Chumphon
Travel Guide
The medium sized provincial capital of Chumphon, 460km south of Bangkok and 195km north of Surat Thani is considered by Thais as the gateway to southern Thailand both in the literal geographic sense as well as culturally.
Historically, it has been a battlefield several times over, in struggles with Burma for possession of the Isthmus of Kra, and more recently, a Japanese invasion during World War Two.
Today, among the travelling fraternity, Chumphon is known as more or less of a pit stop on the way to the islands, though some would simply stop at the word 'pit'. The name originally means social meeting place, but nowadays it's more like, waiting room for cranky falang.
This is where you stop-over to catch the ferry to Ko Tao, which is renowned for it's scuba diving and mellow, party atmosphere. It's also the major junction for visa runs to Burma via Ranong to the west.
And it is here that forms the first stop of the overnight tour buses from Bangkok. They disgorge their cargoes in the wee hours at travel agents across the small provincial capital. People are jumping off to get the boat to Ko Tao, to switch buses to Ranong and Phuket, to jump on the train, or even, in some enlightened cases, to stay in Chumphon.
Because you see, once the smoke clears, the boats leave and the buses pull out of town, Chumphon is quite an interesting little place -- and the surrounds, especially the beaches, are well worth a look-in.
The town has some great little guesthouses, motorbike hire is easy, prices are affordable, and, once the show-and-blow tourists have left town, you'll see how the denizens of Chumphon begin to show their warm, welcoming side.
Accommodation: Chumphon
Farang Bar |
Morakot Hotel |
New Chumphon Guesthouse |
New Guest House |
Sri Tai Fa Hotel |
Suda Guesthouse |
Sureya Hotel |
Suriwong Chumphon Hotel |
Text and/or map last updated on 11th August, 2009.
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Chumphon Beaches
Ko Nang Yuan
Mango Bay
Ranong
Haad Sairee
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Ao Mae Haad
Ko Tao
Chalok Ban Kao
Ao Thian Ok
The above are all within 200km of Chumphon.
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Book Online
Chumphon Palm Resort
129/4 moo 5 soi 10From: US$10.34 with HostelWorld
Tanisa Resort
87 Moo 10, Uthumpon Road,MuangFrom: US$12.92 with HostelWorld
The Farang Bar
69/36 Thatapao Road. A.Muang Chumphon. ChumphonFrom: US$6.89 with HostelWorld








Chumphon reviews
Backchat from the Travelfish community
Great place to see the 'real' Thailand
This is a great place to do nothing, just soak up the atmosphere of a 'real' Thai town, where people are just going about their business and not trying to cater for tourists (outside of a few travel agents selling boat tickets).
We didn't see any sights, didn't really do anything, but ended up just hanging round, dropping off the map for a few nights, getting washing up done, buying books and the like. There is a great food night market along the main road in the north, a good second hand book shop opposite Farang and scattered around the main junctions and some of the main roads you will find lots of little shops and stands run by young Thai people, serving the 'yoof trends' of Thailand.
By MichaelC (dabbler)
Written on 21st January, 2013 after a visit to Chumphon in January, 2013
Also reviewed by MichaelC: Ko Tao East Coast,
Chumphon is rad
I visited Chumphon last year and had a great time in this town. I heard some "south east Asia pro" on the train south tell another traveller "Chumphon, there's nothing in Chumphon" and that was when I realised that Chumphon was a place I would like because there wouldn't be any people like this guy around.
My reason for travelling here was just a stop over on the way to some islands. Not the islands most people visit from here, but some islands to the west. That's the only hint I will give.
If staying over night in Chumphon, I recommend Fame Guesthouse. The room I stayed in was 150 baht with fan and share bathroom, rooms with bath I think were 300 baht. The super clean room had a bed on the floor, a desk and huge windows. The staff are super nice but can get busy with the Ko Tao crowd that arrives every day at the same time from Bangkok.
The beaches near Chumphon are great too. Super relaxed and plenty of bungalows across the road from the beach. Not a party beach but real nice.
Book tickets in advance to move back towards Bangkok, as we had a hard time getting the train we wanted and had to take a rather uncomfortable ride back to the city.
Overall Chumphon is a great city. The night market has at least 30 food vendors and is right near Fame Guesthouse. This city is great for a night stop on the way somewhere else, but I also enjoyed my time spending four nights here in between stops.
By mmmmbeerlao (dabbler)
Written on 8th October, 2009 after a visit to Chumphon in February, 2009