Classes and types of buses in Thailand

When choosing your trip, you need to pay attention to the the class or type of bus on your route. It’s especially important to know what kind of bus and seat quality you can expect on your trip, if you’re planning a long trip, for example from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by bus or from Bangkok to Phuket by bus. You don’t want to spend 10 or 12 hours on a bus in an inconvenient seat.

In Thailand, all buses on intercity routes are classified in accordance with the government-issued specifications. To make things little bit more convenient to you, we divided them into 3 categories. Note that all the buses searchable on Tickets.co.th are air-conditioned buses, they’re different mainly in terms of seats comfort (reclining positions of the seats, space between seats, comfort in general) and services on board, such as free meals or snacks, video and/or audio-entertainment, steward on board, etc.

The three main classes of buses in Thailand (from the highest to lowest class):

VIP Class

VIP Class bus in Thailand corresponds to VIP 24 and VIP 32 (double-decker) types of government buses. VIP 24 contains 24 seats and VIP 32 double-decker bus contains 32 seats, all seats reclining into 180 degree position.

On board, normally, you will have:

• steward
• video-entertainment
• food and bewerage
• toilet

Note that the buses are specified in accordance with the Thai government standards, so you can expect that your bus will be at least not lower than the standard, and in many cases, higher in standard. Some bus companies distinguish themselves from competing companies on same routes by offering additional services on board.

Seat map, VIP Class bus in Thailand (24 seats, single deck):

Seating plan

Seat map, VIP Class bus in Thailand (32 seats, double-decker):

First Class

First Class bus in Thailand corresponds to the government class of First Class and First Class Plus, which includes both single deck and double deck buses. The number of seats may vary from to 38 seats for First Class (single deck), 40 seats for First Class Plus (double-decker) and 48-50 seats for First Class (double-decker), all seats reclining into 165 degree position.

On board, normally, you will have:

• steward
• video-entertainment
• food and bewerage
• toilet

Note that the buses are specified in accordance with the Thai government standards, so you can expect that your bus will be at least not lower than the standard, and in many cases, higher in standard. Some bus companies distinguish themselves from competing companies on same routes by offering additional services on board.

Seat map, First Class (38 seats, single-deck):

Seating plan

Seat map, First Class Plus (40 seats, double-decker):

Seat map, First Class (50 seats, double-decker):

Economy class

Economy Class bus in Thailand corresponds to the government class of Second and Economy Class buses, which includes both single deck and double deck buses. The number of seats varies from to 44 seats for Economy Class single-deck bus to 54 seats Second Class (double-decker), all seats reclining into 120 degree position. 

Normally, these types of buses have zero to minimal services on board and in many cases don’t have toilet.

Seat map, Economy Class bus in Thailand (44 seats, single deck):

Seating plan

Seat map, Second Class bus in Thailand (54 seats, double-deck):