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Home › Diving › Thailand Tour Guides › Central › Bangkok › Transport

Getting to Bangkok and Getting About

Bangkok traffic snarl-ups are well documented - and rightly so! But, there are ways to get around the city without too much disruption and delays.

There are good transport links to all parts of the country, and most of them allow you to avoid the city (e.g. via the link roads that circumnavigate it).

Transport and Travel in the Thai Metropolis

Most visitors to Thailand arrive in Thailand at the Suvarnabhumi Airport which is situated just outside the southeastern corner of the city.

Some journeys - for the sake of distance - will go through the city - not too painful an experience, if at the right time of day.

But in any event a good sight-seeing opportunity of the modern and traditional buildings and monuments juxtaposed in intriguing combinations.

If already in Thailand, then road transport will be the main option for arrivals and departures to and from other tourist destinations.

There is also a railway service which normally takes much longer than a bus, but is considered by many to be well worth the experience.

Bangkok traffic snarl-ups are well documented and not without good cause. However, it is possible to get around the city without too much pain, as long as you're aware of the wide range of transport options available, and more important, where to access them.

Once in Bangkok you have the transport choices of road; taxis, motorcycle taxis, tuk tuks, and assorted buses.

But wait - there's more:

By rail, there is the amazing BTS Skytrain and several forms of Underground rail systems as the main providers. Besides that, there's also the rail link through to the main Airport in Bangkok.

Bangkok is also divided West and East by the Chao Phraya River. Thereon sail various forms of public transport including ranging from long tail boats through to the river buses.

One of the main things to remember about Bangkok is the fact that it is not just a tourist destination, but also a thriving city with a huge resident population who work at the various commercial enterprises – whether they be shopping centres or the wide provision of businesses, as one would expect of the capital city.

Residents need to get to and from work, so there are ‘rush’ periods which are best avoided if possible. If not, simply allow the transport to take the strain of getting to and from your destination. It will happen in due course.

Getting to and From Bangkok

All roads in the country eventually or directly lead to Bangkok. It is an easy destination - well serviced by a range of buses, mini vans and taxis which are all bookable from virtually any hotel elsewhere in the country.

The main bus terminals are situated conveniently to the North East (Mor Chit), Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) and Eastern Bus Terminal Ekamai.

Together with these main bus termini, there are scattered outlets of mini-van operators which compete with the large bus operators.

The main minivan ‘depot’ being at The Victory Monument, which is situated well enough to be classed as being central Bangkok – though not quite geographically so.

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