Bangkok Airport Transport

Q: Is the train service from Bangkok Airport to the city running yet? If so, is it the most convenient method of reaching the city? Annie de Kock

A: The skytrain service is only expected to come into operation next year. The most convenient way to get from Suvarnabhumi Aiport to the city centre is to arrange a pick-up service from your hotel, but this can cost anything from 1000-2500 baht (R250-R600). Alternatively, you can take a limousine from the airport. Go to the "Limousine Service Counter" on the arrivals level (2nd floor). Prices vary according to vehicle, but start at around 1100 baht (R275). One of the cheapest ways to travel to the city is the Airport Express bus which runs to locations close to the major hotels in the city. The cost is only 150 baht (R38 per person). To buy a ticket, go to the Airport Express counter level 1, which is near entrance 8.
However, metered public taxis are the most popular form of transport to Bangkok. Beware of private operators that stalk arriving passengers and go directly to the official taxi counters outside the exits. An attendant will take down the details of your hotel and then allocate a taxi to you. You pay the driver on completion of the trip. The cost is the metered fare, which is usually around 400 baht (R100), plus a compulsory 50 baht (R12) airport surcharge and optional expressway fees of around 70 baht (R18), depending on route. Make sure that the driver switches on the meter and don't accept any offers of free tours, seafood dinners or stopovers at shops. Insist on going directly to your hotel.