How do I get from the airport into Bangkok?
Short answer
From Suvarnabhumi, the Airport Rail Link on floor B1 — or a metered taxi, which adds a THB 50 airport surcharge on top of the meter.
The train under the terminal
The Airport Rail Link station sits on level B1 of the main terminal — follow the signs down rather than out. It runs from about 05:30 to midnight into the city, where it connects onward to Bangkok's rail network.
It is immune to the one thing that defines Bangkok surface travel, which is traffic. At rush hour that immunity is the whole argument.
Taxis, and the two numbers on top
Official taxis run on the meter, with flagfall at THB 35 or 40 and rates set by the Department of Land Transport. From the airport a THB 50 surcharge is added on top of whatever the meter shows, and any expressway tolls are yours too.
So an airport taxi receipt is meter plus surcharge plus tolls. Knowing that arithmetic in advance is the difference between a normal ride and feeling overcharged.
The cheap seats
Public buses run from the airport into the city and beyond — route S1 reaches the Khao San Road area, and other routes serve the northern rail terminus and Rangsit, from early morning to evening.
They are the slowest and cheapest of the three. With serious luggage or after a long-haul landing, the train and the taxi remain the honest options.
Good to know
- The rail link is on B1 — go down, not out
- Airport taxis add THB 50 on top of the meter, plus tolls
By train, nearly always. Which train depends on the airport and on which side of the city you are sleeping.
Rail, in every case. Each major airport has a dedicated line, and the ordinary metro is always the cheap way in.
Metered taxi or a city bus, and the answer scales with the city: Hanoi's airport is far, Saigon's is close but slow, Danang's is practically downtown.
Train, bus or taxi. The airport railroad runs from both terminals into central Seoul and is the cheapest of the three.
The Airport MRT. One line, two kinds of train — take the Express, not the Commuter, and it runs straight to Taipei Main Station.