It is enormous, but very modern and well organized.

If you arrive from abroad and have domestic flight to Phuket, Chiang Mai, or other Thai destinations by all means queue for Immagration and passport control at the "Transfer" desks, not at the main immigration desks (the transfer desks are much less crowded).

The old airport Don Muang is now mainly used as a domestic airport. International has two terminals and is very modern and well organized.

Getting into Town

Suvarnabhumi airport is located unfortunately much farther away from Bangkok than Don Muang (about 1 to 11/2 hours car ride). You can use buses or a taxi.

Tip: The Novotel aiport hotel at Suvernabhumi is very overpriced, so that an overnight stay or dayroomis not really recommendable. Howeve,r if you just have stop over of several hours: they have a very nice pool area where you can sit, if you order at least something to drink or eat. The airport is located about 30 miles outside of the city and the taxi or bus ride into town can take anything between 40 minutes (at night or during weekends) and 3 hours (during rush hour). Buses leave at regular intervals from the terminals and drop passengers off at all the major hotels - this can take very long and is not recommended. An alternative are taxies (about 300 to 400 Baht plus 70 to 80 Baht Highway toll). The Thai Airways Limousine Service also offers chauffeured cars at affordable rates (500 Baht with a "regular car" or 650 Baht with a "limousine") Although this is slightly more expensive than a taxi, we recommend this service, because a) the drivers speak at least a little English, b) they adopt a more cautious and less reckless driving style than the average Bangkok taxi driver, and c) they won`t in the middle of the highway start re-negotiating the fare. Trains that leave at regular intervals form the airport to Bangkok`s Hualompong Station are very cheap, but extremely uncomfortable (the trains have no aircondition and are very crowded).

Getting Around in Town

If you are not for business reasons in Bangkok but for sightseeing please let us give you the following advice: do not try to save money on local transport (unless you have weeks for your visit instead of the usual two, three, or four days in Bangkok) - don`t hesitate to take a taxi if you feel tired or exhausted. The Bangkok taxies are reliable, most drivers (not 100% but something like 95%) are friendly and honest and turn on the taximeter, and the taxies are cheap compared to prices in Western Europe or the US. Although riding the Bangkok buses can be fun and is recommended if you are interested in the local lifestyle AND are not in a hurry to get from place A to place B  AND  can pick those times for your rides when the buses are not too crowded - they can be uncomfortable in the rush hours and are very slow and relying on them could seriously spoil your holiday. If you are on a budget, save your money elsewhere, but set aside something like 500  Baht per day (the equivalent to 15 US Dollars) for taxi rides.

A new addition are the Tourist Express Boats. There are first-class boats; a day ticket costs 75 Baht (single trip tickets are not available). These boats always have an English-speaking guide on board as well as small amenities like cold water for drinking and maps. They are less crowded that the regular express boats - recommendable. They operate from 9.30 am to 3 pm. 

The newest development is the Skytrain. This is an overhead train, sitting on concrete pilings 40 feet above the ground and running along 16 miles of Bangkok's worst streets.  (Online Bangkok Skytrain Route Map) The route covers crowded downtown areas, but it does not reach into  the sprawling suburbs, a complaint of many commuters who will have to  take cars or buses to main stations at the end of the line. Also, tickets cost about 40 Baht which is a lot more than the five Baht for a bus  ticket and probably too much for most citizens. Nevertheless, it is an improvement. (Skytrain Fares Chart)