Must-Know Tips for Safe Taxi Rides in Thailand on Your Independent Trip

Text and photos by /mimi Han

When traveling independently in Bangkok, you’ll almost definitely use Bangkok taxis, tuk-tuks, and motorbike taxis, mainly because they’re so affordable. After riding them a few times, you’ll realize that Bangkok’s BTS and MRT systems are actually quite expensive. For the same distance, a taxi might cost you 50 baht, whereas two people on the MRT would spend 80 baht. Plus, a taxi takes you right to your door, while the MRT involves going up and down stairs and hauling luggage around. So taxis really do offer great value for money. But almost every friend who comes to Bangkok will tell you that Bangkok taxis often play tricks. This post is about sharing our experiences~

Do Bangkok taxis really scam you or take detours? I was both excited and a bit nervous about planning my Bangkok independent trip, so I did quite a bit of research beforehand. But I still fell victim as soon as I got out of the airport—maybe it was meant to be a wake-up call right after landing. To save time, we took a taxi directly from Don Mueang Airport to our hotel. The fare should have been around 300–400 baht, but I ended up paying 850 baht… He took the highway (the toll fee of 120 baht was passed on to me), and also drove around in circles (or maybe the meter was broken?). But since I was new in town, I didn’t want to or didn’t bother arguing with him.

Where I went wrong was that the hotel we were staying at, the AVANI Riverside Bangkok Hotel, had just opened in 2016, so I shouldn’t have just given the driver the English address, which gave him an excuse to get lost. Also, the decision to take the highway was tricky—Bangkok’s surface roads are extremely congested. A friend told me the most outrageous case was a 15-minute drive that took two hours. So consider this depending on rush hour times.

Although the first impression was bad, later rides didn’t have any of these problems. How do I know? Because on the first day, airport to Hotel A → 850 baht; on the last day, Hotel B to airport → 250 baht (booked through the hotel, only 230 baht showed on the meter, and he didn’t ask for the change, thanks Kai). And from Hotel A to Hotel B, we took a taxi for just 50 baht. With numbers like these, anyone can tell, right?

Let me speak up for the taxi drivers a bit (defending people even after being scammed). On the last day, we got the chance to ask a local about this, and he said it’s not just tourists—even Bangkok locals often run into issues when taking taxis. The main reason is that fares are just too cheap, starting at 35 baht, ticking up 2 baht at a time (it used to be 0.5 baht). Driving 35 kilometers might cost only around 350–400 baht, which really isn’t much (and Bangkok’s gas prices are higher than Taiwan’s).

So they try to make some extra money off tourists. Minor things include not giving change or taking longer routes. More serious cases involve tampering with meters or taking passengers to affiliated shops. He once took a trip that was usually around 300 baht, but one time it suddenly became 900 baht—it turned out the meter had been tampered with. At that moment, he gave the driver 300 baht. When the driver refused, he threatened to call the police, but locals who ride often can spot the issue quickly, and they share a common language. For us tourists, it’s harder to notice. In short, these drivers are just trying to make a living. Unless it’s really outrageous, it’s better to let it slide—your mood during the trip matters more.

So is there a safer way to ride? Actually, if you keep a few key points in mind, Bangkok taxis are a very convenient mode of transport.

1. Get a Thai SIM card (available at the airport, very cheap). You can use it to communicate or call your hotel to relay your location to the driver.
2. Bangkok taxis come in all colors, but they’re all the same. There’s no difference in whether they use meters, have air conditioning, are for city driving, or use highways.
3. It’s best to prepare your Thai address in writing, or show photos or GPS on your phone. Before getting in, make sure the driver knows where you’re going.
4. Always tell the driver “by meter” (use the meter). If they refuse, get another taxi. Want to bargain? Get another taxi. Not feeling comfortable? Get another taxi. There are tons of taxis in Bangkok—we don’t need to put up with it.
5. The fare starts at 35 baht, and the meter only ticks up after the first kilometer. Each tick is 2 baht. If it starts ticking just a minute after getting in, something might be wrong.
6. Ignore any drivers trying to sell you tours or private car packages. Tuk-tuk drivers are the same. Otherwise, you might get taken to affiliated shops or be told that, say, Wat Phra Kaew is closed and then be taken to some unknown temple.
7. Don’t take a taxi alone as a woman, and preferably have a man get in first.

It’s recommended to get a Thai SIM card. Right after exiting customs at the airport, there are lots of shops selling them at low prices—for 299 baht, you get 5 days of unlimited data and calls. It’s reassuring to have staff install and test it on-site. You can use the phone to contact booked restaurants or hotels, or, if using a ride-hailing app, to communicate with Grab or Uber drivers. Or you can call your hotel or restaurant to relay your location to the driver, reducing the chance they’ll make excuses about not finding the place and taking a longer route.

If you get in a taxi from a hotel or the airport, or you mention you’re going to a tourist attraction, the driver will immediately know you’re a sightseeing tourist. They might show you brochures and ask if you want to go to those places, or ask about your itinerary and where you want to go, blah blah blah. My advice is to ignore it all and just say no. Otherwise, they might recommend tours or keep asking if you want to book a private car for a certain day, etc. The prices definitely won’t be low~

Is taking a taxi really the best option? The truly awful thing in Bangkok isn’t the taxis—it’s the traffic jams, the traffic jams, and more traffic jams!! Especially in the city center. It’s usually stop-and-go even on a normal day, but during rush hour, it’s absolutely insane. A 15-minute stretch could take two hours. It’s basically like a giant parking lot. So it’s necessary to combine taxis with public transport like the BTS, MRT, and water taxis. Since we aren’t familiar with the roads, our strategy is to take the MRT whenever possible, and only choose a taxi if it’s truly not an option. We’d rather spend a bit more money than deal with the combined risks of being scammed and stuck in traffic. But even so, we still took taxis around 5–6 times~

Tuk-tuks are so cool—Are tuk-tuks safe? As for tuk-tuks, the situation is pretty similar to taxis, except tuk-tuks don’t use meters, so you have to haggle with the driver. A reference price is 50 baht for a 5-minute ride, 150 baht for a 15-minute ride (you can check the distance on Google Maps first). Riding a tuk-tuk feels more exotic than a taxi, but their speed on the road is terrifying—you’ll feel like you’re constantly being thrown around. It’s quite the thrill ride. We only took one tuk-tuk this trip just to try it out, but even then, we ended up being taken to a place selling tours.

If you’re taking a taxi or tuk-tuk to a pier, make sure to insist to the driver that you only want to go to Sathorn Pier or a nearby one. They’ll keep asking tourists if they want to join a boat tour, or even show you pictures of attractions and ask if you want to go there. If you say “Yes!” they’ll take you to a boat operator they work with and try to sell you, say, a tour of nine temples along the river or a boat rental service—for two people, it’ll cost 2500 baht. (Yup, we fell for it again.)

So unless you actually want to rent a boat and live it up, you must insist on just going to the pier. Fortunately, the place they took us this time wasn’t far from Sathorn Pier, so we just shook our heads and walked away, slowly making our way to take the orange boat (ticket 15 baht). ※ It’s only about a 3–5 minute walk, and they only asked for 20 baht, so if they quote a cheap price, be wary—they might be trying to take you somewhere else to spend money.

Bangkok Ride-Hailing Apps: Uber & Grab
1. You’ll need a SIM card—the driver will call you.
2. Uber probably isn’t unfamiliar to you. You can use it in Bangkok too, but there are still some controversies~

Grab is actually very similar to Uber. The app automatically locates your current position, then you enter your destination. The system sets the route, calculates the fare, and matches you with a nearby taxi driver.

The benefit is that the driver already knows your destination before arriving, including the license plate and driver’s name, so you’re less likely to be scammed. It’s safer, but for both apps, you must have a SIM card because the driver will call you immediately after being matched to confirm the exact location (GPS isn’t always accurate). But since tourists often struggle to explain things clearly, it’s better to arrange the ride near a well-known place like a big hotel or restaurant.

Many netizens recommend these two apps, but our experience was… it’s faster to just hail a taxi directly. Mainly because there are so many taxis in Bangkok. Just the process of opening the app, entering your location, and meeting up with a matched driver could result in seeing 10–20 taxis pass by. Also, we’re not familiar with the locations, and it’s not easy to communicate the pickup spot with drivers. For example, once at BIG C, we tried to book a ride. The driver asked which entrance we were at—I said Gate 6—and the app showed he had already driven past and had to make a U-turn to get back. He immediately canceled the booking. So in the end, we just hailed a taxi directly. Both apps are good tools, but they weren’t as smooth to use as we’d hoped on this trip.

Overall, taxis in Bangkok are a great mode of transportation. Most drivers are friendly and follow the rules. The fares are cheap, and you can go directly to your destination. For groups of 2–3 or more traveling independently, splitting the cost will usually be cheaper than taking the BTS. However, the risks include being taken on longer routes or being asked for a little extra money. As long as you keep the points mentioned earlier in mind, these issues can be greatly minimized. Wishing everyone a fun and enjoyable time eating, drinking, and exploring in Bangkok Up！(Sorry for the increasingly long rant—please forgive me, hands pressed together～)

Mimi Han
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