Province and Chumphon (Chumphon) - tourist information

General information about Chumphon

Chumphon City (also Chumpon, Chumporn, Chumphon, Chumporn) – a small town in the south Thailand, the capital of Chumphon province. The city and province can be geographically attributed to central Thailand, but still the atmosphere, population, traditions and cuisine are more similar to the Muslim south, although, of course, to a much lesser extent than the southernmost provinces. Chumphon is considered the beginning of the south of the country. The city is located 500 kilometers south of Bangkok on the east coast, washed by the waters of the Gulf of Thailand (Chumphon on the map of Thailand).

Although Chumphon is not a popular tourist destination, this city is always popular with tourists, especially independent travelers. The fact is that this is a transshipment point on the way between the capital and the southern resorts. The city is especially often visited by tourists whose destination is the island Tao, Phangan, and sometimes Koh Samui. It is here that a transfer is made from a train or bus to ferries or high-speed catamarans to these islands. Although it is worth noting that it is faster and cheaper to get to Koh Samui and Phangan via Surat Thani, although it turns out to be a small detour.

As an independent tourist destination, Chumphon is not very popular among tourists. This is an ordinary Thai provincial town. Even a major transport hub, it can only be called a stretch, despite its importance on the way to the aforementioned islands. There is no entertainment here, the city falls asleep early in the evenings. Nevertheless, even here you can meet vacationing Europeans, tourist infrastructure, hotels. You will hardly meet mass tourists on vouchers here, but independent travelers who want to discover new places, little-known to mass tourists, stop here. And, by the way, the beaches of Chumpon are quite a popular holiday destination for local residents. The result of this state of affairs is lower prices for travel services, accommodation and meals than for other popular resorts in Thailand.

Weather in Chumphon, tourist seasons

Chumpon is a year–round resort. As in most of Thailand, there are only two seasons here: the dry season and the rainy season.

Dry season, aka high season, runs from December to April. At this time there is a minimum of precipitation, there are a lot of vacationers on the beaches. During the holidays and weekends, the beaches are "clogged" by local residents.

Rainy season, aka low season, lasts from May to November. During this period, you can also relax on local beaches, but the likelihood of rain is greater. The first half of November is especially rainy.

Seasons in Chumphon by month, when is the best time to go

Current weather in Chumphon and forecast

Beaches of Chumpon

There are no beaches in the city itself, because its center is located a few kilometers from the city. But along the coast of the province there are several moderately developed tourist areas. These are beaches:

• Thung Wua Laen Beach (also Thung Wualaen), is located 13 kilometers north of the city. The most developed area, many hotels, there are inexpensive guest houses. You can stay from 400 baht (see Thailand's currency and exchange rate) per room or bungalow with air conditioning. There are many cafes. This is where the entire infrastructure of this beach ends, there are not even currency exchangers and large shops. You can get here by minibus songteo yellow from the city center for 30 baht.
• Sai Ree Beach, located 20 kilometers south of the center. There are also several hotels here, but this is where the infrastructure is exhausted. A very quiet and deserted place. You can get here by minibus from the city center for 30 baht.

There is not much to do on these beaches for a beach holiday coma. You can just relax, drink beer, have picnics on the beach, or have dinner in restaurants. If you rent a vehicle, you can drive around the province or visit the sights of neighboring provinces. Of the active entertainments, only kiting and windsurfing can be mentioned. It cannot be said that this is an ideal place for practicing these sports, since the winds do not always blow here, besides gusty. But they are weak, which is not bad for beginners who want to get used to these classes. However, you will not find equipment for rent or for sale here, you will have to take it with you. Another possible entertainment is snorkeling tours to the islands.

Hotels in Chumphon

Hotels in Chumpon are very cheap even by Thai standards. So, on the most developed beach of Thung Wua Laen Beach, you can stay in a double room from 400 baht. There is no need to book in advance.

If you come here to rest, then you should not stay in the center of Chumphon. There is absolutely nothing to do here, and there is no beach. It is best to immediately go to one of the beaches (see above). If you need to spend the night in the city itself, then it is very inexpensive to stay in the area of Tha Taphao Alley street (see the location of the street and beaches on the map below).

You can find and book accommodation in Chumphon on these sites or through the search form. All sites have a Russian interface and Russian-language customer support, a lot of reviews from real guests.

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Chumphon on Trip.com (💳 Mir cards work)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Chumphon on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru

Chumphon Map

How to get to Chumphon

You can get to Chumpon from Bangkok and other major cities of Thailand by plane, train, bus. Chumpon is also a popular transshipment point for budget tourists to the islands of Tao, Phangan and Koh Samui, as boats and high-speed catamarans depart from here to these islands. You can find the schedule and book tickets to Chumpon by bus, ferry or train using the search form, and below about all the ways to get to Chumpon in more detail:

• By plane

  30 kilometers north of Chumphon in Pathio district (airport on the map) there is a small airport with two daily flights from Bangkok's old Don Mueang Airport. This is the only flight here, it is operated by a budget airline Nok Air.

  You can get from the airport to the city and to the marina (to go to the islands) by minivans, which depart after the arrival of each flight, for 150 and 250 baht, respectively.

• By train

  Through Chumphon there is a railway connecting Bangkok with the south of Thailand, and going further through Malaysia to Singapore. Therefore, you can get here by train even from Singapore.

  From Bangkok, trains depart from Hua Lamphong. There are at least 10 trains running daily, the schedule is here https://www.railway.co.th. The cost is from 150 baht for a sitting place and up to 650 for a recumbent place. The journey takes 8 hours. Learn more about train travel in Thailand here

  The railway station in Chumphon is located almost in the city center (railway station on the map). You can get from the station to the area with hotels on Tha Taphao Alley Street on foot. Near the Chumpon railway station there is a ticket office of the Lompraya company (this company carries out transportation by high-speed catamarans to the islands), where you can buy a ticket for 50 baht to the pier. These buses leave at 6.00 and at 11.00, just in time for the departure of the catamaran.

• By bus

  You can get to Chumpon by bus from Bangkok (from the southern bus station, from 330 baht, 7 hours on the way), Hua Hin, Chaam, cities in the south of Thailand (Hat Yai via Surat Thani, 170 baht).

  Buses arrive and depart from different stations in Chumpon. Almost all large regular buses from Bangkok arrive at the southern bus station, which is located 11 kilometers from the city (station on the map). There is another station in the city center from which the bus departs to Hat Yai (station on the map). Another place where minivans depart to Suratani and other nearby cities (here on the map)

• By ferry/boat

  There are several carriers on the route Chumphon - Tao Island, Phangan, Koh Samui.

  Lomprayah Company

  One of the most popular carriers among tourists, and the fastest way. In general, Lompraya offers a ready-made organized transfer from Bangkok and Hua Hin to all three islands, but if you come to Chumpon on your own, you can still use the services of this company. Boats go twice a day according to the schedule, which can always be clarified on the official website http://www.lomprayah.com/. There you can also book a ticket for 600 baht to Koh Tao, 1000 baht to Phangan, 1100 to Koh Samui. On-site tickets can be purchased at the company's office next to the railway station.

  The Lompraya Pier in Chumpon is located far outside the city (Lomprayah Pier on the map). You can get there by minivans for 50 baht, which depart from the company's office in the city center near the Chumphon railway station.

  Songserm express

  These boats can only be reached by Phangan and Tao. Boats depart once a day from Chumpon at 07:00, from Phangan Island at 12:30, from Tao at 14:30. The cost is 450 baht. You can check the current schedule on the website https://songserm.com/. Tickets are sold in city agencies and hotels at the reception.

  There are also slow ferries from Tha Yang Pier (pier on the map). But we do not have up-to-date information about the schedule and cost.

Transport, what to use to get around

The city of Chumphon itself is small, and you can move between its main transport points (stations) and the area with hotels on foot. To get to the beaches of the province, you will have to use local transport or taxi.

Rental of transport is not developed here, and it is possible to find a motorcycle for rent only in a couple of places in the city itself, the cost starts from 200 baht.

Shuttle taxis to the beaches of Thung Wua Laen Beach and Sai Ree Beach depart from the final parking lot in the city center (here on the map). A trip on them costs 30 baht, they run from 06:00 to 18:00.

If you prefer freedom of movement and rented transport, you can rent a car or a motorcycle. To drive a car in Thailand, tourists no longer need to obtain an international driver's license (IDP). On May 1, 2021, the long-awaited event finally took place - Thailand ratified the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which it initially joined back in 1968. And now in Thailand, theoretically, it is possible to manage rented transport using ordinary Russian rights. However, so far in Thailand there has not been a practice of adopting national VUS on the roads by police officers, therefore, in order not to finish off our rightness every time, we still recommend that you additionally issue an IDP. For more information about renting a transport in Thailand, read here.

The cost of renting a car starts from 1000 baht when booking for a short period, and reaches 500 baht when booking for a long period. It is best to search and book a car for rent via the Internet using the search form and price comparison from different rental companies: