Driving From Bkk To Cm

[f18jock]

Hello All,

New member here. My buddy and I are planning a trip in late July early August to CM. We plan on flying to BKK then renting a car to drive to CM. My question is can this drive be accomplished in 8-9 hours and how are the roads for this drive. Also, if anyone has done this drive before, do you have good directions that will get us to CM without getting lost.

Thx in advance

[chanchao]

Yes, you can drive easily and the roads are good.

HOWEVER: 8-9 hours is a pretty straight drive with perhaps an hour rest in between somewhere (I recommend Kamphaeng Phet as a place to stop) The shortest time I ever managed was 7 hours without serious stops other than washroom & fuel. As the distance is 700 kms, 7 hours means keeping an AVERAGE speed of 100 km/h all the way, which is a challenge.

But as it's a pretty straight drive, i don't really see the point of it, because for two people, you will spend more on fuel alone compared to a cheap AirAsia flight. Then there's the rental cost, and the cost for returning the car in Chiang Mai.

So unless you want to take it slow and stop/overnight in loads of places like Ayudthaya, Lopburi, Sukhothai, etc then I don't see the benefit of driving yourself, compared to a 1200 baht flight followed by renting locally in Chiang Mai. www.northwheels.com is a good local place to rent from, and then there's www.Budget.co.th and everything of course.

If you do drive, the most sensible route is Bangkok -> Nakhon Sawann -> Kamphaeng Phet (stop there) -> Tak -> Lampang -> Chiang Mai. All of it highway 1 until you get to Lampang where you turn left on to highway 11 to chiang mai. Get a map. (don't really need a map but it's still reassuring to know where you are.

Edited May 29, 2007 by chanchao

[Maejo Man]

Hello All,

New member here. My buddy and I are planning a trip in late July early August to CM. We plan on flying to BKK then renting a car to drive to CM. My question is can this drive be accomplished in 8-9 hours and how are the roads for this drive. Also, if anyone has done this drive before, do you have good directions that will get us to CM without getting lost.

Thx in advance

A great idea to see some of the country, and having done the trip hundreds of times in the past years, I've listed a few tips, and things to watch out for.

Firstly the main northern highway is well signposted, so the possibilities of getting lost are remote. You also have the option of taking a slightly more scenic route by turning off the main highway just after Nakon Sawan, and taking highway #11 which takes you through Phitsanulok and the surrounding areas which are scattered with historic monuments and national parks such as Sukhothai and Si Satchanali. Well worth an overnight stop if you have the time. Route #11 rejoins the main highway just south of Lampang.

You don't mention which country you are coming from, and whether you are used to RH drive or LH drive vehicles. If you are used to LHD, extra care should be taken.

You have also chosen one of the wettest months to travel in, and should keep an eye on the weather forcast regarding flash flooding. Prone areas include Nakon Sawan on the main highway, and and Den Chai/Uttradit on highway 11. They can flood in a matter of hours after heavy rain.

Normal common sense should prevail when driving through smaller towns, and be on the lookout for small children, dogs, chickens and especially school busses in the vacinity of schools.

Stay well clear of 10 wheelers and tour busses, as they are known to "wander" a little. In rural areas keep a watchfull eye out for farm tractors, as they seem to think they have the god given right to enter the highway regardless of any traffic.

If you need any specifics, please feel free to PM me. Have a safe trip...MM

[f18jock]

Chanchao,

Thx for the quick reply and the heads up on air asia. Just looked at their site and less than 60 USD round trip. Cant beat that.

Thx again.

[f18jock]

A couple of quick question in regards to air asia. How reliable are they and do they have many cancellations. Also, do we need to book in advance or can tickets be purchased the day of the flight at the same price?

Thx

[calibanjr.]

Air Asia is pretty reliable, meaning they're always about 45 mins. late (in my experience) but I've never had a bigger problem than that with them. You can book online, or you can just walk up, which is what I do in CM, just prefer not to use CC in Thailand unless absolutely necessary. You can check nokair.com and or flyone2go.com too. Pretty much all the same price range. No shortage of flights BKK-CNX, never been shut out on a walk-up. Only issue, how much baggage? Check the policies on that, other than that, a breeze.

Edited May 29, 2007 by calibanjr.

[f18jock]

Thx again everyone. This information has really been helpful. When I get to CM, you will have to hit me up for a beer...lol

Now can anyone recommend a nice hotel for around 40 USD/night?

Cheers

[calibanjr.]

40 beans, 1300 THB, if you want to be downtown, RaMing on Loi Kroh road

http://www.planetholiday.com/hotels/asia/t...ming_lodge.html

is as central as it gets, but at 1300 THB, you've got a myriad of choices, all areas. You can get quite nice accomodations for even less, but if you're on a regular vacation, then it's probably not that important. A lot of other people will have recommendations for you, I don't get out to guesthouses much more, I live here, and most of the people who visit me stay near me in el cheapo land, Baan Thai (500 THB), very, ah, "rustic".

Edited May 29, 2007 by calibanjr.

[lotus eater]

Air Asia is pretty reliable, meaning they're always about 45 mins. late (in my experience) but I've never had a bigger problem than that with them. You can book online, or you can just walk up, which is what I do in CM, just prefer not to use CC in Thailand unless absolutely necessary. You can check nokair.com and or flyone2go.com too. Pretty much all the same price range. No shortage of flights BKK-CNX, never been shut out on a walk-up. Only issue, how much baggage? Check the policies on that, other than that, a breeze.

Is the walk-up option costlier than the pre-booked/pre-paid? And what's the average/approximate price you pay with this method?

On your other message, is Baan Thai a real place/name? If so could you disclose where it is?

[Austhaied]

Thx again everyone. This information has really been helpful. When I get to CM, you will have to hit me up for a beer...lol

Now can anyone recommend a nice hotel for around 40 USD/night?

Cheers

The rooms at the Queen Vic are great for the price (600-800 baht) per night.

Good central location in the old city, great food and drink and it's very quiet as well.

Give Ian the manager a call, he's a nice bloke.

http://www.queenvictoriainnsthailand.com/Q...angmaiindex.htm

[calibanjr.]

Air Asia is pretty reliable, meaning they're always about 45 mins. late (in my experience) but I've never had a bigger problem than that with them. You can book online, or you can just walk up, which is what I do in CM, just prefer not to use CC in Thailand unless absolutely necessary. You can check nokair.com and or flyone2go.com too. Pretty much all the same price range. No shortage of flights BKK-CNX, never been shut out on a walk-up. Only issue, how much baggage? Check the policies on that, other than that, a breeze.

Is the walk-up option costlier than the pre-booked/pre-paid? And what's the average/approximate price you pay with this method?

On your other message, is Baan Thai a real place/name? If so could you disclose where it is?

I think the online rate for airasia is a bit cheaper than walk-up if you book a week in advance. The online prices always look cheap (799 or whatever) until tax and fuel surcharges which put you up at 1400-1800 just like the others. Nokair and One2Go are same price walk-up or online. Just not enough hassle saved to do an international card charge on the web for me to do it online.

BaanThai site is http://baantai-hotel.infothai.com/ The site says it's 700-900 THB, but it's SLOW right now and they charged friends of mine 500 THB as late as two weeks ago. It's a mile and a half say south of the Chiang Mai gate. The rooms are old style Thai, all teak etc. If you want privacy (pretty good pool) and quiet, it's great. You either need to rent a scooter or take a tuktuk 40-50THB to town, not really a comfy walk except in winter. If you want to be centrally located and jaunt out straight into town and be a quick walk from everything, I'd do something like the Queen Vic mentioned above.

[tigerbeer]

you could stay at Top North Hotel (different from Top North Guest House) right at Tapae Gate for about 500Baht a nite with a small swimming pool.

You can get deals on AirAsia if you book early or actually look at their site every few days for promotions. Getting a ticket for below 1300 is a possibility but not sure if its worth the hassle. For non hassle tickets, book with 1-2-Go. Seems to be cheaper than Nok Air most of the times (especially when they use the Thai Airways planes instead).

[chanchao]

I think the online rate for airasia is a bit cheaper than walk-up if you book a week in advance. The online prices always look cheap (799 or whatever) until tax and fuel surcharges which put you up at 1400-1800 just like the others.

Actually, no. You'd be rigth for same-week travel, but if you can book a month ahead, then you will see prices starting 399 and 499, then add surcharges and you're at a TOTAL price of about 1200 baht including everything. That's cheaper than Nok Air for example, and 1-2-Go I don't like personally.

So, book ahead.

As for accommodation, for mid-range tourist hotels the booking sites will be cheaper than at the hotel itself, for example www.agoda.com. Indeed I also like Queen Vivctoria Inn, though it's not a big 'hotel' so less suitable if you like room service and a swimming pool and such.

On the true budget end of the spectrum have a look at www.travelfish.org

[georgebkk]

As has been suggested, it's better to save the money on gas and take a cheap BKK->CM AirAsia flight and rent a car from there.

The real scenery doesn't start until you get to the mid to northern part of Thailand, anyway.

[georgebkk]

Is the walk-up option costlier than the pre-booked/pre-paid? And what's the average/approximate price you pay with this method?

Unlike the others, with AirAsia, the internet booking is definitely cheaper. However, the walk-up rates are about the same as Nok and 1-2Go, for example.

So, the way to do it is use one of the travel agents either at the airport or other locations (such as Big C, etc). They will get the internet rate for you for a fee of 80-100B per ticket. Still way cheaper than walkup rates.

[f18jock]

Once again I would like to thank everyone for their responses. It's always very helpful to get real-time advice from people who are famlilar with the local area.

As for the my travel plans I will be booking with air asia just because I want every thing to be set up for my arrival. I dont want to deal with having to secure a flight the day of.

One question to those who said they didnt like the hassle of dealing with online booking. What do you find about booking online to be a hassle?

Thanks again everyone.

[calibanjr.]

Once again I would like to thank everyone for their responses. It's always very helpful to get real-time advice from people who are famlilar with the local area.

As for the my travel plans I will be booking with air asia just because I want every thing to be set up for my arrival. I dont want to deal with having to secure a flight the day of.

One question to those who said they didnt like the hassle of dealing with online booking. What do you find about booking online to be a hassle?

Thanks again everyone.

I've had unexpected charges from my credit card (Union Bank of California) for "international processing" (on AirAsia AND China Air) for 50 bucks twice before, which I eventually got reversed, but only after a lot of bitching (luckily I have Vonage phoneline here). There are always horror stories and warnings about using cards in Thailand, but I think online airline reservations are fine, I've just had problems with my American bank. They've also bounced charges on me just because it was a transaction in Thailand, but I've got that sorted I think. I pretty much only use my Thai wife's SCB credit card here anymore.

[Tagaa]

When I am in LOS, I use a Capitol One card. They do not hit you for the "international rip off" fees like other cards do. The exchange rate is actually acceptable. I was pleasantly surpried when I got the first bill.

From the US, I booked my Air Asia ticket from BKK to CNX on their website. Very cheap & easy to do. No hassles or problems anywhere. I was in CNX & surrounding areas for 22 days so while I was there I rented a car from a TV sponsor, World car hire, I think it was. IIRC it came to about $27 US a day, including insurance. They did have cheaper rates on older trucks, but I wanted auto & a CD player, which the trucks did not have. They brought the car to me at my hotel & picked it up from me when I got to the airport in CNX for my return flight. Very good service.

I would book all in advance, I have never had a problem doing this.