If you’re planning your Bangkok trip, and you’re not sure how you’ll get from BKK or DMK airport to Bangkok city center, then you’ll find this post very useful.
I also wrote a post about the best things to do in Bangkok with an itinerary, so make sure to check it out!
HOW TO GET FROM BANGKOK AIRPORT TO THE CITY CENTER
If you’re arriving from Suvarnabhumi airport, then you have the following options:
GET A TAXI
The most convenient way to get to Bangkok city is definitely getting a meter taxi, especially if you’re traveling with heavy luggage. Go down to level 4, and get in the queue for a taxi. All taxis there are certified by the airport, BUT you need to be super careful as I personally got scammed not once but twice!
Once you get in the queue and it’s your turn, you will get a receipt; KEEP THIS ONE WITH YOU! The driver will try to take it and keep it with them, but it has all of their information should you decide to complain if they do anything wrong.
To get to the city center of Bangkok from the airport by taxi, it will cost you around 250-300 baht. There is a 50 baht airport surcharge and you will need to pay any tolls (you have the option to say no to the tolls, but with Bangkok’s traffic it will take you ages to get to your hotel so I strongly recommend that you go with the tolls).
Now listen to me carefully: BEFORE getting in the taxi, double check with the driver that they’re happy to go with the meter! If you don’t ask, they WILL give you some price list that they have in the car with some fake massive prices and try to charge you 600-800 baht.
Also, if they’re happy to go with the meter but then you notice mad numbers on the meter. Tell them that their meter is not working correctly and you won’t pay more than let’s say 300 baht. This happened to me on my last trip earlier this year, and I told the driver that I will call the police and eventually after arguing she asked me how much I was happy to pay, I gave her 250 baht and got out of the taxi.
GET ON THE BUS
There’s an official bus that goes from the airport to Khao San Road, Wat Chanasongkram and Sanam Luang. So if you’re staying somewhere close to these areas, then you can take this bus and take your luggage with you on board. The fare is 60 baht per person.
AIRPORT RAIL LINK
This is the cheapest and the most convenient way to get to the city center. It operates from 6AM till midnight runs every 15 minutes and takes 27 minutes to get to the city center. It’s connected with the MRT (Makkasan Station), and the BTS (Phaya Thai Station).
However, if you’re traveling with heavy luggage then I wouldn’t recommend getting the train.
The ticket will cost 15-45 baht depending on where you’ll be getting off at. We usually took the train till Phaya Thai and paid 45 baht.
For more information, visit the Bangkok airport website.
HOW TO TRAVEL BETWEEN SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT AND DON MUANG AIRPORT FOR FREE?
If you have a connection in Bangkok and need to get from one airport to another, there’s a free shuttle bus that runs between BKK and DMK. We have used it and it’s very convenient and reliable.
If you’re arriving from BKK and need to get to DMK airport, once you get out, go to door 3 and you’ll find a counter with a member of staff that will ask to check your boarding passes.
If you’re traveling from DMK to BKK, the bus leaves from just outside of the terminal. You will also see a counter with a member of staff that will ask to check your boarding passes. The shuttle operates from 5AM until midnight, and the journey takes 50 minutes with no stops but might take a bit longer during heavy rain or bad traffic.
If you have a flight to catch and you’re in a rush, then I recommend that you take a taxi to make sure that you don’t miss your flight.
Below is a timetable of the shuttle bus between DMK and BKK.
If you have other ideas on how to get from either BKK or DMK to the city center or the other way around, please keep us updated and leave a comment on this post so that we can update our list!