Suvarnabhumi Airport Transportation

For passengers arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the following are the two main transport options, assuming you don't have anybody to fetch you.

Meter Taxis

Exit the terminal building on the 2nd floor. Look for the taxi stand and then join the queue of passengers waiting to board the taxi. There are usually a continuous stream of taxis, so you usually do not have to wait very long for your turn. If you are traveling to Bangkok, you need to pay the metered taxi fare, plus a 50 baht surcharge and any expressway tolls. The total usually comes to about 300 baht - I've paid anywhere between 240 baht to 360 baht, and I can't explain why. If you are traveling to a destination other than Bangkok, ask the taxi driver for the charter rates.

Beware of taxi touts who try to entice you to their taxi. Simply ignore them and head for the taxi stand. Disregarding this advise may cost you a ride that is twice the usual price. Now I ignore their calls of "Very cheap, only 500 baht!" Only those who do not know the price of a journey to Bangkok falls for their trick.

There are also Limousine Taxis, which charge about 800 baht for the same journey taken by the meter taxi. Should I waste your time reading about them? I think not.

Airport Express Buses

Airport Express Buses charge a flat rate of 150 baht per person and operate from 7:00am until midnight. There are four routes, and each take about 60-90 minutes. The routes are:

If I am traveling with my spouse or a friend, I'd rather take the taxi, which drops me right at the doorstep of my hotel, and only costs the price of two Airport Express bus tickets. Also, I don't have to worry about having to walk a long distance from the bus stop to anywhere I am going.

At the moment, there are still no express train services to Suvarnabhumi - it's still under construction and will not be completed before mid 2009 at the earliest. The express train, when ready, will connect Suvarnabhumi to the (also under construction) City Air Terminal, located at Makkasan. I will write more about it when the train is ready to be used.

Leaving Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi

To get to Suvarnabhumi Airport from Bangkok, hail a taxi. All the metered taxis should be able to take you there, and the journey doesn't require you to pay the 50 baht airport surcharge. Be sure to allow sufficient time and avoid rush hour, which should more accurately be known as crawl hour or stationary hour. Usually, the expressways are not jammed, but the roads leading to them are. Hence, you may get stuck on the same road for half an hour, moving less than 200 meters.

The departure tax from Suvarnabhumi Airport is 700 baht to an international destination, and 100 baht to a domestic destination. This is in place since February 2007, when the tax is also included into the air ticket (Previously a counter has to be set up for passengers to pay the tax, an unnecessary and tedious part of using the airports in Thailand).


Just follow the sign (26 October 2006)



Suvarnabhumi Airport taxi stand (26 October 2006)



Suvarnabhumi Taxi Stand (26 October 2006)



Passengers queuing for taxi at Suvarnabhumi Airport (26 October 2006)

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