Amazing Thailand - Maeklong - the market on the railway track. Click here.
**** Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link - opens 23rd August 2010 ****
The Airport Rail Link to Suvarnabhumi Airport provides 2 transit options:
A direct non-stop Express Train that takes 15 minutes from the City Air Terminal (Makkasan) train station to the airport. This service connects to the city's mass transit subway system at Makkasan (Phetchaburi station for MRT (subway) Blue line).
Passengers will have the opportunity of checking in their luggage at the City Air Terminal, before boarding the express train to Suvarnabhumi airport. The fare is Bt150 per trip.
The Commuter Citylink Train makes eight stops throughout the city, taking 30 minutes to travel the 28 kilometers (17 miles) to the airport and linking with both the *Subway and **Skytrain systems in Bangkok.
(at Makkasan (Phetchaburi station for MRT (subway) Blue line), and Phayathai Station for BTS Sukhumvit line (skytrain)). The fares are Bt15 - Bt45.
Thai Airways will cease to use Don Muang airport as a domestic airport - effective 29th March 2009
Don Muang airport opens as domestic airport - effective 25th March 2007 ( with only very limited domestic connecting flights operating from Suvarnabhumi Airport )
** The following information should be checked with your travel agent **
Effective 25th March 2007, the old Don Muang airport will, to a large extent, become the domestic airport for Bangkok. The airport code for Don Muang is DMK, and that for Suvarnabhumi will remain as BKK.
Unfortunately for the international traveller, Thai Airways elected to move a large part of its domestic services to the old Don Muang Airport (DMK).
The other two players now at Don Muang airport are Nok Airlines ( a subsidiary of Thai Airways), and the local no-frills airline One-Two-Go (the domestic subsidiary of Orient-Thai airlines).
Bangkok Airways and budget carrier Thai AirAsia have however continued to operate from the new Suvarnabhumi airport.
Thai airways will operate the following flights to/from Don Muang (DMK):
All flights between Bangkok and Khon Kean (DMK/KKC)
All flights between Bangkok and Ubon Ratchathani (DMK/UBP)
All flights between Bangkok and Udon Thani (DMK/UTH)
All flights between Bangkok and Phitsabulok (DMK/PHS)
All flights between Bangkok and Hat Yai (DMK/HDY)
Selected flights between Bangkok(DMK) and Chiang Mai, Bangkok(DMK) and Chiang Rai, Bangkok(DMK) and Krabi, Bangkok(DMK) and Phuket(HKT)
The minimum connecting time between BKK and DMK is 3 hours 30 minutes. Passengers must commute by themselves from BKK to DMK by taxi or public bus 554 (but note that
public buses do not really cater for too much luggage).
Neither the Airport Authorities, nor Thai Airways, provide a bus service between the two airports.
Passengers must clear passport control (and collect their luggage) at BKK.
In addition, selected domestic flights will also operate between Suvarnabhumi Bangkok (BKK) and Chiang Mai, Suvarnabhumi Bangkok (BKK) and Chiang Rai, Bangkok (BKK) and Krabi, Suvarnabhumi Bangkok (BKK) and Phuket (HKT)
New Bangkok Airport - Suvarnabhumi - opened 28th September 2006
Suvarnabhumi Airport is the new international (and very limited domestic) airport serving Bangkok, Thailand.
The airport is located 25 kilometers east of Bangkok, in Racha Thewa in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan Province.
The name Suvarnabhumi (pronounced su-wan-na-poom) means "the golden land", specifically referring to the continental Indochina.
The 324 sq km plot of land occupied by the airport was originally purchased in 1973 but, due to a variety of economic and political reasons, the project was continually delayed.
Recent former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is often accredited with insisting on the final completion and opening of the airport. The project was a personal crusade for Thaksin Shinawatra, who once camped out on the building site to show his support.
The construction of the City Airport Terminal in Makkasan and a 28.6 km high-speed rail link to the new airport started in July 2005 and are planned for completion in November 2007 (but more likely sometime in 2009).
This airport express train service (informally known as the Pink Line) will connect with the BTS Sukhumvit Line and MRT Blue Line at Phaya Thai and Phetchaburi stations respectively, offering airport-bound passengers a fast 15-minute limited stop journey from the city.
Internally the airport itself is a concrete and steel affair, and if you enjoy a lot of walking, this is the airport for you. As indicated below, the airport is a long way from town - the proposed Pink Line train service will help tremendously in this respect.
It is a 60 minute drive (at least) to the airport from central Bangkok. Also note that after clearing immigration (20 minutes), it can take 15 minutes to the furthest domestic gate and 30 minutes to the furthest international gate. Allow plenty of time (minimum 3 hours) when departing your hotel in central Bangkok.
This is not an airport for which you can cut your timing a bit fine. The check-in desks also close early (due to the time required to clear immigration and walk to the gates).
However, if you are fortunate enough to stay at either the Shangri-La or The Peninsula hotels, then the fastest way to the airport is by helicopter from their own helipad. It has been reported that this service (especially from the Shangri-La hotel) is available to anyone who
has US$ 200 to spend.
Airport Layout Although maybe initially confusing, and not withstanding the signs, notice the symmetric layout. Concourses A,B,C and E,F,G are connected by the long concourse D. Essentially, in one dimension, in front of concourse D are all the check-in desks and immigration.
There are two 'Thai houses' on the top (4th) floor at the junctions of A,B,C and E,F,G concourses. Having cleared immigration, or on transfer/arrival, these two Thai houses are good meeting points and a place to get your bearings. There are two transfer desks (on the 2nd floor) directly below the two Thai houses. The transfer desks only serve specific airlines. If you are at the wrong transfer desk, then you have a long walk down concourse D to the
other transfer desk. At the Thai houses, you can easily descend to level 3 (departures) and level 2 (arrivals/transfer desks/tiny smoking rooms/toilets).
The Public Transportation Centre is a 28-rai (42,000 sqm) space located near the Bangkok Catering Company building about 5 minutes (4 km) drive from the passenger terminal. It is dedicated to transportation via taxi, limousine, rented cars and buses. One can get to the Public Transportation Centre from the terminals via a shuttle bus at Level 2.
However public taxis are now allowed to pick up at the outer curb on Level 1.
Public Bus
Public buses run to and from several city destinations including Min-buri, Happy Land, Victory Monument, Bang Na, Samut Prakarn and Don Muang.
Catch the public buses at the Airport Public Transportation Centre.
Public Bus Service to Bangkok and area
Bus Number 549 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Minburi
Bus Number 550 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Happy Land
Bus Number 551 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Victory Monument BTS station (via Expressway)
Bus Number 552 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Khlong Toei via Bang Na (On Nut BTS station)
Bus Number 553 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Samut Prakan
Bus Number 554 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Don Muang Airport (via Expressway)
Bus Number 555 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Rangsit via Don Muang and Central Plaza Lad Phrao (via Expressway)
Bus Number 556 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Southern Bus terminal via Democracy Monument and Khaosan Rd. (via Expressway)
Bus Number 557 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Wong Wian Yai
Bus Number 558 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Central Plaza Rama II
Bus Number 559 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Future Park Rangsit via Dream World (via Expressway)
Public Bus Service to other provinces
Bus Number 389 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Pattaya
Bus Number 390 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - Talad Rong Kluea
Bus Number 825 - Suvarnabhumi Airport - NongKha
Airport Express Buses
Four dedicated express buses operate from (supposedly) 5.00am to midnight, at a fixed rate of 150 baht per person.
Each of the AE services operate at approx. 40 minute intervals. However, bus AE1 does appear to be the most regular.
Bus AE4 is rather limited and only operates about every one hour from approx. 07.30am to approx. 5.45pm
It is unclear if bus 'AE3 special' is still operational.
Catch these buses at Level 1 (exit 8) of the Terminal.
You will be asked to specify your destination drop-off point to the driver/assistant staff. Some drop-off points will be skipped (to the extent that sometimes a very very slightly different route
will occur), if there are no passengers for a particular drop-off point. The buses do not seem to rest at the very final destination; instead they will swing straight back towards the airport.
Accordingly be careful about your pick-up point from Bangkok back to the airport, although in actual fact the return buses to the airport are usually almost empty.
For the return journey, bus AE1 always seems to honour the hospital in Silom road, Sala Daeng BTS (under the iron bridge - make sure you are on the correct side of the street), and especially
Central World. It is assumed that bus AE3 also always honours Central World. The ticket collector/inspector seems to be based at Central World for these two routes (and for AE1, at least, you will pay him
the ticket money for the return journey when the bus reaches Central World).
A typical journey time is 1 hour 20 minutes by AE bus.
Additional details can be found at www.bangkokairportonline.com
AE 1 to Silom - via Expressway. ( Bangna-Trad - Chaloem Mahanakhon Express Road - Phetburi - Ratchadamri - Rama IV - Surawong - Central World - Sala Daeng BTS - Silom Road )
AE 2 to Khaosan Road - via Expressway. ( Bangna-Trad - Chaloem Mahanakhon Express Road - Phetburi - Lan Luang - Ratchadamnoen Klang - Ratchadamnoen Nai - Na Phra Lan - Na Phra That - Rachini - Phra Athit - Phra Sumen - Chakkraphong - Khao San - Bang Lamphu )
AE 3 to On Nut BTS, Sukhumvit, Nana, Pratunam, Central World Plaza and Ploenchit. ( Bangna-Trad - Sukhumwit - Bangna - Phra Kanong - Ekkamai - Asok - Phloen Chit - Wireless - Rama IV - Ratchadamri - Phetburi - Wireless - Phloen Chit ) AE 3 special ( Bangna-Trad - Sukhumwit - Bangna - Phra Kanong - Ekkamai - Asok - Phloen Chit - Ratchadamri - Phetburi - Sukhumwit 3 (Nana Nua) )
AE 4 to Hualamphong train station - via Expressway. ( Bangna-Trad - Chaloem Mahanakhon Express Road - Srirat Express - Phahon Yothin - Victory Monument - Phya Thai - Rama IV - Hua Lamphong Railway Station )
Suvarnabhumi by train
Until the new train airport link is completed in 2009, there is a cheap alternative at approx. 50 baht.
The nearest railway station to the airport is at Hua Takhe which on the Eastern railway line network. There is an air-conditioned bus No 517 from the airport transportation centre to Hua Takhe railway station.
The bus journey time is 15 minutes. The main problem however is that this bus service is reported to run every two hours now, due to poor publicity and lack of use - you may have to use a 80 baht taxi for this small sector.
A suburban commuter train, operated by the State Railway of Thailand, runs from Bangkok Hua Lamphong station to Hua Takhe - journey time is about one hour. Stops include Don Muang, Phaya Thai (BTS connection) and Asoke (MRT Phetchaburi connection).
The railway timetable is at www.railway.co.th/timetable/N_Eg.html (Note that the full english version seems incomplete and out of date)
Hotels The official hotel of Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi International Airport is the four star Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel, which opened on 1st September 2006. The Novotel have a courtesy bus every ten minutes (24 hrs per day) from Level 2 (arrivals level) at exit 4 gate.
A footbridge connecting the hotel to the airport is not yet operational. However it is still possible to walk, in a few minutes, from the rear of the hotel to the airport ( level 1 ) via an underground car park.
There is also a very comfortable two star budget hotel, Queen's Garden Resort, (US$ 30 per night), within five minutes ( 3 km ) of the airport.
All other hotels are at least a 15 to 20 minute drive from the new airport.
To Thai Muang from ...
Ko Phuket
The nearest airport to Thai Muang district is Phuket International Airport, situated in the north west of the Island of Phuket.
The distance from the airport to Thai Muang town is about 55km.
Thai Airways International operates several direct flights each day throughout the year between Bangkok and Phuket.
Flying time is one hour and twenty minutes. International travellers arriving in Bangkok, in transit, on Thai Airways flights may choose Phuket rather
than Bangkok for Passport and Customs formalities.
There are a couple of well known international car rental offices in the Phuket airport complex. Immediately opposite the exit perimeter gate, but set back, are three or four additional car rental offices some of which are friendly
local (and quite often more economical) operations. Jeeps are quite popular. In addition there is a range of saloon cars and the occasional 4WD.
Taxis are widely available.
Travelling to Thai Muang by road from Phuket, take route 402 heading north and proceed over the Sarasin land bridge into Phang-Nga province. Some 12km after the bridge at the village of Khok Kloi connect with route 4,
heading north again, towards Takua Pa and Ranong (the easterly direction of route 4 goes to Phang-Nga town).
There is a regular bus service to Phang-Nga from Phuket Town bus terminus (just off Phang-Nga Road). Rather than proceeding all the way to Phang-Nga town, ask to be set down at Khok Kloi, and then catch a bus heading north for
Takua Pa or Ranong.
Allow upto 70 minutes by car, and one and a half hours by bus.
Ko Samui / Surat Thani
There are one or two daily return flights from Ko Samui to Ko Phuket, operated by budget carrier Bangkok Airways.
Then proceed by road from Phuket to Thai Muang.
By road from Surat Thani, take route 401 heading west to Takua Pa which is a distance of 150 km. The route takes you past the spectacular Khao Sok National Park and Dam. At Takua Pa follow the coast due south on route 4, past
Bang Sak and Khao Lak to Thai Muang.
Bangkok
Thai Airways operates several flights per day from Bangkok to Phuket.
Budget carriers Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, and One-to-Go also operate daily flights
each, between Bangkok and Phuket. Then proceed overland from Phuket.
An interesting alternative would be to catch a train from Bangkok to Surat Thani. There is a good regular service from Hualomphong Station in Bangkok. There are various classes of seating available (price range approximately 200 baht to 1100 baht) but First class or 2nd class with air-con is recommended.
Tickets may be purchased in advance. The journey time can take 12 hours.
An overnight sleeper service is also available, arriving in the early morning at Surat Thani.
For information contact the State Railway of Thailand in Bangkok:-
Proceed overland from Surat Thani. Alternatively, there are flights from Surat Thani to Phuket (Tel: Air Andaman in Phuket +66 76 351374-5); then proceed the much shorter distance by road from Phuket.
Travelling by road from Bangkok, take Highway 4 (or Route 35 and then pick up Highway 4 north of Phetchaburi) passing through Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Ranong on the
west coast of peninsula Thailand, and on down to Takua Pa, still on Route 4. Thai Muang is a further 30 kms. The road system is good and well sign-posted throughout. Journey time is roughly 13 hours for the 850km distance.
There is a good regular daily inter-provincial bus service from Bangkok (southern bus terminal) to Phang-Nga (and Phuket). The VIP air-conditioned buses, or the Government 1st class air-con bus, are recommended. For example the VIP24 buses offer more leg room, having only 24 seats instead of the usual 36; they also have a TV and a toilet; they make one stop at a restaurant. VIP buses usually only leave early evening
(approx 6pm) in both directions. Allow thirteen hours travel to Phang-Nga. The ordinary buses offer less comfort, although they do travel during daylight
hours, usually departing early morning, but they can add upto two hours to the journey time.
Krabi
The two hour journey from Krabi to Khao Lak by road takes you entirely along route 4, through Phang-Nga town. At the village of Khok Kloi, route 4 heads north in the direction of Takua Pa and Ranong, following the peninsula western coast.
By bus, take the Phuket bus and change at Khok Kloi for a Takua Pa or Ranong bound bus.
VIP Helicopter Service operated by Advance Aviation
Advance Aviation opened a helipad in Phuket in January 2009 to cater for high-end tourists and business travellers. The operation serves clients in Phuket and surrounding provinces.
The helipad, hanger and offices are located at Sakoo, Phuket on the old airport road about 2 km south of Phuket International airport.
Flights only operate in daylight hours. A thirty minute trip typically costs around US$ 2,250.
They use a EC130 model helicopter from Eurocopter - in VIP configuration with six passenger seats. This model is the quietest in its size class.
The Eurocopter EC 130 is a single-engine, helicopter manufactured by the Eurocopter Group. Worldwide it is used amongst police and ambulance services, and for executive transport.
It is equipped with the new starflex main Rotor for added strength and weight reduction.
The EC130 features an enclosed tail fan rather than the traditional tail rotor. This has the advantage of reducing outside noise by 50% compared to a tail rotor.
The max speed is 287 km/hr with a range of 610 km.
Advance Aviation is one of three helicopter operators in Thailand, and is the only one that specifically caters for the VIP market.
Thailand's only seaplane shuttle service opens on 1st February 2007. It is operated by Destination Air Shuttle, which, for convenience for connecting flights, has its HQ at Phuket International airport.
It will carry passengers from locations along Andaman coastal areas from Ranong, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, Ko Lanta, Khao Lak and Trang. Note that some routes are seasonal (high season only).
Travelling about from Thai Muang
Buses ply the highway route 4 about every hour or so, in both directions - north and south - from approx 6.00am to 7.00 pm.
(Conversely, the very long distance buses in Thailand typically travel through the night, rather than daytime).
Buses stop at all stops by request - just flag them down.
If you are out in the street rather than the bus terminus, note that the (blue) air-conditioned buses stop only if they still have any free seats or are pre-booked.
It is advisable to book in advance.
Motorbikes and cars can be hired for getting around. The price usually drops, the longer the hire period.
Try to ensure that valid tax and insurance (remember the
Thai year (eg 2009 AD is 2552 BE)) are displayed in the windscreen (the documents may be slightly folded either by accident or design). If you ever get stopped by the police and the documents are out of date, it may be better, to save time, to just pay the small on-the-spot fine (you will get a receipt but you can keep on driving for about seven days unchallenged) - otherwise the police will keep your license document
(whichever one you prefer to give them) until the fine is paid (at the nearest police station to the point of stoppage - wherever that may be).
In case of an accident, the law is biased towards Thais who hold an official Thai driving license. This is just the way it is - it is presumed that a local Thai is more familiar with the rules of the road than a visitor.
Assuming the accident is not too serious, and despite the insurance document, you may sometimes have to consider paying a relatively small contribution towards damage and hospital expenses, but let the hotel negotiate on your behalf perhaps, to prevent any unreasonable claims.
Alternatively, the most conveniant method of travelling around is by taxi trucks or Songtaews which are available for trip hire
at all towns, and they can be hired for the entire day if needbe.
The songthaew, which literally means, "two rows" is essentially a converted pickup truck and is named after the two parallel benches in the rear. The songthaew is used as a taxi or schoolbus.
Local and inter-provincial buses are also an option for longer journeys; they operate over a wide network to almost any conceivable destination.
And of course, for the short seafaring trips, such as to neighbouring beaches, small islands and the Coral Reef just off the coast, or boat trips up the scenic Khlong Thap Liang estuary, long-tail boats can be arranged by the resort hotels and local agents.
Thai Muang Phang Nga province Southern Thailand
Email: info@thaimuang.com ThaiMuang Thailand
