Taxi service at BKK

[ememkay]

Hi there,

I'm going to Bangkok in two weeks and I'm landing in BKK and taking off from DMK. I have 5 hours of free time in Bangkok and would like to hire a taxi from the airport for around 5 hours.

How much would it cost around and what is the cheapest way to get the taxi?

[siam2007]

virtually no Taxi driver can speak any sort of English. five hours is NOTHING as the roads leading to and from DMK are frequently jammed and it would be risky to tour around only to find out you will not get back to the airport on time.

From your questions, I assume this is your first time in Bangkok and you are in no way familiar with the conditions.

If you really wanna tour for a couple of hours, contact tour operators or private drivers (easy to google) who can speak English and can understand and sense what you are after

[ememkay]

virtually no Taxi driver can speak any sort of English. five hours is NOTHING as the roads leading to and from DMK are frequently jammed and it would be risky to tour around only to find out you will not get back to the airport on time.

From your questions, I assume this is your first time in Bangkok and you are in no way familiar with the conditions.

If you really wanna tour for a couple of hours, contact tour operators or private drivers (easy to google) who can speak English and can understand and sense what you are after

Thanks so much!

My arriving flight in BKK is at 3pm and my departing flight from DMK is at 930pm. Do you think it's enough time to check out one attraction on the way and go out to eat? I would have to be by the airport by 830pm

[The Dancer]

virtually no Taxi driver can speak any sort of English. five hours is NOTHING as the roads leading to and from DMK are frequently jammed and it would be risky to tour around only to find out you will not get back to the airport on time.

From your questions, I assume this is your first time in Bangkok and you are in no way familiar with the conditions.

If you really wanna tour for a couple of hours, contact tour operators or private drivers (easy to google) who can speak English and can understand and sense what you are after

Thanks so much!

My arriving flight in BKK is at 3pm and my departing flight from DMK is at 930pm. Do you think it's enough time to check out one attraction on the way and go out to eat? I would have to be by the airport by 830pm

It's not enough time to get into the city center or main attractions but ample time to get to the north edge of the city, which is still plenty happening.

I would suggest take a cab from DMK to Victory Monument (Anusawari). If you take the highway it should be a 20-30 min. ride. Let the taxi go at VM and explore on foot. Orient yourself beforehand with a map and there's no need for a guide. VM-Soi Rang Naam is chock full of night life, eateries (Thai and Western), street stalls and shopping and it's more Thai than farang. It's a safe area, people are friendly and there's little chance of getting into any kind of trouble.

Cabs are plentiful on the street in that area. Grab one at 8pm and you'll be back at DMK by 8:30. Have fun.

Edited March 1, 2015 by The Dancer

[ememkay]

virtually no Taxi driver can speak any sort of English. five hours is NOTHING as the roads leading to and from DMK are frequently jammed and it would be risky to tour around only to find out you will not get back to the airport on time.

From your questions, I assume this is your first time in Bangkok and you are in no way familiar with the conditions.

If you really wanna tour for a couple of hours, contact tour operators or private drivers (easy to google) who can speak English and can understand and sense what you are after

Thanks so much!

My arriving flight in BKK is at 3pm and my departing flight from DMK is at 930pm. Do you think it's enough time to check out one attraction on the way and go out to eat? I would have to be by the airport by 830pm

It's not enough time to get into the city center or main attractions but ample time to get to the north edge of the city, which is still plenty happening.

I would suggest take a cab from DMK to Victory Monument (Anusawari). If you take the highway it should be a 20-30 min. ride. Let the taxi go at VM and explore on foot. Orient yourself beforehand with a map and there's no need for a guide. VM-Soi Rang Naam is chock full of night life, eateries (Thai and Western), street stalls and shopping and it's more Thai than farang. It's a safe area, people are friendly and there's little chance of getting into any kind of trouble.

Cabs are plentiful on the street in that area. Grab one at 8pm and you'll be back at DMK by 8:30. Have fun.

Do you suggest I head to DMK first then head out as opposed to on the way to DMK? I will be landing in BKK

[The Dancer]

virtually no Taxi driver can speak any sort of English. five hours is NOTHING as the roads leading to and from DMK are frequently jammed and it would be risky to tour around only to find out you will not get back to the airport on time.

From your questions, I assume this is your first time in Bangkok and you are in no way familiar with the conditions.

If you really wanna tour for a couple of hours, contact tour operators or private drivers (easy to google) who can speak English and can understand and sense what you are after

Thanks so much!

My arriving flight in BKK is at 3pm and my departing flight from DMK is at 930pm. Do you think it's enough time to check out one attraction on the way and go out to eat? I would have to be by the airport by 830pm

It's not enough time to get into the city center or main attractions but ample time to get to the north edge of the city, which is still plenty happening.

I would suggest take a cab from DMK to Victory Monument (Anusawari). If you take the highway it should be a 20-30 min. ride. Let the taxi go at VM and explore on foot. Orient yourself beforehand with a map and there's no need for a guide. VM-Soi Rang Naam is chock full of night life, eateries (Thai and Western), street stalls and shopping and it's more Thai than farang. It's a safe area, people are friendly and there's little chance of getting into any kind of trouble.

Cabs are plentiful on the street in that area. Grab one at 8pm and you'll be back at DMK by 8:30. Have fun.

Do you suggest I head to DMK first then head out as opposed to on the way to DMK? I will be landing in BKK

Whoops, just noticed you'll be landing at Bkk = Suvarnabhumi airport.

I would still say to head to VM because, again, a highway will get you to VM in around 30min. Or, even better, if you won't have a ton of stuff with you, take the Airport link train from Suv to the Phaya Thai station, which is about 1km. south of VM. That's a 25min. ride and then a 15 min. walk to VM.

Btw, just a word of caution in the Rangnam area. There have been a few recent incidents of snatching by guys on motorbikes. The targets are tourists, mainly emerging from the King Power duty-free complex, walking along the pavement merrily swinging their shopping along. These have been purely opportunistic incidents and (to my knowledge) no one's been hurt. In any case, if you carry stuff like a laptop/cameras best stuff them in a backpack and walk on the sidewalk and you'll be fine.

Tip in case you reach VM before 5pm when it might be a bit hot to walk about: there are few massage places - regular, no happy ending - along Rangnaam near the Phayathai end which are very good (recommended by Thai friends). So get an hour's rubdown and head out with a grin on your face and a spring in your step.

Edited March 1, 2015 by The Dancer

[ememkay]

virtually no Taxi driver can speak any sort of English. five hours is NOTHING as the roads leading to and from DMK are frequently jammed and it would be risky to tour around only to find out you will not get back to the airport on time.

From your questions, I assume this is your first time in Bangkok and you are in no way familiar with the conditions.

If you really wanna tour for a couple of hours, contact tour operators or private drivers (easy to google) who can speak English and can understand and sense what you are after

Thanks so much!

My arriving flight in BKK is at 3pm and my departing flight from DMK is at 930pm. Do you think it's enough time to check out one attraction on the way and go out to eat? I would have to be by the airport by 830pm

It's not enough time to get into the city center or main attractions but ample time to get to the north edge of the city, which is still plenty happening.

I would suggest take a cab from DMK to Victory Monument (Anusawari). If you take the highway it should be a 20-30 min. ride. Let the taxi go at VM and explore on foot. Orient yourself beforehand with a map and there's no need for a guide. VM-Soi Rang Naam is chock full of night life, eateries (Thai and Western), street stalls and shopping and it's more Thai than farang. It's a safe area, people are friendly and there's little chance of getting into any kind of trouble.

Cabs are plentiful on the street in that area. Grab one at 8pm and you'll be back at DMK by 8:30. Have fun.

Do you suggest I head to DMK first then head out as opposed to on the way to DMK? I will be landing in BKK

Whoops, just noticed you'll be landing at Bkk = Suvarnabhumi airport.

I would still say to head to VM because, again, a highway will get you to VM in around 30min. Or, even better, if you won't have a ton of stuff with you, take the Airport link train from Suv to the Phaya Thai station, which is about 1km. south of VM. That's a 25min. ride and then a 15 min. walk to VM.

Btw, just a word of caution in the Rangnam area. There have been a few recent incidents of snatching by guys on motorbikes. The targets are tourists, mainly emerging from the King Power duty-free complex, walking along the pavement merrily swinging their shopping along. These have been purely opportunistic incidents and (to my knowledge) no one's been hurt. In any case, if you carry stuff like a laptop/cameras best stuff them in a backpack and walk on the sidewalk and you'll be fine.

Tip in case you reach VM before 5pm when it might be a bit hot to walk about: there are few massage places - regular, no happy ending - along Rangnaam near the Phayathai end which are very good (recommended by Thai friends). So get an hour's rubdown and head out with a grin on your face and a spring in your step.

If I do end up picking up a metered taxi from BKK, Any idea what it would cost around for 5 hours?

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to pay one of these tour companies 2000 baht for 5 hours to guarantee I'll get a driver who speaks English.

I would figure out before where I want to go and have it written down so the driver would only need a basic grasp of English

[The Dancer]

If I do end up picking up a metered taxi from BKK, Any idea what it would cost around for 5 hours?

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to pay one of these tour companies 2000 baht for 5 hours to guarantee I'll get a driver who speaks English.

I would figure out before where I want to go and have it written down so the driver would only need a basic grasp of English

Taxis run on distance not time so you would have to negotiate with the driver. Which means you'd be ripped off plus taken to places where he can make a buck of you like gem shops and tailors. Likewise asking a company to arrange a tour on a 5hr. layover marks you either as stupid or rich or both.

Bangkok ain't Chicago or NY. It's safe. Don't be scared. Put mommy's number on speed dial just in case and head out.

Edited March 1, 2015 by The Dancer

[ememkay]

If I do end up picking up a metered taxi from BKK, Any idea what it would cost around for 5 hours?

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to pay one of these tour companies 2000 baht for 5 hours to guarantee I'll get a driver who speaks English.

I would figure out before where I want to go and have it written down so the driver would only need a basic grasp of English

Taxis run on distance not time so you would have to negotiate with the driver. Which means you'd be ripped off plus taken to places where he can make a buck of you like gem shops and tailors. Likewise asking a company to arrange a tour on a 5hr. layover marks you either as stupid or rich or both.

Bangkok ain't Chicago or NY. It's safe. Don't be scared. Put mommy's number on speed dial just in case and head out.

Thanks for your replies.

I have done tours in many countries on stopovers shorter then this seven hour one. I would have a list of where I want to go, would not just be letting the driver take me where he wants. Also NY is definitely safer then Bangkok taxi-wise, that's indisputable.

I just spent 6 months touring israel and have mastered the art of bargaining while speaking a foreign language [emoji4]

That being said I am only being there for a couple hours so I'm thinking if it's worth it to pay double to insure it works out

[FalangBaa]

You're wasting your time. If the immigration queues are long, it could easily take you one hour from landing at BKK until you get out of the airport. Then it can take another hour to travel to DMK. I have actually known it take longer. You could be looking at 2.5 hours just from landing at BKK to arriving at DMK. Just wait out the remaining 2-3 hours in the airport and don't risk missing your flight.

[kevc]

If you don't want to spend all the time in Don Meaung take a taxi to Rangsit Future Park have a wander around there then you can get a taxi straight down the road to the airport. You'll pass Don Meaung on the way there.

[ememkay]

You're wasting your time. If the immigration queues are long, it could easily take you one hour from landing at BKK until you get out of the airport. Then it can take another hour to travel to DMK. I have actually known it take longer. You could be looking at 2.5 hours just from landing at BKK to arriving at DMK. Just wait out the remaining 2-3 hours in the airport and don't risk missing your flight.

I get expedited through the airport, I will be in my taxi ten minutes after landing.

Also I have more time then that, I am landing at 3pm and taking off at 950, that's almost 7 hours, I should have 4 hours to kill even if everything goes wrong

[lopburi3]

As said just go to Don Muang and then walk around that area if you have extra time as after 4 PM traffic will be very heavy heading to Don Muang from city as workers go home to suburbs in the North. Even during they day you can spend an hour or more traveling a couple of KM in some of the traffic jams - and there is just no way to know - get to destination and then relax.

[ememkay]

So I will listen to the seasoned experts here and I will not attempt to actually tour anything during my 7 hour stopover, I still have to make the commute between BKK and DMK so I may as well see what I can. I plan on going out to eat near the grand palace though. Are there specific routes I should have the taxi take me so I can at least see a little bit of Bangkok. It would be my first time here.

Thanks so much!

[lopburi3]

You are aware that area of the city is not in a path between airports? Not even close. So you will be facing heavy city traffic to do this and likely will have difficulty finding a taxi to take you to airport in such a tourist area facing bumper to bumper traffic. A safer plan, if you really don't want to play it safe ans stay at Don Muang, would be to take Route 9 (eastern ring road) up to Highway 1 North of Don Muang and head back on that - stopping as one of the major shopping centers to kill time and eat. That way you will be on the lighter side of traffic.