Field note · Thailand · Chonburi

Pattaya

Downtown Pattaya runs on dark-blue songthaews circling a flat-fare loop that turns into an expensive charter the second you ask the driver for a specific stop; everything longer-distance (Bangkok, the airports, Hua Hin) is a private coach or minibus company, not a public bus network.

Researched: 29 September 2026
Reviewed: not yet
Ways of moving: 10, 14 sources
Not confirmed: 7
Fares seen: 2026

How transport works here

10 ways of moving, each with its rule

We confirmed ten ways of moving to, from or around Pattaya: five by road, three by water, one by rail and cable and one hired or on demand, from 14 sources. Three of them run only on demand or when the seats are full, so there is no timetable to show; the rule is written where the timetable would be.

The fares were seen in 2026; a fare from an older year is a floor, not a price. Six fares carry no year, because they could not be confirmed and the field says so. We rate 5 of the 10 high confidence, our own judgement of the sources. The entry was checked on 29 September 2026, and ends with seven things we could not confirm.

5 ways

By road

songthaew

Baht bus (songthaew) beach circuit

Second Rd (northbound) and Beach Rd (southbound) loop via Dolphin Roundabout and South Pattaya Rd; branches to Jomtien and Naklua

Wave down any dark-blue pickup truck running the loop on Second Rd or Beach Rd; get in the back without discussing a destination with the driver first

When: Near-continuous on the main loop, rarely more than a minute or two between trucks in daytime
Takes: Most Pattaya Bay trips are under 10 minutes
Fare 2026: 15-20 baht flat for a shared ride on the loop as of April 2026, up from the long-standing 10 baht; naming a specific destination to the driver turns it into a private charter at 100-200 baht or more

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone for the shared loop; press the roof buzzer to signal a stop. Run byBanglamung District Baht Bus Cooperative (independent owner-drivers).

bus

Roong Reuang Coach (RRC) – Bangkok terminals to Pattaya

Bangkok's Mo Chit 2 (northern), Ekamai (eastern) and Bangna terminals to Pattaya Bus Station on North Pattaya Rd

Buy at the terminal counter (Mo Chit 2: counter 34, platform 42; Ekamai: counter 13, platform 1) or book online at airportpattayabus.com

When: Ekamai roughly hourly 05:00-22:00; Mo Chit 2 hourly 05:00-18:00; Bangna half-hourly-ish 06:30-21:30
Takes: About 2 hours from Ekamai or Mo Chit 2, traffic-dependent
Fare 2026: 144 baht/seat from Ekamai or Bangna, 155 baht/seat from Mo Chit 2, seen September 2026

Seasonyear-round. Bookingwalk-up or online booking; no reservation required to travel. Run byRoong Reuang Coach, trading as RRC / pattayabus.com.

bus

Roong Reuang Coach (RRC) – Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya

Suvarnabhumi Airport (Level 1, Gate 8) to Pattaya Bus Station on North Pattaya Rd

Counter at Gate 8, Level 1 arrivals; a separate hotel-to-hotel shared or private transfer can be booked in advance on the operator's site

When: Station bus roughly every 2 hours, 07:30-18:30 from the airport; shared hotel transfer runs about every 2 hours, 08:30-18:00
Takes: About 2 hours, traffic-dependent
Fare 2026: 135 baht/seat for the bus-station-to-bus-station service, seen September 2026; the door-to-door hotel transfer is a separate, pricier product with no public fare listed

Seasonyear-round. Bookingwalk-up for the station bus; the hotel transfer must be booked ahead online. Run byRoong Reuang Coach, trading as RRC / pattayabus.com (formerly marketed as Bell Travel Service; belltravelservice.com now redirects to this operator's site).

bus

Roong Reuang Coach (RRC) – Hua Hin/Cha-am to Pattaya

Hua Hin Bus Station to Pattaya Bus Station, via a stop at Cha-am (Government Savings Bank, Ban Bank)

Counter 3 at Hua Hin Bus Station; the Cha-am stop is on Phetkasem Rd near the Cha-am intersection

When: One departure a day each way: Hua Hin at 09:00, Pattaya at 15:30
Takes: About 5 hours, traffic-dependent
Fare 2026: 526 baht/seat, seen September 2026 (up from 389 baht advertised in older guides)

Seasonyear-round. Bookingarrive at least 15 minutes before departure; online booking available. Run byRoong Reuang Coach, trading as RRC / pattayabus.com.

shuttle bus

U-Tapao Airport door-to-door minibus

U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) to hotels around Pattaya

Minibus counters at the airport's front doors, including Bangkok Airways' and Air Asia's own services

When: on demand, timed to arriving flights
Takes: About 30-50 minutes
Fare: 150 baht at the front doors, undated; if the driver drops you at the North Bus Station rather than the beach strip, a further songthaew leg is needed and drivers commonly ask 150 baht for it (a fair local fare for that leg is closer to 10 baht)

Seasonyear-round. Bookingpre-booking not required but recommended, as availability on arrival is not guaranteed. Run bythree separate minibus companies, including Bangkok Airways and Air Asia transfer services.

3 ways

By water

ferry

Pattaya-Hua Hin catamaran

Bali Hai Pier, Pattaya to Hua Hin

Bali Hai Pier, south end of Walking Street, when the service is operating

When: Was one round trip a day: Pattaya 10:00, Hua Hin 12:30
Takes: About 2 hours for the 116 km crossing
Fare: Undated; no current fare found

SeasonStatus as of September 2026 could not be confirmed; the operator's own domain, royalferrygroup.com, now redirects through an ad/parking script rather than serving any route content, which is not consistent with an operating public ferry. Bookingunknown; ask at Bali Hai Pier or a travel agency before planning around this. Run byRoyal Passenger Liner Co, Ltd (Royal Ferry Group).

boat

Bali Hai Pier – Ko Lan ferry

Bali Hai Pier, Pattaya to Na Baan pier or Tawaen Beach pier, Ko Lan

Bali Hai Pier at the south end of Walking Street; boats to both piers leave from here

When: About seven sailings a day each way, roughly 07:00-18:30 from Pattaya and 06:30-18:00 from Ko Lan per the posted schedule
Takes: About 30 minutes
Fare: 30 baht per person; undated, no year stated on the source

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone, pay at the pier. Run bynot named on the source; run as a cooperative ferry service from the pier.

speedboat

Ko Lan speedboat

Bali Hai Pier (or any main Pattaya beach) to Ko Lan

Touts and boat operators along Beach Rd and Bali Hai Pier sell shared and charter speedboat trips

When: on demand, whenever enough passengers or a charter is arranged
Takes: About 15 minutes shared, similar for a charter
Fare: 150-200 baht per person shared; 1,500-2,500 baht to charter the whole boat; undated, no year stated on the source

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone for a shared seat; negotiate directly for a charter. Run byindependent boat operators.

One way

By rail and cable

train

Bangkok Hualamphong – Pattaya 3rd class train

Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station to Pattaya Station, continuing to Sattahip

Buy a ticket at either station; cannot be pre-booked

When: One train a day, weekdays only, no service Saturday or Sunday
Takes: Departs Bangkok 06:50, arrives Pattaya 10:18 (about 3.5 hours); return departs Pattaya 14:21, arrives Bangkok 17:40
Fare: 31 baht one-way, undated

Seasonyear-round, weekdays only. Bookingnone, buy at the station before boarding. Run byState Railway of Thailand.

One way

Hired, booked and on demand

moto taxi

Motorbike taxi

Anywhere within Pattaya and out to East Pattaya (Darkside)

Roadside stands throughout town; drivers wear numbered vests and often clap or call out to passing pedestrians. Also bookable through the Bolt app for a private driver

When: on demand, constant during daylight and evening hours
Takes: varies by distance
Fare: Undated; no current per-trip fare figure found in a citable source, generally described as costlier than a metered Bangkok taxi

Seasonyear-round. Bookingnone for a street hail; Bolt app for a booked ride. Run byindependent drivers organised by stand/zone.

Not confirmed

What we could not find out

7 things the researcher looked for and did not find, in their own words, with where to ask instead. None of this goes into the planner; it stays here until someone confirms it.

01
The Pattaya-Hua Hin catamaran's current operating status could not be confirmed: the operator's own domain (royalferrygroup.com) now serves only an ad-router redirect script with no route content, which is inconsistent with a live public ferry, but no news source confirming closure was found either. Ask at Bali Hai Pier or a Pattaya travel agency before relying on it.
02
Government bus 389, described in older guides (Wikivoyage, citing a fare of 143 baht as of December 2023) as an hourly Suvarnabhumi-Pattaya service, could not be separately confirmed as still operating alongside the Roong Reuang Coach (RRC) service now running that corridor at 135 baht; these may be the same service under different branding, or 389 may have lapsed. Ask at the airport bus counter.
03
Motorbike taxi vest colours are reported by multiple travel guides to mark which zone/stand a driver belongs to, but no citable, current source giving the actual colour scheme for Pattaya could be found; ask at any stand which colours cover which area.
04
No current fare could be confirmed for a plain street-hailed motorbike taxi ride; ask the driver and agree a price before getting on.
05
The 407 Bus Company's Udon Thani/Nong Khai to Rayong service, which stops on Sukhumvit Rd in Pattaya, is mentioned in older guides with only a 2015 fare (636 baht VIP seat); current status and fare could not be confirmed.
06
Nakhonchai Air's Chiang Mai to Pattaya coach is mentioned in older guides with a travel time (about 11 hours) but no current fare could be confirmed.
07
The white songthaews running the length of Sukhumvit Rd between Pattaya and Sattahip (serving U-Tapao airport as an ad hoc alternative to a taxi) have no confirmed current fare; drivers set the price on the spot.

In the planner

What the planner can route today

The options above live on the place page, not in the departure board: a boat that comes when you phone has no time to show. What the board can do for Pattaya is this.

Y: Scheduled flightsRayong (UTP), 30 km
Y: Trains and coachesTransitous carries 1 timetable feed for this country, 0 with real-time
Y: Ferriesท่าเรือแหลมบาลีฮาย, 2 km; sailings estimated
Y: Driving and taxiOpenStreetMap roads; cab fare from the country band
N: Bike and scooter shareno share feed known
N: Cruisesno open itinerary source anywhere

Y routable now · F found, not yet implemented · N no source known.