Taxi metre

[DeHaro-old]

When I travel from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya I usually queue up at the taxi metre stand, they write down a flatrate on a piece of paper (around 1400 baht excl. highway) , I show it to the driver and we go.

Last time the driver insisted to switch on the metre, "new law" !!!

So I ended up paying 2100 baht to Pattaya plus highway. Is that correct ? And how can I get a flatrate there ? Asking at any counter they always want to charge 2500 baht up. And as soon as anyone around discoveres that you are looking for transportation, they come running and chatting to you like flies, such a pain in the neck.

Sorry for this old and boring topic, but I would like to know your experience. And please...I don┬┤t want to take the bus.

Thank you
Cheers

Those figures make Image look good

[cdnmatt]

Yep, you got ripped.

Something similar happened to me last time as well. One of those guys came running up to me, asking where I was going. Then he pulled out a price card, and said 2500 to Pattaya. I just laughed at him, and walked away. He came running up and said, "Ok, ok, how much you pay?". I said 1200, he said 1500 (incl. tolls), and I said, "ok, let's go!".

From now on though, I'm just going to book a taxi in advance from one of the various companies out there.

http://www.imagelimo.com/

http://mrdreamtransport.page.tl/Home.htm (1100 baht)

http://www.bangkok-airport-transfer.com/ (1300 baht)

And there's lots of other ones. This way when I walk out of the gate, there's a guy holding a sign with my name, and I don't have to worry about getting rushed by everyone else. :)

Ask the driver to drop you off at the corner of Beach Road and Soi 9

[mahjongguy]

Seriously, take the new bus to Jomtien.

It takes you non-stop to the Food Mart / Fair Properties parking lot across from Pan Pan for 124 baht. Much better than getting dropped off in North Pattaya or Chaiyapruk Road. A songteow comes by every minute to take you to South Pattaya for 15 baht.

The only downside is the every-odd-hour departures.

http://airportpattayabus.com/

[DeHaro-old]

thank you so far for your help. I have sent an email to www.bangkok-airport-transfer.com (http://www.bangkok-airport-transfer.com) and got a friendly email back in 10 minutes. (thank you cdnmatt)

I will definetely NEVER take the bus. I have a suitcase of 25 kg and handluggage, I stay in Central Pattaya and they drop me off at Jomtien. And then ??? Shall I take the 10 baht bus from there with my stuff and warm clothes on because coming from f.....g cold Europe ?? Give me a break.

The bus might be nice, but not getting on and off.

[quiet1]

I will definetely NEVER take the bus. I have a suitcase of 25 kg and handluggage, I stay in Central Pattaya and they drop me off at Jomtien. And then ??? Shall I take the 10 baht bus from there with my stuff and warm clothes on because coming from f.....g cold Europe ?? Give me a break.
You can take the Bell Travel bus for B200 and they deliver you to your hotel or condo anywhere in Pattaya or Jomtien. You take a big bus from the airport to the bus station on Pattaya Nua, then transfer to a smaller van to take you to your hotel/condo. Of course, they do the reverse as well: pick you up at your hotel/condo transfer to the bus at Pattaya Nua and then on to the airport for B200.

(http://www.belltravelservice.com)

[gumblebee]

So I ended up paying 2100 baht to Pattaya plus highway.

If a driver tries that sort of (at that point still suspected) scam, and it's too late to do anything about it (i.e. try to change to a more honest taxi), would a good solution be to ask for an official receipt "for my expense report", preferably when safely inside your hotel (the hotel would probably need to help with translation anyway)?

would a good solution be to ask for an official receipt "for my expense report"The last time I asked for one of those the driver obligingly asked "How much would you like me to write down?" as he assumed I was scamming on my expenses.

Have to agree with de Haro on this one. If you're coming to Thailand on holiday, why struggle on public transport after 12 hours plus on a plane for the sake of saving ┬г20/$30? The solution to De Haro's problem isn't necessarily booking in advance, but knowing the correct fare in advance. Then you tell the taxi driver the fare you are prepared to pay, and he either says yes or you move on to the next one (but specify whether the amount includes or excludes tolls).

That said, I usually go for public transport because I am able to travel light and find taxi travel too stressful on account of the speed and lunatic driving!

[thrillbill]

UGH... my calmness during my flight (or short flight) from holiday back to Thailand begins diminishing when I have to deal with getting a ride back to Pattaya. One can take the private bus, Bell Transport; however they do not leave every hour and are not around midnight when some of the flights from the USA arrive (I do like using their service, cheap and safe).

Dealing with the scum bags that hang around the arrival hallway are a big headache...true, they can promise you a ride back to Pattaya for around 1000 baht, but the "driver" may drop you off in the middle of nowhere and you get transferred into a beat up clonker that belongs to a friend of his (happened to me once) / or the driver will say to you once you drive away from the airport that he was not told he could take you for 1000 or 1200 baht (I do understand Thai numbers of what the middle man said to him, I just threaten to call the police, laughing, during this arguement and he stops his tricks) .

I have had luck just dealing directly with the taxi drivers...I catch one at the departure level, where the cabs are dropping people off. I don't have to wait in line and I pay 1200 baht to get a ride down to Pattaya. I have never had any "tricks" from the drivers at that price, just don't know how crazy of a driver they are ... I do have a favorite driver that could come to the airport and wait for me , but my flights are usually delayed --just part of flying now days.

[quiet1]

When arriving at midnight on a 24-hour airplane extravaganza from the USA, sometimes I stay at the Silver Gold Garden hotel for B850 (http://www.latestays.com/silver-gold-garden/) and take the Bell Bus the next morning, usually the 1000am bus. (The Silver Gold Garden (http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/bangkok/silvergold/) is a 5-10 minute ride from the airport. It's clean, quiet and about a year old.)

No need to deal with finding a ride bleary-eyed at midnight. It's nice to take the free shuttle van to the hotel, take a shower, and go directly to bed.

If I hop in a cab right away and get home to Jomtien around 0200am, I probably will crash into bed and not be functional until the afternoon anyway. If I take the 1000am Bell bus, I'm home by early afternoon, well rested.

Paying B850 for the room + B200 for the bus is actually cheaper than a taxi, as well.

I'm writing this with thrillbill in mind -- he indicates he's returning from holiday back to Thailand. For sex tourists, who couldn't bear the trauma of missing a trick at 230am in Pattaya, this would probably be a totally unsastisfactory suggestion. Life might not be worth living if they couldn't be with a Thai boy within three hours of landing.

I booked Sansuk GuestHouse in september and they are picking me up and taking me right to the Guesthouse for 1200 Baht. It will be late at night too. I think thats a fair price from what I have been reading on the forum.

....From now on though, I'm just going to book a taxi in advance from one of the various companies out there.
... This way when I walk out of the gate, there's a guy holding a sign with my name, and I don't have to worry about getting rushed by everyone else. :)

Yes, that's the way to travel. Nice, relaxed, liesurely...after a day on a plane who needs more hassles? And we're only talking, what...$35 to Pattaya?
Heck, I can't even get a cab in SF to the airport for that.

I'm sorry to hear that you got ripped off like that, but the meter taxis even have the rate cards inside that state the trips from BKK to Pattaya are 1500baht.

On another note, I have finally completed my website, so feel free to check it out at

http://mrdreamtransport.page.tl/Home.htm

I have worked long and hard to fine tune the site, and I know a lot of guys were asking when it would be up. So thanks for your patience, and I hope you like it.

[Brad the Impala]

Suggest that you add an automatic link to Dream Transport at the bottom of your posts. Hey, you might even want to take some paid advertising space on this forum....................