Kuala Lumpur to Koh Lipe

There are three parts to the journey by train from Kuala Lumpur. The first part of the journey is by train to Padang Besar. The second part of the journey is a further train journey from Padang Besar to Hat Yai. The third part of the journey is by minivan and speedboat from Hat Yai Railway Station to Koh Lipe

Stage 1: Train from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar

There are currently 6 trains a day from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.

• Buy tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.

Stage 2: Train from Padang Besar to Hat Yai

There are currently 3 trains a day from Padang Besar to Hat Yai in Thailand. Departure and arrival times below are in Thailand time, which is 1 hour behind Malaysia.

• Buy your tickets for this short journey at Padang Besar Railway Station.

Stage 3: Minivan & Speedboat from Hat Yai to Koh Lipe

There are currently 16 joint minivan and speedboat services a day from Hat Yai Railway Station to Koh Lipe available to book online.

• Buy tickets from Hat Yai Railway Station to Koh Lipe.

Kuala Lumpur Railway Station

KL Sentral Station is the main railway station in Kuala Lumpur.

Padang Besar Railway Station

Padang Besar Railway Station is the interchange station between Malaysian and Thai railway services.

Hat Yai Railway Station

Hat Yai Junction Railway Station is located in the centre of Hat Yai City.

Koh Lipe Ferry Pier

Join minivan and speedboat services from Hat Yai Railway Station to Koh Lipe terminate at Pattaya Beach on the south coast of the island.

About Travel to Koh Lipe

It’s not possible to complete the journey by train from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Lipe in a single day. Even if you depart from Kuala Lumpur on the first train of the day you will not arrive in Hat Yai until late afternoon, the same day, after the last connecting minivan and speedboat service to Koh Lipe has already departed.

Hotel Accommodation during the Journey

The best strategy is to aim to reach Hat Yai by early evening and to stay there overnight in a hotel. The range of hotels and restaurants available in Padang Besar is very limited compared to those close to Hat Yai Junction Railway Station, which is located right in the centre of Hat Yai City.

Also, the other advantage of staying overnight in Hat Yai is that you can take one of the 09:30 services from Hat Yai Junction Railway Station and arrive in Koh Lipe around lunch time, which is typically the time when hotels and resorts will allow you to check in to your room. If you do stay overnight in Padang Besar then the following day you will not arrive in Koh Lipe until the late afternoon or early evening.

Train from Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar

By train it takes from 4 hours 50 minutes to 5 hours 37 minutes to travel from KL Sentral Station in Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar depending upon which train service you take.

Also depending upon which train service you take, up to 3 different classes of train ticket are available for this journey:

• Premier Seat
• Business Seat
• Second Class Seat

All seat types are padded and within air-conditioned carriages. Compared to the wide range of different seat types on trains in Thailand there is relatively little difference between the seat types available on train services on Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar.

Immigration for Train Travellers

Passengers travelling by train from Kuala Lumpur to Koh Lipe need to complete immigration procedures for exiting Malaysia and for entering into Thailand before they board the next train from Padang Besar to Hat Yai.

There is an immigration centre on the ground floor of the train station which opens prior to the departure of each of the 3 daily trains to Hat Yai. Travellers need to visit the Malaysian immigration desk first to get an exit stamp for Malaysia, and then visit the Thai immigration desk for an entry stamp into Thailand.

Passengers will not be permitted to travel by train from Padang Besar to Hat yai without completing both sets of immigration procedures.

Train from Padang Besar to Hat Yai

There are 2 different types of train service from Padang Besar to Hat Yai.

The first 2 trains of the day (Train #948 and Train #950) are ‘Ordinary’ train service with a single seat type, which is a 3rd Class Fan Seat. This ticket type cannot be purchased in advance of the day of travel and seats are not allocated. However, the journey only takes 45 minutes.

The third train of the day (Train #46) is a ‘Special Express’ train service also with a single seat type, which is a 2nd Class A/C Sleeper. Advance tickets are sold for this service but only for passengers travelling to other destinations further to the north of Hat Yai, such as Bangkok or Surat Thani. Passengers wishing to travel by train from Padang Besar to Hat Yai are not guaranteed to be able to find a vacant seat on Train #46 for this reason.

Transfer to Koh Lipe

All the joint minivan and speedboat services from Hat Yai to Koh Lipe listed above depart from the car park in front of Hat Yai Junction Railway Station.

Depending upon which service you take the journey from Hat Yai Junction Railway Station to Koh Lipe is scheduled to take from 4 hours 15 minutes to 6 hours:

• The first stage of the journey is to Pak Bara Pier, which is 123 km by road from Hat Yai Junction Railway Station. This part of the journey takes around 2 hours.
• The second stage of the journey is by shared speedboat from Pak Bara Pier to Koh Lipe. The sea crossing is scheduled to take from 1 hour 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes depending upon which operator you travel with.

Arrival in Koh Lipe

Joint minivan and speedboat services from Hat Yai to Koh Lipe arrive in Koh Lipe at one of the floating pontoons on Pattaya Beach. The floating pontoons connect directly to the beach which means that you don’t need to get your feet wet exiting the speedboat on arrival at the beach in Koh Lipe.

Koh Lipe is a very small island, measuring approximately 3 km by 2 km at its widest and longest points. The easiest way to get from Pattaya Beach to most other locations on the island is to walk from the beach to the island’s main street, Walking Street, and then to navigate to their final destination from there.