Bangkok has two airports, and the cheap way in from one is not the cheap way in from the other. Suvarnabhumi has a dedicated airport train. Don Mueang has a commuter line most arrivals walk straight past. Both have a taxi rank that works if you know what the meter should do, and a crowd of men in arrivals hoping you do not.
The short answer
From Suvarnabhumi, take the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai for 45 baht if you are travelling light and it is before midnight. Otherwise use the metered taxi from the official rank downstairs, roughly 365 baht to Sukhumvit including surcharge and tolls. From Don Mueang, take the SRT Red Line to Krung Thep Aphiwat for 33 baht, or the A1 bus to Mo Chit for 30 baht. A Don Mueang taxi costs the same as a Suvarnabhumi one, because the tollway is expensive.
| Route | Fare | Door to door | Operating hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suvarnabhumi, Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai | 45 THB | 45 to 60 min incl. onward BTS | 05:30 to 24:00 |
| Suvarnabhumi, metered public taxi to Sukhumvit | about 365 THB all in | 40 to 70 min | 24 hours |
| Suvarnabhumi, Grab or Bolt | 400 to 600 THB, tolls on top | 40 to 70 min | 24 hours |
| Suvarnabhumi, S1 bus to Khao San | 60 THB | 80 to 100 min | 06:00 to 20:00 |
| Don Mueang, SRT Red Line to Krung Thep Aphiwat | 33 THB | 40 to 55 min incl. onward MRT | 05:00 to 24:00 |
| Don Mueang, A1 bus to Mo Chit | 30 THB | 30 to 60 min | 05:45 to 24:00 |
| Don Mueang, metered taxi to Sukhumvit | about 360 THB all in | 30 to 70 min | 24 hours |
What does the taxi meter actually add up to?
Airports of Thailand publishes the meter bands, so the fare is arithmetic rather than opinion. The flag falls at 35 baht for the first kilometre, then 6.50 baht per kilometre to 10 km, 7 baht from 10 to 20 km, and 8 baht from 20 to 40 km, plus 3 baht per minute below 6 km/h.
Suvarnabhumi to Asok is about 30 km by expressway. That is 35 baht, plus 58.50 for kilometres 1 to 10, plus 70 for kilometres 10 to 20, plus 80 for kilometres 20 to 30, so the meter reads about 243 baht. Add the 50 baht airport surcharge the Ministry of Transport allows and about 70 baht of tolls at two gates, and you pay roughly 365 baht. Fifteen minutes of stationary traffic adds 45 more.
Don Mueang to Asok is about 27 km, so the meter reads nearer 220 baht. The saving dies at the toll booth. The Don Mueang Tollway operator posts 130 baht for a four wheel vehicle over the full route, fixed until December 2029, with the Din Daeng to Don Mueang section reported at 90 baht. Add the 50 baht surcharge and you are back at about 360 baht. Tolls are yours to pay in cash at the booth, so keep small notes reachable.
Is the Airport Rail Link worth it from Suvarnabhumi?
Yes, if your hotel is near a BTS or MRT station and you can manage your own bags. The station sits on basement level B, below the taxi and bus decks. Trains run every 10 to 15 minutes and reach Phaya Thai in under 30 minutes, which no road route can promise at 6pm.
Fares step up 5 baht per station, from 15 baht for one stop to 45 baht through to Phaya Thai. Makkasan is 35 baht and joins Phetchaburi on the MRT Blue Line by a covered walkway of 7 to 10 minutes. Phaya Thai joins the BTS Sukhumvit Line in under two minutes. Take Makkasan for Silom and the river, Phaya Thai for Sukhumvit and Siam.
The train stops at midnight and restarts at 05:30. In that window the taxi rank is not optional.
Why do so few people use the Don Mueang train?
Because nothing points you at it. You leave the terminal, turn left, walk to the far end of Terminal 2 and follow a covered walkway. No one directs you there.
It is worth the walk. The fare to Krung Thep Aphiwat, the vast new central station, is 33 baht for about 23 minutes. Krung Thep Aphiwat sits on the MRT Blue Line, which puts Silom, Sukhumvit and the old city one change away. Red Line fares run 12 to 42 baht, first train 05:00, last near midnight.
The A1 bus to Mo Chit is the alternative at 30 baht, every 15 minutes from 05:45 to midnight via the tollway, and Mo Chit is a BTS and MRT interchange. A2 runs to Victory Monument for the same fare. A3 to Lumpini Park and A4 to Sanam Luang cost 50 baht every 30 minutes, better if you are near Silom or the old city.
What if you land at 2am?
Both trains are shut and most buses have stopped. The metered rank runs 24 hours at both airports and it is the right answer. Traffic is negligible at that hour, so the meter runs clean and Suvarnabhumi to Sukhumvit takes about 35 minutes.
Grab and Bolt run overnight, with designated pick-up points at both airports. At Suvarnabhumi it is Level 1, Gate 4. Night app prices beat the meter on convenience only, since demand pricing applies and driver supply is thin. With a family and four suitcases, book a hotel car and stop optimising.
Bags, children and the adjustments nobody prices
- Suvarnabhumi taxis charge 20 baht per item for luggage over 26 inches, and the rank has separate lanes for small parties and for large luggage.
- A standard Bangkok taxi is a Toyota Corolla. Two adults with two large cases will not fit. Use the big taxi lane rather than argue at the bay.
- Not every train interchange is step free, and Red Line ticket machines take cash only.
- Child seats do not exist in Bangkok taxis at any price. Grab offers a family option with a seat, book it before you land.
- The A1 to A4 buses have luggage space and the S1 has some. Ordinary city buses have none.
The mistakes that cost money
The 20 baht flat fare does not apply to you. Thailand capped fares at 20 baht per trip across the Bangkok electric rail network, the Airport Rail Link and Red Line included, and the headline travelled further than the small print. The scheme needs a 13 digit Thai national ID registered through a government app. Foreign visitors and foreign residents pay the published fare, so budget 45 baht from Suvarnabhumi.
The men asking “taxi?” in arrivals are not the taxi rank. The official rank at Suvarnabhumi is on Level 1 between Gate 4 and Gate 7, where a touchscreen prints a ticket carrying your bay number and the driver plate. Anyone soliciting upstairs is quoting a flat fare, usually double, and at Don Mueang it happens near exits 3 and 4.
If a driver at the rank will not start the meter, take the printed ticket back to the desk and ask for another car. You hold the plate and licence number on paper, which is the point of the ticket system.
Grab shows a fare that excludes tolls. You pay those in cash at the end, so a 480 baht quote is a 550 baht journey.
The free inter-airport shuttle is for connecting passengers only. It needs a passport and a ticket showing departure from the other airport within 24 hours, and runs roughly hourly from 05:00 to midnight. On separate tickets you are not eligible, and the 554 bus does the run for 35 baht.
Frequently asked questions
Which Bangkok airport am I landing at?
Long haul and full service flights use Suvarnabhumi, coded BKK. Low cost carriers such as Thai AirAsia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air mostly use Don Mueang, coded DMK. Check the code on your boarding pass. The airports are 35 km apart.
Is Grab cheaper than a taxi from the airport?
Usually not. The metered taxi lands near 365 baht including surcharge and tolls, while Grab quotes commonly run 400 to 600 baht before tolls. Grab buys certainty, not savings. Bolt and inDrive often quote lower for the same trip, so check more than one app.
How long does Suvarnabhumi to central Bangkok really take?
By train, 30 minutes to Phaya Thai plus 10 to 20 minutes onward, so budget an hour. By road, 40 minutes at 6am and up to 90 minutes between 4pm and 7pm on a weekday.
Can I use a contactless card on the trains?
On the Airport Rail Link, yes, contactless bank cards work at the gates alongside tokens. Red Line ticket machines take cash. A 40 baht daily cap applies to combined Red and Purple Line travel paid by EMV contactless card, valid until 30 November 2026, which is worth nothing on a single airport run.
Should I book an airport transfer before I fly?
Only for a late arrival with children, or more luggage than a taxi boot holds. The AOT limousine counters on Level 2 at Suvarnabhumi are official and carry no queue, but AOT publishes no fare table and operator quotes sit in four figures. For a daytime arrival, prebooking buys nothing the rank downstairs does not.
Which option wins depends on where you are heading. Our guide to where to stay in Bangkok sorts the areas by transit access, and things to do in Bangkok covers what to book ahead.
Sources: Suvarnabhumi Airport public taxi service, Suvarnabhumi taxi meter rates, Suvarnabhumi BMTA bus routes, Suvarnabhumi Grab pick-up points, Don Mueang Airport BMTA bus routes, SRT Electrified Train Red Line fares and timetable, Don Muang Tollway toll rates, Bangkok Post on the 20 baht fare cap, Royal Thai Government on the free inter-airport shuttle.
Researched from primary sources and checked August 2026. General information, not advice.
