Asia - Changing money and ride to hotel from BKK

We're arriving at 11:45 pm in Bangkok. Where's the best place to exchange dollars to catch the cab? Also, what's the best way to get from the airport to the hotel in Bangkok? Hotel shuttle? Taxi? Are the taxis easy to catch and are they regulated; i.e., there's no free for all?

There are ATM machines at the airport.

As for taxi's, as you exit the luggage area (only one way to go to the street), make a right to the taxi dispatcher. Tell them where you're going.

That's it!.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=307684

Clear immigration, get luggage, exit Customs into the arrivals hall. There should be at least two money changers there on your left. Maybe bring a $100 USD bill to change. Ask for some 100 Baht notes, for the taxi/tolls. Push your way through the throng of greeters/touts and exit the hall following the signs for the taxi stand. Get in line, tell them where you want to go, then get in the taxi. Make sure the meter is on and reading 35 baht. If you take the toll road it should be ~ 30 baht + 40 baht for two tolls to say Sukhumvit/Ploenchit, you pay the tolls. Also add 50 baht to the meter fare for originating at the airport. Meter should be ~ 200 baht into town. Very easy and quick at that time of night.

Agreed, except that I would go for the ATMs rather than the money changers. Take some USD as a backup, but in general the best rate is from the ATM. And pick an odd amount to get (e.g. 900 Baht) so that you get some smaler notes, not just 1000 baht, which taxi drivers won't like.

Even if you get only a stack of 1000 baht notes, you can give one to the first toll booth and you'll get 970 baht in change. They have loads of change over there.

During the last two trips into Bangkok, I noticed that the final toll has risen from 30 baht to 40 baht. The toll at the airport end remains 40 baht.

Also note: That the departure tax has been announced to increase to 700 baht from 500 baht.

The best w

Thai airways has limo service. So, you might want to consider that as a mean of transportation to your hotel. I don't know whether it will run this late, but I know that they don't take advance reservation.

Do you need exact change for the tolls?

Thai airways has limo service. So, you might want to consider that as a mean of transportation to your hotel. I don't know whether it will run this late, but I know that they don't take advance reservation.

TG's limo service apparently consists of pretty old cars these days. There's a rival service AACC(?) which is in the same area. Used them last year, was fine. AACC gives a slight discount for r/t travel.

Do you need exact change for the tolls?

No, as you approach the tool booth simply hand the driver a 50/100/500/1000 baht note. The toll attendent will give the change, and a receipt, to the driver, who will then hand it directly to you.

Has anyone taken the Airport Bus before?

I will be arriving in the morning with light luggage and thinking of taking the Airport Bus to Hyatt Hotel. Any experience with airport bus and the frequency like? Thanks.

TG's limo service apparently consists of pretty old cars these days. There's a rival service AACC(?) which is in the same area. Used them last year, was fine. AACC gives a slight discount for r/t travel.

Yes, these are the guys I use. It's AAC! I will never go back to the regular taxi. Here's their web address. http://www.airporttaxithai.com/ You can signup for a VIP number online and get a discount. You also get a discount if you book a RT.

All cars are older Mercedes unless you want a van. You can pay with a credit card at the booking desk. Check out my trip report on them in post #12 of this thread : http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356034

I always change my money in Tokyo before heading to BKK. May be an option for you if you have a layover. The banks office in Narita always seem more legit to me than the agencies like Travelex, etc.

Good Luck and have fun.

PS Where you staying and when will you be there?

The taxi meter should read about 130-170 to anywhere in central Bangkok. Add in 80 baht for tolls.

And add in 50 baht for the airport tax fee, unless you go up to departures and grab an incoming taxi (easy, many people do this). The advantage of this is that you can pick a new taxi, not an old bucket of bolts.

Has anyone taken the Airport Bus before?

I will be arriving in the morning with light luggage and thinking of taking the Airport Bus to Hyatt Hotel. Any experience with airport bus and the frequency like? Thanks.

There are good airport buses that run at least during the day. Not sure what time they stop service. I took one that went from the airport to Sukhumvit making stops all along Sukhumvit that cost 100 baht. Took about 40 minutes or so. Bus was not crowded at all, had a place in the passenger compartment to put luggage, and was very pleasant. They have a little kiosk at the airport near the bus stop with helpful attendants who willl assist you in getting on the right bus.

PS Where you staying and when will you be there?

At the Viengtai Hotel off of Khaosan Rd. Tried to Priceline the Shangri-la but as it crept up past $100 a night, I quit. I do have my limits. :p

Airport bus stops around midnight - there are 3 or 4 routes - English speaking guides will tell you which one to take. If there are more than 1 person it is cheaper/easier to take a regular taxi(not the Thai limo if you care about the cost -they are 3-4 times the regular taxi price).

A tight-wad might shoot up to the arrivals hall if not carrying too much luggage, and just hop in one of the taxis dropping off passengers. No need to pay the extra airport fee (well, sometimes 20B) and not getting ripped off by drivers refusing to use the meter.

During the last two trips into Bangkok, I noticed that the final toll has risen from 30 baht to 40 baht. The toll at the airport end remains 40 baht.


I was in BKK yesterday and this was not what I experienced. The expressway (from the airport to Rama IX) remains 30 baht and the tollway (from Rama IX to Sukhumvit) remains 40 baht.

I was in BKK yesterday and this was not what I experienced. The expressway (from the airport to Rama IX) remains 30 baht and the tollway (from Rama IX to Sukhumvit) remains 40 baht.

Just returned from BKK this morning and this is correct. An interesting sidenote: we caught a cab around 4:30 am in front of the hotel. When we pulled out, my wife noticed the driver hadn't put on the meter and then he said he wanted 400 baht. I said put on the meter and then he said 300 baht. I told him to pull over and we got out, flagged down another taxi who did use the meter and got to the airport for 161 baht. Beware of taxi drivers who don't use the meter.

Airport bus stops around midnight - there are 3 or 4 routes - English speaking guides will tell you which one to take. If there are more than 1 person it is cheaper/easier to take a regular taxi(not the Thai limo if you care about the cost -they are 3-4 times the regular taxi price).

Thanks for the info. I took the air-con airport bus from airport to Silom at around 11am. Bus was pretty empty with only 6 passengers. After leaving the airport, the bus went up the tollway (expressway) and I arrive at Aroma Hotel (opposit World Trade Centre) in about 40mins. Thereafter, it is a short ride to Silom. If you are travelling alone and with only a piece of luggage, you can consider taking it. The fare is 100Baht which you pay at the counter.

The frequency of the bus is about 30mins, so the only problem is that if you miss it, you have a long wait.

A tight-wad might shoot up to the arrivals hall if not carrying too much luggage, and just hop in one of the taxis dropping off passengers. No need to pay the extra airport fee (well, sometimes 20B) and not getting ripped off by drivers refusing to use the meter.
This is also the fastest way to get to the city if you arrive during the 10-12 PM crunch hour when everybody and their aunt Tillie arrive and queue for taxis. Naturally the guys upstairs know this too, so you can forget about getting a taxi to turn on his meter, but you can get ~200-300B flat fares easily enough (the delta depending on where exactly you want to go and who pays the tolls along the way).

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I don't even bother with trying to catch a taxi waiting at the hotel. Those guys always give me grief about turning on the meter and I end up getting out. Better to just walk out to the street and get one driving by. Rarely any problems that way.
If you're staying in a hotel, ask a doorman to grab a cab, that's what they're there for. They'll filter out the 'meter-no-work' guys and often even take down the license plate as extra insurance.

If you're staying in a hotel, ask a doorman to grab a cab, that's what they're there for. They'll filter out the 'meter-no-work' guys and often even take down the license plate as extra insurance.

Well, I have one bad experience on that. I took a cab from a 4* hotel in Siam Square to airport. We told the bellboy to inform the taxi driver to use the meter. The bellboy conveyed the msg to the driver and we got in with my luggage. The driver sped off and we noted that the meter was not on. Of course, we voiced our concerns, and said that he wants flat rate of 500Baht to airport. We refused and he said that it is going to rain. We asked him to stop at the roadside and flag another cab which gladly goes with the meter on. Luckily, we did not have that many luggage to change cabs.

We picked up a cab from our hotel and got to the airport before I realized the meter was off. The guy wanted 500B. Since the luggage was already out of the car, I gave him 300B and told him if he had a problem with that, he could call the police. Probably not the best thing for international relations, but a scam is a scam...

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If the meter isn't on when you get in the cab, ask for it (tip: "meter" in Thai is... drum roll... "meter"!)... and if you have lots of luggage, ask the cabbie before you load it in. If they refuse to turn it on, get out and get a different taxi.

If waving down taxis I ask if they can go to my destination with bpai X dai mai na khap, after which any cabbie will reach the (correct) conclusion that this guy has been around the block a few times, and will either turn on the meter with no complaints or drive off in search of another victim.