# Tuk Tuk's are expensive?



## dingobingo (May 11, 2014)

Hey folks.

After paying 450 for my taxi from the airport to Nana I was surprised that a Tuk Tuk costs 150 to go from Nana to Central World. They seem comparatively expensive?

They wanted 200. Should it have been much less than 150?


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## Mweiga (Sep 24, 2010)

dingobingo said:


> Hey folks.
> 
> After paying 450 for my taxi from the airport to Nana I was surprised that a Tuk Tuk costs 150 to go from Nana to Central World. They seem comparatively expensive?
> 
> They wanted 200. Should it have been much less than 150?


Tuk Tuks generally have two prices for a journey - one for Thais and one for Farangs.

They regard Farangs as tourists and their noisy, hair raising ride, shrouded in smelly two-stroke exhaust smoke, a must-do tourist activity for which they charge over the odds - and this is all before you get into the gemstone shop scam many of us have encountered at some time ...

Use the reliable and much cheaper meter taxis if all you want is a comfortable journey direct to your destination at the best price.


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## joseph44 (May 4, 2011)

So, in other words.....a TukTuk ride of THB 150 for a short distance is pretty steep.
A metertaxi would have cost half. 

Try the app: Grabtaxi: GrabTaxi: The Fastest and Safest Taxi Booking App in Bangkok Thailand


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## dingobingo (May 11, 2014)

Thanks all. Crossed it off my list now. Taxi it is


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## sweepy1900 (Nov 3, 2014)

Even Thai's are overcharged for Tuk Tuks. I personally don't bother using them


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## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

Why get a taxi from the airport?

Print out a map of your hotel before you get here (and the phone number so you can call the front desk if needed) then get a cheap thai sim at the airport arrivals hall, then go to the basement, and get the express train into the city, then transfer to the BTS, or MTR/MRT, THEN grab a cab from the station to your hotel, if needed (you'll want a cab if your hotel is not literally at the door of a station, dragging a suitcase down a soi is only for special forces die hards.)

All of the above should come in at under THB200 if you use the trains and BTS system intelligently, and although it sounds like a hassle, it's not if you prepare in advance, and it's likely to be faster. 

In some cases your hotel may be at a BTS station, so no cab needed at all (just remember not every station has lifts, if you have a lot of big bags) but anyways, it's not just about the money, you could be stuck on the freeway near the city end for hours at the wrong time of day...


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## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

sweepy1900 said:


> Even Thai's are overcharged for Tuk Tuks. I personally don't bother using them


I saw an ELECTRIC tuk tuk in Porto (portugal) last year. :lol: It will have to be renamed a 'swishhhh'

The sooner they vanish into history the better, for all sorts of reasons. 

I'd like scooters be banned here too, and the population obliged to use bicycles again, they are mostly not competent to be in control of two wheels and a motor.

The motorcycle cult really was the worst thing in modern times to happen in SE Asia, it has spawned an environmental and road traffic nightmare. 

Or....why didn't the so-called world changing Segway never catch on here? Probably cost... my calculations put them at THB 31,0709.36 wait a minute, it's not that much more than a fancy scooter, and electricity charge costs are miniscule... and surely millions of them being made would lower the price, so what happened Thailand, and especially, Singapore?
rant over


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## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

Whoops! mistake on the Segway cost, I missed seeing that '0' in there THB 310,709.36 or £6000.00 they'd be way off the price scale here for what they are. They'd still be cost effective in Singapore though...


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## dhream (Jan 30, 2012)

dingobingo said:


> Hey folks.
> 
> After paying 450 for my taxi from the airport to Nana I was surprised that a Tuk Tuk costs 150 to go from Nana to Central World. They seem comparatively expensive?
> 
> They wanted 200. Should it have been much less than 150?


dingobingo,

Tuk tuks 'should' be THB 20 to just about anywhere, given the crap, polluted, dangerous ride you are getting... since that aint' gonna happen, as has been said, metered cabs are the way to go. Be aware that as you get to know the city, it may seem that your cabby is taking you the long way round, this may not necessarily be down to wickedness on his part, as some of the road systems, especially around Lumphini Park, oblige drivers to use long detours, even doubling back on themselves, the problem is, unless you are fluent in Thai, and know BKK like a good cabbie, you'll never really know. 

You'll soon get the hang of when a taxi is cheaper than the BTS/MRT systems. Usually when there are more than one pax, and the traffic is light, which is often when the trains are shut for the night anyway LOL!

I almost always go for the trains unless I have a shedload of shopping or the destination is out of the way, even then, I'd likely try work out where the nearest station or even aircon bus goes, to get there... 

If it is somewhere obscure, try to print out or get hold of a map in thai, for the driver.

Learn how to give basic directions in thai: left, right, straight on, stop here... 

I try to get near to my destination by other means as many cabbies may be as clueless as you in getting to where you want to go.

My theory is the closer to the destination I can get before hailing a cab, the more likely the driver may be local to that part of BKK.

Then of course there is the famed BKK traffic jam, they are less frequent than the days before the trains, but oh my lord, they can still be a nightmare... Xmas day last year I sat in a cab crawling along at maybe one metre per hour, for almost an hour, victim of one of the 'shutdown' protest marches, before I gave up, paid up, got out, and found a train to take me back home where I made other plans.

Have you found your ice cream yet?


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## dingobingo (May 11, 2014)

Good advice guys. I'm happy paying 450 for an airport taxi and saving on the hassle of switching on the BTS etc. Went to Don Meung the other day for just 275.

Yep, I'm well up on the ice cream locations - but I only have it once a month due to a dairy intolerance - haha.


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## robbiebarn (Oct 31, 2014)

Yeah usually they use fixed prices.. to go cheaper, try motorbike taxi or group taxi van.


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