Bangkok to Pattaya: The 144 Baht Bus, and When a Taxi Is Worth It

What Is the Best Way From Bangkok to Pattaya?

Take the bus from Ekkamai. For getting from Bangkok to Pattaya it costs 144 baht, leaves from a terminal beside a BTS station and takes about as long as a car. Pattaya is about 145 km away on Motorway 7, so every road option lands in the same 1.5 to 2.5 hour window. What changes is the price and how much door-to-door effort you save.

Here is how the options compare, with fares checked in October 2026:

• Bus from Ekkamai: 144 baht at the counter, about 16 a day from 05:00 to 22:00, 2 to 2.5 hours
• Bus from Mo Chit 2: 155 baht, hourly from 05:00 to 18:00, around 2.5 hours
• Airport bus from Suvarnabhumi: 135 baht to North Pattaya or 158 baht to Jomtien, about 2 hours
• Bus from Don Mueang: 167 baht, six a day
• Minivan: 200 to 430 baht booked online, leaves when full
• Grab, Bolt or taxi: about 1,200 to 1,800 baht plus tolls, 1.5 to 2 hours
• Train: 31 baht on the daily ordinary train, about 3 hours 40 minutes

Timetables shift, and guides disagree on the exact number of departures, so treat the times as approximate and check before you go.

Where Does the Pattaya Bus Leave From?

Most visitors should use the Ekkamai Eastern Terminal. It sits next to BTS Ekkamai on the Sukhumvit line, so you can reach it from most hotel areas without touching the traffic. Our guide on how to get around Bangkok without getting stuck shows how the BTS and MRT lines connect.

Roong Reuang Coach runs most of the Pattaya buses. At Ekkamai its desk is counter 13 on Level 1, and a seat costs 144 baht. The 2026 operator list shows about 16 buses a day between 05:00 and 22:00. An older guide says 14 a day from 06:00 to 21:00. Either way there is a bus about once an hour.

The Mo Chit 2 Northern Terminal is the alternative if you are staying in the north of the city. Buses there cost 155 baht and run hourly from 05:00 to 18:00, and the ride takes around 2.5 hours. There is also a Roong Reuang counter on Bang Na to Trat Road selling 144 baht seats, which is useful if you live out that way. It sells at the counter only.

How Do You Buy Pattaya Bus Tickets?

Buy at the counter if you can. It is the cheapest price, and you walk away with the paper ticket you need to board.

Resellers such as 12Go charge 164 to 198 baht for the same seats, about 20 to 50 baht above the counter fare. An online booking also has to be swapped for a paper ticket at the counter before you board, and there are no refunds. So booking ahead buys you a guaranteed seat, not a shortcut.

That guarantee matters at busy times. Roong Reuang buses often sell out an hour before departure. On a Friday evening, turn up early or book online and accept the extra 20 to 50 baht. Friday evening traffic also adds 30 to 60 minutes to the journey.

One 20 kg bag rides free in the hold. That is the main reason to choose the coach over a minivan if you are carrying suitcases.

Can You Go Straight From the Airport to Pattaya?

Yes, from both airports, and it saves a trip into the city.

At Suvarnabhumi, two Roong Reuang buses leave from Level 1 near Gate 8. The North Pattaya bus costs 135 baht and runs seven times a day from 07:30 to 18:30. The Jomtien bus costs 158 baht and runs hourly from 06:00 to 22:00. Both take about 2 hours. Pick by where your hotel is, because North Pattaya and Jomtien are at opposite ends of town.

At Don Mueang, the government's Transport Co runs a bus to four stops on Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya. It leaves six times a day between 06:30 and 17:30 and costs 167 baht. The route only started on 8 March 2025, so older guides do not mention it.

The catch at both airports is the timetable. If you land late in the evening, or your flight is delayed past the last bus, you are looking at a taxi or a pre-booked car. Our Bangkok airport transfer guide compares those options.

What Does a Taxi or Grab to Pattaya Cost?

Expect about 1,200 to 1,800 baht. One 2026 guide puts a Grab or Bolt from anywhere in Bangkok at 1,200 to 1,500 baht plus tolls, and another quotes from 1,600 to 1,800 baht from downtown. The app sets the price before you confirm, so you know the number before the car arrives. Add about 150 to 200 baht for Motorway 7 tolls if the driver asks.

Pattaya transfer firms quote 1,200 baht for a sedan and 2,200 baht for a 10-seat van from a Bangkok hotel. For a group the maths changes quickly. Four people in a sedan pay about 300 baht each for a door-to-door ride, against 144 baht each for the bus plus the trips to and from each terminal.

A car makes sense for groups, for families with heavy luggage and for anyone whose hotel is a long way from the BTS. For a solo traveller with one bag, it is at least eight times the bus fare for a similar journey time. Our guide to taxi and Grab in Bangkok explains how the apps and metered taxis work.

Is the Minivan Worth It?

Sometimes. Minivans leave from Ekkamai, Mo Chit and Victory Monument, and at Ekkamai they go roughly every 15 to 30 minutes from 04:30 to 21:00. They cost 200 to 430 baht on 12Go.

The frequency is the selling point. The downsides are that a minivan leaves when it is full, not at a fixed time, and it costs more than the coach. If the next big bus is sold out, the minivan is the fallback. Otherwise we would take the coach for the luggage space and the fixed departure. The same Ekkamai terminal also serves the minibuses in our Bangkok to Hua Hin guide.

Should You Take the Train to Pattaya?

Only if the ride is the point. Ordinary train 283 leaves Hua Lamphong every day at 06:55 and reaches Pattaya at about 10:34. A 3rd class fan seat costs 31 baht, and you buy it at the station.

At weekends there is a better option. The air-conditioned Sprinter 997 runs on Saturdays and Sundays, leaves at 06:45, arrives at 09:13 and costs 170 baht.

The train is the cheapest way to Pattaya by a wide margin. It is also the slowest, with one early departure a day, which is why most visitors take the bus.

How Do You Get Around After You Arrive?

Buses from Ekkamai and Mo Chit end at the Roong Reuang terminal on Pattaya Nuea, the North Pattaya Road. Plan the last leg from there.

Pattaya's local transport is the blue songthaew, known as the baht bus. On the regular loops a ride costs 15 baht, and 20 baht further out. From the North Pattaya bus terminal to Beach Road, drivers charge a flat 50 baht.

Our Pick for First-Timers

Take the BTS to Ekkamai, buy a 144 baht ticket at counter 13 and be in Pattaya about two hours later. If you are flying in and going straight there, use the Suvarnabhumi bus that matches your end of town. Book a car when there are three or four of you, or when the suitcases outnumber the hands. Keep the 31 baht train for a slow morning when you are in no hurry.

Coach from Ekkamai or a car from your hotel door: which would you pick for the run to the coast?