BKK to DMK - free shuttle bus?

[rollingstone]

Anyone has recent first hand experience travelling from BKK to DMK in free shuttle bus?

I want to try it （not for saving money per se as I am on company expenses) but more due to the need to kill a few hours before taking domestic flight down south.

 

I did taxi some time ago from BKK to DMK and vaguely remember it was quite a long ride.

 

The questions I have

 

1. Is the bus air-conditioned (important)?

2. Can you see your luggage when others alight along the way (I am assuming this is not point-to-point but it could well be nonstop)? Dont want to worry about losing luggage while dozing off

3. How long is the ride (not so important)?

 

I know I could probably google the results but would rather trust info offered by this site.

 

Will stop over Bangkok for a few nights mid Sep (Vinapu - I need to preempt - report writing is not my thing ).

 

Thanks in advance.

[pong]

Qs like these are most likely already answered a plenty-into the finest of minor details, on general sites like tripadvisor or LP=lonelyplanet etc.

Ive done it (of course) nearly 1 year ago now (as I only spend cold season in TH). Usually used (there is never ever a 100% garantee on anything in TH, esp. transpo) are white Chinese built KongLong or SunLong city-style buses from the AOT with extra luggage racks. Same buses that offer the free shuttles on the LANDside grounds of Swampy. You MUST show either a ticket out from the other airp. or into the airpt leaving from and then get assigned a space (no fixed seats), and as any bus has limited seats there are some reports one may (MAY=not will) have to wait for the next or next-next one. You also get (or at least  got) a festival-style ink-stamp on hand or so to show as proof. I think your name etc is also recorded on some list-so they know the victims if an accident happens. As any newer export-CN bus it of course has AC, but this is Th, so in colder chimes it will not mean it is on. It is of coruse nonstop in the airline sense (that means NO commercial other stops between the 2 termini), buses leave fairly frequent-mostly ev 20/30 mins from very early till near 0.00 and usually (again this is BKK/TH-NO garantee) take 1 hr-mostly rather boring expressway.

Alternatively there are the normal citybuses on lines 554 and 555, that take much longer (555 is usually quickest, but at least 90 mins in low-dense traffic) and serve all normal stops-pay conductor 33 bt. Or there are VANs-same nrs. that mostly only let people off near their homes, mostly used by airportworkers-50/60 bt/ride. These are also all AC as above.

As any TH bus-as soon as there is 1 ray of sun any Thai will try to shut this out with any available or self-brought in device: curtains, slides, Cartons, whatever.

[Guest]

I cannot comment on the direct bus, but if you really want to kill a few hours:

 

1 Take the bus from DMK to Mo Chit. Used to be a 29 (in both slow open window & faster aircon versions) & an A1, if I remember correctly. But google that, as they are changing the numbers.

2 Skytrain -Mo Chit to Phaya Thai

3 Airport rail link to BKK airport.

 

Once you have got to Phaya Thai, of course you can assess how much time you really have to kill and then consider detouring further on the skytrain.

[NIrishGuy]

Just be careful as the last time I legitimately tried to get on the bus ( my airline has screwed up and my ticket was left at the wrong counter or something and the staff member gave me a letter explaining this and telling me to go to Swampy from DMK to collect my new ticket - or something like that) and the guy operating the queue wouldn't let me on without a flight ticket clearly showing a departure from the other airport. I explained that that's exactly why I was going to the other airport to get it and he pointed to the sign saying only people with a  ticket allowed on the bus, I was running late and explained again ( a little louder - I know fatal mistake) and after that I had ZERO chance of budging him ( although I had been VERY nice up until that point).  So, don't assume you CAN get the free airport transfer bus perhaps without said flying on from the other airport ticket !?

[rollingstone]

Thanks guys for the info. Appreciated. I will travel with luggage so detouring is not an option.

 

,,, and the guy operating the queue wouldn't let me on without a flight ticket clearly showing a departure from the other airport. I explained that that's exactly why I was going to the other airport to get it and he pointed to the sign saying only people with a  ticket allowed on the bus, I was running late and explained again ( a little louder - I know fatal mistake) and after that I had ZERO chance of budging him ( although I had been VERY nice up until that point).  So, don't assume you CAN get the free airport transfer bus perhaps without said flying on from the other airport ticket !?

 

LOL. This description 'fits the pattern' for the Thais (I know I know it's unfair generalization so dont start a war with me).

 

I am in Hong Kong for the last few days (and was stranded in the hotel room for the whole of yesteday due to typhoon Hato). I travelled in the free shuttle bus between the hotel and Airport Express station to go to the airport for some work; I was almost asked by the driver to present required documentation (same day ticket outbound, or AE ticket or something) which I do not have of course. But the driver did not ask eventually. This fits the pattern of how Hong Kongers do about with their work. LOL.

[spoon]

U do know there is locker near the rail station. Not all of them has it but i am pretty sure some do. I can only recall seeing them in silom MRT.

[vinapu]

 

 

Will stop over Bangkok for a few nights mid Sep (Vinapu - I need to preempt - report writing is not my thing ).

 

but you can force yourself to if only you wish to write it

[forrestreid]

I remember once a few years ago when I arrived in Don Muang (coming from Bali), I  decided to use the shuttle to Swampy to get a taxi from there to Pattaya (to save a few quid).

 

I thought it was free to anybody traveling from one airport to the other, but only when I was about to board I realised that you were supposed to show your ticket.

 

In a rather forlorn hope (seeing as I was not going to Swampy for a flight) I proffered the printout of my Bali to DMK flight, which I had not got round to dumping. Happily they took a glance at it and waved me on. Happy Days!

 

So you could try a similar ploy, if you have a printout of a ticket arriving in Swampy, but dont blame me if they have tightened things up since that and you get thrown out on your arse...

[Guest]

If they do not scan barcodes, it would not take much ingenuity to edit an existing booking confirmation to look like one departing from another airport.

[Alexx]

They don't even scan barcodes during boarding pass check before security, so realistically, I think that they might scan them on the bus seems quite unlikely.