New Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

If you want something better than a meter taxi then I suggest you use the limo serice provided by the airport. No need to book on line, they have plenty of cars. Their desks are in the baggage claim area, just book your car while you wait for your bags.

Another option is to get your hotel to collect you, although this tends to be the most expensive option.

OR, you can do what I do and use Mr Tom - see my Bangkok pages for more info.

Regards

John

from the airport, there is a metered taxi queue on the left side after you come out of customs. It may be long, but it's pretty fast. you tell the person at the counter where you are headed and he'll tell the cab driver.

beware: there is a toll charge along the way, but make sure that you pay at the toll instead of the driver, coz some drivers pay first and then charge you a much higher rate. That's what happened when the 6 of us took 2 cabs, and the other group was asked to pay the total fare at the end, while our cabby asked us to pay at the toll booth (25baht) and our cab fares differed by 70 baht, even after including the toll charges.

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The Suvarnabhumi Airport is located about 40 minutes away from downtown Bangkok. It boasts of the tallest control tower in the world and one of the biggest terminals in the world. I was pleased that even though I had arrived shortly before midnight that there were still a lot of immigration desks open and the staff were kind enough to direct us to shorter queues. Getting my luggage was also a pleasant experience. There were also a few shops as well as money changers available at that time.

Just like in any airport around the world it is advisable to get cabs only at the designate area. Do not entertain any people who will approach you offering their services. Do remember that you are responsible for the toll fee which will be levied on your taxi.

On my way home, the lines were quite long at the immigration area and I had to wait 20 minutes in line before I went through. This is not because of the lack of open immigration counters but because of the volume of people who were about to fly out of Thailand.

In the departure area there is a vast area for duty free shopping where you can do some last minute shopping, eating and foreign exchange. Do be careful though as this area is quite far from the gates so it would be a good idea to allocate some extra time getting to the gates.

We caught a taxi at the departure hall instead of the arrival hall. We negotiated the price with the taxi driver and quickly hoped into the taxi. The taxi is not supposed to pick up any passengers at the departure hall but a lot of taxi drivers are doing that.

Initially we asked for 250 baht and the taxi driver told us we need to pay toll. We asked what is the best price inclusive of toll and settled for 300 bhat. Later we found that there is no toll on the way to the hotel.

Anyone who has friends or relatives down there at Suvarnabhumi Airport and want to know latest fight status, please check here:

http://www.airportsuvarnabhumi.com/about-suvarnabhumi-airport/search-flight-schedule-by-flight-numbers-airports/

The price at the taxi stand should run you about 600B and that should also include the toll. You could get a meter run taxi and that may run you about 400-500 but probably about the same to Khao San Rd. You are better off with the taxi stand. Unless it is way out of the way, the price will be the same in the general area of downtown.

I wanted to get a more comfortable transportation for my family of 5 from the airport to my hotel upon arrival and spotted AOT Limousine counter just in front of the baggage claim area. AOT arranged a van to take us to Grand President at Sukhumvit, Soi 11 for THB1200 (one way). I also booked the van with them to ferry us back to the airport from the hotel for the same fare. You can pay using your credit card and payment for toll is included in the fare. The journey took about 45 minutes and traffic was bad as we got nearer to the city. Overall, the ride was comfortable. The van, clean and new. On the day of our return, the van was already waiting for us before our appointed time. When we reached the airport, the driver got down, found us a trolley and unloaded our luggage for us.

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This new Airport is big and looking awesome.
Currently is not connected to any train line to downtown Bangkok, but I heard next year it will.
Anyway, the fire sprinkler went off for no reason on the day I flew home.
All the cosmetic stuffs nearby must be going on 70% Reject sale (see Pic).