A 9-day round-trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai aboard the restored Blue Jasmine train delivers boutique carriages, curated excursions and luxe stays.
Meet the Blue Jasmine: What You Get Onboard and Off
Thailand’s new Blue Jasmine train trip is built for travelers who want slow travel, immersive culture, and comfort. Launching November 2025, it runs nine days round-trip between Bangkok and Chiang Mai with stops in Ayutthaya, Uthai Thani, and Sukhothai. Each destination offers history, UNESCO sites, and traditional charm.
Guests spend two nights on the restored 1960s Japanese sleeper cars, now reimagined as boutique carriages. The rest of the journey includes four-star hotel stays at properties such as Bodhi Serene in Chiang Mai and Sukhothai Heritage Resort.
Cabin options vary:
- Classic cabins with bunks, a sink, and shared bathrooms.
- Premium cabins with improved furnishings, access to a dedicated lounge, and a premium dining car.
- Premium Suites with private bathrooms, picture windows, and butler service.
Meals onboard highlight Thai cuisine, while cocktails and panoramic lounges add to the experience. Off the train, travelers enjoy guided excursions such as temple visits, artisan workshops, a tuk-tuk tour of Ayutthaya, alms giving at dawn, a visit to an ethical elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, and a scenic river cruise in Bangkok.
Nostalgia and the Growing Luxury-Train Revival
Luxury rail travel is enjoying a renaissance at the moment. Travelers want more than point-to-point convenience; they want journeys where the transportation itself is part of the story. This is evident in both Belmond and Orient Express expanding service along classic itineraries including Paris to Istanbul, and places like Cusco, Scotland, and Singapore. The Blue Jasmine taps into this trend with its limited guest count, vintage carriages, and cultural depth.
Other rail operators like the Eastern & Oriental Express have long catered to this desire, but the Blue Jasmine positions itself as boutique rather than ultra-exclusive. The blend of restored cars, curated excursions, and a smaller guest capacity is aimed squarely at the market of travelers looking for immersive, slow, and stylish experiences.
What It Costs Daily vs Staying in Luxury Hotels
Prices for the Blue Jasmine start around 195,000 Thai baht per person for nine days, which works out to about $650–$850 per day depending on the cabin. Premium Suites command a higher price, as expected.
By comparison, Bangkok’s best hotels typically run $300–$600 per night, with Chiang Mai’s luxury properties often falling in a similar or lower range. Without daily meals, transfers, and curated excursions, hotel stays may look more economical on paper. Yet the train’s bundled price buys a seamless, all-inclusive journey with rare access and a vintage atmosphere that is hard to replicate independently.
That said, $6,000 in Thailand is a small fortune. It’s more about the journey and limited nature of the experience that draws in foreign travelers looking for something unique.
Conclusion
There are cheaper and easier ways to get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Air Asia and Thai Nok among them. This is a journey designed to slow down travel and wrap it in comfort, cultural encounters, and curated adventure. The cost per day exceeds that of luxury hotels, but the value lies in what is included: meals, guided tours, hotel stays, and the rare nostalgia of traveling by train through Thailand. For those who want their trip to be as memorable as the destinations themselves, the Blue Jasmine is just the latest in this growing trend and one that I hope to try some day.
What do you think?
My experience is that local travel businesses provide deep discounts from brochure prices.
Could we maybe get a few more details and pictures?
I went through a train period awhile back. During that time I took the E&O between Singapore and Bangkok, The Ghan in Australia, and The Rovos Blue Train in South Africa. While all interesting, the novelty wore off quickly. Honestly, expect not to sleep that well, it can get a bit tiring cramped with people for 2-4 days, even with stops, and other than a few exceptions the rail routes are often though areas that are less interesting. And the food much better.
Give me a car anywhere in the world with a few weeks and I can assure you it will be a lot less money and far more exciting.
I don’t quite understand the target market, though. The luxury train idea is that you sleep in a hotel-quality train cabin, so no time is lost traveling from one destination to the next. But, here, we have only two nights on the actual train? So this is for train people who aren’t actually train people?
Only the premium suites have a private bathroom. While the train might be romantic and nostalgic, car and driver from Bangkok to Chiang Mai has been an enjoyable way to see Thailand also.
Just more way to spend for people who have more money than they know what to do with. Uthai Thani and Sukhothai are both not on the train line (not sure if they’ll take this thing up the Sawankhalok branch or not, but even that doesn’t get you to Sukhothai).
For people actually interested in trains, take Special Express 7 from Bangkok to Nakhon Sawan, and rent a car or hire a guide to go to Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary (the UNESCO site). Next day, take the SE7 (or a slower train to mix things up) up to Phitsanulok, and get a car to go to Sukhothai and Sri Satchanalai. The next leg would be overnight (SE9) from Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai. Then you can fly back.
Towns on the train line are more interesting because they have not been bisected with a giant highway.