My husband and I and our 3 children are travelling to Thailand in early March for 3 weeks and I am just wondering if anyone can tell me how many people are taxis allowed to carry and if it is not going to be possible is it much more expensive to get a mini van.
Also I am thinking of booking the Davis hotel for our 4 day/3 night stay in Bangkok, please could anyone tell me how far it is away from shopping, sky train etc.
Thankyou in advance for your help.
How many people in a taxi?
You all should be fine in the one taxi. Seatbelts are only worn in the front seat.
How many people in a taxi?
Just a word of caution regarding seat belts and Thailand. T
he road toll is one of the highes in the world..... I don%26#39;t think I would let my kids into a cab if they were not belted down... even in a small town.. ok on Samui or Phuket I suppose, but most certainly not on a Bangkok freeway. A limo/minivan does cost more.... probably about twice as much.... a small price to pay for peace of mind.... I think?
The trouble is that most cabs do not have any seat belts in the back. Or they are only half there. We tried to put seatbelts on one time when we were hurtling down the free way. Non existant. So what do you do?
I now only use hotel limos now and pay a bit extra.
Thank you both for your replies it is appreciated, it does pose another question however and that is are minivans plentiful in Bangkok which is my main area of concern?
Meant to mention also about luggage... The usual taxi is a smallish Datsuns running on liquid gas. So the gas tank takes up a lot of space in the booth, leaving only room for a couple of middle sized suitcases. Ok for 2 or 3 people with luggage but tough to fit 4 or 5 and luggage as well.
The point about missing or not working seatbelts is valid too. However it seems in the last year or so, a lot of the taxis are newer and in much better condition than they used to be.
Limos and minivans are available just about everywhere. Might pay to look through this board if you want to make arrangements before you arrive. Often the hotel will do the meeting and greeting at the airport but usually not at the best price. There are always touts at the airport, but it pays to be ';on guard'; as some of the are opportunist and will try to charge more than ';fair price';. Hone your bargaining skills and find out in advance what ';fair price'; should be. Once in your hotel generally the concierge will get you a car or van when you need it.
Tong can arrange transfers for around 600 baht in Bangkok as well as another company (not sure of price) called Julie Taxi (I think) ... Ratt does BKK transfers too....
Thank you everyone for the very helpful information I do not need a transfer as such as we will be arriving from Chiang Mai on the night train but I did want to do some looking around I have made a note of tongs contact details already as we would very much like to do a tour with them but it was just generally getting around and as I have a reasonably tight budget I was thinking I should be prepared for the possibility of having to always hire mini vans, as previously mentioned (and I totally agree) I cannot put a price on well being and safety of my family.
I don%26#39;t know how much to allow for say travelling to MBK or the more local shops etc but will certainly brush up my bartering skills and learn the walking away technique I keep hearing about. I have decided to stay in a more centrally located hotel to save on travel to some extent.
I have had that many people on a motorbike in Thailand. You can put as many people as can fit in a Taxi. Have a great trip.
H2O just a suggestions... the best and cheapest way to get around, as you obviously know, is the skytrain %26amp; boats.... What you should look at doing is hiring the guide that people speak about on here called Nok. Nok charges 500 baht per day as she is %26#39;unqualified%26#39; and doesnt have transport... instead she will take you on all the public transport.... Grab her for your first day (or longer if you want) and she will be able to show you how to get around the public transport system...
I have hired her for 1 day in BKK as I need to find my way to the train station to pick up tickets, as well as find my way to the river for a cruise (the cruise doesnt do free transfer from my hotel) + I just need someone to help with shopping etc....
I also have Tong one day but am using her for the Grand Palace and more %26#39;guide%26#39; stuff!
If you are interested in Nok her email is: nan_ke80@yahoo.co.uk
Love Emjay xx
Thanks so much Emjay you are such a sweetie that sounds like a great idea, I like the idea of the sky train and getting around on local transport it%26#39;s just where to start! I went to Bangkok many years ago just for a one day stopover on the way to the UK for my fathers funeral and all I really remember was that it was busy busy busy. I have an adventurous heart but a nervous head these days.
Emjay would you know if there is a site with the sky train timetable/stops and fares?
Also I would really like to give a little gift of thanks to people we come across and was thinking that the kids could make some little thankyou cards in Thai (just the word thankyou in Thai) so i could slip a little something in the card, what do you think is a reasonable tip (I would hate to offend) and do you think this is appropriate?
Thank you again you are a font of knowledge and a credit to this forum.
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