Hi everyone - I wanted to ask all the experienced Asia travellers out there about how much time to leave for getting to/from airports... let me give you some specifics:

Bangkok - arriving 6:20PM from Krabi - how is traffic that time of evening - what time do you think we'd get to our hotel (Pen on the river)... Are meter taxi easy to get that time of evening, or should I call Ratt/Julie Taxi for pickup?

Bangkok - leaving 3:25PM on Saturday for Chiang Mai - what time should we leave the hotel? Should we get a meter taxi or arrange for Ratt/Julie Taxi?

Chiang Mai - any recommendations for transfer between airport and Four Seasons hotel?? Hotel charges US$30 per car... should I try to make arrangements with Poon for pickup?? Are taxis available at the airport?

Leaving Chiang Mai for Hanoi at 2:00PM - traffic that time of day?? Are metered taxis available or should I arrange hotel car or Poon??

Any Hanoi advice?? Again, are metered taxis available for airport transfers or should I contact hotel?? Also, does anyone know of guides/drivers for a day trip to Halong Bay?? We don't want to take a tour, we want to go on our own. We've been advised that we could do it in one day if we have our own car.

Thanks everybody!!!
Ken

yes there will be tons of traffic at that time in the evening...but not to worry....i use AAC limo and they are very [email protected]

cost about 1440 B round trip or 800 B pone way....1/2 of hotel price...

plan on 1 hour but it may take slightly more or less...

i would use hotel car at that price for CM....both ways...

expect it would be flat fee for an airport car in CM...

a regular taxi from penn to airport is fine providing you don't have huge cases....the taxis are only toyota corollas and thus have small trunks...

i would do a round trip with AAC and thus get the discount as well--10%...

Thanks Bob... I will contact AAC limo at your suggestion...

Thanks also for your suggestion about the hotel pickup in CM... I was leaning that way anyway, but wanted some "expert advise" from people with past experience!

Ken

also... how much time should I leave for airport check-in/security?? Is it like US airports??

So do you just email them and arrange for them to pick you up somewhere at the airport?? And then they pick u up at the hotel??

And RHKKMK..I just printed off your restaurant guide and i am getting very hungry!!!!!

Also emailed Ratt to see about a day trip..

Ken

We're staying at the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai and I just assumed the $30 was way too much -- my husband works for them in the States and when we travel to their resorts everything is always much more than if you arrange things on your own (their excursions, etc.) Sometimes that's great as you know you're getting good quality but ... as my car hire for a whole day is only $40 plus gas -- $30 seemed a bit steep.

Has anyone else done the Chiang Mai airport to Mae Rim Valley resorts taxi?

jenskar, I assumed the same thing - that the 4 seasons price for anything would be more expensive than could be had locally... but Bob (RhkKmk) has given lots of great advice about Bangkok... he is much more experienced than I am in that area of the world, so unless I am presented with hard facts of a reliable service that is much cheaper, I think I will take that route... do you have another option I could look at?? Thanks so much for your reply! Ken

I found this via google and sent an email -- but I agree -- reliable is important to us too.

http://www.hotelthailand.com/chiangm...gmai_tran.html

When are you there? We arrive 1/16 for 5 days.

jenskar, thanks for the tip... I checked out that website - the rate to the Mae Rim area is 1000B (approx. USD25) so I wouldn't call it significantly cheaper than the hotel rate... so I think I'm going to go with the hotel because for the extra $5, I'm a lot more comfortable than dealing with a company that I have no experience with...

We'll be in Chiang Mai for 3 days in mid-March...

I'd love to hear about your experiences when you get back!!! Thanks Ken

i wasn't saying that it was cheap, just that it was reasonable as it is quite far out....bkk hotels charge $35+++ to airport which is less distance so i thought this reasonable and reliable..

time is simialr at the airport to usa, except the bkk airport is quite large and walking distances can be significant...
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for a 6AM flight i leave bkk hotel at 3:30AM...

i always allow one hour to get to airport at least but time can be as little as 30 min, but averages 35-50 min....checkin time approx. 30 min

Bob and Ken
$30 does seem reasonable with the other online service wanting $25 for the trip -- 4 Seasons transport has always been very nice and no hassles. We've decided to use them too.

I'll be happy to let you know what it was like when we get back.

Bob -- the car service you recommended -- what's with the membership? Are they taking credit card info online?

How far ahead of time would you leave for the airport (Bangkok) for an internal flight, ie. Bangkok to Chiang Mai?

Questions, questions -- thanks so much !!