Bangkok has two airports 45 kilometres apart, and every year a few thousand people discover this at the wrong desk. Suvarnabhumi (BKK) is the big glass one where almost every international flight lands; Don Mueang (DMK) is the old one on the north side where the budget airlines live. Neither is hard. What’s hard is knowing which one your ticket says, how long the other is from it, and which of the six ways into town is worth it at 11pm with two bags. Here’s the whole thing, prices from our Price Index, August 2026.
The short version: from Suvarnabhumi take the Airport Rail Link (฿45, 30 minutes) if you’re light and it’s before midnight, or the official metered taxi from level 1 (฿300–500 all-in) if you’re not. From Don Mueang take the A1 bus to Mo Chit (฿30) or a metered taxi (฿300–400). Never let a tout carry your bag to “his friend’s car”, never book the two airports within four hours of each other, and if the word “limousine” is involved you’re paying triple.
Which airport am I flying into?
Suvarnabhumi (BKK) — pronounced roughly su-wanna-poom, the “h”s are silent — handles the full-service carriers: Thai Airways, Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, Cathay, EVA, ANA, JAL, Korean, Turkish, British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, United and the rest, plus Bangkok Airways, Thai VietJet and Thai Airways’ domestic network. Don Mueang (DMK) is the low-cost base: Thai AirAsia and AirAsia X, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, Scoot. If your domestic onward flight is AirAsia, Nok or Lion it leaves from Don Mueang; if it’s VietJet, Bangkok Airways or Thai, it leaves from Suvarnabhumi — which matters enormously if your international flight lands at the other one. Check the three-letter code on the ticket, not the word “Bangkok”.
Suvarnabhumi to the city: six ways, honestly ranked
| Option | Cost | Time to Sukhumvit | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai | ฿15–45 | 30 min + BTS/MRT | Best value; daytime, light bags |
| Official metered taxi (level 1 rank) | ฿300–500 incl. ฿50 surcharge + tolls | 40–75 min | Best with bags, late, or two-plus people |
| Grab / Bolt | ฿350–600 | 40–75 min | Fixed price, card, no haggling — fine |
| Airport bus S1 to Khao San | ฿60 | 60–90 min | Only if Khao San is the destination |
| Pre-booked private transfer | ฿800–1,200 | 40–75 min | Families, red-eyes, first-timers who want a name board |
| “Limousine” counters in arrivals | ฿1,000–1,500 | 40–75 min | Skip — same road, triple the price |
The Airport Rail Link leaves from the basement (level B), runs roughly 05:30 to midnight every 10–12 minutes, and takes about 26 minutes to Phaya Thai, where you change to the BTS for Sukhumvit, Siam and Silom — or get off a stop early at Makkasan for the MRT at Phetchaburi. ฿45 end to end, a token from the machine, no luggage racks to speak of: it’s the right answer with a backpack before midnight and the wrong one with two suitcases at rush hour, when the BTS change is a scrum.
The official taxi rank is on level 1 (one floor down from arrivals): take a ticket from the machine, it names your lane, the driver must use the meter. You pay the meter plus a legal ฿50 airport surcharge plus the expressway tolls (around ฿75) if you say yes to the tollway, which you should. Central Sukhumvit or Silom lands around ฿350–450 all-in; the Old Town a little more. Anyone approaching you in the arrivals hall offering a taxi is not this — the quoted ฿700–1,200 “flat rate” is the scam version of the same trip. Grab and Bolt pick up at signed bays on level 1 too; slightly dearer than the meter, but the fare is fixed and on a card, and at 2am that’s worth ฿100. A pre-booked private transfer is the family-with-toddler answer: a driver with your name, a car seat on request, no queue.
Don Mueang to the city: smaller airport, easier choices
Don Mueang is on the north edge of the city, closer to Chatuchak and Ari than to Sukhumvit. The A1 bus (฿30, every 10–15 minutes from outside Terminal 1 and 2) goes to Mo Chit BTS / Chatuchak MRT in 20–40 minutes and is the cheap answer for anyone heading to the BTS line; the A2 continues to Victory Monument, the A3 and A4 (฿50) reach Lumphini and the Khao San area. The SRT Red Line from Don Mueang station (walkway from the terminal) to Krung Thep Aphiwat takes about 17 minutes for ฿20–33 and connects to the MRT Blue Line — good for the river side of town. Metered taxis queue outside arrivals on the ground floor: meter plus the ฿50 surcharge plus tolls, ฿300–400 to central Sukhumvit, 40–90 minutes depending entirely on the hour. Grab works the same as at Suvarnabhumi; private transfers from Don Mueang run ฿700–1,000.
Changing airports: the four-hour rule
The two airports are 45 km apart across the city’s worst traffic. A free shuttle bus runs between them for passengers holding an onward boarding pass — roughly hourly through the day, 50–90 minutes depending on the road — and a taxi is ฿400–600 plus tolls for about the same time; fixed-price inter-airport transfers exist for those who’d rather not gamble on the rank. The rule: never book a connection between BKK and DMK with less than four hours, and treat five as comfortable, because you’ll also clear immigration, collect bags, cross the city and check in again. If you’re self-connecting a cheap AirAsia domestic leg onto a long-haul arrival, it’s often smarter to fly the domestic leg from Suvarnabhumi on VietJet or Bangkok Airways and pay the ฿500 difference.
Arriving: immigration, the arrival card, SIMs and cash
Fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before you land — it’s free, takes five minutes and replaced the paper form; our TDAC guide walks through it. Immigration at Suvarnabhumi swings from ten minutes to an hour at peak; automated gates now take many foreign passports, and the queue you want is the one that’s moving, not the shortest. Once through: SIM counters (AIS, True, dtac) in arrivals sell tourist packages for ฿300–600 — our SIM guide says which; cash — skip the arrivals-hall exchange rates and go down to the basement by the Rail Link, where the downtown booths run counters, or make one big ATM withdrawal (the ฿220-fee playbook); and left luggage is on the basement and departures levels for about ฿100–200 a bag a day if you’re killing time between flights.
Departing: how early, and the satellite terminal
Three hours for international at Suvarnabhumi, two for domestic at either airport, and add half an hour if you’re flying from SAT-1, Suvarnabhumi’s satellite terminal — the S gates — reached by an automated train from the main concourse after security. Don Mueang’s Terminal 1 is international, Terminal 2 domestic, joined by a walkway; security is quick, the queues at AirAsia’s bag drop are not. Road time to either airport at rush hour (7–9am, 4–8pm) can double: leave Sukhumvit 90 minutes before you think you need to, or take the train.
Sleeping at the airport, or near it
For a genuine overnight layover: at Suvarnabhumi, the Hyatt Regency inside the airport grounds (the former airport Novotel, rebranded in 2025) is a free shuttle from the terminal; at Don Mueang the Amari Don Muang is joined to Terminal 1 by a walkway. For anything longer than one night, don’t — stay in the city and ride the train back; our Bangkok area guide explains which areas put you 30 minutes from which airport.
Bangkok airports: your questions, answered
What is the cheapest way from Suvarnabhumi to the city?
The Airport Rail Link — ฿45 to Phaya Thai in about 26 minutes, then the BTS. It runs roughly 05:30 to midnight. The S1 bus to Khao San is ฿60 but slower; a metered taxi is ฿300–500 all-in and worth it with bags or after midnight.
How much is a taxi from Bangkok airport to the city?
From the official level-1 rank at Suvarnabhumi, ฿300–500 to central Bangkok including the legal ฿50 surcharge and about ฿75 in tolls; from Don Mueang ฿300–400. Anyone quoting a flat ฿700–1,200 in the arrivals hall is the tout version — walk down to the rank.
How long does it take to get from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang?
50–90 minutes by the free shuttle (boarding pass required) or a ฿400–600 taxi, depending on traffic — and you’ll need to clear immigration and re-check bags either side. Allow at least four hours between flights across the two airports.
Which Bangkok airport do AirAsia and Nok Air use?
Don Mueang (DMK), along with Thai Lion Air and Scoot. Thai VietJet, Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways fly from Suvarnabhumi (BKK). Check the airport code on the ticket before you book a connection.
Can I buy a SIM card and change money at the airport?
Yes to both — SIM counters in arrivals at both airports sell tourist packages for ฿300–600; for cash, use the basement exchange booths at Suvarnabhumi or one large ATM withdrawal rather than the arrivals-hall kiosks, whose rates are several per cent worse.
Related guides
- Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC): The 5-Minute Form
- SIMs & eSIMs in Thailand: 10 Minutes at the Airport, Sorted
- Where to Stay in Bangkok: Every Area, Honestly Ranked
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Transfers and onward travel: airport transfers, and every domestic flight, train, bus and ferry out of Bangkok, on 12Go — our route guides for Chiang Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui say which option to pick. First night: compare Bangkok hotels on Agoda near a BTS or Airport Rail Link station.
