Suvarnabhumi Travel Time

[Guest fountainhall]

Apologies if this has cropped up in other posts. One of today's English papers predicts traffic chaos on the expressways once the new airport is fully open, especially during rush hours. It even suggested 2 - 3 hours will not be uncommon to the Sukhumvit hotels - i.e. like it used to be with Don Muang before the elevated expressway opened. I believe there are several alternatve expressway routes to Suvarnabhumi and assume that the most direct ones will be the most congested. Does anyone know of a more roundabout route that just might be faster by taxi - if a little more expensive? Normally I take the Rama 4 exit.

 

As an aside, I must be in Tokyo on September 30 but have chosen to leave from Don Muang on the 27th. I experienced the almost week-long chaos at Hong Kong in 1998 and no way will I go through that again.

[Gaybutton]

Apologies if this has cropped up in other posts. One of today's English papers predicts traffic chaos on the expressways once the new airport is fully open, especially during rush hours. It even suggested 2 - 3 hours will not be uncommon to the Sukhumvit hotels - i.e. like it used to be with Don Muang before the elevated expressway opened. I believe there are several alternatve expressway routes to Suvarnabhumi and assume that the most direct ones will be the most congested. Does anyone know of a more roundabout route that just might be faster by taxi - if a little more expensive? Normally I take the Rama 4 exit.

 

As an aside, I must be in Tokyo on September 30 but have chosen to leave from Don Muang on the 27th. I experienced the almost week-long chaos at Hong Kong in 1998 and no way will I go through that again.

 

If you are going to be in a taxi, wouldn't you be better off leaving the routing to the taxi driver? The driver won't want to be stuck in traffic nightmares either and he'll know the best route to take.

 

It remains to be seen, of course, but I'm not so quick to jump on the "it's all going to be chaos" bandwagon. I think everything is going to run surprisingly smoothly. Thailand has a lot riding on the reputation the airport will have and quite a bit of planning has gone into it. They are well aware of the difference first impressions will make. I don't think it's going to be a nightmare at all, and that includes traffic getting there. I know a lot of people just assume that no matter what it is, Thailand will screw it up. That's not always the case and I think the airport operations are going to be just fine.

 

Getting into Bangkok from the airport is a different story. If you arrive during rush hour, then you're going to be stuck in the same traffic jams that occur every day once you are outside the airport area.

[Bob]

On a related front, if anyone here after the 27th arrives interrnationally and then leaves the airport on a domestic flight, I'd like to hear how long it took you to clear immigration and then to get to the domestic side of the terminal. I do that in about 4 weeks and I'm just wondering if 1.5 hours is enough time.

[Guest LoeplohandNalac]

nobody can tell you yet how smooth the operations on this airport will run.

 

Infrastructure wise they are working hard and we must say it looks good.

Almost all roads which runs from Pattaya to Bangkok( new airport) are getting wider. for example the Chonburi motorway is getting 4 lanes instead of two ( each direction) We think the Thai authorities do a good job. We think Thailand has a very good road system nowadays.

We think the travel time from Pattaya to the new airport will be half an hour shorter if you go by car.

 

But for us from Pattaya who are going to Bangkok it could be that the travel time will be much longer.

That's a bad thought not being able to go shopping for the day.

 

[Guest wowpow]

I am flying out on the 26th. I thought that the 27th was just too risky. Will all the staff be busy packing? Will there be any staff or will they all be at Suvarnhabhumi setting up? Will the shops be empty? Will the planes have food?

 

worry worry worry!

 

Exciting times. I see that Mr Taksin agred that the new airport had had 500 leaks in the windows but 400 were already fixed. So only 100 leaky overhead windows?

 

Does it rain there? Does it rain!!

 

[Gaybutton]

I don't know if it's in the works, but I would love to see them do the same thing that's done in Hong Kong . . . an easy-to-get-to rapid rail system that will get people to and from the airport at a location in the central part of the city. It also wouldn't hurt anything for a rapid rail system to be put in place between the airport and Pattaya and/or central Bangkok and Pattaya.

[Guest fountainhall]

Re Gaybutton's comments, as a regular traveller all over the region, I have rarely found taxi drivers prepared to offer alternative faster routes if it means a detour, especially when the passenger does not speak their language. That's why I try to work out alternative routings in advance and my first words in any new country are simple phrases like "turn left" turn right" straight on" etc.

 

I believe there will be traffic chaos because this always happens almost everywhere at the opening of a major new infrastructure project. I live in a reasonably well-known part of the city, but even taxi drivers at Don Muang are often at a loss to know which expressway exit to take. If you add many hundreds - and frequently thousands - of new taxis, limos and private cars each hour to the already congested southern expressways, congestion will be a day-long affair and horrendous at rush hour. To equate that with the occasional 500-meter jams exiting Don Muang is, I respectfully suggest, no comparison.

 

From all accounts, the airport itself will be excellent. But flying (especially on business) is a total door-to-door experience. How is possible that, after 40 or so years in the planning, an express train to the airport is still years away? Surely the planners looked at Hong Kong with its stunning transport links? And who is kidding whom thinking that a link to the Skytrain is a workable solution for passengers with heavy luggage? Did anyone try the Piccadilly line to or from London's Heathrow at rush hour? An inner city public transport facility is wholly impractical as an airport extension - the more so in Bangkok's case where most passengers come long distances with heavy luggage.

 

I don't want to knock the authorities (apart from not getting the train up and running), just to be realistic.

[Guest Boxer]

Taxi going north and north Bangkok take the no9 Motorway just along the No 7 route into town and come into Bangkok from north opposite way to rush hour traffic.

Going East no problems take no 7 to Pattaya.

Going into City no 7 motorway is only real choice.

Going South Bang Na Motorway no3 but remember Sukhumvit Road works for two years extending Sky Train.

Avoid rush hours at all cost.

 

[Gaybutton]

Re Gaybutton's comments, as a regular traveller all over the region, I have rarely found taxi drivers prepared to offer alternative faster routes if it means a detour, especially when the passenger does not speak their language. That's why I try to work out alternative routings in advance and my first words in any new country are simple phrases like "turn left" turn right" straight on" etc.

 

Since Fountainhall is obviously far more experienced than I dealing with taxis (I have a car, so I rarely end up in taxis), then he's probably correct and I'm probably wrong. I suggest, then, planning according to his comments.

 

One thing that may help would be to have an English speaking hotel staff member explain to the taxi driver where you want to go and, if he can, suggest alternate routes.

 

Another thing . . . when you do manage to find a taxi driver who is really good and does use alternate routes, if he has a mobile phone get his number. Quite often that same taxi driver will be perfectly willing to pick you up and get you to your next destination. I've done that and it usually worked quite well for me. It's even better if you know what time you want to be picked up and can let him know in advance. That way you won't end up having a long wait between calling him and him getting to wherever you are. The trick is finding a really good taxi driver in the first place.

[Guest fountainhall]

Thanks Gaybutton and topmanb for very useful advice. I will certainly try backtracking to go against the traffic flow.