Because you are the sole passenger, the driver can't pick up other passengers on the way and take you on a ride around the houses (as happens sometimes in a tuk-tuk). Standards of driving vary between drivers but beware that some journeys can be quite hair-raising. One motorbike taxi driver very nearly involved me in an accident because of his reckless driving

The drivers are required by law to wear crash helmets but passengers don't get one. As a passenger I have only been given a helmet to wear in one place as a motorbike taxi passenger, and that was Mae Sot.

This is the sign that motorbike taxi drivers don't want you to see. I knew something like this must exist but after living in Hat Yai for six years I have only ever seen written details once. The sign disappeared shortly after it was put up.

You will notice that information in Thailand that foreigners aren't supposed to see is always written in Thai. The sign says that journeys up to 2km are Bt20; up tp 3km are Bt25; and up to 4km are Bt30. If the journey is over 5km you will need to negotiate a fare but normally motorbike taxis are only used for short journeys.

However, this isn't how it works in practice. A driver will never take note of the distance, and on many bikes the speedometer has been disconnected anyway. The driver will simply assess each passenger and, if you are a foreigner, quote the highest possible price.

Unless a driver knows the exact distance, which is unlikely, he should never quote you a fare before you set off but that is what happens all the time.

Before you set off take a glance at his odometer and measure the distance to your destination. From that you will be able to determine the fare. If you have problems, take the driver's number (on the back of his vest) and report him.

General Comments

Last updated: 7th November 2009

Hat Yai airport is about 25 minutes away from the downtown area. It is best reached by taxi and the fare varies from Bt250 to Bt350. Any of the travel agencies or hotels in town can arrange taxis to take you to the airport and the locals always seem to know someone who has a car and can take you. You need to book a taxi ahead of time as there are no taxi ranks in Hat Yai and the taxis are not identified as such so you can't hail one in the street because they just look like ordinary cars.

When arriving at Hat Yai airport there is an official 'limousine' service and a number of taxis waiting outside. There is also a minivan service running from the airport into town which costs Bt60 per person - a cheaper option if you are travelling alone. Taxi drivers will ask for around Bt300 or more.

Drivers in Thailand tend to operate a cartel system when working together in order to keep prices high. Provided none of them break the cartel, passengers then have no alternative options so are forced to pay the high price. If you encounter a group of drivers together - as you will do because they wait outside the airport - none of them will lower the price because to do so would not be good in front of their mates. However, if you can find one on his own (maybe in the carpark) you might be able to get him to lower the fare.

Hat Yai taxi drivers have it pretty good with these airport runs and Bt300 is quite a fair price for Thailand. It's an easy drive, often with little traffic. In Bangkok I have had longer rides from the airport which are cheaper (around Bt170) because the cabs are metered. There are no metered taxis in Hat Yai.

If you are on a real budget, sawng-thaews run from the airport to the clock tower on Phetkasem Road and beyond for Bt20. To find them, exit the airport and walk through the carpark to the road at the back. The sawng-thaew stand is to the left but if a flight has just arrived there will normally be one waiting on the road. They only seem to run during the daytime.

Until around 2004, Thai Airways had the monopoly on flights but their hold on the market was broken by a number of budget airlines. There are advantages and disadvantages with both Thai and the budget carriers. Thai have more flights, traditional standards of service and fairly good reliability. The budget airlines offer better prices, of course, but they compromise in other areas.

Destinations

Last updated: 7th November 2009

The majority of flights at Hat Yai airport arrive from, and depart for, Bangkok. If you are travelling beyond Bangkok, you will probably need to change flights in Bangkok.

From Hat Yai, some airlines go into Suvarnabhumi, the new Bangkok airport, and some go into Don Meuang, the old one. Check with the airline.

When I first arrived in Hat Yai, I seem to remember that there were regular flights to Singapore, Phuket, and maybe elsewhere. That all stopped.

At one time there was just one carrier operating flights to Singapore (Tiger), and one carrier operating flights to Phuket (Nok, I think). Then they both stopped those services.

Hat Yai airport continued billing itself as an international airport, yet it only handled domestic flights to Bangkok.

In November 2009, Tiger resumed their Singapore service - much to my delight. A taxi driver was telling me that the Phuket service was also going to be resumed but I haven't got any details yet.

There continues to be a lot of talk about a direct flight from Hat Yai to Kuala Lumpur. I believe this is all very political and involves a degree of mutual back-scratching.

A direct service would obviously be beneficial to Hat Yai's tourist industry, but I believe the Malaysians would want something in return. As far as I am aware, no such service exists at the moment.

Things change so frequently that it is difficult to keep this information up to date. However, if I hear anything I will make an update.

Caveat

This information is very difficult to keep up to date because airlines change their flight schedules and fares all the time.

By all means use this as a guide, but check with a travel agent first.

Budget Airlines

The trend for budget airlines that started off in Europe some years ago went crazy in Thailand during 2004 with the arrival of Nok, Thai AirAsia, Tiger, One-Two-Go, and maybe one or two others.

These airlines make air travel accessible at a very reasonable cost and who cares about not getting a curly sandwich or a plastic cup of water when the flight is only an hour long if the fare is a lot cheaper? But can it be as good as it seems?

My experience of budget airlines has been hit-and-miss depending on the carrier. Tiger Airways (based in Singapore) are fantastic. They use new planes, have great service, and I have never suffered delays with them.

On the other hand, my flight back to Hat Yai from Bangkok in July 2004 with Thai AirAsia was delayed seven hours and being stuck in the old Bangkok airport for that amount of time wasn't much fun. When Thai AirAsia first began operating, their reputation for cancelled and delayed flights was horrendous.

However, four years later, and I have started to hear better reports about AirAsia. They have been advertising the fact they have new planes in their fleet and their reliability definitely seems to have improved.

When there is a problem with a budget carrier they don't have any resources to fall back on, unlike the big carriers who can get passengers on other flights. Normally it is just a case of waiting but if the problem is serious it can be a very long wait.

The terms and conditions for the tickets on budget airlines absolve them of any liability. If you miss a connecting flight because your budget airline flight was delayed it is tough luck. The budget airline won't compensate you for wasted time or missed flights.

I think the emergence of so many budget airlines is a great thing for the free market but they are maybe not quite as fantastic as they first appear. If you need to get somewhere at a certain time (to catch an onward flight, for instance) think twice about budget flights. Either plan to arrive very early (just in case) or use Thai Airways.

Another side-effect, of course, is that with competition from the budget airlines eating away at their profits, the national carrier has lowered its fares so now it is cheaper to fly Thai Airways than it was previously.

It's difficult to provide fares because they vary so much, based on demand. If you want to fly to Bangkok at the weekend or on a public holiday, expect to pay more than flying mid-week. The airlines run fairly frequent promotions and it also pays to book in advance.

The information below was collected in July 2008 but flight numbers, times, and fares change often so check first. This information came from Fairy Agency who have a small desk inside Carrefour. They can be contacted on 074 345400.

Thai Airways

Address: 180-184 Niphat Uthit 1 Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110
Map: Map 3
Telephone: +66 (0)74 230445
Reservations: +66 (0)74 233433
Fax: +66 (0)74 233114

Thai Airways now only operate flights to Bangkok from Hat Yai since dropping their Phuket and Singapore services. You can get to most places from Hat Yai with Thai but you will have to go to Bangkok first in order to change flights.

One-Two-Go by Orient Thai Airways

Address: Next to New World Hotel 152-156 Niphat Uthit 2 Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110
Map: Map 3
Telephone: +66 (0)74 250911 (Hat Yai Airport); +66 (0)74 221279 (Hat Yai Office)

I have no personal experience of this airline but fares are fixed. I have removed the prices I originally had because they are bound to be out of date now. I will try to get some current prices soon.

Thai Air Asia

Thai Air Asia, along with OneTwoGo, Tiger Airways and Nok, is another Southeast Asian budget airline that has sprung up and I guess it can only be a good thing for consumers. The fares vary depending on such factors as how far in advance you book, supply and demand, promotions, etc. My return fare between Hat Yai and Bangkok in 2004 seemed like a real bargain (less than Bt1,600) because I booked well in advance but after a seven hour delay with the return flight I was rather regretting my decision.

The local Hat Yai travel agencies don't seem to be interested in selling flights on Thai Air Asia, presumably because they don't make much commission. Probably the easiest way to book is online at www.airasia.com. The web site is easy to use but I didn't want to use my credit card for an online booking because I've had fraud problems before in Thailand.

AIS mobile phone company have an office on Phetkasem Road which has a desk for Thai Air Asia. It is possible to make reservations there and pay in cash. The telephone number for Thai Air Asia's desk at Hat Yai airport is +66 (0)74 227297.

Nok Airways

Nok Air is the budget airline arm of Thai Airways. It therefore has the backing of a big airline but with budget prices. I have not had any problems with them so far. The service is good and they allocate seats at check-in.

For a while, there was a direct service from Hat Yai to Phuket but this was cancelled in November 2007 around the same time as Tiger cancelled the Hat Yai to Singapore service.

I flew with Nok from Hat Yai to Phuket on the day before the service was cancelled. I had a return flight booked but they didn't tell me at the check-in desk. I only found out by overhearing a conversation on the next check-in desk.

The flight to Phuket took about 40 minutes. For the return trip, I had to come back via Bangkok with a long wait at Bangkok airport for the connecting flight and it took the best part of a day.

Tiger Airways

Tiger cancelled their excellent direct service between Singapore and Hat Yai in November 2007, but the great news is that in November 2009 they started it again!

Those 15-hour overnight bus journeys between Hat Yai and Singapore were beginning to get a little boring.

Check the Tiger Airways web site for flight schedules and prices.

Tiger is a Singaporean budget airline. Their fleet is modern, their service very efficient, and I have never suffered a delay of more than a few minutes. The cabin crew tend to be Singaporean, but the pilots always seem to be Australian.

Tiger fly into Changi's budget terminal. If you've been to Changi airport, the budget terminal isn't anything like it. Being 'budget' it's clean, efficient, but low on thrills.

The great thing is that whenever I've arrived on a Tiger flight there haven't been any other flights arriving at the same time. This means that collecting your luggage, and getting through immigration and customs, tends to be very rapid.

As is usual in Singapore, there is a line of cabs waiting outside and you don't have to wait. I think the last time I flew with Tiger, I was at my brother's place in Singapore just over an hour after the plane's wheels had hit the runway.

Happy Air

This is another budget airline that has sprung up recently. I don't anything about them, but I hope their airline service works better than their website: Happy Air

For those in Hat Yai, probably the key fact is that they have a flight to Phuket (Bt1,900 each way). Since I've been in Hat Yai, flights to Phuket have come and gone.

On one occasion, a previous carrier operating this route cancelled the service the day after I flew with them to Phuket. The flight there took 45 minutes.

To get me home they flew me to Bangkok first, and then I had to wait several hours for a flight to Hat Yai. My return journey took most of the day.

Phuket isn't far from Hat Yai as the crow flies but if you have to fly via Bangkok, or get the bus, it takes a long time. The bus journey is about 7.5 hours.

Happy Air also has a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Hat Yai (a first, I think), and flights from Phuket to Bangkok, and Phuket to Langkawi.

These are interesting routes and I don't believe anyone else competes with these flights, apart from the Phuket to Bangkok route.

As I mentioned above, the web site is awful. Several links simply don't work, there is a glaring spelling error on the front page, and no on-line booking facility.

If you want to use Happy Air it looks as if you need to find a travel agent who deals with them.

Unlike tuk-tuks there is a lot of headroom in the back of sawng-thaews so I don't have to sit there like a hunchback. Also, unlike tuk-tuks, the fares are fixed so there are never any silly arguments about prices as there often are with tuk-tuk drivers who try to inflate fares whenever a farang appears.

With the ever-increasing cost of oil, sawng-thaew fares have risen steadily since I first arrived in Hat Yai. Fares went from Bt5 to Bt7 to Bt8, and then from Bt8 to Bt10. Half-way through 2008 the fare went up to Bt12 when oil prices peaked but they then returned to Bt10 after oil prices went down again. My Thai friends can remember when the fare used to be Bt3.

They can be hailed from anywhere and there are buttons in the back to signal to the driver that you want to get off. Because they operate on fixed routes they may or may not be available to you as a transport option, depending where you're going.

A little local knowledge, or the ability to read Thai is required in order to use sawng-thaews. Their destination and route are written on the side (in Thai, of course). They are also colour-coded, which is useful for regular passengers, but it probably won't help tourists very much.

I have a couple of gripes with sawng-thaews. The first is that the drivers don't like going anywhere unless they have a truck full of passengers. If it's a quiet time of day, they will just sit and wait honking their horn at potential passengers. If you are already on board this can be really irritating as they will sit there for 10 minutes or more.

My second gripe is that when they do have a truck full of passengers, some drivers drive frighteningly fast with no regard for the safety of their passengers. But that's just Thailand.

Map: Map 3
Hat Yai is on the main rail route between Bangkok and Butterworth in Malaysia. It's an interesting, relaxed way to travel but very slow. Depending on your destination and the time of day you want to travel there are up to three classes of compartment available. Some trains have all three while others offer only one class. The cheaper compartments may have the option of A/C or fan but the fan compartments have windows and shutters to open which allow a cool breeze to circulate.

In third class the lack of A/C is not so much a problem but the worst thing I found was the discomfort of sitting on a hard wooden seat. I had to keep moving around and the four-hour-plus journey to Nakhon Si Thammarat was about all I could manage.

Sleepers are available in first and second class on certain overnight trains. I haven't taken one but wouldn't expect the experience to be a romantic one akin to the Orient Express or anything like that. The journey from Hat Yai to Bangkok by train can take anything from 13 to 17 hours. Some of the scenery might be good if you have plenty of time and enjoy train rides. By road the journey takes about 12 hours and flying only takes just over an hour. Flying used to be the expensive option but with the advent of budget airlines this is no longer the case.

Going north, you may consider getting off somewhere before Bangkok. The train goes through Surat Thani (gateway to Koh Samui), Chumpon (boats to Koh Tao), Hua Hin (royal coastal resort), River Kwair Bridge (famous for the Japanese WW2 Death Railway), Nakhon Pathom (relaxing university town and home to the largest Chedi in Thailand).

There doesn't seem to be a stop at River Kwair Bridge so you would need to get off somewhere before and get a connecting train.

Going south, the trains go as far as Butterworth in Malaysia where you can go over to Penang, or you can make another connection and go on to Kuala Lumpur, and then all the way down the peninsula to Singapore. Be aware that the ongoing insurgency problems sometimes affect train services in the deep south.

Train stations and railway lines have been targets for insurgents and it is usual now to see heavily armed soldiers patrolling the platforms at Hat Yai station. Occasionally, train services in the deep south are cancelled as a result of terrorist activities.

The following information was current at 1st July 2008. The timetable it was taken from was dated 10th March 2008.

As with everything else on this site, I can't take any responsibility for accuracy so check first. This information changes frequently and is difficult to keep up to date. Not only that, but I could have made a mistake.

A visitor to this site from the UK told me about a site called Seat 61 which has useful train information.

There's a facility at Hat Yai railway station for storing luggage. It's open every day from 05:30 until 18:00 and the cost is Bt30 per day for large bags, and Bt20 per day for small ones.

I can't vouch for how safe or secure this service is. There is always someone in attendance but the cages in which bags are left are open. You would therefore need to ensure that your luggage is securely fastened with suitable padlocks.

The ones in Hat Yai are the 4-wheel version with a steering wheel as opposed to the sam-lor (three wheel) types in Bangkok that have handlebars and are driven more like motorbikes. They are designed for drivers and passengers no taller than 5 feet 2 inches. It doesn't matter whether I sit in the back or in the front passenger seat I am always cramped and have to bow my head down.

I have a love/hate relationship with tuk-tuk drivers. In the past I have been stuck in the middle of nowhere during huge rain storms when a kindly old gent (maybe with his wife beside him in the cab) has got me to my destination and charged me Bt10. However, many of the worst scoundrels I have come across in Thailand have also been tuk-tuk drivers.

The ones that wait outside tourist attractions and prey on foreign visitors are definitely to be avoided. Hat Yai doesn't see that many farang tourists but there are still many tuk-tuk drivers who think they can double, treble or quadruple their prices whenever a farang appears. Some will even refuse to take farangs if they refuse to pay the over-inflated price.

A sure sign that a tuk-tuk driver is trying it on is if he gives you a fare straight away after you tell him where you want to go. If he immediately says, "50 Baht" or "60 Baht" he is trying to take advantage. The majority of fares around Hat Yai are Bt20. Locals never negotiate prices. With a local the only discussion before the journey is whether the driver wants to go to their destination. Once at the destination the Thai hands over the standard fare which is understood by both parties.

A favourite place for tuk-tuk drivers trying to scam farangs is outside the train station. New arrivals in town don't know what fares should be so are easy targets. Without fail, whenever I arrive at Hat Yai train station I get quoted four times the normal price. I just walk away. Normally the driver follows, as he brings the price down, but if he doesn't I just walk along Thamnoonvithee a little way and hail a tuk-tuk from there. The over-charging is only a problem directly outside the station.

Another place where I sometimes have problems with tuk-tuk drivers is at Tesco Lotus. I have been quoted Bt80 to get back to central Hat Yai on several occasions which is ridiculous. An alternative is to walk to the road and hail one from there or to board a sawng-thaew, many of which wait just outside Tesco Lotus and go back to Hat Yai via Phetkasem Road. The sawng-thaew fare is just Bt10.

A disadvantage with tuk-tuks, compared to motorbike taxis, is that tuk-tuks can accommodate several passengers and it is likely that they are all going to different places. If he decides to drop you off last it is possible you will experience an unwanted tour of Hat Yai before you get to where you want to go.

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