Travel around Pattaya, ride-hailing apps

[thailandsgreat]

I have been away since Covid and come back to Thailand in about a week. I start in Pattaya for visa. I remember Pattaya as mostly motorbike taxis and the songtaeos for 10B. But are there ride-hailing apps. I usually go motorbike taxi from north bus to my hotel around Pattaya dai but the drivers at the bus station were getting bolder with prices.

 

Would Bolt, Uber or others be good alternatives? Maybe I have to get out of the bus station before I book. I believe I read something about a lady not getting her ride at an airport, local drivers blocking her ride, was it in Phuket?

 

... maybe this is too optimistic. I would also need wifi. I will have no sim-card just coming from the airport.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by thailandsgreat

[JimTripper]

Welcome back, Kotter.

Edited June 6, 2023 by JimTripper

[thailandsgreat]

11 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

I would get a SIM card at the airport if you need to use an app. Lots of times the driver will message you or you will need to see where they are on the map to get picked up.

I may do that. But I also want to go to True and see if I can get my old number back, sometimes that has been possible. But I am not used to ride-hailing apps in Thailand. BKK taxis had good meters. And in Pattaya and CM I never used taxis. In Pattaya there were the bike drivers but not as common in CM as I remember. Lets see what prices the apps will give compared to the motorbike drivers?

Edited June 6, 2023 by thailandsgreat

[bignok]

4 minutes ago, thailandsgreat said:

I may do that. But I also want to go to True and see if I can get my old number back, sometimes that has been possible. But I am not used to ride-hailing apps in Thailand. BKK taxis had good meters. And in Pattaya and CM I never used taxis. In Pattaya there were the bike drivers but not as common in CM as I remember. Lets see what prices the apps will give compared to the motorbike drivers?

Use Bolt. Cheapest.

[thailandsgreat]

So you can now use ride-hailing apps all over Thailand. I never tried them there. In CM transportation wasn't so easy. I enjoy chatting with the drivers but from P nuua bus to P dai with a backpack they will start haggling at 300B ???? If you stay in one place you get to know the drivers and get better prices.

 

I got a bank account. I hope the visa agent I used to go to still has the same service. Visa from home is trickier, imho. It will be interesting to see the prices of Bolt

[Mike Teavee]

39 minutes ago, thailandsgreat said:

But with a backpack getting from N bus to P dai

Where is P Dai? 
 

Example Bolt Motorcycle fare from Pattaya Nue Bus Station to Tukcom…

41B (sorry got it wrong way around).

 

To Jomtien Night Market… 86B

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[thailandsgreat]

1 minute ago, Mike Teavee said:

Where is P Dai? 

Pattaya South/dtâai. I usually stay

around there. But now I go just a little further from the city. I hope I found a good deal with a swimmingpool that looks good. 

[Mike Teavee]

1 minute ago, thailandsgreat said:

Pattaya South/dtâai. I usually stay

around there. But now I go just a little further from the city. I hope I found a good deal with a swimmingpool that looks good. 

Guessed it might be, as you can see it’s approx 41b to Tukcom… 

[thailandsgreat]

12 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Guessed it might be, as you can see it’s approx 41b to Tukcom… 

No wonder these guys were trying to block a ride-sharing customer at Phuket airport, as I believe I saw in the papers.

 

41b from North bus to Tukcom is very reasonable. I get Bolt as soon as get sim-card. I would give 20 extra for the large backpack.

 

It is not only about money. I will miss haggling with the drivers. It was one of not so many opoportunities to practice my basic Thai language. 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by thailandsgreat

[NextG]

14 hours ago, thailandsgreat said:

So you can now use ride-hailing apps all over Thailand. I never tried them there. In CM transportation wasn't so easy. I enjoy chatting with the drivers but from P nuua bus to P dai with a backpack they will start haggling at 300B ???? If you stay in one place you get to know the drivers and get better prices.

 

I got a bank account. I hope the visa agent I used to go to still has the same service. Visa from home is trickier, imho. It will be interesting to see the prices of Bolt

Haggling? The price is no more than 50 baht, unless you are going off the beaten track. You need to get on the bus that waits to fill up. Of course you pay more if you charter the whole taxi ????

You can pick up a 49 baht SIM at the airport. Ignore them when they suggest you have to top up with 300 baht or similar nonsense. Then when you find the time, you can try to get your number back(unlikely). 
With a new SIM you can get cheap unlimited data. 

[thailandsgreat]

2 hours ago, NextG said:

Haggling? The price is no more than 50 baht, unless you are going off the beaten track. You need to get on the bus that waits to fill up. Of course you pay more if you charter the whole taxi ????

You can pick up a 49 baht SIM at the airport. Ignore them when they suggest you have to top up with 300 baht or similar nonsense. Then when you find the time, you can try to get your number back(unlikely). 
With a new SIM you can get cheap unlimited data. 

I think 50B is for waiting for a songtaew to fill up at North Bus Station and go anywhere within the city? Also a good idea. Do you know which provider has the 49B sim at the airport. I hope they have enough data and phone for a Bolt booking.

 

Bolt or similar will be the most efficient. But I will miss chatting with the drivers on the corner and ask what they are having for breakfast ???? Now just an anonymous guy in a helmet will drive up and you get on. Maybe he is some non-Thai who just stares at his Waze app, not observing traffic chaos? 

Edited June 7, 2023 by thailandsgreat

[NextG]

3 hours ago, thailandsgreat said:

I think 50B is for waiting for a songtaew to fill up at North Bus Station and go anywhere within the city? Also a good idea. Do you know which provider has the 49B sim at the airport. I hope they have enough data and phone for a Bolt booking.

 

Bolt or similar will be the most efficient. But I will miss chatting with the drivers on the corner and ask what they are having for breakfast ???? Now just an anonymous guy in a helmet will drive up and you get on. Maybe he is some non-Thai who just stares at his Waze app, not observing traffic chaos? 

Anywhere on their normal route. If you want to be dropped off at your hotel, you pay extra. 
They all should have 49 baht SIM. Though only AIS give you free data: https://www.ais.th/travellersim/ 1GB for one day. 

The others give data but link it to chat/application usage. 

[Mike Teavee]

13 hours ago, NextG said:

Anywhere on their normal route. If you want to be dropped off at your hotel, you pay extra. 
They all should have 49 baht SIM. Though only AIS give you free data: https://www.ais.th/travellersim/ 1GB for one day. 

The others give data but link it to chat/application usage. 

The Songtaews/Baht Buses at Pattaya N Bus station don't have a "Normal" route, they ask each person which hotel/condo they're staying at & charge 50baht* per person to drop you there. 

 

*One time we had to pay 100baht pp as we were staying in Jomtien, obviously this was in the days before Bolt... 

 

Nowadays, even if travelling alone, it's worth an extra 30-50baht to be taken in a car straight to my condo rather than having to wait to drop others off.

[redwood1]

Lol.........A whole thread about saving 30-40-50 baht......I am a world class cheap charlie but even I am not this cheap.....

 

The moto-cys at the bus station  will take you ANYWHERE in Pattaya for 100 baht....

The baht buses are more depending where your going but not crazy prices...

[thailandsgreat]

I hope the thread is also a little bit about the culture of มอเตอร์ไซค์รับจ้าง The sheds they stay in, the lucky charms in it, the well organized boards with who's next to drive, the (bamboo?) tool they use to call customers' attention (isn't it?). How to get a glimpse of Thai life, negotiating with them, without going too far. Better appreciate it before Bolt and Waze replaced them with Bangladeshians (?) who know nothing about Thailand and will crash into traffic in the next corner staring on the map in their cell. Did I go off topic here ????

Edited June 8, 2023 by thailandsgreat

[NextG]

8 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

The Songtaews/Baht Buses at Pattaya N Bus station don't have a "Normal" route, they ask each person which hotel/condo they're staying at & charge 50baht* per person to drop you there. 

 

*One time we had to pay 100baht pp as we were staying in Jomtien, obviously this was in the days before Bolt... 

 

Nowadays, even if travelling alone, it's worth an extra 30-50baht to be taken in a car straight to my condo rather than having to wait to drop others off.

Some will go to Naklua, others will head down the beach road….

[Mike Teavee]

44 minutes ago, NextG said:

Some will go to Naklua, others will head down the beach road….

That's true... You tell them where you're going & they'll stick you in the bus with other people going in that general direction.

 

On the one time we were going to Jomtien we were in with another couple who were going to Pratumnak (& also charged 100b each), am pretty sure if it wasn't for these it would have cost us 200b each. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RichardColeman]

Bolt 100% - like 100-130 baht total from central pattaya to the darkside for 4 of us.

 

That said, I am sure our coughing driver gave my wife covid

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, sitta said:

Don't think this for everyone, you need spouses, parents, or children of Thai nationals

Or be over 50… 

 

 

[Rimmer]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

 

We have an entire forum covering visa issues please post in there

[scorecard]

On 6/6/2023 at 8:28 PM, thailandsgreat said:

I may do that. But I also want to go to True and see if I can get my old number back, sometimes that has been possible. But I am not used to ride-hailing apps in Thailand. BKK taxis had good meters. And in Pattaya and CM I never used taxis. In Pattaya there were the bike drivers but not as common in CM as I remember. Lets see what prices the apps will give compared to the motorbike drivers?

Recommend BOLT.

Their app. is the easiest to use, fares are cheaper and you can add additional infor the driver; e.g. 'Old farang short white hair, wearing brown shorts black shopping bag.  Subit and the app instantly translates your message to Thai and send to the driver. Drivers response if needed goes thru same translation process.

Well done BOLT.

Need to payin cash but drivers always have change.

QR code payment coming.

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by scorecard

[thailandsgreat]

21 hours ago, scorecard said:

Recommend BOLT.

Their app. is the easiest to use, fares are cheaper and you can add additional infor the driver; e.g. 'Old farang short white hair, wearing brown shorts black shopping bag.  Subit and the app instantly translates your message to Thai and send to the driver. Drivers response if needed goes thru same translation process.

Well done BOLT.

Need to payin cash but drivers always have change.

QR code payment coming.

 

That sounds very good.  I just stepped into my room which meets expectations. Uneventful trip. They gave out AIS cards in plane. But must be registered in their booth or via wifi. All the big providers had booths before customs. But I will go to True now.

 

Had rudimentary "conversation" with friendly older taxidriver (not Isaan, this one spoke understandable Thai ???? ) with  working meter in Bangkok. 100b from air link train to Ekkamai in rush. In Patts, the songtaews asked 70 to my place, 1 K further than Tuckom. They didn't object when I said I would maybe come back but I wanted to go immediately. The bike guys were in very friendly mood and asked 100, which I didn't want to push too hard. (Farlang at bus stn with two backpacks) Maybe Covid and Bolt have taken som zest out of them.

 

There used to be an air link express but now only "city". I think the train had problems, not only during Covid. Also leased to private, I believe.

 

It is not about the money so much.  More about interacting with the locals.

 

I noticed sets of three flagpoles from the bus. They carry 3 similar Thai flags. Was it always like that or didn't they use to carry royal flags,  before.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by thailandsgreat

[Ste78]

Nobody mentioned until now, GRAB is also good, my wife uses it when necessary