Municipality in Songkhla, Thailand

Hat Yai and the Songkhla border country

Hat Yai is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border.

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The field note

How transport actually works in Hat Yai and the Songkhla border country: 12 ways of moving, each with its operator, timings, fare and sources, and what we could not confirm.

Read the note on Hat Yai and the Songkhla border country

What Hat Yai and the Songkhla border country has

YScheduled flightsHat Yai (HDY), 12 km
YTrains and coachesTransitous carries 1 timetable feed for this country, 0 with real-time
NFerriesno crossing within 25 km
YDriving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
NBike and scooter shareno share feed known
NCruisesno open itinerary source anywhere

Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.

7.017°, 100.467°

As of 2024, the municipality is the fifth-largest city in Thailand, with a population of 191,696 and an urban population of 406,513 in the entire district of Amphoe Hat Yai.

Things to do

Cinema. Movie tickets in Thailand are more affordable than in Western countries. There are multiplexes and an IMAX theatre at Hatyai Cineplex on 5F of CentralFestival. The other venue is at Diana Cineplex on 5F of Diana. From 140 baht for a film. Thai Massage. No trip to Thailand would be complete without a Thai massage and Hat Yai is one of the best places to get one.

Eat

Where to eat

Although not in the same league as Bangkok, there are a lot of different food options on offer in Hat Yai. Typical Thai street food is abundant. Big international chain restaurants have branches in town offering Japanese and Western food. Restaurant chains are located mostly in shopping malls.

How locals move

Getting around Hat Yai and the Songkhla border country the local way

Hat Yai is the southern rail and bus junction for everything to Malaysia and Singapore; local moves ride colour-coded songthaews, the border towns run their own minivans, and the FCDO advises against all but essential travel on both southbound rail lines out of the city.

01
Hat Yai – Padang Besar shuttle (Thai side)train
Hat Yai Junction to Padang Besar, connecting to Malaysian trains at the border
Where
Hat Yai Junction Railway Station; tickets sold at the counter one hour before departure, not bookable in advance
When
Twice daily: Hat Yai 07:30 and 13:05; Padang Besar 08:55 and 14:40 (Thai time)
Fare (2026)
80 baht
Takes
about 1 hour
Season
year-round, but the FCDO advises against all but essential travel on this line
Booking
same-day only, sold at the station counter from one hour before departure
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · gov.uk (2026-09) · confidence high
02
Malaysia through rail: Komuter, ETS and the direct Bangkok sleepertrain
Padang Besar (Malaysian side) to Butterworth by Komuter, onward to Kuala Lumpur/Gemas by ETS; or the once-daily direct Bangkok–Padang Besar sleeper that crosses without changing at Hat Yai
Where
Walk across from the Thai station into the Malaysian side of Padang Besar station for Komuter/ETS; book the direct Bangkok sleeper online at dticket.railway.co.th before travel, as KTMB does not sell it
When
Komuter runs regularly through the day; the direct sleeper is one train each direction daily
Fare (2026)
Komuter RM11.40 (about 90 baht); direct sleeper 760-960 baht for a 2nd class A/C berth
Takes
Komuter to Butterworth 1h 51m; ETS to KL roughly 5-5.5h from the border; the direct sleeper is overnight
Season
year-round; the Thai-side leg to Padang Besar is the line the FCDO advises against all but essential travel on
Booking
Komuter non-reserved, buy at the station; ETS and the sleeper are reserved seating
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · ktmb.com.my (2026-09) · confidence high
03
Sungai Kolok linetrain
Hat Yai to Sungai Kolok on the Malaysian border, via Yala and Narathiwat provinces
Where
Hat Yai Junction Railway Station
When
six trains daily
Fare
not confirmed here
Takes
several hours, varies by class
Season
runs year-round, but the route crosses provinces under an FCDO advisory against all but essential travel
Booking
buy at the station
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · gov.uk (2026-09) · confidence medium
04
Hat Yai – Sungai Kolok minibusminibus
Hat Yai bus terminal to the Thai immigration complex at Sungai Kolok, via Pattani and Narathiwat
Where
Hat Yai bus terminal
When
not confirmed
Fare (2026)
180 baht
Takes
about 4 hours
Season
route passes through provinces under an FCDO advisory against all but essential travel due to a long-running separatist insurgency; check current conditions before travelling
Booking
none, pay the driver
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · gov.uk (2026-09) · confidence medium
05
Border minivans: Padang Besar and Dannokminibus
Hat Yai's Southern Minivan Terminal (inside the main Hat Yai Bus Station) to Padang Besar (Thai side only), and separately to the Thai immigration complex at Dannok, Sadao district
Where
Hat Yai Bus Station has two terminals under one roof: the Bus Terminal for long-distance coaches, and the Southern Minivan Terminal for these border vans; a separate Minivan Station at Talat Kaset serves Satun, Trang, Krabi and Phuket instead. On the way back from Dannok, wait outside the 7-Eleven on the left after clearing Thai immigration
When
when full, daytime only; Dannok vans stop running around 18:00
Fare (2024)
Padang Besar 70 baht (2024); Dannok 55-60 baht
Takes
about 1 hour to either border point
Season
year-round
Booking
none, pay the driver; ask if a return still runs before boarding
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence high
06
Hat Yai – Penang (Georgetown) minivanminibus
Hat Yai (departs from Prachathipat Road) to Georgetown, Penang, via the Sadao border
Where
Book through agencies near Hat Yai bus terminal, or the Cathay Guesthouse near the train station for the better rate
When
three departures daily: 09:30, 12:30, 15:30
Fare (2026)
400-650 baht depending on agency
Takes
4-5 hours, depending on time at the border
Season
year-round
Booking
book same day or a day ahead at any travel agency
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence high
07
Hat Yai – Kuala Lumpur coachbus
Hat Yai Bus Station to Kuala Lumpur (Pudu Sentral / TBS), crossing at Sadao
Where
Book at bus company counters inside or near Hat Yai Bus Station
When
multiple daily departures across several operators, roughly 09:00-19:00
Fare
not confirmed here; varies by operator and seat class
Takes
about 10 hours including border formalities
Season
year-round
Booking
buy at the terminal or the company's own counter
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium
08
Hat Yai – Singapore overnight coachbus
Hat Yai (Davis Tour) to Singapore
Where
Davis Tour office in Hat Yai; cheaper fares available online through third-party booking sites
When
one departure daily at 13:00, arriving 05:00 the next day
Fare (2026)
900 baht at the counter
Takes
about 16 hours
Season
year-round
Booking
buy at the Davis Tour office or online
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium
09
Songthaew network, colour-coded routessongthaew
Blue: airport to Hat Yai Bus Station via Tesco Lotus 2, Kim Yong Market, the clock tower and Big C Extra. Red/maroon no. 33: Bus Station to Koh Me via Diana and Hat Yai Park. White: Hat Yai Nai to Hat Yai Park to Kuan Lang
Where
Blue picked up at the far end of the airport car park; others flagged down along their route. Confirm the number and colour, since similarly coloured vehicles run different routes
When
daytime; blue line's last airport departure is 18:00
Fare (2026)
Red no. 33 and white 10 baht flat rate; blue 10-30 baht on the city route, though the airport section of the same article quotes 55 baht for the airport run
Takes
not confirmed
Season
year-round
Booking
none, flag it down or wait at the stand
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium
10
Pink airport minivan-busbus
Hat Yai International Airport to the main Hat Yai bus station
Where
Ticket counter on the right near the taxi counters, marked by a pink sign; the bus stop is right after the exit
When
regular, exact interval not confirmed
Fare (2026)
50 baht
Takes
about 1h 15m
Season
year-round
Booking
buy at the counter before boarding
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence high
11
Ko Lipe: bus-and-speedboat ticket from Hat Yai stationcombined transfer
Hat Yai Railway Station to Ko Lipe on one bus-and-speedboat ticket; separately, a boat from Tammalang pier, reached from Satun town by red songthaew
Where
Buy the combined ticket at Hat Yai Railway Station; for the Tammalang boat, book at the tour agent on the pier or in Satun town
When
5 combined bus-and-speedboat departures daily from Hat Yai station; the Satun article gives one Tammalang departure at 12:30
Fare (2026)
650 baht one-way from Tammalang; Hat Yai combined-ticket fare not confirmed here
Takes
about 3 hours on the water from Tammalang
Season
a high-season service: the Ko Lipe article lists speedboats and ferries from November to May, and Langkawi ferries from mid-October to end of May
Booking
book ahead through a travel agent
Sources: en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · en.wikivoyage.org (2026-09) · confidence medium
12
Deep-south security advisoryservice status
Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces, the Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi districts of southern Songkhla, and the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line
Where
n/a
When
ongoing
Fare
n/a
Takes
n/a
Season
The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat and to four districts of southern Songkhla, because of a long-running separatist insurgency; martial law is in place in most areas. It also advises against all but essential travel on the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line, so both southbound rail routes out of Hat Yai are covered, along with minibuses through Pattani and Narathiwat. Hat Yai city itself is not inside the named area.
Booking
n/a
Sources: gov.uk (2026-09) · gov.uk (2026-09) · confidence high

Not yet confirmed: Recon's Lomprayah ferry API lead did not pan out for this file: fetching https://lomprayah.com/api/source-station returned a live 40-station list with no Hat Yai, Songkhla or Satun pier, so it is not used as a source here; correction recorded rather than following the brief's assumption that it would cover this region.; Fares for the main Hat Yai-Kuala Lumpur coaches, the Sungai Kolok train and minibus, and the Hat Yai station's combined Ko Lipe ticket could not be confirmed from a reachable source; ask at the ticket counters inside Hat Yai Bus Station or Hat Yai Railway Station.; The exact songthaew colour-route map may have changed since the Wikivoyage article was last verified; confirm route colours and numbers with a local before relying on them.; The blue songthaew fare is inconsistent inside the same article: the airport section says 55 baht into town, the songthaew section 10-30 baht over what reads as the same route. Ask the driver what the fare is before boarding.; The FCDO names the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line in its advisory although that line runs southwest through Sadao district rather than through the four Songkhla districts it lists; the wording here is quoted as gov.uk gives it, and the advisory should be re-read before booking.; Davis Tour has no website that resolves (davistour.com and davistour.co.th both failed to resolve in September 2026), so the 13:00 Hat Yai-Singapore coach rests on Wikivoyage alone; confirm at the Davis Tour office in Hat Yai, or against easybook.com, before planning around it.; Whether the direct Tammalang pier boat to Ko Lipe still runs is doubtful: the Ko Lipe article's own arrivals list names Pak Bara, Langkawi, Ko Tarutao, Trang, Ko Lanta and Phuket but not Tammalang, and Satun Pakbara Speed Boat Club sells only Pak Bara-Ko Lipe. Ask at the Tammalang jetty ticket office.; The pier used by the Hat Yai station combined Ko Lipe ticket is not named in the source; only the Ko Tarutao combined service is described there as running via Pak Bara, so do not assume the Ko Lipe one does.; Whether the Satun-Kuala Perlis fisherman's boat still runs is unclear even in local reporting as of May 2024; ask at Satun's Tammalang pier ticket offices. The separate Satun-Langkawi car ferry (350 baht/RM35, two to three times daily depending on season) is a further Satun-side option not detailed here as a full entry.; Government and airport domains (hatyai.airportthai.co.th, songkhla.go.th, tmd.go.th) were reachable during this research; hatyai.go.th, hatyaiport.com and hatyaitourism.com were not, matching the recon pass's findings; no substitute local source was found for those..

The field note on Hat Yai and the Songkhla border country reads this entry in full, one option at a time, with every source beside it.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.