Bangkok to Pattaya: Bus, Airport Coach, Train or Taxi to the Coast

Pattaya is about 145 km south east of Bangkok by road, which puts it 2 to 3 hours away by any sensible route: a coach from the Eastern Bus Terminal at Ekkamai, a coach straight from Suvarnabhumi airport, or a taxi down Motorway 7 in about 2 hours. The journey itself is simple. What catches people out is where they start: the terminal they head for, the airport floor they wait on, and the Friday afternoon traffic that turns a 2 hour run into 4. I have done this trip for weekends, for visiting friends and once, memorably, for a wedding I was late to, and the version that works has barely changed.

Why Pattaya is such an easy run

Pattaya is easy to reach because it sits at the end of one of the best roads in the country. Motorway 7 runs from the eastern edge of Bangkok, past Suvarnabhumi airport, almost all the way to the coast at Chonburi and Pattaya, and the whole eastern seaboard has grown up around it ¹. That one road carries the coaches, the taxis and the private cars, which is why every road option takes roughly the same time and suffers from the same traffic.

The traffic is the variable that matters. On a weekday morning a car can clear Bangkok and reach the beach in under 2 hours. On a Friday evening before a long weekend, the same run can take twice that, because the coast is where Bangkok goes to relax. Whatever you choose, try not to leave the city between about 4pm and 8pm on a Friday, or come back late on a Sunday afternoon.

The coach from Ekkamai, the everyday choice

The coach from the Eastern Bus Terminal at Ekkamai is the route most people use, and the one I put friends on by default. The terminal sits directly beside BTS Ekkamai on the Sukhumvit line, so you can ride the Skytrain to the door with a suitcase and never sit in a taxi in Bangkok traffic at all ². Inside, you buy a seat at the operator’s counter, wait in the hall, and board from a numbered bay.

Departures run through the day, and on a route this popular you rarely wait long for the next one ³. The journey takes about 2 to 3 hours depending on how quickly the coach gets out of Bangkok. The large coaches have a hold for proper luggage, air conditioning and, on most, a toilet, which is the main reason I prefer them to a minivan on a run of this length. How the government operator, Bor Kor Sor, and the licensed private companies differ, and why the terminal counter beats a tout on the pavement, is laid out in buses in Thailand.

The Northern and Northeastern Bus Terminal at Mo Chit also runs services to Pattaya, but fewer of them, and Mo Chit is a taxi or bus ride from the nearest rail station rather than right beside it. If you are staying in the north of the city it can make sense. For anyone on or near Sukhumvit, Ekkamai wins.

The minivans that once ran from street corners have been moved into the terminals, and you will still find them on the Pattaya route. They are quicker to fill and leave, but there is room for a day bag and not much else, there is no toilet, and you are in a light vehicle at speed on a busy road for 2 hours. With a big case, take the coach; the reasoning is set out in minivans in Thailand.

Straight from Suvarnabhumi to the coast

If you are landing at Suvarnabhumi and going straight to Pattaya, do not go into Bangkok at all. The airport sits on the eastern side of the city, already pointing the right way, and coaches to Pattaya and Jomtien leave from the public transport level on the ground floor, the same level as the official meter taxi queue ⁴. You buy a ticket at the counter there, load your case underneath and are on Motorway 7 within minutes, with the journey taking about 2 hours.

This is the single best piece of Pattaya advice I can give a new arrival: the airport coach removes the city, the traffic and the decision about a taxi in one go. The one drawback is timing. The coaches run through the day but not through the night, so if you land after the last departure, the choice becomes the taxi queue, an app car, or a hotel near the airport and the coach in the morning. Planning for that late landing is covered in arriving late at a Thai airport, and the layout of the airport floors, including the public transport level, in getting from Suvarnabhumi into Bangkok.

A taxi or app car down Motorway 7

A taxi or app car is the door to door option, and for a family or three friends sharing it often costs less per head than it first looks. Allow about 2 hours in fair traffic. On a trip this long, street and hotel taxis almost always quote a fixed price for the car instead of running the meter, and the ride apps quote a fixed fare for the whole run up front, which removes the negotiation entirely.

Two things belong in the conversation before you get in. First, tolls: the expressway out of Bangkok and Motorway 7 both charge, and as on any Bangkok trip the passenger pays them on top of the fare ⁵. Ask whether the price includes tolls, because “yes” and “no” are both common answers and the difference is real. Second, the destination: a hotel in Jomtien or Naklua is a different trip from central Pattaya, so name the actual address. Agree the total out loud, then relax. How the meter, the surcharges and a refused fare work inside the city is explained in Bangkok taxis, and how the apps price and dispatch a long trip in Grab in Thailand.

From the airport queue, a taxi to Pattaya is perfectly normal and the drivers do the run constantly. Show the address, agree whether you are on the meter plus tolls or a fixed price, and keep the queue slip with the taxi’s details until you have arrived.

The train, for people who like trains

There is a railway to Pattaya, and I have taken it, but I cannot honestly recommend it as a plan. The eastern line runs very few services a day, the journey is slower than the coach, and Pattaya station sits a few kilometres east of the beach, so you still need a songthaew or motorbike taxi at the end ⁶. It is a lovely slow ride through the eastern suburbs and the Chonburi countryside, and a cheap one, but if the timetable does not suit your day there is no next train in half an hour.

If you want to try it, check the current timetable and the Bangkok departure station with the State Railway of Thailand before you set off, because both have changed in recent years as services moved between stations.

Arriving in Pattaya and the last few kilometres

Coaches from Bangkok’s terminals pull into the bus station on North Pattaya Road, a short way inland from the north end of the beach, while some airport coaches finish nearer Jomtien. From there you are a songthaew or motorbike taxi away from your hotel. The trucks waiting at the bus station will quote a price to your door; that is a private charter, not the baht bus loop, so agree it before you climb in. If your hotel is on Beach Road or Second Road, you can also walk to the loop and ride it for the normal flat fare. How the loop works, where it goes and where it does not, is all in getting around Pattaya.

Safety on the road south east

Every road option shares Thailand’s road record, among the worst in the world at around 32 deaths per 100,000 people a year, with motorcyclists about three quarters of those deaths ⁷. Official travel advice notes that coaches and minibuses are involved in serious crashes and that driving standards are often poor ⁸.

A passenger can still cut the risk. Wear the seatbelt in a coach, van or car, choose a licensed operator from a terminal counter, and ask a driver to slow down, or get out at the next stop, if the driving frightens you. On a Motorway 7 run, the big coach with a professional driver is the option I am most comfortable putting family on.

Putting the trip together

For most people, the pattern is simple. If you are coming from the airport, take the coach from the ground floor at Suvarnabhumi and skip the city. If you are in central Bangkok, ride the Skytrain to Ekkamai and take a coach from the terminal. If you are three or four with luggage, or arriving late, take a car and agree the price, tolls included, before you set off. And whichever you choose, avoid Friday evening.

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Coach timetables, departure points, train services and taxi prices on the Bangkok to Pattaya route change regularly, so confirm the current details with the terminal counter, the airport information desk, the State Railway of Thailand or your driver before you travel.