Don Mueang Airport to Bangkok: Red Line, A1–A4 Bus or Taxi

Choose by where you are staying

The right option depends on what is at the other end, how many bags you have and what time you land. All fares below are adult fares in Thai baht, checked on 12 October 2026.

For one or two people with backpacks, the bus or train is clearly cheaper. For three or four people with full-size luggage, the gap narrows because each person pays the train and metro fares, while one taxi carries everyone door to door without the transfer at Bang Sue (see the example totals below).

SRT Red Line: Don Mueang to Krung Thep Aphiwat

The Red Line is a commuter railway run by SRT Electrified Train Company (RED Line SRTET). Its Don Mueang station page says the station sits on Kamphaeng Phet 6 Road in front of the airport, opens at 05:30 and closes at 24:00, and that station exit 6 has a link to the airport's domestic passenger terminal (Terminal 2). The page names only the domestic-terminal link, so if you land at the international terminal (Terminal 1), ask airport staff for the way to the Red Line and allow extra time.

The operator's fare table lists these adult fares from Don Mueang, checked 12 October 2026:

• Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bangkok's main rail terminal, for the MRT and long-distance trains): 33 baht
• Chatuchak: 29 baht
• Lak Si: 18 baht

The timetable page says fares are charged by distance at 1.50 baht per kilometre. It only prints departures from Krung Thep Aphiwat, not from Don Mueang: on the Rangsit branch that runs through Don Mueang, trains leave about every 10 minutes in the morning peak from 07:00 and the evening peak from 17:00, and about every 15 minutes at most other times, with the first at 05:00 and the last listed at 00:00. Expect a similar pattern in the other direction, but the operator does not publish it on that page.

Buying a ticket

The ticket types page offers a single-journey token for one trip, a stored-value card for 300 baht (200 baht of travel, a 50 baht deposit and a 50 baht issue fee) and a 30-trip monthly pass. For one or two rides, the token is the sensible choice. According to the ticket issuing page, the token machine calculates the fare from the destination you select, sells up to five tokens per transaction, and the token is valid on the day of purchase. The page does not say which payment the token machine takes, and it mentions no bank-card or QR payment, so have small baht notes ready.

Changing to the MRT at Bang Sue

The Krung Thep Aphiwat station page says an internal walkway near ticket hall 2 connects to MRT Bang Sue on the Blue Line. You exit the Red Line gates and buy a separate MRT ticket. The Blue Line then runs south through the city; how to pay and what it costs are in our guide to using the BTS and MRT for the first time.

If your goal is the weekend market, get off the Red Line at Chatuchak (29 baht) instead; our Chatuchak Weekend Market guide covers the market itself.

Airport buses A1, A2, A3 and A4

These lettered routes are operated by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and listed by the airport. The details below come only from the airport's pages, not from BMTA's own website. The airport's BMTA bus page gives the pickup points as in front of the Service Hall building and Terminal 1 (international), Floor 1, Gate 6. The airport's getting-there page also lists Terminal 2 (domestic), Floor 1, Gate 12, and names the main stops:

The two airport pages do not agree on hours. The bus page gives the A1 as 05:45–24:00 every 15 minutes, the A2 as 06:00–23:00 every 15 minutes, and the A3 and A4 as 06:00–23:00 every 30 minutes. The getting-there page, marked as last updated 18 July 2021, gives the A1 as 06:50–23:59, the A2 05:00–22:00, the A3 07:00–23:00 and the A4 07:00–22:40. The "safe hours" column above uses only the times both pages cover. The bus page also shows a 23:00 closing time next to the Gate 6 point and midnight next to the Service Hall point, so late in the evening ask at the Service Hall or, better, plan on a taxi.

The A4 is the direct choice for Khao San and for the area around the Grand Palace, which sits by Sanam Luang. Mo Chit 2 and Victory Monument are transfer points: from there you continue by BTS, bus or taxi. The bus page does not mention how to pay, so carry coins and small notes.

Metered taxi: what you will actually pay

The airport's taxi-meter page lists two queues, both shown as open 24 hours: Terminal 1, Floor 1, Gate 8, and Terminal 2, Floor 1, next to Gate 15. On top of the meter, the passenger pays a 50 baht surcharge that goes to the driver under a Ministry of Transport announcement, plus any expressway or special tolls. The same page sets luggage fees: up to 21 baht for a case over 26 inches, up to 20 baht for each item from the third onwards, and up to 100 baht for sports equipment or boxes of 50 inches or more. The general airport call centre number listed is 1722.

The meter itself follows the Bangkok rates the Royal Thai Government published (flag fall raised from 13 January 2023), for Bangkok-registered taxis with up to seven seats; the same rates apply to the Suvarnabhumi queue:

• 40 baht for the first kilometre
• 6.50 baht per km up to 10 km, 7.00 baht from 10 to 20 km, 8.00 baht from 20 to 40 km
• 3.00 baht per minute when the car is stopped or moving at 6 km/h or slower

As an illustration only, a 25 km ride in free-flowing traffic would show about 209 baht on the meter (40 + 58.50 + 70 + 40 = 208.50), so about 259 baht with the airport surcharge, before tolls, luggage fees and any time in traffic. Every 10 minutes crawling in a jam adds 30 baht. The meter, not a fixed price, decides the fare, so make sure it is running when you leave the queue.

Example totals for different groups

These use the checked fares above. They leave out the MRT fare, tolls and traffic time, which vary by trip.

• Solo traveller to Khao San, mid-afternoon, backpack: A4 bus, 50 baht.
• Couple heading to a hotel on the MRT Blue Line, 08:00 landing: Red Line 2 × 33 = 66 baht, plus two MRT fares from Bang Sue. Rush-hour traffic does not affect the train.
• Family of four with four large cases, landing at 23:30: the buses have stopped or are about to. The Red Line would cost 4 × 33 = 132 baht plus four MRT fares and needs a transfer before the station closes at 24:00. A taxi costs the meter + 50 baht + tolls + up to 21 baht per case over 26 inches, with one door-to-door ride.

Landing late at night

After about 22:00 the bus options thin out: the A2 and A4 end first. The Red Line station at Don Mueang is listed as closing at 24:00, so if you clear immigration and baggage after about 23:15, go straight to the taxi queue rather than risk finding the station shut. The two taxi queues run 24 hours, and the 50 baht surcharge and meter rates on the pages checked carry no night-time supplement.

If your return or onward flight uses Bangkok's other airport, our Suvarnabhumi airport guide covers its train, bus and taxi options.