anon

Can anyone give a rough guideline as to what I should expect to pay for a taxi from the airport to Sumkivit Road? Is it best to prebook?

Kathie

There is no need to pre-book. If you want a meter-taxi (cheapest), jsut go to the taxi stand outside. If you want a bigger car, you can book a "limo" (just a Volvo or Mercedes sedan) inside the airport after leaving customs for 650 baht to anywhere in bangkok. A meter taxi will be less than half of that.

anon

thanks Kathie. I wasn't sure what to expect fare wise.

pjr

We took a metered taxi from the airport to the Hilton, and it cost between 130-200 baht, which I do not think is all that far from where you want to go (I could be wrong though). We just walked out of the airport and picked up one from the taxi stand. Beware, the latter price was due to the fact the driver did not want to turn on the meter and tried to charge us 500 baht. We argued with him and when he did turn on the meter, he started it at 35 baht.

surfergrrrl

Make sure you get in one of the &quot;taxi-meters&quot;, not an unofficial taxi - the unofficial one's have been known to overcharge or change prices on you. the taxi meters are just that: metered. and you pay the price on the meter. The Atlanta hotel in Sukhumvit gives the following description of how much you should pay for a taxi to their hotel:<BR>&quot;...take a public taxi, which can be arranged at the public taxi desk immediately outside the terminal building. The taxi will have a metre. Please note that currently the flag falls at Bahts 35.- (US$ 1 = approximately Bahts 38), and that the fare will be between Bahts 150.- and 200.-, depending on the traffic. On top of this fare, you will be obliged to pay an airport surcharge of Bahts 50.-, and an expressway charge of Bahts 40.- You may have the option of taking the tollway at a further charge of Bahts 40.- The total cost of coming to The Atlanta by public taxi should be about Bahts 300.&quot; Some taxi drivers might tell you your chosen hotel is booked full or closed so they can take you to another hotel (the taxi driver gets a fee for doing this - which comes out of your pocket). Make sure to insist on your chosen hotel. <BR>Alternatively, you can take the airport shuttle for only 70 baht and hassle free. Don't know about the limo thing, my guess is you won't get hassled, but it is an awful lot of money.<BR>for more info:<BR>http://theatlantahotel.bizland.com/dir.html

anon

thanks for the replies. I had been considering getting the hotel to pick us up but they are twice the price of the airport limos.

Kathie

PS Current exchange rate is a bit over 43 baht to the dollar.