Travel to Pattaya, Thailand

How to Travel Around Pattaya During Your Holiday

Information on Travel Around Pattaya by Nam 

For visitors to Pattaya transport can be a bit difficult until you understand what to use and how much you should be paying. Our vacation homes are only 1400m to Walking Street making them the only holiday villa's in Pattaya as close to the action as the Hotels are. The usual method of Transport used locally in Pattaya are motorcycle taxis, these are cheap and in abundance. Wherever you are in Pattaya you will see groups of men and women sitting on motorcycles with a colored waistcoat or jacket on, these are your motorcycle taxi drivers and they will take you anywhere you want to go around the city center for somewhere between 30 and 80 Baht depending how far you are going and what time of day or night it is.

We have a motorcycle taxi stand only 50m from our vacation homes or if you prefer not to walk at all they will be happy to come and pick you up from the front gate of your vacation home. Many of them speak some English and you should tell them where you want to go and agree on a price before you get on the motorcycle. Make sure you wear a helmet as the Police will stop you and fine you if you don't have a helmet on. The Motorcycle driver will always have a spare helmet for you to borrow so put it on and avoid the fine and reduce the chance of serious injury if you do get involved in an accident.

Songtaew or Baht Bus is another great way to get about. These are converted Pick-p trucks with bench seating in the back with a covered top. We also have a Songtaew parked 50m away from the holiday villas and again they will come to the gate of your vacation home and pick you up if you would prefer. They drive around Pattaya stopping to pick passengers up as soon as you stick your hand out. The only problem with this form of transport is that they have a route and if you are going somewhere off that route you have to find an empty one and wave him down and agree on a price for where you want to go usually somewhere between 100 - 200 Baht but it means if there are a few of you it is as cheap as getting a motorbike. 

If however you are going on the route they are following you can just sit and when you are near to where you want dropping off you press the bell in the back attached to the roof struts and the driver will stop for you to get off. When you get off go to the Passenger window which will be open and give the driver 10 Baht. Trips outside of the city center cost more but if it is on their route it is still not expensive. However the Songtaew parked near our vacation homes has no fixed route and is used to providing transport for guests at our luxury villa's making transport easy with no chance of being overcharged for the service.

Public Taxi's (Yellow) have started to appear in Pattaya finally where you can jump in and travel with the air-conditioning on to where ever you want to go. These are usually parked outside the big shopping malls but they do not use the meters so again you must agree on a price before getting in or allow our staff at your holiday home to arrange the booking and price for you.

Self Drive Car Hire is widely available in Pattaya on production of your Passport although you should legally possess either a Thai driving license or an International License. The prices vary from 800 - 3,000 Baht per Day depending on the Vehicle you hire and the Insurance that's included. Some of the hire companies are very honest and reliable, where as some will try all sorts of tricks to retain your deposit, so be aware of what damages are on the car to start with and what time you have to return it. Make sure any existing damages to the vehicle are recorded on your Rental Receipt. The best way is obviously to use our own villa rental car hire service which will ensure you have first class insurance and not be taken advantage of by some unscrupulous rental company.

Motorbike hire is not for the faint hearted in Pattaya as the standard of driving in Pattaya is not very good. Many cars cut corners, go through red lights, park illegally and overtake where it is not safe to do so. If you are renting a motorbike always wear a motorcycle helmet even though they are usually of a very poor standard it might just save your life. We also have a motorcycle rental service at your vacation home which at least ensures the motorbike you hire will be in a safe condition to ride. You will have to learn to ride with eyes in the back of your head or you may end up in hospital with an expensive bill or even worse.