Getting from Hat Yai International Airport to the city

Getting out of the terminal

• The airport minibus is the only scheduled public transport, and it costs 60 THB for the whole route whatever your stop.
• Pick-up is in the public area of the first-floor passenger terminal, past arrivals.
• It runs to the bus station. If your hotel is in central Hat Yai you will want a taxi from there or on from the terminal.

Taxis and vans

• Metered taxis at the airport come from the Co-Operative of Songkhla Taxi-meter.
• Sapthaweephong Transport Company runs airport taxis and charter vans, priced on distance rather than a fixed board rate. For four people going to the same place it is usually the cheaper answer than four separate seats.

Why people land here

• Hat Yai is the far south, close to the Malaysian border and within reach of both coasts. Most arrivals are connecting: to Songkhla, to the Andaman piers, or across the border.
• The onward legs are the part that needs planning. Coaches, minivans, trains and the boat connections all leave from town, not from the airport, and the good ones sell out.
• Book the onward leg before you fly through 12Go, the operator or your guesthouse, rather than turning up at the bus station and hoping.

A note on timing

• The last useful onward connections of the day leave earlier than you think. An evening arrival at HDY usually means a night in Hat Yai and a morning start, so book the room rather than assume you can push on.