BKK - DMK transit

[nisakiman]

My wife will be arriving at BKK (Qatar) in a few weeks at 7 am, and she has an onward flight to Ubon with Nok Air from DMK departing 11.10 am. Is this comfortably achievable using the airport shuttle bus? (Assuming, of course, that her flight arrives on time! ) I'll be doing the same transfer when I arrive in January, but I don't worry so much for myself - I'm used to that kind of stuff. However, I would rather avoid her getting stressed out, as she hasn't had a lot of experience dealing with air travel on her own. Are the shuttle buses every half hour, or every hour? (I did have a look on this forum, but there was nothing recent about it). We're kind of out of touch, as we haven't been back for five years or so, and they've been playing silly buggers with the airports and airlines that use them in the interim. As I understand it, the bus takes about an hour, but will it be longer at 8ish (by the time she clears customs / immigration) in the morning? Rush hour and all that.

I would have thought she will have plenty of time to spare, but neither of us have done the BKK - DMK transfer, so I'm just guessing. If anyone has done the transfer recently, what was the timescale involved? Any dos and don'ts to be aware of?

[iancnx]

I wrote this a couple of days ago.

I was on another thread a couple of weeks ago where I got some excellent advice. Seems this is the place to report back. Hope it helps ..... First time I attempted this journey.

Arrived at Dom Muang (roadside arrivals) at 1155 hrs on a Sunday. Two buses waiting before the taxi rank. One for Mo Chit, the other to Suvarnabhumi. Cost zero just had to show onward flight eticket. Bus departs 1200 hrs. Duration 45 minutes. Perfect and hassle free.

On the way back I had only 2 hours from plane doors Suvarnabhumi to final minute check in at Dom Muang. This on a Monday afternoon. It took me 35 mins to clear immigration and customs, and 10 mins to find the rail link bottom floor. A further 5 mins wait for the next city line train through to Phaya Thai. Successfully changed to Mo Chit BTS. Arrived taxi rank (for Dom Muang) with 21 minutes to spare. Explained to taxi driver he would be paid very generously if he could get me to Nok Air Departures in 10 minutes, maximum 15. Dunno how, but I made check in with 2 mins 20 secs to spare. Very very stressful, and not recommended. I was simply not in the mood for 24 hrs overnight in BKK. Next time I will take the more relaxing option!

I think she will have ample tie for the free bus.

[nisakiman]

On the way back I had only 2 hours from plane doors Suvarnabhumi to final minute check in at Dom Muang. This on a Monday afternoon. It took me 35 mins to clear immigration and customs, and 10 mins to find the rail link bottom floor. A further 5 mins wait for the next city line train through to Phaya Thai. Successfully changed to Mo Chit BTS. Arrived taxi rank (for Dom Muang) with 21 minutes to spare. Explained to taxi driver he would be paid very generously if he could get me to Nok Air Departures in 10 minutes, maximum 15. Dunno how, but I made check in with 2 mins 20 secs to spare. Very very stressful, and not recommended. I was simply not in the mood for 24 hrs overnight in BKK. Next time I will take the more relaxing option!

I think she will have ample tie for the free bus.

Heh! Yes, I've had a couple of connections like that in the past. Not good for the blood pressure, that's for sure! I think the only potential problem would be if the baggage is slow appearing and/or the immigration is busy. Sometimes it can take bloody ages to get through.

[canopus1969]

Would not worry about it, if the plane arrives late at Swampy or an accident hold up on the road and you arrive too late to chckk in at DMK then simply throw away the ticket and buy a new one on the next available fight to Ubon - with any airline.

[nisakiman]

Would not worry about it, if the plane arrives late at Swampy or an accident hold up on the road and you arrive too late to chckk in at DMK then simply throw away the ticket and buy a new one on the next available fight to Ubon - with any airline.

Ha! Tell that to my wife! She's an accountant by profession, and watches every penny! In fact the ticket with Nok was bought a few weeks ago when they were doing a limited offer, and it only cost 1000 Baht, so even she could swallow that loss without having an apoplectic fit...... I think. However, getting the Nok flight would avoid hanging around in DM after a long (nearly 19hrs to landing at BKK, 24 by the time she arrives in Ubon) series of flights.