Thai National Parks

Busses to Sangkhlaburi stop by at Sai Yok Noi Waterfall, Hellfire Pass and Sai Yok National Park, leaving Kanchanaburi every 30 minutes from 6 am until 6:30 pm, the bus trip to the visitor centre takes a bit more than 1.5 hours. The visitor centre is nearly 3 km off from Highway 323 where the buses stop. There are motorcycle taxis operating to the park near the turn-off point. The park staff at the visitor centre will help to call motorcycle taxis when leaving the park. The last bus from Sangkhlaburi to Kanchanaburi passes around 5 pm, so it is good to be early to catch it in time.

It is also possible to take the train to a train station near Sai Yok Noi Waterfall. Visitors can take a train from Kanchanaburi to Namtok Station and continue on foot or by local transport to the waterfall, which is 2 kilometers away. Trains depart from Kanchanaburi at 6.11 a.m., 11 a.m. and 4.37 p.m. and return from Namtok Station at 5.25 a.m. 1 p.m. and 3.15 p.m. The one-way rail trip takes about 2 hours and costs 17 baht. (Please check the current schedule from T.A.T. Kanchanaburi or the railway station before departure.)

Public services to Kanchanaburi (*)

By bus - from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi:

BKS public buses (line 81) leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Taling Chan สายใต้ตลิ่งชัน), which is located far west in the suburb Thonburi. In Kanchanaburi, there are two separate but nearby bus terminals, with 1st class buses departing from an office off Thanon Saengchuto, and 2nd class buses from the larger terminal one block east.

• 1st class buses should leave Bangkok every 15 minutes from 05:00-22:30, taking about 2 hours.
• 2nd class buses (new route) leave Bangkok every 20 minutes from 03:30-19:00, taking about 2 hours.
• 2nd class buses (old route) leave Bangkok every 15-30 minutes from 04:00-18:00, taking about 3 hours.
• There are tourist minibuses directly to/from Khao San Road, departing Kanchanaburi at 13:30 and 18:30.

There are also some buses leaving less frequently from Bangkok's Northern Mo Chit bus terminal (note: not the same as Mo Chit BTS station, and not within walking distance of it, although a standard 50 baht motorbike ride is available. It's often called "Mo Chit 2"). Here are the times I could find at the station:

• First-class bus with toilet (3 hours): 06:00, 11:00, 14:30
• Second class bus with no toilet inside: 05:00, 07:00, 09:30, 12:30, 17:00
• Minibus leave from Terminal 4 regularly, (12 noon was one of the scheduled times) taking 3 hours.

By bus - from Ayutthaya to Kanchanaburi:

Ayutthaya - Suphanburi, public minibus no. 703, 80 baht, travel time 1.5h, leaves every 30m. from Chao Phrom market bus station. Suphanburi - Kanchanaburi, bus no. 411, 50 baht, travel time 1.5h, leaves every 20m. By minivan directly from your hotel at 9:30am or 4:30pm, takes 2.5 hours. Book through a tour agent.

By train

Trains leave Bangkok's Thonburi Train Station at 07:50 and arrive at Kanchanaburi at 10:25, also at 13:55 and arriving at 16:24. You may be interested in buying a ticket all the way to the River Kwai Bridge, since these two trains are the only ones which cross the bridge each day.

Return trains leave at 07:25 and 14:48 from the main railway station; from the River Kwai Bridge they leave 6 minutes earlier. Riding 3rd class is an adventure in itself, and definitely recommended.

Both train services continue to/from Nam Tok, the current terminus of the Death Railway.

By taxi

Bangkok (Airport) limousines are a comfortable and swift means of travel between Thailand's capital and Kanchanaburi. Transfer rates by luxury Japanese sedan are typically from 3,000-3,500 baht. (Site note: A single trip space-wagon service costs 2,200 Baht through our website, see details)

(*) Source: Wikitraval.org. This section of the copy (“Public services to Kanchanaburi”) is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.

Driving to Sai Yok National Park

From Bangkok

• Take the highway route 4 west out from Bangkok and drive 64 until you are through Nakhon Pathom and reached the junction to route 323
• Turn right to the route 323 and drive 160 km until you reach a sign pointing to Sai Yok National Park
• Turn left and drive another 3 km

From Ayutthaya

• Drive 2km west from town on route 3263 till you get to the junction to route 347 and 3263
• Turn left in junction to route 347 and drive 38 km until you reach the T-junction to route 346
• Turn right on route 346 and keep an eye on signs for route 346 through a few junctions. Drive the whole route for 102 km until you reach the T-junction to route 324.
• Turn left on route 324 and drive 23km until you reach central Kanchanaburi.
• Turn right to route 323 and drive 100 km until you reach a sign pointing to Sai Yok National Park
• Turn left and drive another 3 km