Thailand is a beautiful country, with so many amazing things to see and do for tourists and visitors. From Phuket to Krabi, the Full Moon Pary on Koh Phnanang to island hopping around Koh Pi Pi and Phuket, it’s truly the pearl of the orient. Sunshine, white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, regal temples, rich culture, and incredible food all await you in Thailand.
But, sometimes, a brother’s just gotta go to Pattaya and get his party on!
For those of you who don’t know, Pattaya is party central in Thailand, even out-wilding the chaotic and shady Red Light streets in Bangkok and the mind-boggling bar and nightlife complex in Phuket. In fact, Pattaya is sort of like their Vegas mixed with Rio Di Janiero with just enough Amsterdam – but every night of the week!
But Pattaya isn’t only for middle-aged guys from America, England, and Australia who are trying to get their freak on. It’s actually a world-class vacation destination for couples and families, too. You’ll see TONS of Russian families (literally, they’re he – they weigh tons!) and also armies of Chinese tourists marching through Walking Street, the temples, and the malls, alike, in Pattaya.
The Airport Bus and What You Should Know
So what I’m getting at is that a lot of people need to come and go from Pattaya. There is a small, local airport outside the burgeoning beachside city about 90 miles east of Bangkok, but they offer very few charter and private flights. So if you’re coming into or out of Thailand, you’ll probably fly into Suvarnabhumi Airport. So what are your options for getting from that 4th most traveled airport in the world out to Pattaya?
Organizing a simple ride can be a little harder than it seems if you don’t know what you’re doing. You can try to rent a car, but that’s guaranteeing you’ll overpay and probably get hopelessly lost. You can easily take a taxi from the airport, but they know they’ve got ya between a rock and a hard place. Best case scenario, you’ll pay about $50 for a taxi ride to Pattaya. However, that usually means waiting in a long line among the other tourists waiting for a taxi, and, too often, the drivers will try to rip you off.
Thankfully, the best solution is the Airport Pattaya Bus. If you know the schedule and where to catch it, it’s literally the best deal you’ll get in the country. If you’re arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, go down to the ground floor after you get your baggage. You’ll see a bus terminal where you can get a ticket and see their schedule, and they leave every 30 minutes until 9 pm, and then every hour until 11 pm. The ride will only take you about 1 ½ to 2 hours in traffic.
From Pattaya, you can catch this bus from their small station in Jomtien. When you arrive at the airport, they’ll drop you off right in front of the departure terminal.
A ticket for each way will only cost you 120 Baht – about $4! So you only pay $4 instead of $50 for a taxi!
You can also buy a ticket a day or so ahead of time, and your ticket reserves your seat.
The buses are big, modern, clean, and comfortable. While they don’t have rest rooms (use the facilities in the bus station before you leave!), the Aircon is great, and the seats are surprisingly large and comfortable. They’ll also store your big luggage in the cargo hold below, and you receive a bag tag so it seems perfectly safe.
The Pattaya Airport Bus is one of the best deals I’ve seen and makes traveling to and from Pattaya a pleasure!
About Norm Schriever
Norm Schriever is a blogger, Amazon best-sellling author, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. His work appears in the Huffington Post, Business.com, Good Morning America, The Anderson Cooper Show on CNN, NBC, MSN, Yahoo, Hotels.com, and media all around the world.
Norm grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut, where he was never accused of overstudying. After expatriating to Costa Rica in 2011, he started traveling the world and documenting what he saw. He now lives in Southeast Asia, writing his heart out and working with local charities.
