The Best Way to Get From Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand

There are multiple ways to get from Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand if you are arriving into Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

1. Private ride you find at the airport
2. Public Bus
3. Private ride you order from an App such as Grab or Bolt

But the best way is to arrange a ride through a service or company you set up by email before you get to Thailand in the weeks leading up to your trip.

This puts you at ease for how to get from Bangkok to Pattaya:

• You've corresponded by email.  You can save the email exchange.  I print out my email exchange and keep it in my backpack.
• You have a firm price already established.
• They know where they are taking you.
• They tell you where to meet them at the Exit to the Airport.

First -How Long Does it Take to Get from Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand

Map of route from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya

You will be flying into Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK).

Bangkok is a huge city, with it's interior roads choked with traffic.  But, the airport is on the far eastern side of Bangkok.  Once you get in your transportation at the airport you will quickly get on the freeway and be out of Bangkok and out in the industrial countryside in the backseat of a nice car driving at freeway speeds.

Pattaya is almost directly south‑east of Bangkok, facing the Gulf of Thailand, that is part of the larger South China Sea region which is part of the Pacific Ocean.

Distance from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport:

• About 90 miles (150 km) southeast of Bangkok by multi-lane freeway
• Driving time: around 2–2.5 hours by bus
• Driving time: A much faster approximately 1.5 hours by car

Best Way - Private Ride You Arrange Beforehand

I arrange a ride from my home country. I don't want to go on the bus.  I've been cramped and squished on a gigantic plane with hundreds of people.  I want some me time, alone and comfortably sprawled out in a nice, newer vehicle. 

I don't want to deal with the stress of finding  a ride in the airport either and haggling about the cost.  I want to know the price and that a car is waiting for me.

The only thing I want to do once I get my Visa Stamp, collect my luggage and find my way out of the relative calm of the airport main area and into the loud, messy, chaotic Exit area, is look for my name on a piece of paper to find my driver.  This is not an easy step.

Once you find your name on a piece of paper, you are golden.  Let the nearest Thai person know and they will handle the rest.  

My Costs on all my rides from Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand:

• $1,000 ThB ride 
• $100 ThB tolls
• $200 ThB tip
• $1,300 ThB
• Equals about $41 USD

A few weeks before your trip you email a taxi company and get your ride arranged:

• Flight number and where from
• When it arrives
• When you expect to get through Visa & get luggage

Taxi Service I Use

This is the Taxi Service I have used for all my trips, both from Bangkok to Pattaya and then back to the Bangkok Airport when my trip is over:(

Pattaya P.T. Taxi Service

Picture from the PT Taxi Website showing an example of a typical car and price

What to Expect on the Ride from Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand

The Road:

After you get in your vehicle at the Suvarnabhumi Airport, the vehicle will head north out of the Airport grounds and turn east by a loop ramp to enter a multi-lane freeway that heads southeasterly towards Pattaya.

After about 2 miles heading east, the freeway takes a hard bend to your right to head southeasterly.

About 5 miles after the bend the freeway crosses a river.  The river and bridge are not prominent, but if you time it right, look to your right and you may get a glimpse of the ocean as the freeway is fairly close at this point.

You will stop for the first toll booth a few miles past the river.  The price you arranged with the taxi company should include the tolls, so the driver just handles it and won't turn around to ask you for anything.

First Toll Booth South of Suvarnabhumi Airport. 4 lane freeway. The driver will have a card or coins

Settle into your seat, as you have over an hour of driving time to the outskirts of Pattaya.  I like to look out the window, but may doze a bit in the comfort of the backseat.

You will be getting close to Pattaya when the freeway passes between 2 mountains.  Both are heavily vegetated with the one to the left being quite large.

After passing through the 2 mountains, you will soon be getting into the outskirts of Pattaya.  Shops, stores, and apartment buildings.  

The freeway will bend to the right until you're going west.

There will be one more toll booth to stop at.

The freeway will end and the vehicle will take a sharp left to enter a southbound multi-lane city street for a half mile.

Another sharp turn this time to the right onto Central Pattaya Road.  You are so close now.  It's just a matter of the driver finding your hotel.

The scenery along the way:

• There are no skyscrapers on this side of Bangkok that would conflict with the planes.  You will be driving through a mix of edge-of-city industry (factories, warehouses, storage yards filled with train cars) and apartment buildings.  It won't be pretty.  The Thais are industrious with these heavy-duty money making operations.
• You will pass some massive billboards.
• As you continue southeasterly, there will be some green.  Palm trees, grass, farm fields mixed with some industry.  The farm fields will be cropped (probably rice), I have not seen any livestock in the fields.

Typical look of the 4 lane, high-speed freeway southbound from Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand. Vehicles include Semi-tractor, small delivery truck and new SUV. Some palm trees on the left. An apartment building on the far right. Usually not a lot of traffic, at least on my trips.

The Driver:

• Usually a man, but I have had some women drivers.
• Older Thai men may speak some English.
• Younger Thai men rarely speak any English.
• The women usually speak some English.
• You can chat with the driver.  Ask "Where are you from?"  "Has it been raining?" "Are you married?" "Any kids?"

What About a Bathroom Break:

• I prefer to take a leak on the plane, then make it through the Immigration Line and pick up my luggage before using the restroom in the Airport.
• The drive is about an hour and a half, so I can make that without stopping.
• I have not needed to stop along the way, but there are gas stations along the freeway.  I would assume you could ask the driver to use the bathroom.  Say "Toilet" or "I need the toilet."

Tip:

• Try to keep your phone charged up to use the mapping App.
• Many of the drivers are experienced and know Pattaya well, but not all do.  You may need to help navigate if your driver just started yesterday.
• Have the name and address of your hotel handy.
• Study the Pattaya map before your trip.

Other Ways to Get From Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand

Private Taxi You Find at the Airport

I stumbled on this method once.  I had made arrangements with my usual taxi company.  But I couldn't find my name on the piece of paper or the board.  I don't know if I was early or I couldn't find my name.

I went up to some Thai lady and asked where can I find my name.

She took it like I was asking for a ride.  She said something like "How much?"  I said $1,100 Thai baht including tolls.  She nodded and led me to her car.

I felt bad for the company I had set up my ride with and apologized by email.

I did use them again for my ride home.

The point is, there are drivers hanging around the airport wafting to take you to Pattaya.

But I still prefer making the arrangements beforehand with a company I have done business with already and have an agreed upon price.

Public Bus

You can get to Pattaya by public bus for very low cost. But then you will need to get transportation from the bus station to your hotel.

Bolt or Grab

I haven't tried this yet.  It looks like Bolt or Grab are the best methods for easily getting around Pattaya.  But I think you need to download these once you are in Thailand.

I haven't gotten these yet.  I think it would be stressful and cumbersome to try to install these Apps while you're in the airport.

Best Way to Get from Bangkok to Pattaya Thailand Wrap Up

Arrange your transportation from the airport to your Pattaya hotel while you are in your home country.

When you get more comfortable with Pattaya and Thailand after a few trips, you may want to branch out to use the cheap bus or Bolt or Grab.