Laem Chabang taxi cartel still?

[IMswimmer]

Hello there, 

 

I read from the forum that the taxis that passengers can hire at the cruise port are cartel controlled and that they asked for an exuberant price. It sounds like it is very difficult for passenger to hire a regular taxi. Is that still true in Laem Chabang? I would really appreciate if someone can respond to this question so that if I need to plan and hire a private car, I can. Thank you in advance. 

 

[catweazlecat]

Good Afternoon from Germany

 

I cannot confirm if that is still the case but read about it as well and decided to book a pickup myself to be on the safe side.

 

 

[Goldconnection]

We heard the same thing so we booked a pickup too. 

[IMswimmer]

On 10/21/2023 at 8:13 AM, catweazlecat said:

Good Afternoon from Germany

 

I cannot confirm if that is still the case but read about it as well and decided to book a pickup myself to be on the safe side.

 

 

I am trying to arrange a private hired car, but there are so many conflicting information on the web. Some mentioned that one way from Port to Sanutuary of Truth is only USD 20.00 for a taxi, while the private company quoted me USD 190.00 for 6-8, but wait for us at the site. Also, they said when we are going to be at Laem Chabang, there is a festival, so prices are higher as well. How is your experience with having to pre book a car? Thanks.

 

[catweazlecat]

59 minutes ago, IMswimmer said:

I am trying to arrange a private hired car, but there are so many conflicting information on the web. Some mentioned that one way from Port to Sanutuary of Truth is only USD 20.00 for a taxi, while the private company quoted me USD 190.00 for 6-8, but wait for us at the site. Also, they said when we are going to be at Laem Chabang, there is a festival, so prices are higher as well. How is your experience with having to pre book a car? Thanks.

 

We booked one for 8 to drive to Bangkok and it was no problem at all (BKK Contact). There was a thai guy advertising his shuttle service as well on our FB thread as follows:
 

If you need a taxi to pick up at Laem Chabang Port for Bangkok Tour or Pattaya Tour, contact me.

WhatsApp +66634455363

Email: booking@djtumsambartaxiservicesoi8.com

www.djtumsambartaxiservicesoi8.com

[terry&mike]

16 hours ago, catweazlecat said:

We booked one for 8 to drive to Bangkok and it was no problem at all (BKK Contact). There was a thai guy advertising his shuttle service as well on our FB thread as follows:
 

If you need a taxi to pick up at Laem Chabang Port for Bangkok Tour or Pattaya Tour, contact me.

WhatsApp +66634455363

Email: booking@djtumsambartaxiservicesoi8.com

www.djtumsambartaxiservicesoi8.com

When I read your post, I knew I recognized that name - DJ Tumsambar. I went back and checked my notes, and yep, that is who we booked for our transfers from Pattaya to BKK Airport a few months ago.

 

We booked in advance by communicating with him through WhatsApp, which worked out well. We were visiting Thailand by land (not cruise), and needed a transfer with pick up at 10:30am, from our hotel, the Dusit Thani Pattaya, to BKK Airport, this was on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022; for 2 adults with 1 bag each. The amount quoted for this transfer (just over an hour) was 1200THB (around $33 usd) plus we gave a small tip. DJ contacted us the day before by WhatsApp to let us know that his cousin would actually be doing the transfer, as he had a tour booking, and all worked out fine. 

 

If it is a holiday or festival day, or you want someone to take you somewhere and wait for you, then I expect it would cost more, and likely has gone up in the past 11 months, but this will give you an idea of what we were quoted for a basic transfer. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I'm curious about the Sanctuary of Truth.  I'd like to stop somewhere between Laem Chabang and Bangkok.  But can anyone  offer a guess as to how much time that would add to a trip from the port to the Sanctuary, quick look around, and on to Bangkok center city?

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I'm curious about the Sanctuary of Truth.  I'd like to stop somewhere between Laem Chabang and Bangkok.  But can anyone  offer a guess as to how much time that would add to a trip from the port to the Sanctuary, quick look around, and on to Bangkok center city?

 

The Sanctuary of Truth is about 35 minutes south from Laem Chabang,
Bangkok is just under 2 hours north from Laem Chabang,

The two don't tie together well

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:25 PM, John Bull said:

 

The Sanctuary of Truth is about 35 minutes south from Laem Chabang,
Bangkok is just under 2 hours north from Laem Chabang,

The two don't tie together well

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Thank you.  I'm trying to figure out where to break up the longish drive from Laem Chabang.  The driver suggested the Sanctuary, but it just seems too out of the way.  So I'll probably look further.  There's so much in Bangkok.....

[davela2]

We just got back from there.  I hired a taxi ahead of time with Pattaya Express.  Was about $60 to our hotel in Bangkok.  Super easy to work with.  Do not wait until you arrive to get a taxi!  The ship will also provide transport but only to the city center, then you still have to get to your hotel

[wahwah1]

On 12/1/2023 at 3:20 PM, davela2 said:

We just got back from there.  I hired a taxi ahead of time with Pattaya Express.  Was about $60 to our hotel in Bangkok.  Super easy to work with.  Do not wait until you arrive to get a taxi!  The ship will also provide transport but only to the city center, then you still have to get to your hotel

Hello, just want to confirm you had no issues with Pattaya Express picking you from Laem Chabang cruise port to bangkok.. I saw this company is cheaper but less reviews, so just want to confirm.

 

Thank you.

[Queen of DaNile]

Thank you for this information. We are communicating via WhatsApp and he is quoting about $82 USD($12. of it is the port fee). for pick up at the port to go to an airport hotel.

[davela2]

On 1/8/2024 at 12:20 PM, wahwah1 said:

Hello, just want to confirm you had no issues with Pattaya Express picking you from Laem Chabang cruise port to bangkok.. I saw this company is cheaper but less reviews, so just want to confirm.

 

Thank you.

I just saw this . .  no problems.  We got off the ship a lot quicker than I assumed when I prearranged the time so we had to wait about 45 mins for them, but that wasn't their fault

[holidayhelen]

So is it better to prebook a taxi at this port. We wanted to go to Pattaya to see the temple of truth. 

 

We were just going to grab a taxi on arrival.  If anyone could recommend a taxi

 

Thank you

 

H

[Miaminice]

@holidayhelen

GRAB is the way to go in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore etc. - it´s comparable to Uber.
Download the Grab App and you are all set.

We used Grab for our rides to the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya, the trip to the floating market (before it burned down 🥲) and back to the port. All simple to do. You see the fare in advance and the availability of cars in the area.

 

To have data available on the trip, I recommend Airalo Asia eSim. Worked in all the ports.

 

Here´s what we did on the cruise.

 

 

[holidayhelen]

1 hour ago, Miaminice said:

@holidayhelen

GRAB is the way to go in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore etc. - it´s comparable to Uber.
Download the Grab App and you are all set.

We used Grab for our rides to the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya, the trip to the floating market (before it burned down 🥲) and back to the port. All simple to do. You see the fare in advance and the availability of cars in the area.

 

To have data available on the trip, I recommend Airalo Asia eSim. Worked in all the ports.

 

Here´s what we did on the cruise.

 

 

Is the floating market no longer??

 

We are leaving next Tues

 

Thanks H

[Miaminice]

19 minutes ago, holidayhelen said:

Is the floating market no longer??

 

We are leaving next Tues

 

Thanks H

A part of it burned down and is closed... I have no idea how much is still left and if it´s worth going there. The Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens are a possible and nice alternative. 

[Sunlightlover]

We also need to get a taxi from Laem Chabang for a 4-5 hours day trip to Pattaya (Sanctuary of Truth and some other sights). What is the current situation with taxi at the port? If it's still cartel controlled, should we better use Grab or Bolt or pre-arrange a taxi pickup?  Thanks 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

We were scheduled to dock at Laem Chabang in February, and we did.  But it was not at the regular, larger port area I expected, but at the "Sriracha Harbour Deep Seaport" with an address of 31/4 Moo 4 Surasak, Sriracha, Chonburi 20110. It's a little north of the usual Laem Chabang docks and a little closer to Bangkok, but docks are not connected.  We were on a 1250 passenger Oceania ship and a slightly smaller Regent ship was there as well.  It was NOT disembarkation day; that was the following day.  I didn't realize where we were and got off with our luggage to go meet our driver so he could take us to Pattaya and then to Bangkok to our hotel.  But there were no taxis in sight, and no drivers with signs - just a lot of coaches signed up to take people on excursions.  I finally asked someone (port employee, I think) and was told that no drivers or taxis were allowed in, and that twe would need to go over a very long causeway to meet a driver.  Thankfully she offered to take us there, with our luggage, and when we got there, our driver (Jack Kosol, on Facebook) was there waiting.  But he had already been to the main Laem Chabang port only to find out we were somewhere else. 

 

I tell you all this just as a precautionary tale.  The situation may have been totally different the next day, but since we were long gone by then, I have no idea.  But we did go to Pattaya, which was worthwhile but possibly not totally worthwhile compared to what we could have done in Bangkok. But we did get to Bangkok, although with not geting to port until 10, waiting for the ship, and us, to be cleared, plus figuring out we were not where I had expected to be, we left  Pattaya maybe 1 or 2 PM, and the traffic was astoundingly terrible.  I live in a big city with bad traffic, but this was a nightmare.  So my advice would be to stay aware, be flexible, and don't plan too much for one day.

[Sunlightlover]

 

3 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

  ...So my advice would be to stay aware, be flexible, and don't plan too much for one day.

 

Thank you for this report. You were very fortunate that you still met with your driver, in a different port. Would you mind to tell more about your driver as I am looking for one as well? Did you pre-arrange with him to take you to Pattaya from Laem Chabang and next day to Bangkok or just to Pattaya? Were you happy/satisfied with your driver? If you visited the Nong Nooch Garden,  Sanctuary of Truth and Floating Market in Pattaya, are they (or any of them) worth to see? TIA

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

15 hours ago, Sunlightlover said:

 

 

Thank you for this report. You were very fortunate that you still met with your driver, in a different port. Would you mind to tell more about your driver as I am looking for one as well? Did you pre-arrange with him to take you to Pattaya from Laem Chabang and next day to Bangkok or just to Pattaya? Were you happy/satisfied with your driver? If you visited the Nong Nooch Garden,  Sanctuary of Truth and Floating Market in Pattaya, are they (or any of them) worth to see? TIA

Sure.  I made arrangements with someone (Jack Kosol) who was recommended on a Facebook group that I browsed to get information on Bangkok.  This was done a couple months before our early Feb.cruise.  I told him (by Facebook private messaging) we would need to be taken from Laem Chabang cruise port to a hotel in central Bangkok.  I looked for something along the route that might interest me and break up the drive a little, as I had heard the traffic could be quite bad.  I didn't find much right along the route, but Jack suggested the Sanctuary of Truth. I debated, as it wasn't really on the way, but in the end asked to go there.  I have photos here, along with the ones I took in Bangkok: https://pbase.com/roothy123/bangkok_thailand&page=all  

 

I don't remember how much we paid Jack for the ride, but think it was around $125, and I gave him a fairly good tip.  He said he'd meet us at a particular time, but if immigration took longer and we got out later, that would be fine. He said he'd remind me of our arrangements a few days prior.  He gave me his whatsapp number and said we could either pay in USD or Thai bhat.  I made sure we brought newish USD (no markings, tears, etc), as I had read that people in SE Asia often request that to avoid problems with exchange.  We liked Jack a lot, and he seemed very responsible and reliable.  We asked him if he could pick us up quite early the next morning to take us to the airport.  He said yes, and showed up as promised.  I made the arrangements via Facebook private messaging.  I didn't get his email, but could probably look for his whatsapp phone number if you'd like to text or call him.  I've used whatsapp a little and it's easy.  As for his car, it was a van type or maybe large SUV, with airconditioning and I think he had wifi. He was personable but fairly quiet (which was fine for us).

 

I did like the Sanctuary of Truth, but had I known it would take so long to get to Bangkok, I think I would have just decided to skip it, as our time in BK was quite limited - with or without any stops.  And Bangkok, while pretty crowded with tourists, had more than enough things to keep me busy trying to see what I could in basically less than a day. He was willing to take us around Bangkok a little once we got there, and basically gave us the whole day with him if we wanted it.  But we passed on doing that, checked into the hotel, and went out a little on our own.

 

We didn't visit the other places you mentioned.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I FB messaged Jack Kosol, asking if I could share his contact info. He replied:

My number is +66 89 223 9792, Whatsapp is also the same number. My email is oat789@gmail.com. Thank you very much for your kindness to recommend me to some friends. Best regards to you and your family.