Thanks a lot mate.....but can u plz give me a rough idea like how much time it can take to fill up a mini bus till we can move to suvarnabhumi airport...nd hw much app. time it takes the entire process....thanks again..:)

Thanks a lot to all the friends that helped me with their replys.......thankx...^

Take a taxi or a limo. Do you really want to drag all your baggage from the hotel to a taxi to the bus to the baht bus and on the poorly constructed sidewalks clogged with people and vendors to your Pattaya hotel? Take a taxi or limo and SAVE yourself all this aggravation. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

You can arrange through your Pattaya hotel for a taxi or limo to take you to the airport.

1) Is there a similar service from downtown Bangkok to Pattaya ?

2) Alternatively which car service offers the cheapest rate to Pattaya ?

Thanks

I used a car service last week from BKK hotel to Pattaya and return.The company is located in Pattaya and is called MrT. The cost was 1000 baht each way tolls included. the 2 different drivers knew exactly where to go and
avoided some construction on the way down. The cars were a Camary and A toyota mini van. The best car service I have ever used for the trip and would recommend them highly. Oh this is a 24 hour service I asked to leave Pattaya at 4am and the friver was there on time.
I am sorry I do not have the phone number at this time I will locate it and post later or PM me for the info.

I accidentally bump into Mr T's booth along a soi off a main road in Pattaya. Booked a ride back to BKK and was a little disappointed; driver turned up late and it was an older private car with heavy tint on the windows & excessive decorations on the exterior, only thing missing was the rap music; get the idea ...

Are there better operators out there ?

The taxi counter at BKK indicated a fare of around BHT1,200 to Pattaya (I suppose before toll) and honestly I prefer a Bangkok taxi than the "rap" car I rode back to BKK a few months back.

Many years ago I booked a car directly with a Pattaya taxi company and the service was quite good with almost brand new Toyota Corrola and careful driver. Unfortunately I dont have the contact details anymore. If anyone has a recomendation, please post.

Thanks

Might I ask the OP - Why on earth would a male/female couple go to Pattaya? Pattaya has one reason to exist - and that is as a destination for single male travelers to get laid - with as much variety as they could possibly want. As a beach destination for a couple (unless you are seeking threesomes with Thai ladies), Pattaya is the pits.

If you want nice beach, without flying to either Phuket or Koh Samui, than either go to Hua Hin, or Koh Samed. Personally, I recommend Hua Hin. It's almost as close to Bangkok as Pattaya is (on the opposite side of the Gulf of Thailand) and it is a much cleaner, much more culturally interesting place, with far nicer beaches).

Pattaya's only that way if you want it to be. You don't have to experience any of "adult nightlife" if you don't want to. Lot's of families travel there from BKK to get away from town, spend a few days at one of the nice hotels and play some golf or just hang out at the pool. Nice little getaway from BKK. My wife doesn't like the beach, but she love's hanging out by the pool or playing golf. Pattaya's just fine for that.

Frankly, I don't believe that it's possible not to see the "adult nightlife" just walking down the street - particularly beach road - any time during broad daylight, as well as during the night time. But even if I take your claim at face value that you can, Hua Hin is noticeably better than Pattaya for shopping, dining, golf, beach, and pool recreation of the PG rated variety - especially if beach and beach sports are on the itinerary. And frankly, even people who LOVE the beach tend to avoid it in Pattaya, because of the pollution (although, as I said, Jomtien to the south is noticeably better).

Don't get me wrong - as a single male traveler, I actually like Pattaya - but I have seen all too many couples and families who were rudely surprised by what they saw in Pattaya, and had no idea what they were in for when they planned their trip. It's not exactly the Thai version of Disneyland for all-around family fun. I merely wanted to make sure that these folks went there with their eyes open, because if they were NOT expecting the type of nightlife and adult entertainment that dominates Pattaya 24-hours a day, it would come as quite a shock to them.

OTOH, they might well be looking for exactly what Pattaya offers. Just so long as they know it going in - that's fine.

You are indeed insulting those of us who go to Pattaya purely to relax at the resorts. I have been there twice, and I have never been harassed; I have not even been to "walking street" but would certainly like to see it once to satisfy my curiousity on all the fuss about this street.

Hua Hin is not a bad place but its more difficult to get to from BKK.

Perhaps, but if you DON'T go for the adult entertainment aspect, Hua Hin is certainly nicer than Pattaya in every way, shape or form. I didn't say that people would be harrassed. What I said was that you can't walk 100 meters down the main streets in Pattaya, such as Beach Road, without passing at least a dozen obvious hookers. That's during the day time. At night, you'll see hundreds of them. As I said, this may well be the type of entertainment one is seeking. But if it's NOT, then there are certainly better destinations than Pattaya, that are just about as close to Bangkok and as easy to get to, and Hua Hin is chief among them.

And frankly, it's trivial to get to Hua Hin - just as it's trivial to get to Pattaya. Go to any cab driver and say Hua Hin, and agree on a price - it will be no more than 2000 baht. (l paid 1700 + tolls of around 100). in a bit more than 2 hours, you'll be in the center of Hua Hin.

Here's some simple statistics for you: Pattaya has between 35,000-40,000 hotel rooms. On any given day, there are around 20,000 Prostitutes working in Pattaya - out of a total population of around 250,000 people (including ex-pats and transients - the official registered population is more like 105K people - but that is far fewer than the number who are actually there). That should give people some understanding of the character of Pattaya tourism.

I'm not intending to be insulting to people who go to Pattaya for general tourism - especially those who go there for the first time - and NOT intending to go there specifically for adult entertainment. I'm simply suggesting that they are unaware of the far superior alternatives that are just as easy to get to from Bangkok, and probably also unaware of just exactly what Pattaya is all about.

Thanks for all the statistics but this thread is more about transportation options between Bangkok/BKK and Pattaya for those who have already decided to go there. Maybe you could start a separate thread to raise awareness about your view of the "real" Pattaya to warn off the less savvy tourists? (My guess is that you overlooked the thread title and maybe thought you were responding to a different thread?) For this thread, is there any chance you could share the transportation options you've utilized, as it's evident you've been there?

Your guess about me misreading the thread title was wrong, as I merely asked a question as to whether the OP was aware of what Pattaya was - my sense was that they were not. Admittedly, the subsequent dialog with other posters was an irrelevant diversion - but since those posters took apparent umbrage, I did feel the need to respond. But, as for transportation, here's the info:

You can easily take a cab. It costs around 1200 baht + tolls from downtown Bangkok, or around 1000 + tolls from Suvarnabhumi. The cab ride is less than 2 hours.

You can also take a bus - By far the preferred bus would be an Express bus from the Ekamai terminal. The express bus takes around 2 hours 40 minutes. Be sure not to get on a local bus, as it stops at every narrow spot in the road, and takes around 4 hours. The buses cost less than 150 baht per person and it will probably cost another 30-50 baht to get a songtow directly to your hotel from the bus stop.

For families that live in BKK or have visited BKK, the adult nightlife aspect is seen daily if you're on Sukhumvit road. Not that big a deal for them. First timers would definitely a bit surprised though.

Regarding the Sheraton Pattaya, it's in South Pattaya, next door to Jomtien and quite a ways a away from the seedy area of Pattaya. That's one of the nice reasons to stay there. For some it's too isolated, for others it's just right.

Well there are some who said the same thing about Phuket, and I do know of (lesser travelled) folks who thought every female person in Thailand is a "prostitute" of some kind. I feel sorry for them :rolleyes:

Now if anyone know of a good transport option to Pattaya (other than that already mentioned) ......