turn under the bridge to the right after its only straight on. The problem with this routing is, this part of the road to runs from one town into the next. Actually after leaving the highway that's the worst part of the whole journey. There is one traffic light after the other and all are switched in a way that you will get red at every intersection. Its the usual nightmare when people do something and don't think first about what they are doing.

Arriving at the border,

the border crossing is closed from 11pm to 5 am, if you get stranded enjoy the great nightlife at this remote Thai village, its unbelievable what energy sexy business can unfold bringing hundreds of good paid jobs, especially to Thai bar girls who come from all over the country to make money in the nightlife business.

There are plenty of discos, nightclubs, bars and pubs, everything is dedicated to all kind of fun mainly for the guys. This is a typical small Thai city, is quite chaotic but as long as it is the private sector it works quite, in the country the problem always starts when the state is involved because there most jobs are not distributed via qualification.

Sadao
Sadao
 
Sadao Nightlife
Sadao karaoke nightlife with plenty of girls

 

 

After a couple of kilometers on the road to Kuala Lumpur, behind the border there is a four lane road highway merging into a toll way. Petrol is much cheaper on the Malaysian side but if you didn't already change money it might be a problem to get money since the first ATM at the Petronas Station is manipulated in a way only allowing you to take Ringit 50,-and this is for sure not enough to fill your tank.

Anyway enjoy your drive to the south and the fact that the Malaysians obey at least a little bit traffic rules and also not driving all the time on the overtake lane, as it is usual in Thailand, the whole is a little bit more civilized.

Langkawi
Langkawi is great holiday spot
Penang Ferry
Penang Ferry between the mainland and island

But in any case buy the insurance for the car if you are with the car, there are frequent controls in the border area to check if the foreigner has a local insurance.

A couple of km behind the border is a road sign to Langkawi, try it it's almost a must to have a look for it.

At the end of the road, when you take this turn you can find a ferry to Langkawi but not taking cars.

Butterworth
Butterworth bridge
Phuket Kuala Lumpur
Penang eastside waterfront
Phuket to Penang Harbor
Penang Harbor container terminal

Leave the car and take the ferry, this is only for passengers, the only way to do a trip with the car is to drive to Penang first and take the ferry to Langkawi there.

Its a puzzle why they wont offer a car service from the border area since there probably would be enough traffic, this is better organized in Thailand where even small islands such a Ko Lanta have full passenger and vehicles service, they just use smaller ships. Anyway its a great destination only the weather is not always the best, if you drive there check the weather first.

The trip to Penang is popular for the "visa run" since there is a Thai consulate in Penang and they can handle all visa types, the embassy / consulate is in KL.

Malaysian destination
Phuket to Penang, huge mosque at west side.
Penang Bridge
Penang Bridge
Penang Bridge

Its about 3 hours drive from the border. Try to avoid coming in via the bridge in the morning between 7 am and around 9 am since the ride over the Penang Bridge is a traffic nightmare at that time. It is also very difficult to find the way to the ferry, means better use the road over the bridge for inbound.

When leaving its better to use the ferry since there is no problem to find the way from that side.

Now its a flat out run to KL on the motorway. A very interesting side trip is to visit Taman Negara, that's one of the best National Parks in the country, it's more or less on the way, it just needs a drive to the east around half way.

Its a kind of a jungle adventure trip there, rent a boat or just hike around, the place looks real great a ideal setting for some good shots with a tele lens. There are a few more places like that notable at Sarawak up the Rajang River at Sibu. When the intention is to drive all the way down to Singapore with a car leave the car at Johor Bahru, driving in Singapore is a nightmare because of their road tax system and no parking spaces unless putting the car into one of the high rise car park buildings which are very complicated to enter expensive.

Taman Negara
Taman Negara National Park.

There is no need for all of that since from the border there is a public bus directly to downtown and the best to do there is take the SMRT Singapore light train system, its the fastest way to move around on the island, unfortunately the ticket machines are often not working and most of the time the train is totally overcrowded.

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