Bangkok's air gateway, Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang Airports, receives tens of millions of passengers a year. Of course, in the last decade, the new Suvarnabhumi took over most of the passenger flow, and the share of the second airport, which for many years played the role of the main air gate of Thailand, now falls mainly on domestic flights. Because of this, our compatriots are practically unfamiliar with Don Muang. But since today tourists often independently plan a trip to this Asian country and even move freely around it, when flying from Bangkok to the islands, they had to choose Thai low-cost flights for the sake of saving. And they overwhelmingly fly from Don Muang Airport (Bangkok). Therefore, independent travelers began to have problems finding transport that operates flights to this air port. Today we will tell you how to get to Don Muang Airport (Bangkok) in several different ways, and also briefly consider its layout.
general information
In Bangkok , Don Muang Airport is the second international air port located in the capital. Most often, tourists fly away from here to Koh Samui, Krabi and other islands of Thailand. But besides this, flights from the airport to Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore and several other countries are carried out.
It is very attractive for tourists that from the international airport of Bangkok Don Muang, the cost of tickets for airplanes is much lower than for similar flights from Suvarnabhumi. This is because here mainly low-cost airlines fly, and the cost of their flights is always below average.
The average distance from Don Muang Airport to Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok) is just over forty kilometers. However, in order to get from one point to another, it takes a few hours for tourists. This is due to heavy traffic in the capital and frequent traffic jams. Therefore, experienced travelers recommend leaving an interval of at least four hours between connecting flights.
Airport History
Don Muang Airport in Bangkok was built at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, then it was intended for military aircraft and was used in this way for about fourteen years. Around 1914, it was converted to receive civil aircraft. For more than ninety years it has been the main air gate of the country, where all international flights landed. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the newest modern Suvarnabhumi airport was commissioned and it was he who began to receive most of the international flights, including low-cost.
About six years ago, a massive reconstruction was carried out in Don Muang, and from that moment the airport began to accept domestic and international flights of low-cost airlines. Also here transporters and often charters land.
Description of the airport: ground floor
Don Muang Airport (Bangkok) has a building consisting of four floors. The first floor is completely given over to the arrival hall. We presented his scheme in this section. Since the queues at the airport are small, tourists can easily find a passport control counter after leaving the plane. Almost next to it is a baggage claim tape. Judging by the reviews of Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, the whole procedure usually does not take half an hour, unlike Suvarnabhumi, where it sometimes takes up to an hour and a half to do the same.
On the ground floor there are numerous cafes where you can have a bite to eat if you have a long way to go inland. There is also an Internet cafe and various car rental locations. Currency can also be changed on the ground floor. However, do not forget that the course here is disadvantageous and it is best to exchange the necessary minimum.
The information bureau will give you all the information you need. Here in special baskets are free maps and other booklets useful for tourists.
The two lockers at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok operate differently. The one on the ground floor opens at eight in the morning and closes at eight in the evening. For storage of one bag you will pay about seventy-five baht.
Second and third floors
The second floor of the airport is reserved for offices, tourists cannot get here. But on the third floor there is a departure zone. There are registration desks, customs control points and representative offices where you can apply for a visa for a long stay in Thailand.
There are several spacious waiting areas at the airport, one of them is for VIPs. Before departure, passengers can go shopping, look at souvenir shops and buy something in the duty-free zone.
Travel agencies are also located on the third floor. They can arrange a ticket or book a tour. Also here you can easily book a hotel room anywhere in Thailand.
In this part of the airport there is a second luggage room. She works around the clock. The cost of services also does not exceed seventy-five baht for one bag per day.
Fourth floor of the airport
Tourists climb to the highest floor mainly in order to have a bite or buy tickets directly from carriers. The very design of the floor resembles a balcony. It is quite beautiful and comfortable here.
By the way, many tourists, in order to spend a day between transit flights, are looking for cheap housing in Bangkok. You can rent a hotel room by the day at Don Muang Airport. It will cost several times cheaper than the same in the capital itself.
But if you still prefer hotels in the city, then choose those that are closer to the metro stations. It is better if they are located at the intersection of the blue and green branches (we presented the diagram below).
How to get from Don Muang Airport (Bangkok) to Pattaya
If you flew to Don Muang from the islands and are planning on spending your holidays in Pattaya, then you will primarily be interested in options for how to get to the resort in the cheapest way.
This can be done using public transport. Route A1 departs directly from the airport. Usually the bus leaves from the sixth exit. For thirty baht (how much is the fare) you will get to the North Bus Station in Bangkok. Usually the road does not take more than half an hour. Here you need to choose the buses going to Pattaya. There are several of them, but a ticket for any costs one hundred baht. Travel time is about two and a half hours. Tourists coming to Thailand for the first time should not hope that you will reach your destination faster by taxi. More expensive - yes, but definitely not faster.
From Don Muang to Bangkok
By bus you can reach Bangkok. At the same time, tourists are offered a wider choice of routes. Since many of the passengers depart to specific places in the capital.
There are several buses to Bangkok:
- No. 513
- Number 4.
- Number 13.
- Number 29.
- Number 59.
- No. 538.
- Number 10.
Each route we will give a brief description.
If the end point of your trip is the East Bus Station, then choose flight number 513 for yourself. It is suitable for those tourists who plan to go deep into Thailand.
Routes 4 and 13 take you to Siom Road and Sukhumvit Road.
Those who plan to continue traveling around the country by train need to take bus number 29. He goes to the train station and stops in the historical places of the city along the way. Interestingly, right at the station, tourists can take the metro.
Some Russians immediately after arrival seek to see the main attractions of the Thai capital. This can be done if you take the bus at number fifty nine. He goes straight to the Royal Palace. It also houses the most famous temple complexes in Bangkok.
Bus number 10 goes to the South Bus Station, and route number 538 runs right to the hospital.
We get to Bangkok by train
If you don’t like the bus service, you can also get to Bangkok by train. The railway station is located almost opposite the airport building. You don’t even have to go outside, as the passage is covered.
You need to buy a ticket to Hua Lamphong Station. It is located in the center of Bangkok. In this direction, thirty-two trains leave per day. The first at three ten in the night, and the last a little after ten in the evening. However, taking a ticket, do not rely on the timetable. It is often broken, so you can be late for the train.
How to get to Don Muang Airport (Bangkok) from Suvarnabhumi
Often, our compatriots fly to Suvarnabhumi International Airport, and then have to get to Don Muang to fly to the islands or to another place. Therefore, tourists are very interested in how to quickly overcome the distance between two points.
The most convenient way to get to Don Muang is by free buses. They are quite comfortable and even have air conditioning. The first flight leaves from the stop at five in the morning. Buses run to Dong Muang every hour until ten in the morning. Further, the traffic interval is reduced and until eight in the evening you can leave for the airport every forty minutes. Until midnight, when the last bus leaves in Suvarnabhumi in the indicated direction, the interval again becomes equal to an hour.
You can catch a free bus at exits two and three. Keep in mind that in order to get to Don Muang for free, you must have a boarding pass from the flight that you flew to Bangkok.
Buses and minibuses
If for some reason a free shuttle is not available to you, then use public transport. There are two buses to Don Muang: at number five hundred and fifty-four and five hundred and fifty-five. Both drive to the airport in about forty to fifty minutes. A bus ticket costs about thirty-four baht.
Many tourists use minibuses. They are also called minibuses, and they leave the airport parking lot as soon as all the places are occupied. The ticket is paid to the driver at the entrance and costs fifty baht. On such minibuses you can get to Don Muang from six in the morning until five in the evening.
By taxi from Suvarnabhumi
If you do not want to save on travel during your holidays, take a taxi. It will cost you from three hundred and fifty to five hundred baht. In order not to fall into the hands of scammers, specify the amount of the trip before getting into the car. At the same time, agree on how the money will be calculated: by the meter or by a fixed amount.
It is best to choose a taxi car for the trip, which belongs to points on the ground floor of the airport. Here the order is formalized, and in the hands of the tourist receives a form where the route and cost of the trip are indicated. In addition, payment is made to the employees of the point, so there is no option for calculating with a taxi driver on the spot.
We go to Don Muang
If you are well versed in the Bangkok metro and are not afraid of the subway, then you can use this option to move around the city. Right from the airport, tourists go down to the metro station and go to the Mo Chit station.
Here you will need to go out and rise to the surface. Near the station there are always taxis that will take their passengers to Don Muang in just ten minutes. The trip will cost from one hundred to one hundred and twenty baht.
What tourists think about the second most important airport in Bangkok: reviews and comments
Gradually, more and more reviews about Don Muang have become on the Internet. Therefore, tourists who are just about to fly out of it have a generalized idea of the airport, its advantages and disadvantages.
Most of the tourists were satisfied with this international airport in Bangkok. Photos of Don Muang, posted on the Internet, allow us to understand how clean inside is. Many say that the airport is very well designed, so finding the right area is not difficult.
Separately, our compatriots usually distinguish cafes located on the fourth floor of the airport. They write that the prices here are quite reasonable, and the quality of the food is not satisfactory.
Conveniently, from Don Muang there are so many ways to get to almost anywhere in the country. Such a wide transport network is the pride of Thais, as their country is often called "a real paradise for tourists."