One passenger pays $298.84, every fee included. Services cover 3,036 km and are run by 2 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at $298.84, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for October 21, 2026
$298.84
- 236%Moves across the booking window
236%Departure times on this route
Departure times on this route12Go lists the departures it sells between Chiang Mai and Colombo.
Partner link. The seller pays us a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about $692.54Wed7
- about $739.25Thu8
- about $656.76Fri9
- about $520.26Sat10
- about $470.51Sun11
- about $469.91Mon12
- about $399.54Tue13
- about $330.38Wed14
- about $452.92Thu15
- about $446.26Fri16
- about $445.64Sat17
- about $460.81Sun18
- about $366.18Mon19
- about $314.61Tue20
- about $298.84Wed21
- about $358.29Thu22
- about $326.74Fri23
- about $361.32Sat24
- about $321.29Sun25
- about $338.27Mon26
- about $348.59Tue27
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into Colombo. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Colombo for the night the train gets in
Sort by distance from Fort Railway Station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Colombo on AgodaOr compare on Booking.com
Partner links. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Chiang Mai to Colombo
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- $206.0290 days
- $389.2260 days
- $325.5345 days
- $312.7930 days
- $348.5921 days
- $314.6114 days
- $399.547 days
- $656.763 days
- $692.541 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 90 days ahead, at $206.02.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 236 percent. The most expensive point is $692.54, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 90 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 90 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Chiang Mai to Colombo and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
1.5 hours behind on arrival. You land earlier than the journey suggests.
The shape of it
3,036 km
2,454 km as the crow flies, 24% further by the route services take. The bearing runs south-west.
Who lives at each end
127,240 → 648,034
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 0% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 100% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 3,036 km against 2,454 km in a straight line, a detour of 24 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Bangkok. The gap between arriving and leaving is 64 minutes, of which about 14 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 15 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
The fare from CMB into Colombo is set by whoever drives it.
A car waiting when you land in Colombo
Settled in advance, so the ride into Colombo costs what it said it would rather than what the cab stand says.
Book a ride from CMB with Daytrip
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
The train gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Baggage storage near Fort Railway Station
Most of the points near Fort Railway Station open before the first train and close after the last one.
Check Colombo on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Chiang Mai to Colombo
The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Chiang Mai to Colombo?
Chiang Mai to Colombo covers 3,036 km. Each operator's own departure and arrival times for the date you pick are in the search at the top of this page, beside the total price.
How much does it cost to travel from Chiang Mai to Colombo?
The cheapest fare from Chiang Mai to Colombo is $298.84, as of October 6, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is $399.54. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Chiang Mai to Colombo?
The cheapest way from Chiang Mai to Colombo is by train, at $298.84 for one passenger on October 21, 2026. The comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs side by side.
When should I book Chiang Mai to Colombo?
Fares from Chiang Mai to Colombo bottom out around 90 days before departure, at $206.02. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 236 percent, measured on October 6, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Chiang Mai to Colombo?
Wednesday is the cheapest day to depart from Chiang Mai to Colombo, at $330.38. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of October 6, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Chiang Mai to Colombo?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Chiang Mai to Colombo, at $213.30 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs service from Chiang Mai to Colombo?
2 operators sell services from Chiang Mai to Colombo across 1 mode: Cathay Pacific, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Chiang Mai to Colombo?
0 percent of the services we sell from Chiang Mai to Colombo are direct. The rest connect at Bangkok, with about 64 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Chiang Mai to Colombo use?
Services from Chiang Mai to Colombo by train leave from Chiang Mai Railway Station and arrive at Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport CMB. Allow about 1h 57m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Chiang Mai to Colombo?
1 of the 2 operators we sell from Chiang Mai to Colombo allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs $5.51. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labeled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
The train is the simple part. What you do once you are in Colombo is somebody else's catalog.
Day trips out of Colombo and across Sri Lanka
Day trips that leave Colombo in the morning and cover a good part of Sri Lanka by evening.
See Colombo on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Chiang Mai reaches 108 places in 21 countries on services we hold, over distances from 20 to 13,358 km. Colombo reaches 81 places in 31 countries, from 26 to 13,612 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Chiang Mai
- 108Places you can leave for
- 21Countries
- 26Operators
21
26Arriving in Colombo
Leaving Colombo
- 81Places you can leave for
- 31Countries
- 29Operators