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Transfer times from BKK hotel to airport

Transfer times from BKK hotel to airport

Old Jul 13th, 2004, 08:54 AM
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Transfer times from BKK hotel to airport

On our upcoming trip to Thailand, we will be flying in and out of Bangkok a couple of times and before I book these flights, I need to know if it's a time-consuming pain to get from Downtown to the Airport.

One flight leaves BKK at 08:05 on a weekday. Does the "one hour before the flight" rule hold? If so, what time will I need to leave the hotel in order to get there on time? There's another flight at 12:30 that I could take but is traffic just that much worse later in the day?

I assume via car is the only way to and from the airport?

Thanks. You "knowers" have been a real God-send.
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 09:39 AM
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Traffic to the airport has improved tremendously. The last couple of years I've gotten from the Oriental to the airport in less than half an hour. I'd stick with the earlier flight.

Gloria
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 09:39 AM
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one important thing is from which hotel you are coming...???

only car or train (limited trips) to the airport..

travel times are time sensitive...traffic is very heavy...always instruct the driver to take the toll way...70B extra..

you must be there 1 hour in advance for domestic flights and 2 for international...i allow slightly more as they load up very early...they take off right on time and close the doors about 10-15 minutes in advance...

on average i would allow 1.5 hours to get to the airport...on my june trip it usually took 35 minutes...25 is the fastest that i have ever made it...it depends on how fast the driver drives...some drive at 80mph or so...

allow plenty of time...

i stayed at the rama gardens hotel one nite when i had an early flight
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 10:07 AM
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We will be going from the Peninsula to the Airport for the 8am flight.

We are early risers anyway so sounds like it should be ok

Then we have another flight that comes in to BKK (from Krabi) on Thai Air at 15:50. We have to clear that flight and then navigate to wherever Bangkok Air leaves from (is it a different terminal?) to catch an 18:05 flight to Siem Reap. Would that be considered an international flight and do I therefore only have 15 minutes to get from one terminal to another?

We will be carrying on bags so no need to stop and collect them-- I think we can do this unless someone wants to counter with a horror story.
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 11:02 AM
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Thai reps gets very "nasty" with more than one small carry-on. If you raise a big enough fuss they may let you get away with it. The transfer from Thai to Bangkok is no big deal. A Bangkok Air shuttle bus will leave from what ever terminal you come in on Thai. Don't worry you have plenty of time! In fact have you considered taking Bangkok Air RT f/Krabi and then onto Siam Reap. Their Discover Asia Airpass covers all these routings. You might save some money vs. going with Thai.
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 12:56 PM
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Kenstee

Going all Bangkok Air from Krabi>BKK>Siem Reap left us with a 4+ hour layover in BKK. The Thai Airways flight is a better connection with the BA flight (go figure). On this trip, time is more important than money.

That's good to know about the finicky bag police at Thai Air. We had planned to leave our "regular bag" at Left Luggage in BKK and go to Angkor Wat with a very small day pack so hopefully they will let us slide by.

Appreciate the tips!
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 01:21 PM
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I would contact the Bangkok Air to find out which terminal then arrive on flight from Krabi and then depart to REP.

But since Krabi is domestic, then I can assume the flight would arrive at the Domestic terminal, which is about 1-mile from the International terminal from where the flight to REP would depart. But there is a shuttle bus that can transfer you from each.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2004, 02:57 PM
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I have a similar question. I am taking Thai Airway flight from Phuket to Bangkok, arriving in Bangkok at 9:35am. I then have a EVA flight out of Bangkok back to US at 12:15pm. I have checked bags to collect, do I have enough time? There is a earlier flight out of Phuket that gets in Bangkok at 8:20am, should I change my flight to the earlier one?

Pat
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 05:36 PM
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i flew this time on bkk air to samui which leaves from the domestic terminal---i a seperate section at the end of the terminal nearest the international terminal...on my trip to SR two years ago we left from the international terminal and returned there...allow 20 minutes to walk to be safe...bkk air has a nice lounge in both places with free internet...

don't book yourselves too closely
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Old Jul 13th, 2004, 07:08 PM
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The flight to Siem Reap leaves from International Terminal 2. You will have to go through immagration and get stamped out of Thailand and pay the 500 baht departure tax.
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Old Jul 14th, 2004, 05:25 AM
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2 hours to get from one side of the airport to the other, get stamped, pay taxes, get a bottle of water...

dang I hate rushing around in an unfamiliar airport. The only other option is to spend 5 hours in there on a layover. That's a shameful waste of valuable vacation time.

I'll have to sleep on that one.
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Old Jul 14th, 2004, 05:26 AM
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Great reminder - yes, everytime you leave Thailand to another country - another 500Baht (about $12-$13) to be paid before entering the Immigration departure windows. Would suggest you know how many of these departures you have and set aside 500Baht for each, so you don't spend your last few USD, GPS, Euro or whatever. There is a window immediately outside the departures area where you can obtain individual 500Baht paper - and don't forget, that you need one to fly home (this is not included in the price of your ticket).
 
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