Time to Get to Pattaya

This article is a breakdown of the time to get to Pattaya from my home.

I live in the midwestern part of the USA.  I like escaping the snow and cold for a tropical get away.  I've even been to Pattaya 2 times in August, the nice, warm part of the US summer.  Pattaya is so much fun, I like to go as often as possible.

After my glorious 5 trips to Pattaya, I consider it my second home with a well known path and time frame to get there.

I can leave my home at 5:00 pm and be checking into my Pattaya hotel at 3:00 pm, 2 days later.  

• 2 trips leaving on a Friday, arrive on Sunday.
• 3 trips leaving on a Tuesday, arrive on Thursday.

I consider 3:00 pm a perfect time to arrive in Pattaya, get checked in, run some errands, start living like a king and then go out to enjoy the Pattaya nightlife.

I lose 12 hours for the time difference (Thailand is exactly 12 hours ahead of the Central Standard time in midwestern USA).

It is a full 34 hours of total travel time to get to Pattaya.

Time to Get to Pattaya - Breakdown of the Steps

With such a massively long and time consuming trip, this detailed breakdown, with all the steps involved, explains the time to get to Pattaya so you know what to expect.

Step 1 - My Home to Chicago's O-Hare Airport - 3 Hours

Picture of my vehicle and the surroundings so I can easily find it when I get back. My beautiful Lexus GX 470 is on the right

Step (1A) Drive to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport

• Leave my home at 5:00 pm.
• One stop along the way for a bathroom break and a slice of Sbarro's pizza at the Belvidere Oasis on the Illinois Tollway.  No drink, to minimize need to pee.
• Get back on the Illinois tollway that goes right to O-Hare with my iPhone map turned on so I know exactly which turnoff to take to get to my parking.  
• Park in O'Hare's economy lot H, usually arriving around 7:30 pm. I take careful note of where I park and take a picture of my vehicle and the surroundings so I can easily find it when I get back in a week or 2 or 3.  I will be getting home at night, but the parking lots are well lit.

Step (1B) Airport Transportation From Economy Parking Lot to the Airport Terminal

• Jump on the airport shuttle bus with my backpack and luggage and get dropped off at the airport train station.  The shuttle buses are constantly running, you only need to wait a few minutes. It's a 5 to 10 minute drive from the Economy parking lot to the train station. 
• Grab my luggage and backpack, get off the bus and hustle into the train station restroom (new, nice and clean) just inside the building.
• Go up the train station escalator to the upper level to wait for the train.
• Get on the train.  Like any train, they pull  up quickly, open the doors briefly and then take off again.  So you have to hustle a bit.
• Get off the train at the first stop which is Terminal 5, the International Terminal at the O-Hare airport. at about 8:00 pm.  

Step 2 - Inside the Airport Until Takeoff - 4 Hours

O-Hare Check in counter

Step (2A) Check- In & Security

• 8:00 pm.
• Once inside the airport I may get a drink or snack at the coffee shop just inside the doors if I'm a little too early to get in the check in line.
• Find my booked airline check-in counter.  I've taken EVA airlines on all my trips.
• Get in line to check in.
• Show my passport at the check in counter, check my larger suitcase and get my paper boarding pass.
• Go through the TSA Security check with my backpack.
• Whew!  I'm checked in, through security and walking through the duty free shopping area.

Step (2B) Waiting Until Takeoff

• I buy 3 waters at one of the markets.  One to drink while I wait in the terminal, and 2 to take on the plane.  Obviously, airport waters are pricey.
• I had the pizza on the way, but I may want a little something more to eat plus a coffee.  There are a variety of nice restaurants and markets to choose from.
• I try to find a comfortable seat to eat, drink, play on my phone and computer and pull out my planner and journal book while I wait.  I text family and friends my status.  I update my costs spreadsheet on my computer.  I make notes in my journal book.  The biggest note is where I store my keys as I will not need them until I get back home.  I put the keys deep in my backpack.
• 20 to 30 minutes before boarding begins, I take out my contact lenses and put on my glasses and use the restroom one more time.
• I board, take my fanny pack out of my backpack before stowing the backpack in the  overhead bin.  I keep my fanny pack with me in my seat.
• Take off at midnight.

Step 3 - First Leg of the Flight - 15.5 Hours.  Longest part of the Time to Get to Pattaya

Step 3 is the longest and hardest step of the time to get to Pattaya.  I was extremely worried before my first trip.  Could I deal with 15 1/2 hours on a plane?  Would my back give out?  Would I be bored out of my mind?  Would I get a blood clot and die on the plane?

While the flight is extremely long, and I did get uncomfortable at times, was bored, and restless, it is doable.  The flight attendants are attentive.  The meals and snacks were very tasty and appreciated.  The flight offers all kinds of movies and music.  

It helped that I spent more for an upgraded seat.

Step (3A) - Take off

• Take off at midnight.
• I chew some gum from my fanny pack during the takeoff and landing.

Steps (3B) - The Long Flight

• Shortly after taking off, EVA gives us a snack right away when the plane is leveled off.
• Shortly after that, EVA provides a full meal.
• After the meal trays are picked up, the cabin lights are turned down.
• Some people conk out and wake up 14 hours later.  I wish I could do that.  
• It will be about 2:30 in the morning by this time, but instead of being tired, I am wide awake, so I watch a movie.
• I have watched up to 5 movies on this leg of the flight.
• I get up a handful of times to pee.
• I also do some stretching and warmup moves a few times.
• I do not read.  I do not use my phone.  I do not sleep very long, maybe 20 minutes here and there.
• Deep into the flight, with my body aching and bored out of my mind, I soothe myself with some peanut M & M's and a chocolate bar I squirreled away in my fanny pack, savoring every bite for as long as possible.
• There is another snack or 2 provided (quietly in the dim lighting).
• When we're about 3 hours out, another full meal is provided.

Step (3C) - Landing

• Gum again from my fanny pack.
• 15.5 hours from takeoff we land in Taipei Taiwan!!!

Step 4- Layover Waiting for My Connecting Flight - 4 Hours

The Taipei Taiwan airport is very modern with some great seating in a soothing setting

Step (4A) - Get off Plane

• Go through Taipei Security. 

The first few trips, there was security to go through in Taipei.  The last 3, there wasn't.  It may have been due to covid restrictions or due to the skirmishes between Taiwan and China.  Be prepared for whatever. 

Steps (4B) - Wait

• Wait.

The Taipei airport is really nice.  With some excellent, comfortable seating.  It's an excellent place for a layover.  My layovers have been 2 to 4 hours.  My second trip layover was too short and I missed my connecting flight. That was almost a disaster.  Luckily they found me another flight arriving at about the same time as I planned.

With the huge size of international airports, poor weather, and everything else that can go wrong, it's better to pick a longer layover on an international flight.

With all I ate on the flight (2 meals, 4 snacks, my junk food) I arrive in Taipei completely bloated.

I am hoping to have a bowel movement during this layover, but it may not happen.  

The food choices are a little weird in Taiwan.  Not much for westernized food.  Not really any Chinese food either.  I usually get a chicken thigh or 2 at the chicken place.  The other restaurants specialize in comically huge bowels of soup that the tiny Asian people seem to easily scarf down, and pastries with very little flavor.  

In order to pass the time, I get a coffee and some type of sandwich.

Step (4C) - Board Plane

• Back on the plane for the 4 hour flight to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Bangkok Thailand.

Step 5 - Second (& last) Leg of the Flight - 4 Hours

Step (5A) - Take off

• Gum again from my fanny pack.

Steps (5B) - The Flight

• After takeoff, there is a full meal provided.
• I'll watch another movie.

Step (5C) - Landing

• Pee right before we begin to land.  I don't want to have to pee right away in the airport.
• Gum again from my fanny pack.
• 4 hours later we land in Bangkok Thailand.

Step 6 -Getting Through Bangkok Airport - 2 Hours

You will arrive in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.  It is a fabulous airport, super professional and well done.

Step (6A) - Get Off Plane & Walk

• I put my fanny pack back in my backpack for ease of walking around the airport.
• Hustle off the plane, and walk fast following the crowd to the Visa line

Step (6B) - Immigration & Visa Line

• It's a long walk to the Immigration and Visa Line.  Get on the walking conveyors if you can.
• There are 3 lines to Immigration.  The Thais direct us from the US, to Line 3.  Be prepared to be confused.  It is a huge area.  Some trips there has been massive amounts of people filling out some type of paperwork.  I joined in, filled out the paperwork only to find that as an American, it was not necessary,
• Get scrutinized by an immigration officer and get my passport stamped. They seem to be moving toward electronic stamping.

Step (6C) - Pick Up Luggage

• Walk past the walls behind the Visa area to the luggage carousels.
• There are more than 20 luggage carousels stretching both directions as far as you can see, with no way to know which one your bags go to without walking to all of them.
• You may get lucky and see a fellow passenger from your flight who seems to know what's gong on to follow.
• After finding the right carousel...wait.  On international flights, there is huge amounts of luggage and boxed goods - huge.  
• On my first flight, there was a massive issue with my luggage.  The last 4 trips, it has been fine.

Step (6D) - Exchange some money

• On my first trip, I exchanged $200 USD for Thai Baht to pay my taxi.  On the next 4 trips I have brought enough ThB home for the taxi ride with me, so I don't have to exchange any money at the airport.

Step (6E) - Walk to the Exit

• There are signs up above pointing the way, but they can be confusing.  Just follow the majority of the crowd.
• The area for ground transportation is one of the most chaotic places on earth.

Step (6F) - Find My Taxi

• Finding my taxi has been a challenge.  I make arrangements with a Pattaya taxi company a few weeks before each trip.  They tell me to go to Exit Door 2.
• The crowd in the Exit area is massive, chaotic, with hundreds (maybe thousands) of tourists with massive amounts of luggage, no one speaks English, or seems to know where to go, and everyone is angry.  After the smooth, quiet and subdued nature of the first 6 steps, the chaos in the Exit Area is a shock.
• You will need to dodge and weave your way to whatever exit door you need to get to.
• I bear to the right to find Exit Door 2.
• The area is choked with tourists burdened with huge amounts of luggage and Thais trying to help them.
• If you made arrangements already, the taxi company will write your name on a sheet of paper and pin it up on a board.
• There will be hundreds of pieces of paper on dozens on boards on either side of the aisle for you to read through until you find your name.
• Once you find your name (if you do), point at the paper to the nearest Thai person, usually a Thai lady.  She will have you hold up your name on the paper in front of  you, take your picture, and text the driver.
• You will need to wait, usually not that long for the driver to come into the building or for the Thai lady to lead you out.
• You will leave the decently air conditioned exit area out into the extreme heat of Thailand.  The taxi waiting area is covered and in the shade, but it is steaming hot outside. Steaming.

This map gives you an idea of how to make your way through Suvarnabhumi Airport

Step 7 (Final Step) - Taxi Bangkok to Pattaya - 1.5 Hours.  This is the shortest part of the Time to Get to Pattaya

Step (7A) - Enjoy the Ride

• Your driver will load your luggage and backpack into the trunk.  I grab my fanny pack first as it has my passport and ALL my cash.
• Collapse into the backseat and the driver takes off.
• Taxi ride in nice, newer vehicle with a lead footed Thai driver 1.5 hours to my Pattaya hotel.  I know the road south to Pattaya well by now with the significant landmarks:
• First we pass a huge billboard minutes after getting on the freeway from the airport, then we cross large river.  Next we pass massive industrial areas, then apartment complexes, eventually some agricultural land intermingled with industry and apartments.
• By this time I am really tired, groggy, sometimes even napping in the back seat. But I love looking out the window at Thailand and try to stay awake.
• I know I am getting close to Pattaya when we pass between 2 heavily vegetated mountains.  This is usually about 20 more minutes to the Pattaya outskirts.
• There are 2 toll booths, the driver has to stop for and scan their card.
• Before you know it, the freeway ends and you are in the northern part of Pattaya passing through built up city areas (gas stations, retail areas, shops and apartment buildings.
• The driver merges onto Central Pattaya Road and I am oh so close. He turns left onto a shortcut that melds into Third Road. A few more blocks, and he turns right onto my hotel street. Drives up a half block and stops right in front of my hotel.

Step (7B) - Get Out, Pay and enter hotel

• I get out, he takes out my luggage and backpack from the trunk, I reach into my wallet, pull out a $1,000 ThB note and a $100 ThB note to pay the agree upon price.  I then pull out another 2 $100 ThB notes (i.e. $200 ThB = 18% tip, I break my 10% max tip here) as a tip.  The driver will appreciate my  generosity immensely.
• I carry my luggage up the steps and through the front doors of the hotel.

Time to Get to Pattaya Wrap Up

Step by Step Summary of the Time to Get to Pattaya  

There is a lot involved with an international trip and it takes long time to get to Pattaya. 

But once you're there you will be happy you dealt with the enormous challenge of a trip of this magnitude.