I have visited Bangkok many times, going through the old and new airports. The last visit was in December, 2007. The waiting time to clear immigration has always been very long for foreigners, and this has not changed in my opinion. Two noticeable exceptions:
1. It now can take much longer to walk from your arrival gate to the immigration area. On my last arrival, it took me about 10 minutes, despite walking quickly on the moving walkways.
2. If one immigration area gets full, passengers will be redirected to another immigration area. This means more walking, but it will definitely cut down on the waiting time.
To conclude, I have no complaint about the waiting time to clear immigration because it hasn't gone worse in my opinion. I have always found the immigration officials to be very polite and fast. If I have a beef, it would be that some passengers do not have their documents ready for inspection.
Reply to this I'm worried now, I'm going to be travelling alone for the first time and will be flying into Bangkok, Delhi and Kathmandu airports. Are they really this bad? I am mostly concerned about my pack getting lost!
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Reply to this There is no need to be worried, after all, you should see how lousy the service is in many European airports when the flights clog up a bit. 😉
Capital airports like the ones you mention will have plenty of information desks and staffers are well used to dealing with foreigners. I think most posters in this thread would agree that the 'problems' are more of inconveniences rather than issues, and there is absolutely no need to let this stack on top of your concerns. Your real adventure begins once you are outside the main gates and the free-for-all starts about who is going to drive you into town. 😊
For a smoother experience, consider the following:
*Pad your itinerary to allow for delays, mishaps, traffic jams, etc. For international flights, arriving less than 2 hours before take-off is not recommended.
*Mark all your check-in luggage with nametags
*Don't overpack your cabin bag, follow the airline rules in regard to carry-on weight limits.
*Google the airports to find their homepages, you can often get useful facts such as bus/train/taxi options and if departure tax is to be paid.
Reply to this Thanks for the airport advice, I'll definitely be taking it...
Yer, getting outside and getting the taxi is my next main concern lol. I have been trying to book into a hostel in Delhi who does airport pickups but reviews have said that these too are very unreliable. So I'll def be googling the airports like you said too.
It's going to be an eye-opening experience to say the least.
xxx
Reply to this THERE HAVE BEEN WARNINGS AND REPORTS THAT MAFIA TYPE GANGS HAVE INFILTRATED THE MAIN BANGKOK AIRPORT ADN ACCUSING PASSENGERS OF STEALING FROM DUTY FREE SHOPS. MANY HAVE BEEN BLACKMAILED.
PLEASE CHECK YUOR COUNTRY'S EMBASSY WARNING WEBSITES.
SO FAR DENMARK, IRELAND, UK etc websites have warnings as their citizens were cheated of thousands of dollars by corrupt criminal gangs. BE WARNED.
Reply to this "THERE HAVE BEEN WARNINGS AND REPORTS THAT MAFIA TYPE GANGS HAVE INFILTRATED THE MAIN BANGKOK AIRPORT ADN ACCUSING PASSENGERS OF STEALING FROM DUTY FREE SHOPS. MANY HAVE BEEN BLACKMAILED.
PLEASE CHECK YUOR COUNTRY'S EMBASSY WARNING WEBSITES.
SO FAR DENMARK, IRELAND, UK etc websites have warnings as their citizens were cheated of thousands of dollars by corrupt criminal gangs. BE WARNED."
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Old news, scams come and go. If you are worried about being accused of pilfering something from one of the King Power Stores then just avoid them and not stop in! Between old Don Muang Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport I can't ever remember stopping in one of those places in over 12 years! Other than a cheap snack I never buy anything in any airports!
Millions and millions of tourists visit Thailand, most of them pass through Bangkok, very few are scammed! When you view the security tapes of the airport scam involving the couple stealing stuff from the store - the tapes reveal that they could have actually done the crime! Their actions immediately after being found out were suspect too! They got to the press first! I guess if you want to steal something from an airport do it in a country that has liberal court systems and prison systems that coddle inmates.
Lots of people caught in Thailand with drugs in their bags often claim they were set up! You can read their sob stories in their hometown newspapers. If they were set up it was by friends, lovers or family members! Some women in Thai prisons now are there because they were carrying drugs for their boyfriends. The press takes their side too and blames the police! If you don't want to do the time in Thailand (or pay the fine) don't do the crime!
Highest authority in the Thai government is taking a personal interest in stopping scams because it hurts tourism! Link:
Just another opinion.
Reply to this I came through "Swampy" yesterday and was mighty surprised to find the official taxi queue completely empty, and there were just a handful of taxis at hand. I know there's been crackdowns on illegal taxis but this was the official channel, weird. Anyway, I got the peculiar feeling the driver was sizing me up before taking me downtown. One strange occurrence was he insisted that I sign the AOT receipt and hand it back to him so that he could return for new pick ups at the airport. I've never had that happen to me before and I started to wonder if he was going to play some trick on me but as it happened he found a shortcut into town with very little traffic.
Hal, do you know if the rules have changed recently as far as the taxi service to the airport is concerned? I can't see any good reason as to why I should hand the receipt to the driver.
Reply to this "Hal, do you know if the rules have changed recently as far as the taxi service to the airport is concerned? I can't see any good reason as to why I should hand the receipt to the driver."
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The last time I used a taxi from the airport to the Sukhumvit area was in July. I kept the receipt. They do ask sometimes but I tell them I need it for my business. (Haven't worked in years, I just want to keep the slip.) The receipt identifies the taxi by number and has information on how and where to complain to if you have a problem. Businessmen should keep the receipt to get reimbursed for the taxi ride.
Once during the last year or so I noticed that the taxi driver had a shirt in front of the taxi meter display. When I had him remove the shirt the meter was set at 85 baht instead of 35 baht. I told him to change it, he countered with that he had ALREADY put the surcharge in and that I wouldn't have to pay it at the hotel. I told him FOR SURE I wasn't going to pay again at the hotel! It worked out out okay. But, how many new tourists to BKK would not think to check the meter and pay the extra surcharge (probably over tip the driver too!)
If someone hasn't flown for a year the public taxi has a new sign and color. Before it was kind of dirty grey looking. Now the desk has a blue sign above the 2 clerks that says Airport Taxi Center. A yellow sign with black writing says TAXI-METER ONLY PAY BY METER is attached to the desk. Bottom of the yellow sign has a couple lines framed in red that says SURCHARGE 50 BAHT PASSENGER TO PAY FOR TOLL WAY AND MOTOR WAY FEE.
There are two meter taxi sign up desks, by the way, when too many flights land at the same time they open a second meter taxi desk. There has been times that when my flight lands at midnight one desk (closest to immigration) had a long line and the second sign up desk was practically empty. Same style signs on the second desk.
Good luck.
Reply to this BEST IDEA IS TO TAKE THE AIRPORT BUS AND AVOID THE unlicensed GUYS IN SUIT JACKETS TRYING TO GET YOU BEFORE YOU TAKE THE AIRPORT BUS.
I was aproached as soon as I came out of arrivals. I just don't respond, walk on and stick to what i want to do therefore avoid the chance of being cheated, if it happens.
The airport express bus doesn't always drop you off exactly at your destination though unless it's at one of the following routes or hotels: check this website here BEFORE you book a hotel: (correct for 2009)
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/55
Reply to this Yes, sorry, there are NO airport express buses after 12 midnight!
So check and re-arrange your flight arrivALs carefully guys!!
Reply to this It is alright too if you take a regular taxi outside the airport and ask the driver to switch on the meter. It is just around 5 Euros to get to the Khao San Road from this airport. The important part is to ask the driver to switch on the meter, otherwise they will charge you what they call a fixed price which is a bit like a scam in my opinion.
Reply to this An international news report recently said that a number of European tourists British, Danish and Irish in particular reported they were falsely accused of shoplifting at Suvarnabhumi international airport and some recounted being taken to seedy motels where they were shaken down for thousands of dollars by a shady middleman.
Reply to this Reference the comment about the taxi meter showing 85 baht at the airport instead of 35. It clearly states when you queue at the taxi booth that there is a 50 baht surcharge for taxis from the airport. I have used these taxis at least half a dozen times this year and the meter has always started on 35 baht. This is actually a bit confusing and it would be better if the meter showed 85 baht because then you know exactly how much to pay. I'm sure that there must have been some arguments when passengers pay the amount on the meter only for the driver to say that another 50 baht is due. I think it's open to confusion both ways but normally you would expect any surcharge to be shown on the meter when you start.
As far as the queues at immigration go then there is a lot of luck in what time you arrive as to how big it is. I've seen both extremes this year from no one waiting to the queue being at the back of the hall. It is definitely worth walking down to the next immigration area if the first one that you get to is full. I did this once and saved myself at least 30 minutes of waiting. And for the posh travellers there is an express/vip area in the middle of the others.
Reply to this I don't have a problem paying the 50 baht surcharge but I only want to pay it once! I think real late at night (I arrive around midnight on some of my flights) that paying the surcharge is worth the added bit of safety. At the old Don Muang airport I used to catch the taxi dropping off passengers at departures. The taxi would immediately enter the expressway where there were thousands of cars going by and good lighting, businesses close by the highway and only a short ride to my destination. But from Suvarnabhumi late at night, where my ride will be down a long highway alone with few places open I will stick with paying the 50 baht surcharge. I am afraid that if some driver would try to rob me that I would just kill the guy and then have to go to prison for it; for me it is better to avoid being in that situation!
My preference is the Airport Express bus but they would have to extend the run times to meet my late flights. The next time I fly into Suvarnabhumi will be next week with a daytime fight on Philippine Airlines and I will use a bus.
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