Bangkok > Travel and Transport > International Airport Bangkok Don Muang International Airport
Bangkok International Airport serves was officially opened on 27th March 1914, and has grown to serve 30 million passengers, 80 airlines, 160 000 flights and 700 000 tons of cargo every year. Bangkok airport is the hub of Asia air travel for business people and tourists alike and its high passenger volume makes it amongst one of the busiest airports in the world.
Getting there
Bangkok International Airport is located in Don Muang which is in Northern part of Bangkok and can be reached by train or road. The airports main link to Bangkok is along the Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and is also connected by Bangkok 's expressway system which allows quicker access to and from the city avoiding the traffic. If you travel by road you can reach the airport with either the airport bus or taxi, and from the airport there is also a useful airport taxi service.
Airport Bus
The Bangkok Airport bus provides easy and cheap travel to and from locations in Bangkok . The service runs between 5:00 am and 11:00 pm and the cost is a flat rate of 100 baht per person. Tickets for the airport bus are available outside the arrivals hall at Terminal 1 where you will find English speaking staff to assist you choosing the correct route. There is also a member of staff on board the bus that will help you alight at the correct stop by announcing the area and major hotel names during the journey. The airport bus has four routes through Bangkok, to find out more details of airport bus routes and destinations (click here link needed to the Bangkok - around - bus travel page coz too big to put here I think.).
Airport Taxi
Just outside the arrivals hall at Terminal 1 you will find the airport taxi stand where you can buy a coupon for a taxi to any part of Bangkok . The coupon is 50 baht and that is the only extra money you will pay on top of the metered taxi price for the journey. Around the airport you will always have taxi drivers that offer you metered free trips but these on the most part will work out to be more expensive that using the official taxis at the taxi stand. If you go to the airports departure hall you will often find a taxi that has just dropped off passengers to take you, but make sure you find one that uses the meter to ensure a fair price. For the convenience and little extra cost the taxis at the stand offer the best hassle free service.
Airport Train Station (Don Muang Train Station)
Don Muang train station is near the airport and can be reached direct from one of the air conditioned airport walkways; from here you can travel by train to the main Hualampong train station in Bangkok and further connect to the metro train to access more areas of the city. If you wish to take a train from Hualampong to the airport you need to take a train on either the Northern or North Eastern line which depart around every 30 minutes from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm.
Bangkok Airport Terminals
Bangkok Airport has three terminals; two are for international air travel and one for domestic flights. The international terminals are built next to each other whilst the domestic terminal is a short distance away and is connected to the international terminals by an air conditioned walkway; a free shuttle bus service runs between the terminals.
Bangkok Airport Shops and Duty Free
Bangkok airport is a home to a number of shops, mainly located on the 3rd floor departure hall where you can pick up the usual array of electrical goods, books, magazines, snacks and Thai souvenirs. The two duty free shops in Bangkok airport are King Power Duty Free and Airport Duty Free.
Bangkok Airport Food and Drink
There are a number of fast food outlets at Bangkok airport, the majority being located on the 4th floor of Terminal 2. The main bar in the airport is also located here called the Brewhouse Restaurant, which serves a range of beers and some international food dishes. Also a couple of restaurants are available in Terminal 1 & 2, one serving Japanese cuisine, and the other is a Thai restaurant. There is also a Thai restaurant in the Domestic terminal. All these food and drink outlets are available before you pass through immigration and after you have passed through the range is limited to a small number of fast food places, namely Burger King and KFC.
Bangkok Airport Money Matters
There are three banks in the airport, the Bangkok bank, Thai Military bank and Krung Thai bank with ATMs and currency exchange counters in all of them. You can access these banks in all three terminals.
Do not forget when you depart internationally from Bangkok airport you will need to pay 500 baht airport tax when you are going through immigration. If you are flying domestic then the airport tax is 40 baht but this is usually already included in the ticket price.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Suvarnabhumi International Airport is new airport that Thailand has been planning for quite sometime but for political and economic reasons the project faced continual setbacks and was shelved. Now construction is thankfully well underway and when the new airport is complete it will deal with all international traffic, whilst the Bangkok International Airport at Don Muang is expected to deal with only domestic flights.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport is located 30 kilometres East of Bangkok in the Samut Prakan province and is expected to be ready for passenger traffic in 2006 though that is not confirmed as yet. Suvarnabhumi International Airport will start with two runways and facilities to deal with 45 million passengers a year though plans are on the drawing board to build 4 runways and increase the facilities to be able to deal with up to 100 million passengers
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