Arriving in Bangkok April 15th

[eastendanto]

Taxi! (or limo).

With a lot of baggage or wanting to sit more comfy you can ask for a "big size" taxi (forgot the correct term).

Bit more expensive.

Use the official dispatcher booth (even if there is a small queue) and let them fix/tell the price.

(or has this changed?)

The good thing: general traffic in Bangkok on such date is supposed to be unusually light.

"VAN taxi"

[eastendanto]

I use the official taxi rank at BKK everytime I fly in with my family and baggage.... price is fixed there and then by airport taxi authority who man the taxi queue, so no meter does not mean that the taxi driver is trying it on, all above board. Long flight, loads of baggage, electronics why would you want to get on public transport? Give yourself a break, relax, get to your lodgings and chill out before you venture out into waterworld if in fact it is still on as various reports from government sources say Bangkok will shorten Song Khran to 2 or 3 days (due to drought conditions in Thailand) but not sure how much notice the locals will take of that

[Kabula]

Take a taxi. However, put all personal property in sealed plastic bags inside your luggage, purse or whatever else you are carrying. Good luck!

[SoiBiker]

No need to worry .. Its a certainty you will get wet.

Protect your best clothes

Protect your electronics and

Protect your eyes and mouth and nose as the water is not pure water who knows where it came from a friend told about a guy got water in his eyes got an infection and spent weeks in hospital .

Over the top scaremongering nonsense

You should try visiting Bangkok some time rather than just reading about it.

[ThaiTony2]

Taking a taxi from the airport to your hotel shouldn't be an issue of concern especially being assured that your seat will be dry.

If it were you trying to take a taxi along Suk, you may find many taxi seats soaked. Consider yourself fortunate.

[dddave]

The Songkran scene in Phra Khanong is much quieter than other parts of the city. It's mostly confined to the street corners of residential sois with few water laden pick-up's prowling around. Enclosing phones, wallets and especially your passport in Zip-lock bags is a good precaution. There is a small Max Value grocery store down the block on the left as you face your hotel where you can buy the zip bags as well as snacks and groceries.

Edited April 8, 2016 by dddave

[smokie36]

It'll be more like 250 baht. I wouldn't expect them to use a toll road for that route.

Seriously. Just get in a taxi. They're fine. Don't worry about these guys who apparently can't even manage a journey in from the airport without making a drama out of it.

Who would be happy travelling to Soi 4?

[mercman24]

i also live at phra khanong pray tell why would anyone get the airport link and then have the hassle of getting a taxi for the rest of the journey when the skytrain will drop this person at the doorstep, it is long winded,my friend who visited recently, i went to airport with him via skytrain/airport link never again. yes taxi everytime. go to arrivals, walk across the road, you will see taxis who have just dropped off customers rather than go back to bangkok empty, you can get a good fare, no queues and no 50 baht rip off booking fee, you will not get wet here, but if you wander into soi 4 , be prepared lol !!

[SoiBiker]

You mean departures, right?

I'm always amazed that people will drag their luggage up two sets of escalators and the wrong way through a turnstile to save 50 baht.

[TheAppletons]

You mean departures, right?

I'm always amazed that people will drag their luggage up two sets of escalators and the wrong way through a turnstile to save 50 baht.

It saves 50 baht, up to 30 mins of waiting time in the queue downstairs, and you'll rarely find a driver who refuses to use the meter (unlike at arrivals).

(Oh, and by the way, the escalators are electric and thus move automatically so there's no "dragging" luggage up them.)

[CarolinaJames]

You mean departures, right?

I'm always amazed that people will drag their luggage up two sets of escalators and the wrong way through a turnstile to save 50 baht.

It saves around 500 baht to Rayong.

[SoiBiker]

I've never had a taxi driver at the airport refuse to use the meter. I've never queued for half an hour, either.

Maybe I'm just lucky.

[mogandave]

I guess I'm lucky as well.

I think breaking the rules is an end in itself for a lot of guys. Shoplifting for chicken-sh*ts as it were.

[vaultdweller0013]

I use the official taxi rank at BKK everytime I fly in with my family and baggage.... price is fixed there and then by airport taxi authority who man the taxi queue, so no meter does not mean that the taxi driver is trying it on, all above board. Long flight, loads of baggage, electronics why would you want to get on public transport? Give yourself a break, relax, get to your lodgings and chill out before you venture out into waterworld if in fact it is still on as various reports from government sources say Bangkok will shorten Song Khran to 2 or 3 days (due to drought conditions in Thailand) but not sure how much notice the locals will take of that

Trips to Bangkok from the airport should be done by meter. You pay any tolls and a 50 baht charge on top of the meter to the driver. Longer trips to other provinces will be fixed fare. They have moved to automated machines at Suvarnabhumi, which may or may not be manned by an attendant. Some drivers may try to negotiate a fixed fare within Bangkok; this has happened a couple of times to me recently, but one or two calm responses just saying "meter" have worked out so far. Keep the slip printed by the machine; do not give it to the driver. They may want to look at it though to confirm you were assigned to their taxi. At Don Muang, they still have the old system with an attendant. However, they still should use the meter (+50 baht and tolls) for within Bangkok.

As others have said, the fare should be around 250 baht, maybe a little more, especially if you get stuck in traffic.

I did run into one case recently from the airport where the meter on the taxi was "broken" in that part of the way through the trip it started increasing by 2 baht every couple of seconds, regardless of the speed the taxi was moving or if it was stopped. So, what should have been a 260 baht fare ended up being more than 500 baht. I have no idea whether it was legitimately broken or if it was an attempted scam, nor do I really care. Luckily though, the driver was OK about it when I pointed it out during the trip and he was fine when I paid him what the fare should have been without the meter problem.

[Mudcrab]

Go to the limo counter as soon as you get out of outside arrivals.

Spend 50 bucks.

Problem solved.

Why argue about pennies when you are on holiday.

Ask for a Toyota Camry...don't get suckered in to a Merc or BMW