filmwill

So our hotel in CM (Manathai Village) is offering transfer service of 250THB per person, per way.

Is it me, or does that seem kind of high, considering the hotel is located in the city proper?

My only concern with taking a taxi though is that others (I think Michael, specifically) have mentioned that the hotel is hard to find and that concerns me in my ability to instruct a taxi driver to the hotel.

Curious to get folks' opinions.

dogster

Well film: in my experience the most stressful time in any travels is when you're heading for a strange hotel in an unfamiliar city, with passports, money and everything you possess in the back seat of a car driven by Fujimodo, the lunatic taxi-driver...

Now, 250 THB is exactly US$7.19...

Yup, you could probably stand and bargain in the heat, huff and puff and maybe even get a taxi for oooh, what? Five dollah-h-h..

But... you know what I'd do...?

rhkkmk

i guess for the arrival i would have the hotel but for the departure i would take a taxi....

hey---$7.19 in LA would not even get you to the end of the block...

filmwill

Agreed--but, in all fairness, we're talking about $14+ (there's 2 of us) for barely a 5 minute trip.

That's the only reason I asked.

And yes, dogster, I've actually driven in the taxi from hell with Fujimodo last time I was in Bangkok (he actually looks just like Charlie Manson) and I vowed never to end up in that situation again.

I'm really not that much of a cheapskate, guys. But when it's three times as much as a regular taxi, I have to pause and wonder.

Good idea, Bob. I figured as much. We'll take their transport to the hotel and have them call us a cab leaving the hotel.

Tangata

You can arrange a car at the airport without any hassle and I would suggest that you would save at least 50%

Scotters

A metered taxi from the airport will cost around 100 baht or less plus a 50 baht fee. So for around 150 bahr ($4.50) is the cost to your hotel not the $15 that the hotel wants for 2 people. The Meter Taxi counter is inside the airport terminal building.

dogster

I don't disagree with Tangata and Scotters - and anyone else really.. of course hotel transfers are seven times the going rate. But I do know that all my Fujimodo's have come from pre-paid airport taxi ranks - and no amount of Thai 'wai -ing' and 'yes, yes, I know Manathai Village' is going to help him find an unfamiliar hotel...

I must write about my Fujimodo's one day. The last one was in BKK, just a fortnight ago.. from the airport, of course.. hmmmm, now that wasn't a pretty scene.

MichaelBKK

The taxi from the airport counter is 120 Baht. I used it for the Manathai and they took me right there. So, while the hotel is hard to find, I wouldn't say you have to use their transfer service.

OTOH, 250 Baht seems rather reasonable as hotel transfers go. I would have expected something more like 500.

Smeagol

we had a NIGHTMARE getting an airport taxi in Chiang Mai, had to wait in the blistering heat (in Nov) for over 40 mins i REALLY regretted not booking the hotel transfer.......

MichaelBKK

That's VERY surprising. Were you waiting for a taxi, or an airport taxi? I've never used the regular taxis at the CM airport. Always used the airport taxi service, and there are always cars waiting. Have always been in a car within 5 minutes of exiting baggage claim - and I've visited Chiang Mai more than 20 times in the last 5 years.

Smeagol

Michael
we must have caught them on a bad day then, i just remember thinking "why did i not book the transfer" we went outside and put our names down and then waited and waited... it was at the start of Loy Krathong so i guess it was extra busy.

Kathie

You must be right that it was Loy Krathong causing the shortage. WHen we were last there, we walked out the door and into a taxi - no wait at all.

Smeagol

didnt spoil the visit though. LOVED Cm and loy Krathong

Kathie

LOL, and despite the quick taxi, I found CM to still be rather boring.

Bella_Bluebell

we found it really easy to get a taxi at the airport in CM - but if you like the driver, get a card with the driver's phone number - we found it more difficult to get a taxi (as opposed to songthaew or tuktuk) once we were there. but easy to get a taxi at the airporr

mrwunrfl

Taxi drivers tend to know where the hotels are. I would have the name, address, and phone number of the hotel handy.

mrwunrfl

You could hire Poon.

rhkkmk

or we could send gpanda to pick you up in his old volvo

filmwill

Well, I wish I could say that was my experience. I've found (and my experience may not be as thorough as others) that in Thailand (both in BKK and Chiang Mai) that we didn't fare well with cab drivers when going to small boutique hotels (Old Bangkok Inn, Tri Yaan Na Ros, etc.) -- in fact, the cab drivers said they knew, but they had no idea, as only witnessed by us ending up a few times on the other side of town and getting out of the cab and refusing to pay the full fare.

I think we'll stick with the hotel service and, as Bob suggested, cab it back to the airport. At least that's one place everyone knows.

Kathie

BIll, we used a cab driver when we were in CM to take us back and forth to Royal Flora and on an all day shopping trip covering the fair trade and NGO craft stores. If you want me to post his name and number again, I'd be glad to do so, He was a delight!