Getting There
By Plane -- Nok Air (www.nokair.com; tel. 1318) has six daily flights from Bangkok to Mae Sot (airport code MAQ). The airport is about 2km (1.2 miles) west of the town center. Flying time 70-minutes and tickets are 1,900B.
By Bus/Minivan -- From Bangkok to Mae Sot’s bus terminal (tel. 05556-3435), there are seven to eight connections a day. A VIP bus (660B), a first-class bus (335B). The bus terminal is 1.5km west of town and the trip is eight hours.
Privately operated minivans connect Tak and Mae Sot, leaving from the bus station when they’re full (about every half-hour), for about 60B per person. The trip time is 1.5 hours. There are good buses operated by the Green Bus Line (tel. 05553-6433) from Mae Sot to Tak and on to Lampang and Chiang Mai (first-class buses depart daily at 8am from Mae Sot; 6 hr. to Chiang Mai; 304B).
From the bus terminals in Tak and Mae Sot, motorcycle taxis, samlors, and songtaews wait to take you to any hotel for about 50B. Songtaews also make the dizzying 5-hour drive between Mae Sot and Umphang several times daily and charge about 120B.
Visitor Information
Tak has a TAT office near the bus terminal, at 193 Taksin Rd. (tel. 05551-4341).There's no Tat office in Mae Sot.
Special Events
Every year from December 28 to January 3, the Taksin Maharachanuson Fair is held in Tak to honor King Taksin the Great. The streets around his shrine (on Taksin Rd., at the north side of town) fill with food vendors, dancers, musicians, and monks. The shrine is decorated with floral wreaths and gold fabric to welcome pilgrims.
Fast Facts
In Tak, there are a handful of ATMs along Mahat Thai Bamrung Road, and where it meets Thetsaban 1 Road, there's a police station. In Mae Sot, banks with ATMs are located on the main thoroughfare, on Prasat Withee Road. The post office in Mae Sot is on Intharakiri Road diagonally opposite the main police station. There are a number of Internet cafes along Intharakiri Road in the center of Mae Sot.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
