What the EEC High Speed Trains Will Mean for Visitors to Pattaya
November 20, 2018.
Tags: Pattaya
The Government of Thailand has announced the EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor) project for the eastern coast of Thailand, from Bangkok to the southern end of Chonburi Province. While the somewhat ‘dry’ name of the project will likely draw little interest from arriving tourists, one of the features of the project will certainly make their lives easier.
The project will include a high speed train system that will connect both Bangkok’s Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports and Chonburi’s U-Tapao airport along its planned route. This route includes Pattaya as one of the stops along the route. This means that getting to Pattaya will become quicker and easier than ever before.
Current Transportation Options for Getting to Pattaya
These days, tourists and visitors arriving by air at each of the three airports along the EEC’s planned high speed train route have limited public transportation options for reaching Pattaya.All of the available options, other than renting a car, are less than ideal. Thankfully, the government has recognised this glaring hole in the public transportation infrastructure and have planned an excellent fix for it.
From Don Muang Airport to Pattaya
Currently, reaching Pattaya from Don Muang airport is rather difficult, expensive and time-consuming unless one wants to hire a car and drive there, though even that is time-consuming.To reach Pattaya by public transportation, the only options are to hire a taxi or take two buses. Taking the buses is the only option to reach Pattaya inexpensively, but it will take up most of your first day in Thailand.
Because there is no direct bus service between Don Muang and Pattaya, upon arrival at Don Muang Airport, you first have to board a shuttle bus that goes to Suvarnabhumi Airport. From Suvarnabhumi, you can take a bus for 120 Baht that takes you to one of three stops in Pattaya. There is generally a wait to take the Pattaya bus from Suvarnabhumi. They only depart every hour and there are limited seats available. So you should plan on a wait of at least one to two hours once you reach Suvarnabhumi from Don Muang.
From Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya
The delay in boarding the bus service to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya has been described above. And unfortunately, you cannot pre-book tickets on the bus. It’s strictly on a first-come, first-serve basis.This means that, if you feel that you can’t wait around, taking a taxi is the only other option in public transportation. Plan to spend between 2,500 and 3,000 baht for a taxi ride to Pattaya. You’ll also be expected to pay for the numerous toll booths you’ll pass through along the along way, at 30-40 Baht per toll booth.
From U-Tapao Airport to Pattaya
There are currently three options for taking public transportation from U-Tapao Airport into Pattaya. There is a limited bus service that is cheap, but the routes currently run just four times per day and offer limited seating.For 250 Baht there is also a minibus service to Pattaya. You can buy tickets for this service at the same counters you book a taxi ride into town. Taxis are the most expensive option. They all charge a minimum of 1,000 Baht for the short ride into Pattaya.
High Speed Trains Will Change the Transportation Game to Pattaya
When the high speed train service opens in 2022 or 2023, it will change the entire ground transportation game to Pattaya. Tickets will reportedly cost around 300 Baht for the approximately one-hour journey from Bangkok to Pattaya.While this is more than double the cost of the bus ride, the time saved, not to mention the ease of the service, will prove over time to be the most preferred method of getting to Pattaya from any of the three airports.
It will also prove to be a boost to Pattaya’s tourism, securing the city’s position as one of Thailand’s major tourist destinations. It will also undoubtedly be much appreciated by the businesses of Pattaya serving the tourism industry.
For tourists having Rental for the Holidays accommodations in the months of December beyond 2022, it will also mean that they get to spend more time celebrating the Christmas and New Year’s holidays with their loved ones and less time traveling.
