Pattaya City Transportation Guide. How is it more convenient to travel around the resort and its surroundings. Songteo routes. How much does a taxi cost? How can you get from Utapao Airport? Prices, nuances and tips for tourists.
Exchange rate: 1 Thai Baht (THB) ≈ 2.2 RUB.
Songteo in Pattaya
The main form of public transport in Pattaya is passenger cars with a cab and a covered body with 2 benches. Songteo translated from Thai means "two benches". Riding in the heat is very convenient! In the rain too - the driver lowers the protective tarpaulins on the sides.
The songteo can accommodate 10 people, and if you make room, 12. When there are a lot of passengers, another 1-2 people sit in the cab next to the driver, and three or four stand on the back platform. Short Thais stand patiently in the back, so some cars carry 22-25 people!
Songteo routes in Pattaya... Songteo blue runs through the part of Pattaya, which is located to the west of Sukhumvit. White - according to Sukhumvit. Short distance travel in blue cars costs 10 baht per person, and 20 baht in white cars. There are songteos in other colors - blue, orange and red. They serve the outskirts and suburbs of the resort and are rarely used by ordinary tourists.
Blue songteos are numbered and follow specific routes. These vehicles can be seen on the main streets of the resort - Jomtien, Beach Road, Second, South, Central and North streets, Tappraye and Teprazite.
The most popular route starts on Jomtien... Songteo drive along Tappraya Street, Second Street and further along Naklua to the fish market. In the opposite direction, after Naklua Street, cars turn to the sea and reach the end of Beach Road.
The final stop of the songteos, where you can get to Jomtien, is located near school number 8, 200 m from the beginning of the famous Walking street: 12.926150, 100.875356.
At first glance, the routes are in order, but we lived in a Thai resort for several years and realized that this was not the case. It makes no sense to memorize the traffic map in Pattaya. Why? Thai drivers adhere to the main route, but at any time they can stop moving or turn to another street.
There are always enough reasons for this: the Thai man was tired and wanted to dine, his wife asked to go to the market, a business appeared in a neighboring area ... Once a group of compatriots sat down in our songteo, and a couple of minutes later the driver turned sharply aside onto an unfamiliar street. My husband and I and other passengers were dropped off, and the satisfied Russians moved on. It turns out that upon landing, they agreed with the driver that they would hire him as a taxi. All Thais want to make money at the resort, so money beats the rules.
You can also ask the songthaew driver to use the car as a taxi to get anywhere in the city. You will be charged a minimum of 100 baht, and for a distance of 3-4 km - 200-250 baht.
How to proceed in order to get to the right place? Ask the driver and passengers if the songteo is going where you want it to go. If the answer is yes, get in your car and enjoy the views of the city.
What if your songteo unexpectedly went the other way? Press the call button and exit. Don't forget to give your honestly earned 10 baht to the driver. In 5 minutes or earlier another car will come and you will drive on. Of course, you will have to pay again, but the prices for public transport in Pattaya are low, they cannot be compared to the Russian ones. Take your time to find out who is to blame and what to do. Relax and don't be nervous!
Tuk-tuki
Tourists mistakenly call songteo "tuk-tuk". In fact, Thai tuk-tuk is a completely different form of transport. It has three wheels and a motorcycle motor. There is space for a driver and 2-4 passengers under the roof. Close, but with a breeze!
There are not as many tuk-tuk in Pattaya as in Bangkok. They don't follow routes, they work like taxis. For how much you agree, for how much you will go. The average price tag for the resort is 100-150 baht.
Taxi
There is a big problem with a taxi in Pattaya. There are enough cars, but taxi prices are high. Pattaya drivers never drive on the meter, so they ask for their services as much as necessary.
How much does a taxi cost in Pattaya? A trip for 3-4 km will cost 250-300 baht, the road to the Khao Keo Zoo and back - from 1600 baht. After Pattaya, taxi drivers in Bangkok seem like angels!
The most reasonable thing is to take care of the transfer in advance. What to do if you need a taxi urgently? Catch on the street and haggle. If the driver does not give in, wait for another taxi, since there are enough cars in the city.
Don't be fooled by the advertisement of Russian taxi in Pattaya! Your order will be accepted in your native language, but prices will be twice as high as in other places. On one of the sites, we found the minimum price tag - 350 baht. A good alternative to local drivers is Grab Taxi, which can be ordered from the app online.
Buses
There are many big buses in Pattaya. You will see yellow school buses, colorful buses of travel companies, on which vacationers are taken on excursions. We heard that there are also city buses, but in 5 years of living in Pattaya, we have never seen them.
By regular buses, locals and tourists get to Bangkok, other cities in Thailand, to Suvarnabhumi airport and neighboring cities to Pattaya. Intercity buses and minivans run from bus stations and parking lots.
Motosai
Transport popular throughout Thailand - motorcycle taxis are in demand in Pattaya as well. On a motorbike, you will be taken to anywhere in the resort. Say the address and sit behind the driver. It is very convenient when you are alone and there is no luggage! Motosai will go around any traffic jams and bring them exactly to the place. The price tag for short distances starts at 20 baht.
Water transport
Tourists travel to Koh Lan by ferries and speed boats. Transport to the islands from Pattaya runs from the Bali Hai pier. In addition, speed boats to the islands leave from Jomtien and Central Beach. A regular one way ferry costs 30 baht.
Transportation to and from Utapao Airport
Utapao Airport is located 40 km south of Pattaya. It receives several international and local flights every day. Direct charters from Russia land here during the season. From Utapao you can fly to Cambodia, Koh Samui, Phuket, Udon Thani and Kuala Lumpur.
How to get from Utapao airport to Pattaya? Tireless backpackers choose the cheapest option. They go on foot or by motor-sled to Sukhumvit (3.5 km). There, tourists catch white songteos or local buses that travel from Rayong, and for 50-60 baht get to the resort.
There are U-Tapao Airport Limousine ticket counters in the international and local airport terminals. The carrier company organizes transfers for passengers to any hotel in Pattaya. The fare is 250 baht. The road to the resort takes 40-50 minutes, but since minibuses carry passengers to different hotels, it can take a long time to get there. Riding in a small minibus with a lot of luggage is hard. Try to sit for 1.5 hours with a weighty backpack on your lap!
In the opposite direction to Utapao, minibuses run from the stop near the Central Festival shopping center. Transfer from Pattaya to Utapao costs 250 baht.
If you arrived with the low-cost airline AirAsia, book your airport transfer in advance. The minibus will take you to Central Festival or drop you off anywhere on the way to the mall. This service costs 200 baht.
The fastest and most comfortable way to get to Pattaya is by taxi. Kiwitaxi transfers start at $ 41. Ordering a car at the taxi stand at the airport itself will cost $ 31-39 (900-1200 baht).
