Your Travel Guide to Thailand
All information & tips to prepare your trip in Thailand
Taxis and ride-hailing apps in Thailand
Metered taxis
Metered taxis can be found in almost all major Thai cities, especially at airports, but not everywhere in Thailand. Outside Bangkok, flagging down a taxi by the roadside is probably very optimistic: you could wait a very long time before one passes by. Where there are taxis, you will always find them at the airport, and sometimes at bus terminals or in front of the railway station.
Outside Bangkok and its suburbs, where metered taxis are everywhere, taxis are mostly booked when needed. Most of the time, your hotel reception will call one for you on request, which is easier since not all taxi drivers speak English. There are also smartphone apps to book taxis, or even cars or vans with a driver. They are convenient, and more and more tourists use them when traveling in Thailand.
For the capital, see our page about taxis and ride-hailing apps in Bangkok.
Apps to book a taxi or a car with driver in Thailand
Here is the latest known list of destinations in Thailand where Grab is available:
- Bangkok
- Ayutthaya
- Nonthaburi
- Pathum Thani
- Nakhon Pathom
- Ratchaburi
- Saraburi
- Pattaya
- Chonburi
- Chanthaburi
- Rayong
- Phetchaburi
- Hua Hin
- Cha-am
- Kanchanaburi
- Chiang Mai
- Chiang Rai
- Lampang
- Lamphun
- Uttaradit
- Phuket
- Krabi
- Buriram
- Nakhon Ratchasima
- Khon Kaen
- Udon Thani
- Ubon Ratchathani
- Surin
- Roi Et
- Nong Khai
- Maha Sarakham
- Songkhla
- Hat Yai
Website: www.grab.co
Other apps such as Bolt are also available in Thailand, but Bolt can only be used in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya. For the same journey, Bolt is generally a little cheaper than Grab.
There are other apps in Thailand, such as inDrive, which operates in the same cities as Bolt.
Other public transport in Bangkok
Bangkok Skytrain
Bangkok's Skytrain is called the BTS. Its air-conditioned trains glide above the capital's heavy traffic. It doesn't go everywhere, but combined with the Chao Phraya Express boats, it takes you to Bangkok's major temples.
Chao Phraya Express
The Chao Phraya Express boats run regularly along the river that flows through Bangkok and stop near all the monuments and sights on its banks, including Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, the three must-see temples in Bangkok. Fares are cheap.
Bangkok bus lines
The bus is clearly neither the easiest nor the fastest way for a foreign tourist to get around Bangkok, but it is the cheapest. The network is huge and you can go almost anywhere – you just need to be patient.
Transport in Bangkok
So far the only Thai city with a metro (a project is planned in Phuket), Bangkok offers the widest choice of public and private transport in Thailand (metro, buses, boats, tuk-tuks...). No, there's more than tuk-tuks and pink taxis to get around Bangkok!
