We will have around 6 hours to kill at the Bangkok International Airport between flights arriving at 10:50 and departing at 18:40 on Wednesday. Does it make much sense to take a taxi and spend some time in the city? If it does where should we go? (We are going to spend 3 full days in Bangkok little later on the same trip).

A few years ago, we had 8 hours between flights at BKK International and we took a cab into the city and went to River City for some shopping and lunch. It was a very nice way to spend the time so yes, I would say it is worth it.

I second Laurie's suggestion. Pick up a cab upstairs where they are letting off departing passengers and ask them to use the meter. If your driver takes the tollway (and you should), you'll have to pick up the tolls but getting in should be a breeze.

It may depend some one whether you are taking an international flight in and out of Bangkok. If so, you'll have to pay the 500 baht departure tax for your 6 hour visit. If you are boarding a domestic flight, that won't be an issue.

Also, remember that you will have to go through immigration and if you are taking another international flight you will have to check in 2 hours in advance. It will take 30-45 minutes to get into bangkok and you will be returning to the airport during rush hour so it could take longer going back.

Just be SURE you take the toll road!! Otherwise you could easily miss your flight.

Our layover was for an int'l flight (came from Laos and going to Burma) and it wasn't a problem. Our departure was at about the same time too. Just make sure you give yourself enough time to get back to the airport.

if you decide not to go in the city, take advantage of an in-terminal massage service. great after a long flight

Laurie, did you have to pay the international departure tax for your brief stay?

You might want to play it by ear and see if your flight lands on time and then judge how much time you have. With an 18:40 departure, I would say you need to be at the airport by 17:30 to give you enough time to get through immigration, security and get to your gate. That means you will be heading to the airport at rush hour, so this is going to be a judgment call on your part, as Bangkok traffic is pretty legendary.

When your checked in for your flight to Bangkok, you should already have received your boarding passes for the onward portion of your flight. If for some reason you did not, you first have to go to the transit/transfer counter and get them. The transfer/transit counters are located before immigration, look for signs. You do NOT have to go out to the main departure area and check in with regular passengers already in Thailand, and you should not leave this for when you return to the airport, you should do this as soon as you land, as lines can be long. After you have your boarding passes, you will have to go through immigration, then out through customs, then you can get ground transportation into the city. When you return to the airport, you will have to pay the departure tax and go through immigration again, but you will already have checked in so you can skip those lines.

If you want to check hand luggage, there are counters in the Arrivals Hall and the Departures Hall. The charge is about US$2 per piece. (Your checked baggage will be checked through to your final destination.)

500 Baht is about US$13, so the departure tax should not be that big an issue. You can also joint a tour and be exempt from the tax, take a look at http://www.airportthai.co.th/airport...service10.html

The recco on going to River City isn't a bad one if shopping is all you want to do; you could also do something like going to the Grand Palace, or go to the Oriental Hotel and then take a public river boat or high a long tail boat from the public pier there, and take a tour up the river and have lunch at one of the river hotels.

The website for Bangkok Airport is http://www.airportthai.co.th. Click on Bangkok. It will give you all sorts of information.

First of all I'd like to thank everybody for valuable information you guys provided so promptly.
I see we should try to spend a few hours in the city if we can.
I’m afraid we can’t use transfer/transit counter as we have tickets purchased separately from Cathay Pacific and Bangkok Airways (both international flights, both at the Terminal 2). I’ve been told that we will need to check-in at the main departures area for our flight to Siem Reap. That's why I believe we will have to go through immigration, then get our luggage (not too much though), then go out through customs. I doubt we can check-in our luggage 7 hours before our flight, so we will have to leave our luggage at the ‘Left baggage’ counter.
Then on our way back from the city we will have to repeat all those steps in reverse order plus security, checking-in and paying a departure tax.
I wonder, how bad those lines at the airport could be.
If we eventualy be able to get out of the airport still having 5-6 hours left, where do you suggest we should go by taxi? (I know, the toll road is a must in our scenario.)
I guess we can take a Skytrain ride to Sapran Taksin station to get our first impression of the city from above the streets, then get off and take an express boat having lunch at some stop on the river. Is that a good plan? What is the most convenient Skytrain station to catch a cab on our way back and how much time could take a taxi ride from that station to the airport at rush hour?

I think there is some confusion here. The fact that you are on two different carriers is irrelevant. You are an international transit passenger, your ultimate destination is not Thailand on these flights, therefore, you should use the transit counter, which are in fact for people in transit on international flights using different carriers. If you only had an hour or so between flights you would be staying behind immigration in the transit area and using the transit counter; just because you have a longer layover does not mean you have to go out into the main Departure Hall with the regular passengers who are already in Thailand. I just was at the transit counter in Bangkok about 2 weeks ago while transiting through Bangkok from Delhi to Hong Kong for the switch from a Thai Airways flight to a Cathay flight, so if Bangkok Airlines has a different set up for Siem Reap flights, it is most unusual indeed.

If it is Bangkok Airlines that has told you that you have to go out to the main Departures Hall and check in with Thailand passengers, then that is one thing, but that would not be the normal route for international transit passengers. Normally, all you need to do when you check in for your Cathay flight is make sure that Cathay tags your bags all the way through to Siem Reap. Show Cathay your tickets to Siem Reap and they should have no problem doing this. Every airline has a baggage transfer agreement with other airlines, although they may not have a ticket issuing agreement, which is why you need to go to a transfer counter to get a boarding pass.

If you do have to do actually get your bags and go out to the Departure Hall to check in, the good news is that it is likely that you CAN check in early for your Siam Reap flight, most airlines other than US airlines allow check in up to a day before departure, check the website for Bangkok Airlines or the website for Bangkok Airport. If you can't find info, then ask when you land whether you can check in right away.

Mo Chit would be the closet skytrain station. You could also take the subway. According to the map the the Phahon Yothin subway station would be quite close to the airport. I have not done the drive from the airport, nor taken the subway in from this stop, so can't tell you about timing, perhaps others can.

Kathie, I really don't remember but I suppose we did pay the tax. We had to collect our luggage and then we stored it at the airport so we must have gone through customs and immigration.

Thanks, laurie. I was just wondering whether that rule had been changed since I last did it (and we did pay the tax). Some major hubs have abolished the departure tax for stays of less than 24 hourd.

There is no 24 hour rule at BKK. We paid the departure tax when transferring from United to Air India on our way to Delhi last February. United could/would not check us through so we had to go through immigration, retrieve our luggage and check in again.

I've just talked to Cathay Pacific customer service about the baggage check-through. At first they said it's not possible, but when I insisted that both carriers are on the same terminal, they said that I should ask directly at the check-in counter. So it may or may not be possible. Anyway we will try. If not, hopefuly the Bangkok Airways will allow the early check-in.