Originally Posted by
SunLover
Correct that Bell Travel is door to door service:
*Mini van from the hotel to the Bell Bangkok depot
*Large bus from the Bell Bangkok depot to the Bell Pattaya depot
*Mini van from the Pattaya depot to your address
Depending on your hotels sequence there can multiple other pickups/drop-offs on both sides, and the large bus might even stop at BKK as well. The total transit time is usually between 3 to 4 hours.
I have also done the Ekamai bus before. From my experience:
*You have to pay for a taxi to the Ekamai station or use the skytrain and drag luggage in the heat up and down the stairs. This cost money and time.
*You wait in a non air-conditioned open air station for the next bus, which might or might not have space available.
*When you get to Pattaya you have to pay for a taxi or wait for a baht bus to fill up that is heading in your direction. Note: the baht bus is not door to door but can usually get you close to your destination. This cost time and money.
So for me - if you have a lot of luggage or wilt in the heat; the convenience of always in aircon and door to door service is worth the trade off a few more minutes and a few more baht. YMMV.
SunLover
I have only had good experiences on the buses, but sounds like your friends got royally screwed(most of us prefer on waiting until we are in Pattaya for that
). Everyone has there own preferences. I will be stuck with a taxi in July due to arriving at 11pm, but otherwise I prefer the bus. Wife and I only travel with 1 backpack each, so I could see that making a difference for many. If I had lots of luggage then I would consider the vans/taxi as an alternative. I just prefer taking the bus then grabbing a motorbike taxi (I always walk out of the BS to the right and negotiate with drivers for better rate).
Originally Posted by
Tchiowa
I agree completely. Even for a Camry, you're talking a difference of $20 or so. Door to door, air, less time, no changing from taxi to bus to taxi, no stopping on the highway to drop off or pick up the driver's girl friend. Well worth it.
Hey that $20 can get us a ST from a beach road girl
