VIP Minivan vs Minivan

What the Upgrade Buys

The extra buys two things: the newer van, and the seat inside it. Everything else about the trip is settled before you get to the vehicle step.

In the Minivan the air conditioning runs the whole way and the seat is fine for an airport run. The middle seat is the one nobody volunteers for, and reaching the back row means the person on the aisle side standing up to let you past.

In the VIP every passenger gets a separate chair. It reclines, and there is a clear aisle from the sliding door to the back row, so you walk to your seat instead of shuffling past somebody's knees. If you would not notice the seat, book the Minivan and keep the difference.

The Minivan

The high-roof van you see outside hotels all over Thailand. Seats up to 8, with a belt on each, and room for 8 large bags behind the last row. The air conditioning is strong and the driver will turn it up or down when you ask.

This is the van most of our bookings go out in and there is nothing wrong with it. Book it when the group cares more about the fare than the seat, or when the trip is a short hop rather than the full run up to Bangkok.

The VIP Minivan

A cabin built around single seats: individual recliners, each on its own base.

The photographs show the vehicle type, not the exact car that will arrive.

The difference shows up the first time somebody has to get out. The passenger in the last seat is not waiting on two others to get out at a service stop, and an older passenger is not being asked to climb across a row of knees with a bag in one hand.

Side by Side

What It Costs

The VIP costs more than the Minivan on every route we quote, the same in both directions, but the difference varies by route: ฿400⁠–⁠1,000. The main routes are below, and the rest are on the fare for every route by vehicle.

A return trip books as two transfers, so the difference applies to each leg rather than once to the pair. The fare is fixed when we confirm the booking. Tolls and parking are already inside it. A pickup at 2am costs what a pickup at noon costs. Airport runs carry no surcharge, and nothing is added for luggage.

The VIP is also offered when you book the car by the hour rather than by the route, and it is one of the vehicles on the cruise day package from the pier. In both cases the VIP has its own price on the rate card.

Finding Your Van at the Kerb

Here is each tier from outside. The photographs show the type, not the car that will arrive.

You will not need to pick either one out of a car park, though. The driver's name, phone number and plate number go out with the confirmation message before pickup, and the plate is the thing to check.

What Does Not Change

The driver, the insurance and the meeting arrangement all stay as they are. A VIP booking sends a different van from the same company, with the same drivers on the road and the same office answering your messages. Luggage is the same 8 large bags. Payment is cash to the driver at the end of the trip in both, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before pickup in both.

Child seats work the same way too, and cost the same in either van; what a child seat costs and how many fit is on its own page. Ask for one in the notes box when you book, whichever van you have chosen.

How to Book the VIP Minivan

Use the form at the top of this page. Fill in the route, the date and the pickup time, and the vehicle step comes next with the price for your route on every card, VIP Minivan included. Pick it and finish the contact step. The price printed on that card is what you hand the driver at the end of the trip.

If you are booking a specific van for a reason worth telling us about — a grandparent who cannot climb across a row, or a passenger who gets carsick in the middle of a bench — put it in the notes box on the contact step. We read every booking by hand and reply, and that reply is where anything unusual gets settled before a driver is assigned. Bookings need at least 12 hours' notice.

VIP Minivan: Frequently Asked Questions