Transportation in Bangkok - 8 Ways to Get Around
- Mukesh Kumar
- Feb 10
- 5 min read
A Guide to Public Transport you need in Bangkok City.
Bangkok is a huge cosmopolitan city and infrastructure is amazing. Roads are wide with many flyovers, have traffic jams but still everything is well managed and there are many ways to commute around Bangkok city which I feel one of best in the world because it offers multiple options for every pocket size travellers.
Which mode of transport suits you that depends on your route and budget. You can either save lots of money by choosing proper transport or you many waste money as well. Every mode has pros and cons with respect to money, comfort and time. I'm living in Bangkok as an expat now, so here is my detailed analysis to help you.
Here we go...
Local Transportation in Bangkok
BTS, MRT and Airport Link
These are the different metro train services in Bangkok. BTS is sky train, MRT is subway and Airport link is also sky train which connects to Suvranabhumi Airport.
Ticket fare starts from 16 THB and goes on. This is a good way to travel fast in AC where weather is mostly hot and sunny. But it's not necessarily that you will get metro trains in your route you want to go, so you may have to chose another options as well.
Quick Tip : Check google map and If you see metro services cover more than 60 % of your route and you're not in hurry then chose some other transport to connect to metro line and switch to metro to save money. Other modes are explained below.
Taxis in Bangkok
This is the most expensive way of public transport in Bangkok. You can get Taxi meter everywhere on the roads going around. Taxi colors are in Yellow, pink , blue green etc.
The taxi fare starts from 35 THB and keeps adding 5 THB per KM. This is the best if you're in hurry and need immediate transport go. But yes you may stuck in traffic and go slow depending on your route and timing.
Quick Tip : Keep in mind that you must ask driver to use meter as many drivers may ask random fare to pay, avoid in such cases and better use Grab or Bolt for Taxi.
Grab And Bolt - Car and Bike Taxi Booking Apps
Both are taxi booking apps popular in Thailand to book cars and bike taxis. Uber service in not available in Thailand but you can use Grab or Bolt even with your international mobile number with easy quick steps.
Fare is similar to Taxi meter but it can be less or more depending on peak time and traffic situation. Usually Bolt fare is a bit lower compared with Grab but it can't be all the time. So I check in both before booking. Normally it takes less than 4 minutes to arrive but again it can be more if you're in traffic area and sometimes you can't get it in festive time for example new year evening celebration places. So keep that in mind in your plan. Bike taxi drivers go fast and manage well in traffic.
Quick Tip : If you're travelling solo then this is the best way to use bike taxi and travel fast with less fare.
Public Bus in Bangkok
Bus service is very good in Bangkok and have routes available for everywhere. This is also the cheapest mode of public transport in Bangkok and mostly used by locals. It's the slowest mode of transport but the cheapest.
Non AC Bus : Red color bus. Fare rage 7-20 THB only for whole route.
AC Bus : White, Yellow, Blue color buses. Fare range 13 - 26 THB.
How to use the Bus : At Every bus stops in Bangkok you can see the bus number and timing written on board. You can see the bus number in google map for your route and check the timing and match with the board. As most locals can't understand English better so it would be better to use google map.
Tuk Tuk
Bangkok is also famous for it's colorful Tuk Tuk as tourists love to enjoy riding these. Its ok to use this for small ride for experience. But I won't recommended this for longer distance. Yes here you will have to negotiate the price but not too much. And not all tuk tuk drivers would try to scam you, there are only few. Still if you think they're charging too much then better try to avoid it rather than negotiating.
Go Bike
You can see many bike riders at important places like metro stations, shopping malls, night markets and even near any community. They will be wearing orange jacket and they’re very quick and expert in beating the traffic and drop to your destination as they know the shortcuts.
Their price is also fixed for every destination and mostly used for short rides. It's a good way to talk to them and show your destination in Mobile. They will tell you the exact price and don't negotiate with them. I prefer this for connecting metro lines or goto interior areas.
Sharing Pick Up Cars
There are also sharing pick up style cars where you can sit or stand at the back side of the car and the price is just maximum 10 THB. They have numbers written on the front side and mostly go in the main roads connecting to metro stations. The best part is it stops wherever you want. You can ask the driver if it goes to your destination. And better to pay them in change money quickly when you gets down.
Boats and Ferry for River and Canals
Whether you want to just cross the river, canal tour or river tour, you can use boats or ferry. There are tourist ferry which stops at different touristic piers. Also normal boat and ferry for river crossing or goto some other pier. Price ranges 4- 30 THB. Check your nearest pier and talk with them to suggest you the right ferry or boat for you.
Some Personal Tips for Local Transportation in Bangkok.
If you're solo then you can use Go Bike, Sharing pick up car or bolt bike taxi to connect with bus metro lines or Bus stations.
For running taxi always ask driver to use the meter on.
If you're more than 2 people then use either Grab, Bolt or meter taxi.
Don't negotiate or ague much with drivers as they mostly don't understand English and they don't like negotiations. If you don't like the price just look for another options.
Wear Helmet and be keep the change money to pay.
To save money first try to find the route which have metro lines then use other transports to connect.
Don't speak louder or use phone in loud in any public transports as it't not Thai culture and Thai people likes to keep quiet and not disturb others.
In Metro trains don't sit on reserved sits for old, pregnant woman or disables.
Don't eat or drink in Metro trains.
I hope this article is helpful. Feel free to drop a comment if you have any questions.
Also don’t forget to watch my Thailand Travel Series on Youtube.
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