Transportation from Bangkok airport
Dec 1st, 2009, 04:32 PM
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Transportation from Bangkok airport
Please advise the best and most reasonably priced way to travel from the Bangkok airport to our hotel. Also would appreciate the cost for this service. We thought it would be a good idea to have somebody meet us after our long slog from the States.
Dec 1st, 2009, 05:39 PM
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The least expensive way is a taxi you can arrange on the spot, about 350 baht ($11). If you want someone to meet you with a sign, we use aac limo
[email protected]
Give them all your flight info, they will tell you which door to exit baggage claim, and they will be there. If you book a round trip you get a 10% discount. Our cost a few weeks ago was just under 2000 baht plus tolls roundtrip (you pay the driver for the roundtrip when you get to your hotel). That works out to $30 each way plus about $2.50 in tolls.
[email protected]
Give them all your flight info, they will tell you which door to exit baggage claim, and they will be there. If you book a round trip you get a 10% discount. Our cost a few weeks ago was just under 2000 baht plus tolls roundtrip (you pay the driver for the roundtrip when you get to your hotel). That works out to $30 each way plus about $2.50 in tolls.
Dec 1st, 2009, 09:16 PM
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I think that the recommendation from BradinBangkok is not according to the rules and regulation ;-) I normally follow the rules and just go to the lower levels and go to the counter outside to tell them where I'm going and I get assigned to a public taxi. I have never experienced having to wait long for a taxi. The trip will be something in the line of what rhkkmk has indicated. Here is my Bangkok trip report with pictures and links http://gardkarlsen.com/Bangkok_trip_report_2007.htm . Hope you can find some useful info there 
Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures
Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures
Dec 1st, 2009, 09:49 PM
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Last week there were a lot of security type folk policing the taxis when I arrived at departures so I'm not sure it is going to be so easy to get a taxi from there anymore. Most of the time there isn't much of a a wait at the official taxi line (which has moved yet again) anyway.
Dec 1st, 2009, 10:02 PM
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Just do what Kathie says.
This is not rocket science - in fact, it is probably the most asked question on this board. The briefest of brief searches might have revealed that. A glimpse in a guide book may have provided you with a clue. Too late.
You mention 'reasonably priced' which is why nobody has suggested a fourth option: get a hotel transfer.
100% stress free. Name on a sign. Hat on the head of the man with your name on a sign. Hotel logo. Nice car. No possibility of getting lost en route. Driver calls hotel to tell them you are two minutes away: lavish welcome prepared. Your feet will not touch the ground.
This post is about fear, not taxis. Arriving in a strange place at strange hours with jetlag and terror in equal measure is easily the MOST stressful part for any traveler. So measure your potential stress. Sometimes paying an exorbitant amount for a reassuring hotel transfer is money very WELL spent.
This is not rocket science - in fact, it is probably the most asked question on this board. The briefest of brief searches might have revealed that. A glimpse in a guide book may have provided you with a clue. Too late.
You mention 'reasonably priced' which is why nobody has suggested a fourth option: get a hotel transfer.
100% stress free. Name on a sign. Hat on the head of the man with your name on a sign. Hotel logo. Nice car. No possibility of getting lost en route. Driver calls hotel to tell them you are two minutes away: lavish welcome prepared. Your feet will not touch the ground.
This post is about fear, not taxis. Arriving in a strange place at strange hours with jetlag and terror in equal measure is easily the MOST stressful part for any traveler. So measure your potential stress. Sometimes paying an exorbitant amount for a reassuring hotel transfer is money very WELL spent.
Dec 3rd, 2009, 05:03 PM
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It all depends on what a "reasonable amount means to you!" For a backpacker taking the shuttle bus to the airport bus station and from there taking the cheap city bus into the city for 35 baht is very reasonable - but it may take 2 hours!
From the airport you can also take a very reasonably priced Airport Express bus for 150 baht, but if there are at least two of you in your party the price for a meter taxi ride is not much more and it is door to door.
Public taxi desk for the "meter taxi" is on the first floor now as of October 1. For a newcomer to Thailand it is better to get a meter taxi from the meter taxi sign up desk than risk taking an unregistered gypsy cab dropping off someone at departures. Is a 50 baht surcharge worth the chance of encountering a problem late at night on a dark lonely highway?
City buses from the bus station (have to take a free shuttle bus to get to the bus station.)
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/56
Airport Express Bus leaves from the first floor, two sign up desks, one near door 8 and one outside near the curb.
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/55
Meter taxi sign up desk is now on the first floor. Two locations at curb level. Sign up desks (more like a podium) have a blue background with a big picture of a taxi on it. Writing on the desk says "PUBLIC TAXI." The sign up clerk will ask for your hotel address, he/she will tell the driver where you want to go, he will check to see if the taxi meter starts at 35 baht (you check too) and write down the taxi number on a receipt that you keep. If you have a problem with the driver you have a number and address to complain to. Fare covers everyone in the car not per person. Surcharge is paid with the meter total at your hotel. No need to over tip! Toll charges, if the driver goes that way, will be paid during the ride. You must use Thai baht to pay for the ride so change some money over at the airport.
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/52
Good luck.
For meter taxi rides back to the airport there is no surcharge. In the city a meter taxi ride is cheaper than a tuk-tuk. Tell the driver to use the meter and it is cheaper than bargaining the ride. Meter starts at 35 baht in the city too!
Enjoy your holiday.
From the airport you can also take a very reasonably priced Airport Express bus for 150 baht, but if there are at least two of you in your party the price for a meter taxi ride is not much more and it is door to door.
Public taxi desk for the "meter taxi" is on the first floor now as of October 1. For a newcomer to Thailand it is better to get a meter taxi from the meter taxi sign up desk than risk taking an unregistered gypsy cab dropping off someone at departures. Is a 50 baht surcharge worth the chance of encountering a problem late at night on a dark lonely highway?
City buses from the bus station (have to take a free shuttle bus to get to the bus station.)
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/56
Airport Express Bus leaves from the first floor, two sign up desks, one near door 8 and one outside near the curb.
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/55
Meter taxi sign up desk is now on the first floor. Two locations at curb level. Sign up desks (more like a podium) have a blue background with a big picture of a taxi on it. Writing on the desk says "PUBLIC TAXI." The sign up clerk will ask for your hotel address, he/she will tell the driver where you want to go, he will check to see if the taxi meter starts at 35 baht (you check too) and write down the taxi number on a receipt that you keep. If you have a problem with the driver you have a number and address to complain to. Fare covers everyone in the car not per person. Surcharge is paid with the meter total at your hotel. No need to over tip! Toll charges, if the driver goes that way, will be paid during the ride. You must use Thai baht to pay for the ride so change some money over at the airport.
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/52
Good luck.
For meter taxi rides back to the airport there is no surcharge. In the city a meter taxi ride is cheaper than a tuk-tuk. Tell the driver to use the meter and it is cheaper than bargaining the ride. Meter starts at 35 baht in the city too!
Enjoy your holiday.
Dec 3rd, 2009, 06:10 PM
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Zeer, a hotel transfer in Bangkok usually costs from 10x a taxi fare and up. So figure such transfers start at US$100. AAC or other limo services are a bargain at perhaps a third of the price. (The only part you don't get with a limo service vs. a hotel transfer is the call to the hotel saying you'll be there in two minutes)
Dec 6th, 2009, 05:45 PM
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"Can the public taxis at the airport accommodate 4 suitcases and a carry on bag?"
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It will depend on how many adults are in your party or if your 4 suitcases are really huge. Two adults plus 4 suitcases should fit in a meter taxi. Most of the public taxis are Toyota Corolla sizes. The trunks do have a compressed natural gas cylinder in them that does take up some of the room. One person up front and one in the rear with the back seat for any left bags that don't fit in the trunk. Price of ride will run around 330-390 baht to get you to most places in the city.
*
It will depend on how many adults are in your party or if your 4 suitcases are really huge. Two adults plus 4 suitcases should fit in a meter taxi. Most of the public taxis are Toyota Corolla sizes. The trunks do have a compressed natural gas cylinder in them that does take up some of the room. One person up front and one in the rear with the back seat for any left bags that don't fit in the trunk. Price of ride will run around 330-390 baht to get you to most places in the city.
Feb 11th, 2010, 05:09 AM
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Just an update if anyone is heading that way: I wrote to AAC Limo and received a prompt response offering a transfer for one person from the airport to my hotel in Bangkok--price for a Mercedes is 990 TB plus 70 TB highway fee, payable in cash to the driver.
Feb 11th, 2010, 02:53 PM
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Oh, good! I am waiting for confirmation and for them to tell me where to look for the driver. I am assuming that they come into the terminal with a sign...
I certainly hope I fare better than last time when I wasted about 1.5 hours waiting for the idiot travel agency-arranged driver to show up; this at around midnight!
I certainly hope I fare better than last time when I wasted about 1.5 hours waiting for the idiot travel agency-arranged driver to show up; this at around midnight!
Feb 11th, 2010, 05:18 PM
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Here is the AAC airport meeting place map, in case anyone is interested:
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/8877/aacpointhx2.jpg
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/8877/aacpointhx2.jpg
