Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

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Gaybutton
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Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Gaybutton »

I'm well aware of the easy bus service between Pattaya and Suvarnabhumi Airport, but I have no idea whether there is bus service between Pattaya and Don Muang Airport. Does anyone know?

If there is no bus service, what are the least expensive alternatives?
DeE

Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by DeE »

LK....u beat me to the punch line. and i can't delete mine. Buttons?? can you delete mine as the info is nearly the same


Not sure if Mochit bus station is still in operation as I heard/read (a year ago or so) they were going to move that old bus station.

If in fact the Mochit bus station is still operational, what I did several times, years ago, is walk out of the terminal to the main street, hail a taxi to Mochit bus station (less then 100b) and once at the bus station there are buses leaving nearly very 40 minutes for Pattaya.

I also believe that there is a free bus from DM to Suvarnabhumi but you must show some type of on-ward ticket leaving from Suvarnabhumi---so that won't work for most people.

To answer your question, I don't believe there is a direct bus from Don Muang to Pattaya.
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Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Gaybutton »

DeE wrote:can you delete mine as the info is nearly the same
I'd rather leave both posts in place in case anyone has something to add. It seems strange that there is easy bus service between Suvarnabhumi and Pattaya, but nothing similar available for Don Muang.

How much is the Bell Transport service?
Up2u

Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Up2u »

There is a free shuttle between the two airports.

http://www.thaizer.com/travel-in-thaila ... don-muang/
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Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Trongpai »

I take the Suvarnabhumi/Pattaya bus frequently and it's easy and convenient. In my experience 80% of the time it's a short wait but the other 20% it can be an hour or two before boarding. They do put on extra buses when backed up but even then the demand sometimes overwhelms the service.

I have friends that have taken the free Suvarnabhumi/ Don Muang shuttle and say never again. It's slow. They had come in from Chiang Mai and only had to show that boarding pass not one for Suvarnabhumi and they did not really look at it.

Mochit (Northern Bus Terminal) is still operational. The Pattaya window is clearly marked in the first front row , don't go with a tout. The traffic is very bad around Mochit with the BTS extension construction. Avoid rush hours. Eventually there will be a BTS connection at Don Muang. Buses leave on the half hour with extras if there's high demand. So, you should not have to wait more than 30 min.

Yes, I also read the Army said that Mochit Bus and Ekamai stations would (should) be moved and then nothing. They also said the Victory Monument is a bad place for a transportation hub and that would also be moved. Just talk.

Mochit used to be next to BTS Mochit and then it moved to a smaller remote facility and the old Mochit (1980-1999) still stands vacant and is used for storage. Go figure. Taxis inside Mochit are notoriously bad for overcharging. You see a lot of people waking out to the street to flag a taxi.

Another strange configuration for all of Thailand bus stations is separate ticket windows for each bus. If there's 50 bus gates there's 50 ticket windows staffed by sometimes more than one person. It would seem much more economical to just have common ticket vendors or pay on the bus.

As Don Muang expands and it's moving along pretty fast I would expect some kind of regular bus service from Don Muang to Pattaya being introduced in the future.
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Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Gaybutton »

Trongpai wrote:I would expect some kind of regular bus service from Don Muang to Pattaya being introduced in the future.
I hope so. The reason I think it will a long wait before that happens is because it would make perfect sense. In Thailand, isn't that against the law . . . ?
DeE

Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by DeE »

Gaybutton wrote:How much is the Bell Transport service?
Bell is 250b from the Airport to their bus station on Pattaya north, where you will transfer to a mini van which will take you to your hotel.

The other bus company called "389 Jomtien bus" which services Pattaya has the ticket office right next to Bell travel at the airport. It's a little confusing because the desks are right next to each other.

The 389 bus which run every hour on the hour costs about 130b. It will stop for drop offs at a couple of spots on Sukhumvit before it's final destination across from Pan-Pan near food mart (On Thapphraya Rd. near the junction of Thepprasit Rd.)

I ride them both (depending which one is first available) and the average time on both is about 2 hours.

For years there was never a problem getting a seat at the top of the hour....but the last year I have noticed a lot more customers are using these bus companies and the wait is sometimes 1 to 2 hours. They both have a sign posted when the next available bus leaves. Normally if the wait is over an hour, I'll just use a taxi.

Here is the web site that will direct you to both bus companies and the different van services available.

http://airportpattayabus.com/

cheers...
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Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Gaybutton »

DeE wrote:The other bus company called "389 Jomtien bus" which services Pattaya has the ticket office right next to Bell travel at the airport
Thank you. Not that your information isn't welcome - it is - but you're posting about the wrong airport for this topic. I'm asking about transportation to and from Pattaya from the Don Muang airport. Your information is for the Suvarnabhumi airport.

It's a little confusing when someone refers to "the airport," as if there is only one. Bangkok has two major airports. When posting about Bangkok's airports, folks, please be specific as to which one you're talking about.
Jun

Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by Jun »

Take the bus to Suvarnabhumi then:
1 Take the free connecting bus between the 2 airports
OR
2 Take the airport rail link to the final station, then take the BTS to Mo Chit and finally take the bus to the airport. I've taken the #29 bus, although if you fancy waiting, there is a more luxurious A1 bus.

Another alternative is to take the bus to Ekamai, then the BTS to Mo Chit and the bus to the airport (as above).
I guess that would be the cheaper option.

To answer the original "least expensive" question, I would strongly suspect that the CHEAPEST option involves a train from Pattaya to Hua Lamphong & a train from Hua Lamphong to DMK.
If you walk to Pattaya railway station, I suspect you might even get change from a 50 baht note.
I also suspect this would be too slow for anyone to contemplate.
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Re: Bus from Don Muang Airport to Pattaya (and vice versa)?

Post by christianpfc »

There is bus 554 which connects both airports and costs 34 Baht. It leaves from Suvarnabhumi bus station (which is the last stop of the 389, due to circuitous route it takes over 10 minutes from passenger terminal to bus station).

I used 554 and 389 a lot in 2013. No experience with free shuttle.

I second Trongpai's observations of Mor Chit 2, avoid! It would have taken just one more stop on the MRT to connect to Mor Chit 2, but I have to either walk (over 20 min) or take bus from MRT Kamphaeng Phet.

Train would take 5 hours from Pattaya to Hua Lampong for 32 Baht (?) and another hour and from 5 Baht to Don Mueang. With Bangkok - Pattaya trains only on weekdays and only one train per day, not really an option.
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