Originally Posted by
atsak
In January I have a little over 12 hour layover in Thailand between about 5AM and 5PM. I have done some reading and see there's a few tours out there you can take which apparently are available at the airport in arrivals. However, I would really appreciate if anyone has actually taken a specific one that was good - I am in First class so I would also like some time in the lounge, so I thought maybe something that was about 6 hours or so would be good.
Would anyone have any specific advice on what to do (I will be travelling on my Australian passport so assume I can get a visa on arrival of some sort) to clear immigration, find a good tour (maybe just major points of interest and some kind of local cuisine), and get to and from wherever it is from BKK? I also saw something about a river cruise - that sounds kind of interesting - does anyone have experience with that and is it hard to find / get to?
Lastly, Canadian mobile roaming charges are extortionate but I'd really like to stay in touch while there. Is there a somewhat inexpensive (ie around $20 US or less) single day (or more) option for a wifi hotspot or sim card that I could get at the airport?
Many thanks in advance.
So I'm not sure how you are planning to get into town but I'm not exactly sure how much time you will have.
By the time you get through immigration you will probably be at the taxi stands by 6.30/7am at the earliest. You might still be ok with traffic but the most effective way (without luggage to get into town, in my experience) is to take the Airport Rail Link (
I wrote a short description a few years back on how to use it)
Bear in mind coming back, you might have to contend with traffic. So if your flight is at 5pm, and you want 6 hours in the lounge, that would be at the airport by 11am, and to get back to the airport is about an hour on ARL so you need to start heading back at 10am. This means you would only have a couple of hours at best in town.
With this in mind, I would just stay at the airport.
However, if you are willing to forgo the 6 hour lounge experience there is still plenty to do. You might have close to six hours.