BillT

1) Does anyone have a web link with a good map of the river taxi route with stops?

2) Do you pay when boarding or off boarding?

3) How late do these taxis run?

AAFrequentFlyer

Numerous river taxis, operated by Chao Phraya Express River Taxi travel upstream and downstream on the Chao Phraya River, acting more like buses than taxis. Fares range between 5 baht and 15 baht and the hours of operation are 0600-1840 daily. Other smaller boats just shuttle from one side of the river to the other.

Craig

The river taxis are great. You pay when boarding. Check out http://www.bangkok-city.com/expressboat.htm for a map of routes.

mike49

Try:-
www.bangkok-city.com/expressboat

Good site and good map of the express boat routes

BillT

Followup quations:
1) Are there signs at each stop indicating what stop it is?
2) Do the boat drivers speak english? If not do you write down what stop you want and they tell you how much it is?

Kathie

There are signs at each stop.The person who collects your fare will understand you if you simply say the Thai name of the stop. The fares are very low, just a few baht. Most of the time I've been on the water taxis, my traveling companion and I have been the only non-Thais on the boat. You get a sample of how the locals travel.

MikeBuckley

The stops are now numbered as are the signs. That makes it a very easy to keep track of where you are on the river.

A lot if not most of the Internet maps are not numbered because they were published prior to use of the numbering system. So, if the map you carry with you has no numbers, look at a map at the pier to determine the appropriate numbers.

ThinGorjus

I am confused. It seems as if you are all writing about the water "buses," or are there private "taxis?" I was under the impression that if you wanted to hire a taxi, you had to hire out a long-tailed boat, which costs about $10(US) an hour.

Now, I took a water "bus," whilst in Bangkok, and remember having to buy a ticket from a little booth before boarding. The price was ridicuously cheap, something as little as 40(US) cents.

BillT

I am referring to the regularly schedules boats (taxis) that ply the river. I am not referring to the long tail boats that are for hire.

I have not heard that you have to buy a ticket for the river taxis- can someone confirm or dispell this matter?

SJLBK

Having just returned from my first trip to Bangkok two days ago, I can affirmatively say that you do not need a ticket to ride the river taxis.

To clear things up: there are two different things being talked about here.

First are the river taxis or shuttles that run regularly up and down the river during the day. These are boats that hold a large number of people and make frequent stops. There are three different types of boats which make various different stops up and down the river. You can tell the difference by the color of flag the boats have on them. If there is no flag, that boat stops at every pier on the river. Also, there are boats that leave from adjacent piers that go back and forth across the rivers.

At each pier, there is a large map that shows which boat stops at which pier and how much each one costs. The map is in Thai and English. I had never ridden these boats before and after studying the map for about 5 minutes had no problem figuring out the system.
Also, each pier is indeed numbered and very easy to figure out. When you are on the taxi and approaching the pier, you can clearly see a sign indicating the name and number of the pier. (Also, Nancy Chandler's map has the piers numbered - highly recommended!!!)


Once you get on one of these boats, a lady will come around shaking a tubular container full of coins. You hand her money and tell her which pier you are going to. In every case this person spoke enough english to make the transaction.

If you are like us and a little nervous about the procedure the first time, hang toward the back of the crowd boarding the bus and watch others pay the cashier to get the hang of things before you have to go through it yourself. This is a great system and probably is the best way to get around! Remember, however, that the boats stop running around 7pm.

The second thing being discussed is the rental of a longtail boat for a private tour. There is no actual tour company for this (at least not from what we saw). Instead, at almost every pier up and down the river there will be drivers in longtail boats offering you a ride. You can not miss them. They pretty much shout at everyone who is standing around looking touristy and try to get you to take a ride on their boat. These drivers speak enough english to at least communicate and negotiate a price and talk about where you want to go.

Hope this helps! Once I get over my jet lag I will try to write a proper trip report.

ThinGorjus

I took a water "bus" from the pier in Chinatown to the Oriental pier that is next to the Oriental hotel. I most definitely had to buy a white paper ticket (it was as thin as toilet paper) from a lady who sat at a little card table on the pier. Whilst boarding, an attendant on the water "bus" collected the ticket.

To hire a long-tailed boat, as the above poster wrote, you just have to stand on any pier and someone will ask you if you need a boat, if you do, they will either shout or wave their arms to get a driver's attention. I hired a long-tailed boat to tour the kalongs of Thonburi and to get from the Oriental to the Reclining Buddha.

Kathie

There are obviously many different kinds of boats that ply the river. The so-called water taxis (which seem more like buses to me!) are as SJLBK described. You do not buy a ticket ahead of time, but simply pay the woman on boat. I'm not sure what kind of boat you took, thin, where you bought a ticket ahead of time.

I typically use the water taxis to get from my hotel to the Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha, etc and back. They are the fastest and cheapest transport in Bangkok!

ThinGorjus

Well, Kathie, I did buy a ticket to gain access to the boat. This was not one of the big, multi-tiered boats, but a smaller version that sat about 50? people. This boat stopped at all the major piers. When my mother and I sat on the veranda of the Oriental for our breakfast, we noticed this boat also stopping at the shopping center near your hotel.

I know for a fact that we had to buy a ticket because when the boat arrived, the woman we bought the ticket from pointed to the boat and said, "This go to Oriental."

Kathie

Interesting. The boat sounds like the Chao Phraya Express Taxis, but the ones I've taken don't stop at the River City shopping center, just at the numbered and named piers. The pier for the Royal Orchiid is on the Oriental side of the hotel.

I have no doubt that you bought a ticket for a boat - I'm just not sure which of the many kinds of boats you were on.

Scotters

In 2003 a new type of ferry service was introduced strictly for tourists. It serves only those piers that are the most interesting for the visitor (a total of 12 piers) starting at the Sathorn Pier. They use better and more comfortable boats and a one day pass with unlimited stops, cost 75 baht and is purchased prior to getting on the boat. The boats run every half hour from 9am to 5pm daily, with tour guides providing information and entertainment(in english and thai). Included with the pass is a bottle of water and a 28-page colour guide book with fold-out map. Compared to the cost of just a couple of trips on the regular boats, its rather expensive but is worth the comfort and convenience. For more information check this site http://thailandforvisitors.com/centr.../bkk-boat.html.
Maybe this is what others have refered too.