Tight Time Table

[elliss]

i arrive suvarnabhumi at 15.00 hours .

would the 16.00 bell bus be practical ..

considering , immigration , and baggage collection.

maybe , better if i book the 18.00 bus .

thank you .

[tropo]

It's a difficult question to answer. You could be lucky and get through the whole process very quickly, or get caught up in very slow moving lines due to fastidious passport inspections.

Why don't you book the 1500 bus and ask them if it's ok if you miss that one to transfer to the later one. I don't think they usually operate at 100% capacity.

[thaiflyer1]

I came thru on the 11th of this month ...........landed at 12.30pm and caught the 2pm bus no problem.......probably had 20 mins to spare and the immigration queue was 20 deep.

Didn't book a seat though.......just gave her a call when i was collecting my luggage and let her know i was on my way...........her mobile number is 08162047703.

If you dont have a mobile you could always just exit customs and drop down a level shes always hanging around exit door number 7..........this time when i came thru she had a litle placard with Bell Travel wrote on it.

They will also drop you off in a mini bus at your hotel if needed free of charge when you get to Pattaya.

[tropo]

I came thru on the 11th of this month ...........landed at 12.30pm and caught the 2pm bus no problem.......probably had 20 mins to spare and the immigration queue was 20 deep.

Didn't book a seat though.......just gave her a call when i was collecting my luggage and let her know i was on my way...........her mobile number is 08162047703.

If you dont have a mobile you could always just exit customs and drop down a level shes always hanging around exit door number 7..........this time when i came thru she had a litle placard with Bell Travel wrote on it.

They will also drop you off in a mini bus at your hotel if needed free of charge when you get to Pattaya.

Here's the Bell timetable:

and here's the timetable of the other bus company leaving from the Airport Transportation Centre. To get there, just wait outside the arrival hall for the free shuttle...about a 10 minute ride.

[Kerryd]

i arrive suvarnabhumi at 15.00 hours .

would the 16.00 bell bus be practical ..

considering , immigration , and baggage collection.

maybe , better if i book the 18.00 bus .

thank you .

If you plan it right, an hour should be plenty of time. I've made it in 22 minutes from the time the plane stopped until I was outside at the taxi stand, and that was travelling cattle economy class.

If you can, pick an aisle seat as far forward in the plane as possible. As soon as the plane starts to descend into Bangkok, place your carry-on under the seat in front of you. Make sure you have your arrival card already filled out.

Soon as the plane stops at the gate, work your way as far forward as you can. When you get to the moving (escalators ?) keeping speed walking along them. The goal is to get to Immigrations before the other (3-400) people from your flight. If you are lucky, no other flight will have landed at the same time or just before yours.

Obviously, pick the smallest line-up. By getting there ahead of the rest of your flight, you'll have the opportunity to scout the Immigrations lines before the hordes arrive.

The slowest part (for me) is usually waiting for the luggage. If you can phone the Bell people, let them know where you are at. If you are going to be a couple of minutes late, they are pretty good about holding the bus. I don't think they'll hold it much more than 5-10 minutes though.

On my last trip the plane was scheduled to arrive at 11:20. I wasn't sure I'd make the 12:00 bus. Bell reserved me a seat on the 12 and 2pm buses just in case. I got down to Gate 7 with 10 minutes to spare (but they still held the bus for an extra 5 minutes waiting for someone else).

Worse comes to worse, you'll have a 2 hour wait and you can watch all the teeraks who've just said good-bye to their true loves, greeting their other true loves as they arrive !

[bangkapiboy]

Should be enough time if all goes well. Don't check a suitcase and you are quite sure to make it!