Our flight arrives at midnight in BKK. Should we book a driver through the Peninsula (where we are staying) or through Tong (who will be our guide later in the week)?

Try AAC Limo. Cheaper than the Peninsula and very reliable. Julie's taxi is also very good.

Tong is a guide, not a driver. Don't ask her to pick you up from the airport. Ask a company who does airport transfers for their business, like AAC.

I was going to ask Tong's driver, not Tong. We're using him another day. But will try one of these taxi companies.

We had booked Julie Taxi for an airport pickup last year for our late night arrival on NWA from Tokyo. She didn't show.

No problem, though, we just took a limo from the limo counter, cost 600 baht I think...maybe it's 800 from the new airport now.

When we next arrive in BKK we will just pick up a limo from the counter again. It's easy, cheap, and no worries about your driver not showing up or missing each other in the crowd of sign bearing greeters.

We have used the Peninsula cars before when it has been included in the rate...fabulous greeting, great Mercedes car with cold towels and chilled water, newspapers and we've always had a nice, friendly driver.

This sounds fine. Will check to see if we get airport transport. Kim, you are a fountain of information. Can we just bring you along on our trip?

Oh...would you!?! Can my daughter come, too?

And of course, always glad to help!

If your budget allows, we'd suggest booking the Peninsula car to pick you up. It is not a bargain, but a wonderful way to start your time in BKK. One of life's little treats (especially when arriving so late) is to have an elegantly-clad driver whisk you away in a Mercedes. The cold towel, water, AC and relaxing environment make it a part of the whole Peninsula "experience" (which is why you're staying there rather than somewhere less expensive in the first place). Give yourself a treat!

It is also nice to use the Penn Mercedes for the return trip to the airport. A Penn representative at the airport helps you with your bags and walks you through the whole check-in process right up to immigration - it wasn't a big deal for us but for a newbie, the service would be most helpful.

We just returned from a trip that included Bangkok. We used the OAT taxi service from the new airport (service booked at big yellow desks run by the airport authority -- desks both in luggage hall and after customs). Lovely new vehicles (with AC) and at about 900 baht it was less than half the cost of the Peninsula car. Will definitely go that route again.

OAT does returns, but you must book at least 7 hours in advance. We did not leave enough time, so for return to airport, we used a normal taxi arranged by the bellman at the Peninsula (570 baht including tollway charges). It was less roomy, but perfectly fine too.

From the Peninsula to the Airport by taxi should not have been 570 bath, more like 350. Did he use the metre or was it a flat rate fare.

I have read that airport pick-ups by Cherry, Tong, Julie and Ratt are not that reliable because it is not that cost-effective for them. Unless you are using Ratt or Tong for 3 days after, then they 99% will be there, I would take the Premier Taxi line. It is 1 step up from regular taxis and when I used it in May at the old airport it was about 150Baht more but you got a more comfortable sedan with more luggage space plus the line for that JFK flight we took was 5-6 people while the regular taxi line had 20+ waiting.

It was a flat rate fare -- might have been a bit more since we requested a bigger car (to ensure all our luggage fit without leaving trunk semi-open as we've had once in the past).

Yes, it was a flat rate but if it was not 150Baht, my wife said in USD it was not more than $5-$6 more. It was a Volvo maybe a 4-5 year old model and very comfortable.
Now, please consider this was from the old airport in April and again in May 2006. This included going the expressway for that was fastest from the old airport. If the new airport is 15km+/- further then it may be $10 more but when you are spending $15,000+ for a 4 week trip that is "chump change", no disrespect intended, in the scheme of things.

I was the one who started this post so I feel I should follow up - We ended up getting a "van limo" at the airport through OAT (no lines) for 800 baht for 4 people and 4 small pieces of luggage -very comfortable and convenient. On the return we made the terrible mistake of taking a regular taxi (compact-sized) from the Peninsula to the airport. It was only 400 baht, but it took 90 minutes in nightmarish traffic, twice as long as it took to fly to Siem Reap. The four of us, all relatively petite, were all squeezed in the tiny back seat because some of our luggage had to go in front. Next time we take the Peninsula limo!

crosscheck....i noticed in another post of yours that you cancelled tours with two guides in bangkok at the last minute, one of them being tong...following the outline of the trip that we did with tong, which i believe that you were to utilize, there are several costs involved which i hope that you have re-imbursed tong and co for??? not for her time or for her potential loss of income from your cancellation necessarily, but for the third party vendor, the fisherman, who undoubtably had put out money for your lunch preparations, etc and also had given up his limited time to put aside time for your visit....

this type of thing has been discussed often on fodors....when we contract with these people, especially the one or two person enterprises, they do not accept any other business on the day that you have booked with them, so when you cancel they are without income for that day or days...most of us feel that the guide should be reimbursed for normal expenses on that day by those of us who might have to cancel for whatever reason...

have you thought about this??

i'm not trying to lecture you, but i thought just maybe that this had not crossed your mind...

The regular taxis are not really made for four people and luggage. Better to have taken two at 800 baht and still much cheaper than the Peninsula limo. And the limo would still have encounter the hellish Bangkok traffic and taken just as long probably.

Well said Bob!! You and I have talked about this before and I know we are on the same page.

Hi Bob - Sorry if I was unclear in my other post, but after several lovely phone calls, Tong was the one who canceled our tour. We were very disappointed because we had been looking forward to meeting her for months. We had discussed going to the Chatuchak market with her but the traffic was so nightmarish that week that she did not think we would make it back from Chatuchak in time for our flight to Siem Reap. She suggested that we either take the Skytrain to the market (without her because she didn't think we'd need a guide) or that we go to the special place instead, but she said it would take 1.5-2 hours each way, which seemed daunting on the same day we were going to Cambodia. (There was also an ambiguity about whether enough of the JJ Market would be enough open on a Friday - would love your opinion on that) When I told Tong I felt awful about not having our day with her (and implied that we would pay anyway), she reiterated that the cancellation was her idea and seemed relieved and grateful to have a morning off. (She was calling us from the River Kwai at the time.)

Please know that we are very sensitive to the plight of independent contractors and completely understand your point. Our other cancellation was a bike trip that we had to cancel because I developed an ear infection (more about our free house call at the Peninsula in my trip report). We had booked that tour only hours before we canceled, so there was no issue about payment. Again, I apologize for the shorthand in my previous post.