My husband and I are going on our official honeymoon this September, so we booked flights from U.S. to Phuket, Thailand then flying to Taiwan to visit the relatives. Now I am a bit worried about this, because there’s no direct flight, we’re flying from Phuket to Bangkok at night, then we’re flying to Taipei the next afternoon. There’s a total of 9 hours and some odd minutes of waiting time between flights overnight, what the heck should we do?
I’ve suggested that we go to an airport hotel and get some good sleep, but my husband insisted that it’ll be more trouble for what it’s worth dealing with the customs and all, so we better off stay in the airport the whole time. But something about sitting on the uncomfy chairs in the airport with all of our luggage overnight just doesn’t sound safe and/or healthy for me.
Did you have this situation happening to you before? How did you deal with it, or how would you deal with it?
Any suggestions or recommandations is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
If you happen to be flying with the same airline, they should give you a hotel for free. In any case, hotels are cheap and good in Bangkok, definitely check through and get out of the airport. Ask your airline for hotel ideas, but also check the web.
Get to the hotel and hit somewhere you’ve researched. Be prepared to drop a bit of money, as the returns are exponential.
Your first consideration is what time you arrive? Bangkok’s easy to reach shuts at 1am. Also ask clearly which airports you arrive at and which you leave for Phuket. There are two.
if you’ve never landed in bangkok before, be prepared to get hit upon by some lovely touts with pretty facebooks of all their lovely ladies, as soon as you walk out the exit gate into the airport proper… they’ll even put you up in a ‘hotel’. interesting night to be had if you take them up on the offer.
There is a hotel desk in the arrivals area, and they can organise a room at a nearby cheap hotel with good rooms for about THB 1,800. Includes free transfer and breakfast. That’s what I would do.
It does depend on what time you arrive at night. Bangkok, the fabled “party city”, ironically shuts down at 1:00pm when the bars close. There won’t be anything worth doing or seeing until dawn, and by then you might have to get back to the airport in heavy morning traffic.
Suvarnabhumi Airport is big and boring, but not uncomfortable. Depending on how you feel and you may opt to stay there; otherwise there are plenty of hotels you can sleep in in the city. Taking into consideration immigration, customs, and transportation to and from the city, it might not be worth the few hours of sleep you’ll get in a hotel. Then again, it all depends on your arrival and departure times, as well as your need for comfort.
As for the lobby touts outside customs, with their clipboards and official-looking laminated booklets, offering taxi rides and hotel bookings: avoid them like the plague.
You serious? How come I never get that offer? Geez, could it be that I can’t even hook a hooker? Things are damned grim, Jim.
Arriving at Suver, erh, Sub, umm, the new airport, it takes around 40 minutes to an hour to get your bags and clear customs. You may also have to wait for a taxi, then you have a ride of 40 minutes to anywhere you are likely to be staying - worth considering a trabnsfer from the hotel. So let’s say two hours from door open on the plane to door open at your hotel, tops. Plenty of time to have fun. What you planning for the next day? You’re going to Phuket not climbing Everest.
Night Tours of the Palace, Wats, etc are very cool. Ever see them at night? Totally different perspective. The big ancient Wat across the river from the Grand Palace does night tours. (I don’t know til how late though.)
There are some cool upscale clubs and bars for dancing and drinking that are not the sleezy types.
And of course, a lot of places for eating are open til late considering the night life in Bangkok. There MANY fabulous places to eat in Bangkok. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Bottom line, Bangkok is cheap, fun, and worth getting out of the airport to see…even for just one night and a morning.
My last stay in Bangok, My plane landed at 9pm. I was through customs/imigrations/baggage and in a taxi by 9:30 and at my hotel by 10:00. Easy as pie.
i stayed in that airport for 8 hours once,there is a “hotel” right there in the airport where the plane company should give you a voucher for,
as well there is a rather nice spa upstairs and they won’t mind letting you sleep a while after the massage if they are not busy.
There are some “Louis Tavern Dayrooms” at the airport. I believe 4 hours costs THB2,000 - so its not cheap. Its a bit like a small hotel room, but you don’t need to leave the transit area, get a taxi etc.
BKK to TPE is a short hop. Maybe enquire of your airline the cost of upgrading this sector only to business class. You might even be able to do it at check-in/at the transfer desk. That way you will get access to the airline’s VIP lounge. The EVA one has comfortable seats, showers, internet access/PCs with internet, free food and booze, and a nice view. There are various schemes to get lounge access without a C ticket - eg “Priority Pass” etc. Some lounges allow you to “buy” access on an adhoc basis - but most don’t advertise it.
Thanks for all of your input, I really appreciate it.
[quote=“london-boy”]There are some “Louis Tavern Dayrooms” at the airport. I believe 4 hours costs THB2,000 - so its not cheap. Its a bit like a small hotel room, but you don’t need to leave the transit area, get a taxi etc.
BKK to TPE is a short hop. Maybe enquire of your airline the cost of upgrading this sector only to business class. You might even be able to do it at check-in/at the transfer desk. That way you will get access to the airline’s VIP lounge. The EVA one has comfortable seats, showers, internet access/PCs with internet, free food and booze, and a nice view. There are various schemes to get lounge access without a C ticket - eg “Priority Pass” etc. Some lounges allow you to “buy” access on an adhoc basis - but most don’t advertise it.[/quote]
Thanks for your info!! I’ve heard of the “buy in” access to the loungue area for some airlines, but I wasn’t sure which airlines have that kind of offer, or even have lounges in the Bangkok airport. I’ll be at the new airport, the one that starts with S and hard to pronounce. I’m flying China airline so I wonder if they have lounge where I can buy my way in. I arrive in Bangkok @ 11:00 p.m. and fly to Taipei @ 8:00 next morning (wrong about the time in the first post) so I think the chances are, we’re staying in the airport, see as how I have some time, but not enough to go through all the hassle to go out of the airport and comming back in.
[quote=“Freecia”]Thanks for your info!! I’ve heard of the “buy in” access to the loungue area for some airlines, but I wasn’t sure which airlines have that kind of offer, or even have lounges in the Bangkok airport.
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I’m flying China airline so I wonder if they have lounge where I can buy my way in. I arrive in Bangkok @ 11:00 p.m. and fly to Taipei @ 8:00 next morning (wrong about the time in the first post) [/quote]
I don’t know if you can buy yourself into China Airline’s lounge, but generally with the buy-in ones they don’t care which airline you’re flying with. For people buying-in, there’s usually a 2 or 3 hour restriction - but in the days when I used “priority pass” at BKK, they never seemed to enforce it. Another issue will be whether they are open overnight…
I’m flying China airline so I wonder if they have lounge where I can buy my way in. I arrive in Bangkok @ 11:00 p.m. and fly to Taipei @ 8:00 next morning (wrong about the time in the first post) so I think the chances are, we’re staying in the airport, see as how I have some time, but not enough to go through all the hassle to go out of the airport and comming back in.