Bangkok Airport Transit

SD › Thailand › Bangkok › Airport Transfers
Updated: September 19, 2020
By Santorini Dave

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How do I get to and from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport?

Suvarnabhumi International Airport is 25km east of the city and well connected to downtown Bangkok and other nearby towns and beach resorts.

Transit options for Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

From the Arrivals floor in Suvarnabhumi Airport you follow the signs downstairs to the taxi and train levels.

  • Airport Rail Link – The Airport Rail Link is the cheapest and (when traffic is bad) can be the fastest way into Bangkok. You buy tickets and board the train in the basement of the airport. The Rail Link (express service) costs 150 baht and takes 15 minutes to central Bangkok. It stops at Makkasan station (transfer to the metro blue line Phetchaburi station) and Phaya Thai station (transfer to the BTS Skytrain station Phaya Thai). The slower city link (commuter service) costs 15 to 45 baht and takes 35 minutes into the city. It stops at 8 stations along the route including both Makkasan and Phaya Thai. Both lines run from 6am to 11:55pm.
    Train to and from the Bangkok Airport.

    The Airport Rail Link at Phaya Thai Station in central Bangkok going to Suvarnabhumi airport.

  • Taxi – Metered taxis are the easiest way to Bangkok. Once you clear customs and immigration, walk downstairs to the first level and you will see a taxi line outside. (Ignore anyone inside the airport that’s offering you a taxi.) Tell the clerk at the taxi kiosk your destination and the clerk will assign you to the next available taxi driver. Trips into the city cost between 300-500 baht, depending on your location. However, you must pay an additional 50 baht meter fare plus tolls. It’s nice to have small change to pay the tolls but if you don’t the taxi driver will pay and then add the charge to your fare. The expressway toll costs 70 baht and any other highway tolls cost between 25 and 45 baht. The ride takes between 45-75 minutes depending on traffic and location.
    Taxis at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

    The taxi area of Suvarnabhumi Airport. Order and pay for taxis from the kiosk, then take ticket to the taxi queue.

  • Bus – Express buses no longer run from the airport to the city. There is a shuttle that runs to a bus station 3km’s from the airport with service to the city from there, but there’s little need and buses aren’t any cheaper than the rail link.
  • To Hua Hin – Buses to Hua Hin from Suvarnabhumi Airport take 3 hours and cost 305 baht. Buses arrive and depart from the Hua Hin bus station at soi 96 and from level 1, gate 8 of Suvarnabhumi Airport (down the escalators from arrivals). For hired cars, Welcome Pickups is reliable and offers luxury sedans, SUVs, and large vans (can fit up to 12 passengers) for between B2,700 and B3,900. There are touts in the airport that you can bargain down to about B1,500 but these people are not licensed so you’re opening yourself up to scams – or worse. A taxi to Hua Hin from the airport will run around B2,000. From Hua Hin to the airport by taxi should be about B1,200.
  • To Pattaya – Buses to Pattaya from Suvarnabhumi Airport take 2 hours and cost 250 baht. Buses arrive and depart from the Pattaya Bus Station on North Pattaya Road and from level 1, gate 8 of Suvarnabhumi Airport (down the escalators from arrivals). For hired cars, Welcome Pickups offers luxury sedans, SUVs, and large vans (can fit up to 12 passengers) for between B2,000 and B2,700. Walking out the door of the airport and getting a taxi will cost about B1,500. From Pattaya back to the airport it will be closer to B800.

How do I get to and from Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport?

Don Muang Airport is 25km north of Bangkok. It serves all flights for the budget airlines Air Asia, Nok Air, and One-Two-Go.

  • Taxi – Get a metered, licensed taxis from the taxi desk outside arrivals. Ignore touts and limousine drivers who approach you inside the airport. Taxis will cost 300 to 400 baht including the tolls and the 50 baht airport fee.
    Bangkok Don Muang Taxis to central Bangkok.

    The line for taxis is directly outside the Arrivals level at Don Muang Airport.

  • Skytrain and taxi – A little cheaper (and if traffic is bad, also quicker) than taking a taxi the entire route is to take a taxi from the airport to Mo Chit Skytrain station on the Sukhumvit line – then Skytrain into the city. It works fine going to the airport as well.
  • Rail – There is a train station a 15 minute walk (across an overpass) from the airport. Follow signs for Rail or the Amari Hotel. There are regular, though erratic, trains from here to Hualamphong Station in Bangkok and to cities of northern Thailand. Travel time to Hualamphong is about an hour.
    Train from Bangkok Airport to downtown Bangkok and train station.

    A train at Don Muang train station heading for central Bangkok. Not as new or fancy as the trains at Suvarnabhumi. But they’re cheap and get you into central Bangkok without having to sit in traffic.

  • To Suvarnabhumi Airport – There is a free shuttle bus between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Muang for travelers with an onward ticket. Show your boarding pass or ticket to the dispatcher at level 2, door 3.
  • To Hua Hin – A taxi from Don Muang to Hua Hin B2,500. A hired car from Don Muang to Hua Hin with Welcome Pickups will be about B3,000 to B4,000.
  • To Pattaya – A taxi from Don Muang to Pattaya will run about B1,700. Hired car from Don Muang to Hua Hin with Welcome Pickups will be about B2,200 to B3,000. Or you can take a taxi to Morchit Bus Station, costs about 100 baht, and then a bus to Pattaya for about 140 baht (schedule here).

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