hey nice name..

Bangkok does NOT have a city center so you will have too poste where in bangkok you will be going too...

An airport taxi will cost between 300 and 500 Baht plus tolls for the Expressway and Don Muang toll way if you elect to use them. A limousine will cost a bit more. The city is quite close so it is no big deal. If you are worried about having Baht available, there are plenty of ATM machines at the airport. Alternatively the Banks there change money at downtown rates.

Sorry I can’t help with Phuket.

Bangkok already done. Phuket will cost about B 300 to Patong but it may be more these days. Sought the taxi before leaving arrivals hall otherwise you will be mobed by people trying to offer transport, it's cheaper, but a hassle.

there are airport bus shutles as well that go for 100 baht

I flew into Bangkok in Oct 98 and hired a limo - It wasn't really a limosuine or anything luxurious, I think it was a small Mercedez. Anyway it was about 500 Baht from Airport to Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. The Arrivals Hall in the airport has a series of Car Service Counters and Limo Services. You will be asked to book a tour but just say no. Just a ride to the hotel. You pay at the counter, they issue you a voucher. They radio for the car. They walk you out to where the car picks up, and thats it. You give the driver the voucher. No worries about being ripped off, or rigged meter, or even of being taken to the wrong hotel because the driver has a deal with some other hotel.

I also took a car from Phuket to Patong last year and will arrive in Phuket again in less than two weeks. Works the same way. You book the car in the Arrivals Hall at a counter. All are flat-rated depending on where in Phuket you go. Very convenient. And given the exchange rates, the prices are very good. You will need Baht to pay the counter.

Also remember that you will need 500 Baht to leave the Kingdom of Thailand, payable in Baht only, at the airport.

Michael

Michael

It is so cheap it does not matter.

The white limousines at Bangkok airport are by far the most expensive way to get into town. There are also regular cabs just past these which are fine. A tuk tuk is a dirt cheap alternative - you can normally find some hanging around but they are not very safe (particulalrly on the highway in from the airport in Bangkok) and not convenient with lots of luggage.

Unless you are a real shoestringer you should not worry about it. FYI - I took a taxi from Surat Thani to Phuket and it cost US$50 - that shows how cheap it is over there. The driver did turn the meter off and we agreed the price in advance.