Tips for airport arriving passengers

Post by **nkstan** » March 20, 2012, 12:32 pm

This has been my first trip through Swampy airport.I would like to know about any tips that would help get through immigration faster than 2 hours that I read about in the Post!

Also any tips for transportation etc.....I plan on spending 4 days in Bangkok,have accommodations on Sukumvit,so I can take the skytrain or a taxi.....Where is the best place to go to catch one or the other?

Post by **nkstan** » March 20, 2012, 12:44 pm

I am arriving at 1005 Saturday morning,April 7th.

Post by **BobHelm** » March 20, 2012, 12:54 pm

I think that after all the publicity it should be a bit quicker to get through Immigration by then Stan. The authorities seem to have put some emergency plans (panic) in place that maybe has helped.
If I was you I would keep a eye out for news in the BKK Post before hand.

My only tip at Swampy is actually not to go through Immigration any sooner than you absolutely have to.
Not much to actually do 'duty free' side & food & drink is very expensive once they have you trapped there. It is far cheaper to grab a bite & a drink this side of Immigration rather than the other side.
I often go to the desks & book in & hand in my baggage & go back & grab something to eat this side before going through Immigration later. Of course if there is still complete chaos at Immigration then that does make that idea a little more risky!!

Post by **Prenders88** » March 20, 2012, 12:58 pm

Stan, if taking the taxi go up to the fourth floor where the taxi's drop off and hail one up there, it will save the queues downstairs in the heat.

Compared to Hong Kong and Singapore where Immigration is a breeze, Swampy is a national embarrassment.

Post by **JimboPSM** » March 20, 2012, 1:29 pm

You could take a taxi from Sukhumvit to Makkasan (City Air Terminal) and use the Airport Rail Link; taxi fare from tourist end of Sukhumvit should be no more than 150 THB (including tip) and the express rail fare 150 THB (15 minutes, non-stop), alternatively the commuter line rail fare 45 THB (30 minutes, stops at every station).

If travelling with Thai you can check your bags in at the City Air Terminal, but that has to be done at least 3 hours prior to the flight.

From a cost perspective the Airport Rail Link works best if travelling on your own as the rail fare is per passenger.

The downside is that you miss the adrenalin rush of the wacky races on the expressway.

I tried the Airport Rail Link both to and from Swampy last year and it is a somewhat less phrenetic way of getting there and back than by Taxi - however it does involve some additional manhandling of your baggage.

Post by **douglas** » March 20, 2012, 2:44 pm

Hi,
Everytime i have gone through Swampy, from overseas, be it last time was 6 months ago. On the last three trips, two arriving in the afternoon, and one at lunch time. I have never taken longer than 40 mins to clear imm. 2 in a lot less time. The quickest, after arriving at Imm. was 5 mins. Was in a Q for a couple of mins, they opened another desk and i was the first one ushered there. Maybe i was lucky.
Was down at the British Embassy last Oct.. From Swampy, to Sukhumvit, Nana area, all the taxi's i asked, the min was 300B. When i was there i noticed there were no busses there, like there used to be. When i asked about busses, they said i have to get a mini bus, from the airport, to the bus terminal and then transfer. S**t for the sake of less than 8GBP's i got a taxi to the British embassy, and well worth it, missing all the hassale. UTU

Post by **kumphawapi** » March 20, 2012, 8:35 pm

Skytrain is easy. have some change for the automatic ticket machine. You cannot beat it if your destination is close to a station.
Going from UK to Udon, book through with Thai Air, still need to collect luggage, but had an escort through VIP immigration desk to bypass queues.
If you want a cheap basic Thai meal, walk out past the police and medical stations on the ground floor to where there is a large landscaped area. Just on the corner of the main building is a small cafe / take away where the local staff eat.

Post by **Librarian** » March 20, 2012, 10:14 pm

Hey Stan

i came through swampy last week from Europe.. got caught up in a probably 2 hour queue myself at immigration.
but i have got a tip for you with something i noticed !!

they try to get everyone to stand single file in each queue . i noticed the queue on the left of me with a couple of loud* guys , was moving much quicker than mine. in fact i counted at one point we were level (side by side) but by the time they both had cleared passport control, i was still 12 people away from the front of my queue

the reason was each queue has 2 desks serving it .. but mine only had one officer and one empty desk.
make sure when you queue up, you look forward to see how many immigration officers are actually dealing with your queue

see you soon !

Jeremy

Post by **thalenoi** » March 21, 2012, 4:43 am

A taxi from Suk will cost you around 250+toll (45+25?)
To avoid queuing at passport control get fast track service, around 1k baht, google "fast track Bangkok airport"or fly business class.

Post by **Prenders88** » March 21, 2012, 8:11 am

I flew business class with Thai last October, I never got fast track immigration.

Thanks for the tip about booking it online.

Post by **rickfarang** » March 21, 2012, 10:52 am

Stan,Consider whether you want to lug your bags onto and off of trains and then from the Skytrain station to the hotel. It will already be blazing hot by the time you get out of the airport.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » March 21, 2012, 7:13 pm

First, you walk to the Sukhumvit subway station and take the rot fai dai din (subway) to the Ploenchit stop, and catch the subway train to the airport there. It arrives in the basement of the airport. You do not have to take the sky train.

Oh yeah, you have luggage. Take a taxi in particular if you are travelling in rush hour as there will not be much room on the subway.

Post by **Svein66** » March 21, 2012, 10:09 pm

Laan Yaa Mo wrote:First, you walk to the Sukhumvit subway station and take the rot fai dai din (subway) to the Ploenchit stop, and catch the subway train to the airport there. It arrives in the basement of the airport. You do not have to take the sky train.

The subway (MRT) do NOT go to Ploenchit. That`s a BTS (skytrain) station only! You can NOT take the MRT (subway) to the airport. Only the Airport Link goes to the airport, from Phaya Thai and Makkasan.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » March 22, 2012, 12:27 am

Oh! Well, I got wrong information about Ploenchit or mixed it up somehow. But at the airport I was told that the rot fai dai din stop was in the basement. Thanks for the correction.

Post by **mytluky** » March 22, 2012, 1:26 am

I have been flying in and out of Swampy every 3 weeks for the last 4 years and have found that it all depends on the timing of how many international flights are landing at the same approximate time as yours. The double queues seem to move quicker most times as does the ones with a female at them.

I normally just grab a taxi to Sukhomvit and it runs +/- 300 baht for a 40 minute ride depending on the time of day or night.

Post by **martynsnowman** » March 22, 2012, 7:09 am

thalenoi wrote:A taxi from Suk will cost you around 250+toll (45+25?)
To avoid queuing at passport control get fast track service, around 1k baht, google "fast track Bangkok airport"or fly business class.

i,ve just looked at the fast track web site run by company called SSG weather you want fast track for departing or arrival its 1200 bt , has any1 on UM used the servis before ?
i arrive back from visa run to m/chester at 12.05 and my thaiair flight to udon is 13. 45 so its a bit tight on time
if fast track does as it says 1200 bt is well worth it .

Post by **thalenoi** » March 22, 2012, 11:24 am

Seems this one costs 1000THB for arrival service with limo added on or 1100 with private car/connection flight
http://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html

Post by **Jed** » March 22, 2012, 2:01 pm

Any recent reports would be much appreciated, especially concerning queues and congestion in the evening flying out internationally, like around 8-9 pm.

Sounds like a potential nightmare with a family and small kids standing in line for 2-3 hours.

Sure hope they sort out this national debacle soon!

Cheers.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » March 22, 2012, 6:53 pm

I flow out on Monday to Toronto from Bangkok. Check-in at the Korean Air counter was 7:45 p.m., and it took only a few minutes to get the luggage checked, boarding pass, etc. From there my friend and I went to the first floor restaurant and had a dinner of chicken with rice for 70 baht for two. At 8:45 I took her to the taxi stand so she could get a bus back to Sukhothai.

I went through immigration in about 10 minutes. There were fairly long lines but they moved swiftly. Apparently, an additional number of workers were available to make the process faster. From there it did not take long to have various articles in one's possession checked. The longest part was walking to the waiting area for the flight. This was partly due to the fact I spent some time in the Asia Book Store. The upshot is that everything went smoothly.

It took longer to get through Canadian Immigration in Toronto because the officer permitted 15 passengers from China to jump the queue and join their friend who was just in front of me in line. Furthermore, although I was permitted to bring various pills and fish in with me, the pork-flavoured snack was denied entry.

Post by **Svein66** » March 23, 2012, 12:04 pm

Laan Yaa Mo wrote:Oh! Well, I got wrong information about Ploenchit or mixed it up somehow. But at the airport I was told that the rot fai dai din stop was in the basement. Thanks for the correction.

Yes, the airport link are in the basement at the airport, but it`s a skytrain as soon as it leaves the airport.