AprilA

Hello, I'm leaving for Thailand in 7 days!! I have not booked a driver for the arrival at the airport. Should I do that or get a taxi. Our flight will arrive about 11 PM. I was just going to go outside and get a metered taxi but I have read a few posts about not being able to find metered taxis outside the airport lately.

Please advise. I will be at about 32 hours since leaving home at that point and I don't want to haggle, I just want to go to the hotel (Penninsula). I know they have the private transfer but i planning on the taxi for a little savings.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
April

Gpanda

Taxis are cheaper, but it's nice to have someone waiting for you. You can arrange from the Peninsula or AAC Limo or Julie's Taxi. If you want either of the last two, do a search on this forum.

cram

Whenever in BKK we ask Ratt to come and collect us at the airport and get us to the hotel. It's not necessarily the cheapest solution, but it is always a nice and certain beginning of a visit.

Craig

I think AAC Limo would be a great choice. You can reserve in advance on their web site or arrange when you get there (they are right there as you exit from customs into the terminal). If you arrange in advance, they will have someone with a sign to greet you. AAC costs more than a taxi but the cars have more room for your luggage. The savings over the Penn car are substantial.

khtodd

I recently used AAC from Bangkok airport to the Peninsula... I had reserved in advance from home via email so they met us after baggage claim/customs with a sign... Very easy... and trouble free... pickups were on time both at the airport and hotel.

If you book round-trip with them, they give a 10% discount.

They raised their prices recently, so a lot of the prices you will find quoted in posts (if you do a search for AAC Limo) will be slightly lower than they are now...

kclaudia

Taxi is cheapest, but you have to walk outside quite far away from the airport.It should be 200 baht if not much traffic jammed.
Let them use meter, otherwise it's not different from using private airport transfer.

althom1122

We did not have to walk far outside the airport to get a metered taxi. There's a stand right outside the door. Go to the stand, tell them where you want to go, and a taxi is right there to collect you. Cheap and easy! On our recent trip in February, we arrived at BKK once during the day and another time at night (around 9) and both times there were plenty of taxis at the stand just outside the door. When you come out into the arrival hall, turn left, go to the end of the taped off area, and then go right to go outside. The stand is right there.

Kathie

The taxi stand is right outside, just follow the signs. Claudia, I don't know where you went to get a taxi! Some people will tell you to go upstairs to the departure area, or to walk away from the airport to get a taxi, but if they use the meter it really doesn't matter where you catch the taxi, the price will be the same.

Since we travel with loots of luggage (the better to bring home our purchases) we always use one of the limo services.

Kathie

love that typo - loots should be lots, but it does feel like loot!

rhkkmk

the taxis are right outside the door from the arrivals hall...hundreds of them....go to the booth and tell them what hotel...

myself i would use AAC limo however after a 32 hour flight...my travel time is usually 30 hours and believe me you don't make much sense after that time.....make an advance res for AAC and you will be very pleased...

some taxi drivers do not have any idea where they are going and pretend not to understand you, or do in fact not understand you....do it the easy way...

Penn is 800B one way about 1/2 of what the hotel charges...tolls are about 60B extra...insist on the toll road..

[email protected] is AAC's address

gilawi01

We arrived at Bankgok Airport at 11:30pm. I didn't have any problems taking a taxi outside. There were a lot. Just make sure yor have your Hotel name in Thai and handle it to to cab driver. It cost me around 400B

rhkkmk

the problem is not the availability of taxis outside the airport door, it is will the taxi guy not know where you are going and try to rip you off....i have this experience about 3 out of 5 times quite honestly...

also taxi trunks are very small and will not hold much luggage...

Kathie

Bob do you have bad luck with taxis? You know, I've never had any problem with a taxi at the Bangkok airport. I seem to remember that the guy at the taxi stand tells the driver where to go...

Eekthecat

Hi Guys

When booking a pick up from the airport make sure which exit they will meet you at. The main exit is on the left as you leave customs but you can also turn right as you leave the exit.

eek

BradinBangkok

The fastest way is to go upstairs to departures. The taxis are dropping people off, and looking for someone to pick up. Meter is no problem. (you save 50 Baht too.) There is no wait, and you can take the elevator with your bags. (this trick works at most airports.)

rhkkmk

kathie....i have often had problems....

twice on the last trip our driver was high on something....scared us to death quite honestly...

about 50% of the time the driver wants to charge a flat fee, instead of using the meter...

maybe 20% of the time the driver does not know where the hotel is: marriott, penn, even ROS....

we overcome all of those problems with our experience, but a newbie might be overwhelmed with these problems and after a very long plane ride and maybe at midnight, this is nothing to deal with.....i want "our bangkok" to shine from arrival to departure...

Kathie

Bob, it does sound like you've had some bad experiences! (I could tell worse stories about cab drivers in DC, though!) One more reason to use the limo services.

rhkkmk

we use the aac limo about 50% of the time....always on initial arrival and last departure...

boston taxis are no different....language is a huge problem and so are directions....the cabs are very dirty as well....

the problem with arriving in bkk and having a bad experience with a taxi is that you are on the expressway quickly and can't get out, unlike in city driving...

rhkkmk

we have never had one single problem taking a taxi to the airport however....odd...

kclaudia

Kathie..last time I had a very long wait..there were so many ppl there waiting for the taxi at that time..so someone told me to walk outside the airport and caught the one which was driving..some refused to use the meter..that was my bad experience with taxi..but normally, i have my Thai friends to pick me up everytime I was there.