Toll roads etc by Taxi

We get into Bangkok at 1am and plan on catching a taxi to the Novotel Siam square. Is it best we take the toll road or at that hour get the taxi driver to miss it and save us some money? If we miss the toll road will it add much time to the ride?

Also we leave at 7.50pm on a Saturday and we always like to be at the Airport 3 hours before departure, how long will the taxi ride from the Novotel Siam square take on a Saturday afternoon(probably using the toll road)?

Cheers

Toll roads etc by Taxi

Tolls total 70 baht (about US$2), a tiny amount not worth worrying about. Even at night it will add some time to the journey if you use no expressway. For the return trip allow an hour but you usually make it in a bit less than that. Expressways are the fastest and most direct route.

Toll roads etc by Taxi

Thanks for the quick reply.

It is very smooth ride on the Non Toll road at that time U arrive.

As for going back to Airport, better for U to take the Toll Road that time (Traffic will be slow but alteast Not that Jammed at the below non toll road).

Have fun.

I wouldn%26#39;t bother using the highway at 1 AM.

There%26#39;s liable to be a fair amount of traffic at around 16:00 on a Saturday. Reckon on 45 minutes, but budget a bit more than an hour to be safe, say 70 minutes.

Thanks for the promopt replys.

Think I will skip the toll road when we arrive and use it when we leave.

I might see if we can have a late check out and leave around 3.30-4.00pm Sitting by the pool appeals more than sitting at the airport.

Christchurch,

We went to the theater one evening in Bangkok. For some reason, our taxi driver did not want to take the new expressway because he did not wish to pay the toll. He persisted in this unreasoning reluctance even after I told him that I would gladly pay the very modest toll.

As a result of his contrariness, we got needlessly stuck in rush hour traffic and nearly missed the start of the performance.

If you possibly can, demand a taxi driver who will take the freeway. Agree on this in advance, and pay the toll (an unremarkable toll of less than NZ$3).

Incidentally, we had our own rental car, with a GPS. I called a taxi because I didn%26#39;t wish to negotiate city streets at rush hour. Big mistake! We actually did drive on the expressway at other times, and found the driving easy, fast and safe. If we had taken our own car, we would have arrived at the theater long before the taxi did, and we observed plenty of parking once we got there.

Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further!

David

capetien10@gmail.com

By the way, the new international airport, Suvarnabhumi, is almost 50 km from downtown Bangkok. Even if traffic is light, you%26#39;ll add a lot of time just for traffic lights and residential speed limits.

Especially at 1 a.m., when you%26#39;re exhausted (and adding your five-hour time difference), take the expressway.

David

The distance from central Bangkok (there is no ';downtown';) is 30 km, not 50.

In a great many trips between airport and city, I%26#39;ve even found it to be slightly faster to take the non-toll-route late at night, depending on where you plan to end up. Exits, clover leaves, tolls and ramps add to the time; the highway leads you on a long way round, whereas taking city streets can be more direct. Traffic lights are not an issue out near the airport, only in the city centre itself where you%26#39;d be off the highway anyway.

It sort of depends on where you plan to go. There%26#39;s no or little reasaon to take the highway at 01:00 to Rama IV, Victory Monument, Suk or Silom in my opinion, but there may be some gain to use it heading for Sathorn and Banglamphu.

And of course there%26#39;s always a slight danger you%26#39;d get stuck in a jam on the highway if there%26#39;s an accident, with no chance of just using an alternative route.

So I stand by my previous recommendation. Don%26#39;t bother with the highway at 01:00. (But don%26#39;t get me wrong: it%26#39;s a lifesaver during the day.)

In any case, the trip into town is very fast at that hour, whether or not you choose the highway.