Laem Chabang for Bangkok

[Princess Jessie]

Hi all, on the HAL cruise that stops in Laem Chabang for two days.

 

Can someone "who knows" tell me how far it is from there to Bangkok? What is the best way to do it? As in combining comfort with reasonable prices?

 

Is it necessary to stay the night in Bangkok? Find it ludicrous that have a nights accommodation booked and paid for on ship and have to pay again for hotel.

 

If we only do Bangkok for one day .. what is there reasonably close to Laem Chabang to do on the second day?

 

We don't need a private guide in Bangkok.

 

Please give me some advice

 

Thank you

[PaulaJK]

The port of Laem Chabang is 1.5 hours from Bangkok if the traffic is flowing and longer if not. That means a minimum of 3-4 hours RT. Only you can decide whether you wish to do that in one day or stay overnight in Bangkok.

 

Your ship may offer a tour for either a full /same day or a package for overnight. If you are booking transfers on your own, do it before landing as the pier side taxi consortium tend to be highway robbers.

[sugarbird]

Bangkok is 1.5 hours from your port in light traffic. Bangkok is a special and fascinating city---I would strongly recommend staying overnight!!!

[Princess Jessie]

Can anyone recommend a private taxi service... where we will not be "scammed" by dodgy taxi drivers?

 

Or is there anyone out there that wishes to share a ride?

[Keith1010]

If you want to share a ride you need to post that on the roll call for your cruise.

 

If you are looking for transport for the day this link will take you to a company that provides transfers.

 

http://www.orientalescape.com/thailand/transfer/bangkok.html

 

Keith

[Princess Jessie]

Thank you Keith,

 

Do you know anything about this company?

Have you used them?

[Smiles3usa]

Do you know anything about this company?

Have you used them?

 

I used this company in Oct 2005. At the time, I had seen no reviews for the company on-line. The company surpassed my expectations. No payment until after services had been rendered. The car waited almost 3 hours for us to exit the ship, and there was no extra charge involved (athough we did tip extra). The driver spoke no english, but he had a cell phone which he provided to us and someone from the Bangkok office spoke with us on the ride. They offered extra services, at reduced costs, but we did not use them because we had our own plans. I note that we used the company for transport only from the port to Bangkok, because that is where our cruise ended. I also note that there were plenty of taxis at the port, for similar costs. But I would have no hesistancy to use this company again. They were fair, timely, provided good service (for us). I do not know if they have drivers who speak english, which might be important for a guide for the day. But, if you have your plans made about where you want to travel, and the approximate time, I am sure this company could fit the bill (unless things have substantially changed).

 

Enjoy your trip

[Keith1010]

Thank you Keith,

 

Do you know anything about this company?

Have you used them?

 

I have used this company and first learned of them from a fellow Cruise Critic member and I do recommend them.

 

Prices are very competitive and service quite good.

 

Keith

[We're The Groupnors]

We used BKK Tours in Bangkok for a private tour and transfers for both days, then booked a hotel overnight in Bangkok on our own.

 

BKK was excellent, and I would highly recommend them.

[movc]

You can find decent budget hotels in central Bangkok for relatively cheap so I'd recommend an overnight stay. If you google "Phu My", you will find a few port guides and you can use tripadvisor to find hotels.

[John Bull]

I totally agree with those who suggest staying overnite in Bangkok, that's what we did. The travel times quoted are correct, though you can't rely on 90 minutes for the trip back to Laem Chabang - you need to allow a bare minimum 2.5 hours before all-aboard time because traffic in the city is un-predicable.

 

And yes, the taxis in the port are a cartel & if you've not arranged anything in advance you are at their mercy, because the port is remote & there's no usable public transport.

They were looking for about 4,400 baht one-way. Over the 'net you should be able to fix a one-way transfer for about 2,600 baht. Our hotel called us a taxi for the return (driver turned out to be a former cruise ship barman) at a cost of 1600 baht, though you might prefer to fix transfers both ways over the 'net for a discount on 2600 x 2, & perhaps with a city tour included - though don't saddle yourselves with a car tour for the duration, part of the fun is using the city's ferryboats, tuk-tuks & Skytrain.

 

Some folk who visit Bangkok just for the day spend their other day in Pattaya, about 15 minutes by taxi. Because it's so close it's probably simpler to pay the cartel cos it's only a few dollars each way in a shared taxi.

But that's just using up time - it really does make sense to spend as long as possible in Bangkok.

 

My figures are now a couple of years out-of-date.

 

Movc's post mentioned Phu My.

That may be a mistake (Phu My is for Saigon) or mebbe there are tour operators who provide a service for both cities.

 

JB :)

[movc]

Movc's post mentioned Phu My.

That may be a mistake (Phu My is for Saigon) or mebbe there are tour operators who provide a service for both cities.

 

Sorry, I was confused with Phu My vs Laem Chabang.

 

As example of a budget hotel, just discovered Tune Hotels which has the same ownership as AirAsia, an Asian version of Ryanair. New hotel in central Bangkok with rooms starting around $30 USD but A/C, wifi, towels and toiletries are all extra.

[banditoo]

Just back from our cruise on Voyager. We overnighted in Laem Chabang. As we have previously been to Bangkok we elected to stay closer to port and see Pattaya highlights. If you have not been to Bangkok before, I suggest you should do that and do an overnight. Many on our roll call did that through private companies. The drive took anywhere from 2 to almost 4 hours (ships buses apparently took closer to 4 hours returning in heavy traffic though smaller vehicles took less time as they could detour to side roads). You could also spend 1 full long day in Bangkok and return to ship that night if you do not want to overnight in Bangkok. There are some worthwhile sites in Pattaya which is about 30 minute drive from the port. Sites we enjoyed in Pattaya were Nong Nooch Gardens (acres of beautiful gardens ad other attractions that you can read about on their website), the Sanctuary of Truth (intricately carved large wooden complex). We used Mike of Bangkok Asia Travel and were very pleased with his services. He provides tours in Pattaya and Bangkok and other areas of Thailand. It's a good idea to get quotes from a few tour providers and carefully check the ship's expected departure time on the second day...ours left at 2pm so was not a full day.