Get in

 
Most visitors arrive by road from or via Bangkok, many having flown in to Don Muang (BKK). Much smaller numbers arrive direct by road from the north and east, by rail from Bangkok, and by air via U-Tapao from Ko Samui or Phuket in Southern Thailand or Siem Reap in Cambodia.
 

Pattaya By road

for bus services from/to destinations other than Bangkok, see the Get in | By road | By region section
 

Pattaya First class bus Pattaya

1st class buses from Bangkok's Eastern, Northern, and Southern Bus Terminals to the North Pattaya Road bus station are air-con, almost always have an on-board toilet, are essentially direct (ie no stops), and provide a no fuss, no frills, hassle-free service for under 120 baht. Departures from the Eastern (Ekamai) Terminal and Northern (Moh Chit) Terminal are frequent (every 20-40 minutes, depending on the time of day; more frequent still at public holiday weekends) and usually take 2-2.5 hours; those from the Southern (Sai Tai Mai) Bus Terminal are less frequent and take a little longer.

Departure times & fares (February 2006):

- Ekamai (East) to Pattaya - first 05:20, last 23:00 - 117 baht
- Pattaya to Ekamai (East) - first 05:20, last 21:00 - 113 baht
- Moh Chit (North) to Pattaya - first 05:00, last 20:00 - 117 baht
- Pattaya to Moh Chit (North) - first 05:20, last 20:00 - 113 baht
- Sai Tai Mai (South) to Pattaya - 05:30, 08:30, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:30 - 117 baht
- Pattaya to Sai Tai Mai (South) - 06:00, 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00 - 113 baht
All 1st class direct services to/from Bangkok use the recently redeveloped bus station on North Pattaya Road. These buses are usually full when they depart, and must be boarded at the terminus. Tickets are sold at the bus station; it's not possible to pre-book these services more than an hour or so in advance. Usually, if the bus that's due to leave next is already full, there will be seats available on the next one.

From the North Pattaya Road bus station, songthaews (a cross between a pickup truck, a share-taxi, a local bus and two pews) depart when full (every few minutes). The fare to anywhere on Beach Road ("the beach") is 20 baht; press the buzzer button on the underside of the roof when you want to get off.

Pattaya from/to Don Muang: take the Northern (Moh Chit) Terminal bus; a taxi from Moh Chit direct to Don Muang departure concourse doors should be less than 100 baht by meter. The fare in the Don Muang to Moh Chit direction is subject to a 50 baht surcharge - however this can be avoided by taking a taxi from outside the upper lever departures concourse, instead of from the lower level arrivals concourse.

Pattaya from/to Southern (Sai Tai Mai) Terminal: if the direct bus is fully booked, take the Eastern (Ekamai) Terminal bus instead, and use the #511 (air-con, every 30 minutes 24/7, 20 baht) bus to connect between Ekamai and Sai Tai Mai.

Pattaya to Eastern (Ekamai) Terminal: if requested, this bus will stop at the On Nut Skytrain Station (station map) on Sukhumvit Road. Depending on your final destination and the traffic conditions, you may want to transfer to the Skytrain (system map) there; if so, wait until the bus departs Pattaya and then confirm with the crew that you want to be dropped off at "On Nut". NB: this bus does not stop to pick up passengers at On Nut (or anywhere else) on the outbound leg.
 

Second class bus Pattaya

2nd class services (air-con, usually no on-board toilet) don't use the expressways, and make frequent (and sometimes lengthy) stops, hence they take considerably longer than their 1st class counterparts (which at worst will only halt momentarily once or twice to let passengers jump off on the final approaches to their destination); and the difference in price doesn't amount to much.

Many 2nd class buses from Bangkok continue on to Jomtien, so may be worth considering if that's your final destination and you're not in a hurry; when travelling from Jomtien to Bangkok they have the advantage that they can be flagged down and boarded as they crawl along Jomtien's seafront road (Jomtien Beach Road - Thanon Hat Jomtien), avoiding the need for a preliminary trip to the bus station.

The terminus for 2nd class services to/from Bangkok and other short-haul destinations is on South Pattaya Road, but in practice these buses pick up and drop off the majority of their passengers en route. Tickets are sold both at the bus station (although advance booking may not be possible) and on the bus itself.
 

Minibus Pattaya

Pattaya to Don Muang by minibus takes around two hours in good traffic (but allow more for collections and congestion). There are several operators, who between them provide departures from Pattaya every couple of hours or so from 06:00 through to 20:00, and booking a seat couldn't be easier - simply walk into any travel agency shop, or ask at your hotel/guesthouse reception desk. Prices range from 250 baht/person to about 400 baht/person - alternatively you can charter an entire minibus from around 1800 baht.

Bell Travel Service (Pattaya tel. +66-38370055 /6) operates a "big"-bus plus minibus combination service from the bus station on North Pattaya Road (the 1st class Bangkok bus terminal) with departures at 06:00, 09:00, 13:00 and 17:00. When booked via an agency, the price is 300 baht including collection from your hotel; alternatively, if you make your own way to the North Pattaya Road bus station and buy your ticket direct from the Bell Travel Service office (at the far end of the site, on the opposite side to the main building) the price is 250 baht.

Don Muang to Pattaya by minibus is, curiously, more difficult to arrange - the bus operators appear to be out of favour with the powers that be at the Don Muang terminals, and only taxi and limousine services are on offer from the touts and booths in the arrivals concourse.

Bell Travel Service operates a combination service with minibus transfers from Don Muang to Bang Na, and "big"-bus departures from Bang Na to Pattaya at 09:30, 13:30 and 17:30, for 300 baht. Book in advance (around 90 minutes minimum): tel. +66-27474675 /6 or email: rrc_bus@hotmail.com

Alternatively, it might be worth trying the travel agencies at Don Muang Train Station (directly opposite the airport - follow the signs for the overhead walkway that connects the train station and Amari Hotel to Terminal 1).

to/from Bangkok - minibuses also run between Pattaya and Bangkok's hotels and Khao San Road, offering the convenience of a door-to-door service for around 400 baht/person. Departure times vary, but 09:00 / 12:00 / 17:30 are the most widely advertised. Driving time is about 2 hours, however it can take quite a bit longer overall (especially if you're the first to be collected and the last to be dropped off). One such service runs direct between Pattaya Dynasty Inn (Soi 13) and Bangkok Dynasty Inn (Soi Nana), and can be arranged through the Dynasty Inn reception desks.

to/from other destinations - daily minibus services also connect Pattaya directly with:

U-Tapao Airport (near Sattahip) - about 30 minutes, 200-250 baht; departure times to suit flight schedules
Ban Phe (gateway to Ko Samet) - about 90 minutes, 150-200 baht; departures typically 07:30, 11:30, 15:00
Laem Ngop (gateway to Ko Chang) - about 3 hours, 400-500 baht; depart 09:00
It's also possible to travel by minibus to Hat Lek (for the southern-most border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia) but not every day of the week; this service may or may not go via Laem Ngop, depending on overall demand. As at January 2006: depart 07:30, arrive around 14:00, 700 baht, Tuesday and Friday only - but liable to change, so enquire locally for the latest schedule details.

Travel agencies (ubiquitous throughout Pattaya) plus many hotels/guesthouses sell minibus tickets, and tourist-oriented services such as these invariably include collection from your hotel/guesthouse/wherever (allow extra time for this - times quoted above are approximate transit times and make no allowance for the vagaries of the collection process).
 

Taxi Pattaya

Taxis from Bangkok cost between 1500 baht (the official meter-taxi price) and 1000 baht; arranged car services will tend toward the higher end, but licenced meter-taxis should be negotiable to the lower end of the range. The price direct from Don Muang Airport is fixed at 1500 baht if you join the line outside arrivals; you may be able to negotiate a lower fare if you go up to the departures concourse. When agreeing the price, confirm that it does or does not already includes all the highway ("motorway" or "expressway") tolls. From Don Muang, the toll is 145 baht. Allow about 90-120 minutes, depending on where in Bangkok you're coming from; allow more around rush hour.
 

Pattaya By plane

airline offices: see the Contact | Airline offices section

airstrips: see the Do | Sports | "flying, paragliding & skydiving" section
 

U-Tapao

Formerly a US airbase and largely responsible for Pattaya's initial transformation, U-Tapao (UTP) is the closest airport fielding commercial passenger flights - but only to three destinations. Often decribed as "Pattaya Airport", it's actually at Sattahip, just off the main Sattahip - Chanthaburi highway, 30 km south of Pattaya.

Schedules (all daily, as at January 1st 2006):

Bangkok Airways (PG) flies to/from Ko Samui (USM) and Phuket (HKT) - the flight to Ko Samui is usually slightly less expensive than from Don Muang (BKK)

- PG272 - UTP (12:10) to HKT (13:50)
- PG271 - HKT (14:20) to UTP (16:00)
- PG252 - HKT (09:20) via USM (10:40) to UTP (11:40)
- PG285 - USM (13:10) to UTP (14:10)
- PG286 - UTP (14:40) to USM (15:40)
- PG284 - UTP (16:30) to USM (17:30)
PMTair (U4) flies to/from Siem Reap (REP) (Angkor, Cambodia)

- U4241 - REP (11:00) to UTP (12:00)
- U4242 - UTP (12:30) to REP (13:30)

The easiest way to travel between U-Tapao and Pattaya is by direct door-to-door minibus - driving time is normally about 30 minutes (200-250 baht).

Alternatively it's feasible to hop on virtually any bus on Sukhumvit Road. Going south, if it's a bus that terminates at Sattahip you'll have to finish the journey by songthaew; if it's going further east (eg Rayong, Chanthaburi or Trat) it'll drop you off at the airport entrance as it goes by. Going north, wait for a bus that's going further than Sattahip and then you won't need to transfer. There are also songthaews that ply Sukhumvit Road between Pattaya and Sattahip (20 baht).

Or to buck the trend big time, go by rail (3rd class, weekdays only) between Pattaya and Sattahip, and connect with the airport by songthaew. The fare for the 40-50 minute train ride is 6 (yes, six!) baht - depart Pattaya 10:18, arrive Sattahip 11:00; depart Sattahip 13:30, arrive Pattaya 14:21 - but don't forget, no trains on Saturdays or Sundays.

Watch out! If you arrive at UTP by air you are presented only with a choice of a taxi to Pattaya at 1000 baht or a van at 1400 Baht. This seems to be a scam of the Thai army, as the van was driven by a Thai soldier. Make sure to organize your transfer beforehand (Bell Travel Service?)
 

Pattaya via Bangkok

Don Muang on the northern outskirts of Bangkok is currently the nearest major airport. There are no commercial passenger flights between Don Muang (BKK) and U-Tapao.

bus/minibus/taxi/train transfers: see the Get in | By road and Get in | By train sections

Suvarnabhumi is nearing completion, and is currently due to be officially inaugurated on June 20th and to take over from Don Muang at the beginning of July, 2006. It's located some 40 km closer to Pattaya, around 60-90 minutes away by road, on Bangkok's eastern outskirts. An inter-provincial bus service directly connecting Suvarnabhumi Airport with Pattaya will be operated by the state-run Transport Co.
 

Pattaya By train

Provided it's a weekday, the most economical way to travel between Pattaya and Bangkok by public transport is by rail - the one-way fare is just 31 baht, and if you've never experienced a 3rd class Thai train, this is a good one to try.

From Monday to Friday, a single daily 3rd class (non-aircon) train departs Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station at 06:55 and arrives in Pattaya at 10:18, before continuing on to Sattahip; it then returns via Pattaya at 14:21 and terminates back in Bangkok at 17:40 (on Saturdays and Sundays it turns back to Bangkok at Chachoengsao, so is of no practical use for getting to or from Pattaya at weekends). Regardless of direction, simply turn up and buy a ticket at the station - this train can't be pre-booked.

If you have a penchant for trains, time to kill, a late flight to catch, and it's not a weekend, then you can get from Pattaya (depart 14:21) to Don Muang (BKK) simply by changing trains at Hualamphong (this isn't feasible in the opposite direction because the only departure to Pattaya is at 06:55). Don Muang Train Station is alongside the airport, and directly connected to Terminal 1 by a short enclosed footbridge.

Pattaya Train Station (tel. +66-38429285) is located a little to the east of Sukhumvit Road, just north of the South Pattaya Road intersection. From Sukhumvit Road, turn into Soi Pornprapanimit and then turn left immediately before the road crosses the railway line; from Beach Road, budget around 40-50 baht for a motorbike taxi. Facilities include the ticket office, a small snacks / chilled drinks counter, toilets and a solitary payphone.

Tickets for the train to Bangkok (31 baht) or Sattahip (6 baht) can only be bought in the final 30 minutes prior to departure. The surcharge for transporting a bicycle (up to 20 kg) to or from Bangkok is 80 baht.

Tickets for other journeys can be purchased (up to a maximum of 60 days in advance) at Pattaya Train Station between 08:00 and 16:00; the same tickets can also be arranged through Pattaya agencies, who will add on a 200-300 baht markup to cover their assistance and the cost of sending a moto-taxi to collect the tickets from the station.

 

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