Planes, trains, Grab, and boats in Thailand
Thailand is easy to move around once you know which tool fits which hop. Grab covers most cities and many tourist towns; the meter is clearer than a taxi hail at the airport. BTS and MRT in Bangkok beat traffic for the central corridor. Chiang Mai is a songthaew and Grab town. Islands are boats and, in high season, speedboat tickets that sell out on Friday nights.
Airport questions dominate first arrivals: Suvarnabhumi vs Don Mueang, Airport Rail Link vs Grab vs taxi desk, whether to buy a rabbit card the same day. In the south, the question is usually ferry vs flight to Samui or a night bus to Krabi. Post your landing time and bags — late flights change the answer.
Trains (State Railway and the newer lines) are comfortable for Bangkok–Chiang Mai and Bangkok–the south if you book a sleeper. Minivans are faster and tighter. Motorbike rental is everywhere and is also how a lot of travelers get hurt; if you ask about riding, say whether you have an IDP and real experience.
Prices move with fuel, holidays, and Songkran. Treat any number in an old thread as a range, not a quote. Ask for the route you are taking this week and people will correct the current Grab or boat fare.
Guides on getting around
From the community
Rent a scooter Thailand price: what are people actually paying once everything is counted? The daily rate is the advertised part and the least interesting one. Deposits, damage claims on return, and what happens to the price when you rent by the week are where the real variation sits, and it swings by island and by shop rather than by country. The deposit question in particular has a documented answer worth reading first: https://meetlocale.com/guides/thailand-scams What did you pay, where, and did you get the full deposit back?
Read more →Getting aroundWhat do you need to rent a scooter in Thailand, legally rather than practically? A shop being willing to rent to you is not the same as it being legal. Australian government advice is that you need a valid motorcycle licence, warns that some rental companies will tell you otherwise, and states that riding without the correct licence can lead to arrest. The UK FCDO adds that riding without the licence you would need at home can void your travel insurance completely, and that rental scooters in tourist areas are often unregistered and cannot legally be used on a public road. The sourced version is here: https://meetlocale.com/guides/is-thailand-safe-to-travel-alone One separate rule: do not leave a passport as the deposit. https://meetlocale.com/guides/thailand-scams What did the shop you used actually ask you for?
Read more →Getting aroundIs the Bangkok to Chiang Mai train worth it when the flight takes about an hour? On paper the plane wins outright. The argument for the sleeper is that it removes a hotel night and an airport transfer from both ends, which changes the maths more than the ticket price suggests. The argument against is that a bad night on a train costs you the next day. Which airport you would be flying from matters here too, and that part we have written up: https://meetlocale.com/guides/don-mueang-vs-suvarnabhumi If you have done both, did you actually sleep on the train, and which would you book next time?
Read more →Getting aroundCan you drive Bangkok to Chiang Mai, and is it sane rather than merely possible? It is a long day at the wheel on roads that carry a serious safety record. Foreign governments single out road traffic as the largest physical risk to visitors in Thailand, which is worth weighing before anyone treats this as a scenic option. Our sourced write-up is here: https://meetlocale.com/guides/is-thailand-safe-to-travel-alone What those sources do not cover is whether the drive is enjoyable or simply long. If you have driven it, where did you break the journey, and would you do it again?
Read more →Getting aroundHow to get around Bangkok without losing half the day to traffic? The rail lines are straightforward until your destination is not near one, and that is where people split into camps: river boats, motorbike taxis, or sitting in a car and accepting it. Each of those works brilliantly right up to the point where it does not. The airport-to-city leg is the one we have documented properly: https://meetlocale.com/guides/bangkok-airport-to-city Which combination ended up working for you, and where exactly did it fall apart?
Read more →Getting around
Grab or Bolt in Bangkok?
Both apps installed. Same pickup, two prices. As of 30 Aug 2026 I want a rule, not a brand speech.
Read more →Getting around
Grab or taxi from Suvarnabhumi after midnight?
Landing after the last Airport Rail Link. Bags, one person, hotel near Asok. I do not want a laminated card in the hall. As of 30 Aug 2026 this is the pickup fork — last-train times are the other thread.
Read more →Getting aroundCan I tap a credit card on the Airport Rail Link?
Last-train times are the other thread. This is only the gate: Visa/Mastercard vs a token.
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AIS or True eSIM for a two-week trip?
Phone supports eSIM. Two weeks, Bangkok then one island. I keep seeing “299/499/799” screenshots. What is actually true this month.
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Can I buy a tourist SIM at 7-Eleven?
US passport, phone that takes an eSIM or a physical SIM, land late. I keep seeing “just grab a SIM at 7-11.” The eSIM page on here says they often will not register a tourist card.
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Last Airport Rail Link from Suvarnabhumi
People keep asking “does the train still run if I land at 11:40.” The useful number is the board at Suvarnabhumi City Line, not a blog from 2019.
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Bangkok-Chiang Mai on the SRT app. I have a 2nd class fan seater, not a berth. Is that 12 hours of regret or just loud.
Getting aroundDon Mueang to the city after midnight?
AirAsia into DMK, hotel near Asok. There is no Airport Rail Link here. I do not want the BKK midnight map pasted onto the wrong airport.
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BTS Rabbit card vs paying per ride
Three to five days on Sukhumvit. Do I buy the plastic or just the machine ticket.
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