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Bangkok has two airports and they are on opposite sides of the city. Check which one you are landing at before you plan anything, because the journey is completely different.
Suvarnabhumi (BKK) to Thong Lor
Suvarnabhumi is east of the city and the closer of the two.
Private car
Thirty five to fifty minutes depending on traffic, and the simplest option after a long flight. A pre booked car meets you inside the terminal with your name on a board, so there is no queue and no negotiation. Expect roughly 900 to 1,300 baht. We arrange one for our own guests at a fixed price agreed before you fly, charged separately from the rate, so there is no meter and nothing to negotiate at one in the morning.
Public taxi
Go down to level 1 and join the public taxi queue. Insist on the meter, and expect the metered fare plus a 50 baht airport surcharge plus tolls of around 75 baht. Total is usually 350 to 500 baht. Ignore anyone who approaches you inside the terminal offering a ride.
Grab or Bolt
Both work at Suvarnabhumi and quote a fixed price before you accept, which removes the arguing. Pickup is from a designated level. Usually 400 to 600 baht, more at peak times.
Airport Rail Link plus BTS
The cheapest option at well under 100 baht. Take the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai, change to the BTS, and ride to Thong Lo. Budget an hour and fifteen minutes door to door, and understand that Bangkok stations involve stairs. A fine option with a backpack and a poor one with three suitcases and a child.
Don Mueang (DMK) to Thong Lor
Don Mueang is north of the city and serves most low cost carriers. It is further away and the traffic on the northern approach is worse.
- Private car: forty to sixty minutes, roughly 900 to 1,400 baht, by far the least stressful.
- Public taxi: metered plus 50 baht surcharge plus tolls, usually 400 to 600 baht, and the queue can be long late at night.
- Grab or Bolt: fixed price, typically 450 to 700 baht.
- Train and MRT: possible via the SRT Red Line to Bang Sue, but with luggage it is a long evening.
Arriving late at night
Both airports run twenty four hours and there are usually taxis, but queues after midnight can be slow and drivers are more likely to refuse the meter. If you are landing after 23:00, book a car in advance. It costs a few hundred baht more and removes the one part of the trip most likely to go wrong.
Before you leave the airport
- SIM card. The arrivals hall has AIS, dtac and True counters selling tourist SIMs, and they are cheaper and quicker there than anywhere in town. Worth doing before you leave the terminal.
- Cash. ATMs charge a fixed 220 baht foreign card fee per withdrawal, so take out a larger amount once rather than small amounts repeatedly. Exchange booths in the city give better rates than the airport.
- Water. Buy a bottle. Bangkok will take it out of you before you reach the door.
Once you are here
From Soi Saeng Ngoen the BTS at Thong Lo is a short ride, or about fifteen minutes on foot. Motorbike taxis wait at the mouth of the soi and are the quickest way up and down Thong Lor in traffic. Grab picks up at the gate at any hour.
Staying in Thong Lor?
The Elite @ Thong Lor 25 has seven identical 80 sqm two bedroom apartments on Soi Saeng Ngoen, with a king and a queen bedroom, two marble bathrooms, a full kitchen, a rooftop pool and housekeeping every day. Nightly, weekly and monthly rates.
