Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and looking for a bit of advice....I am a 21 yo female that is traveling alone and I am a bit nervous. I have heard great things about Thailand, but being in big cities like Bangkok have a tendency to scare me.

I will be arriving in Bangkok at 11:45 pm. After going through customs, I am sure it will be atleast 12:30 am. Should I pay extra to stay in a hotel right next to the airport for the first night or should I take a taxi (which also scares me haha) into a cheaper hotel in the city?

I will probably be in Bangkok for a couple of days then plan on heading down to some beaches...much more my style.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Rachel

Hi Rach,

I can understand your concerns, especially travelling alone, but I assure you, you will be fine getting a taxi into town at that time of night.
When you exit, make sure you leave the building via Door 3 and politely ignore anyone who offers you a taxi until you get to the public taxi rank. As you go through door 3, you will see a booth directly in front of you. Go straight there and tell them the name of your hotel and they will write it down in Thai on a ticket and direct you into the taxi rank. It can be a good idea to already have directions to your hotel printed out. If you book your first nights accomodation on sawadee.com, you can print out a taxi card with a map to your hotel.
When you get into the taxi, make sure that the driver turns the meter on. Some will try to negotiate a flat rate that is generally double the metered fare, if this happens, smile but be firm and suggest that you will get out and find another cab.
At that time of night, you will not need to take the expressway which is tolled and will cost you extra. When you get to your destination, you will only have to pay what is on the meter plus an additional 50baht, which is an airport charge. Tip a little if you want to but all up you should not have to pay any more than 300 baht to most destinations.

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I love Thailand this much

Hi Rachel, and to the forums,

Personally, I think it's a good sign that you're a little nervous - it shows you've got your head screwed on. The travellers that tend to blunder into trouble on the road are the ones that are either blaze or naive about the whole thing. A few healthy nerves show that you're neither of these!

Shanek's description of the taxi procedure is golden. The public taxi rank procedure is there for your safety, and ensures you will travel in a licenced cab. You'll soon find out that Bangkok is nowhere near as scary as it seems, especially in the light of day! I've never felt threatened there in all my visits... when you surface from your jetlag, have a good old explore, get your bearings and "tune in" to the city and that should settle any first-time travel nerves pretty quickly!

Enjoy Thailand! And please do come back and tell us how you get on, or if you have any specific questions or recommendations about the islands.

A suggestion for you: consider taking a taxi from the airport to Pattaya rather than Bangkok, and when you wake up the following morning go for a stroll along the beach rather than a traffic-jammed Bangkok street. If you prebook accommodation at a Pattaya resort you can arrange for a taxi from the hotel/resort to collect you at the airport, so you'll have no fears about dealing with strangers and being ripped off with fares. It takes about 2 hours to get from the airport to Pattaya by taxi.

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The Truly Wise Man Never Plays Leapfrog With A Unicorn

Personally I love Bangkok and hate Pattaya, so don't agree with BobMac.

The taxi information is correct though, use it. And yes, I would book a hotel in Bangkok in advance.

Okay, thank you all so much for the information. I'll grab a taxi and head on into Bangkok. The idea of waking up near the beach sounds great, but I don't think I'll want to ride for 2 hours after flying for 26.

I'll be there in about 2 weeks so I'll try to remember to log back in and let you know how it goes.

Same scenario, we'll be arriving at 11:30pm and our hotel is in Pattaya. Around how much would the taxi fare cost going there?

Should be around 1,500baht.

At the original poster, nothing to worry about taking a taxi from the airport. As Shanek mentioned earlier, the airport takes the taxi driver's information so it would be very unlikely for them to try anything funny.

Can I just add something to this? If you are planning to stay on Kao San Road(you mentioned cheap accommodation) than do take the expressway because it is pretty far from airport the other way....and the expressway fee is 45baht($1.50) Worth the time you will save.

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