Driving from Pattaya to Kanchanaburi - best route?

[Mobi]

Is it better to take the outer ring road (9) or to drive straight through Bangkok via Motorway (7) Rama 9 Expressway, Rachawithi Road etc?

Anyone made the trip recently, and if so, which way did they go?

Thanks,

Mobi

[Orac]

Did it in April and went up on the ring road which was clear traffic and easy run. Came back through BKK and had a nightmare with the traffic early afternoon on a weekday. It was the day that bridge collapsed after getting hit by a truck but even after the two hour queue for that the traffic was bad.

[2unique]

I'd say Outer Ring (especially with the new(ish) exit link) every time - I return to Puttamonton every weekend and it may add 10km to my personal journey but it's a good 10km...

Get an Easy Pass and that helps sail past the toll queues also...

Edited August 25, 2013 by 2unique

[Mobi]

I'd say Outer Ring (especially with the new(ish) exit link) every time - I return to Puttamonton every weekend and it may add 10km to my personal journey but it's a good 10km...

Get an Easy Pass and that helps sail past the toll queues also...

Yes, I was thinking that the ring road would be the best option but both my Sat Nav (garmin) and the trip adviser web site show the route straight through Bangkok.

I've never made this particular journey before from Pattaya, which exit do you take off the ring road?

[VocalNeal]

Distance and time is about the same. Be prepared for a queue at the toll booths where 9 meets the Hwy/Rama2.

[mcyachty]

I looked at this a number of times in the lead up to a trip from Pattaya to Kanchanaburi. Every map showed a route through Bangkok. I followed as directed the first time and was a disaster. Took the ring road the second time and much better.

[LennyW]

I did it two weeks ago, round the ring road no. 9 until you come to the Suphan Buri turn off 340 follow that road not far and take the left to Bang Len 346 (you will see a huge duck on the right ), 3 and a half hours from Rayong to the Hotel in the centre of town.

Do not take the 4 to Nakon Pathom, my friend did the same day - over 6 hours

Edited August 25, 2013 by LennyW

[brummiebob]

Do you go north(counter clockwise) or south(clockwise) on the Highway9 ring road? cause both can be quite a detour, but I can see it being preferable to driving through Bangkok.

I haven't done the trip from Pattaya, but when I'm in Bangkok I prefer to go to Kanchanaburi by exiting north of Bangkok around Rangsit / Pathum Thani and take a little road called Highway 346, it's a dual carriageway, but if you are there in the morning it's quite desserted, it's much less stressful compared going straight west out of Bangkok

So don't go all the way up north to Bang Pa In on the ring road, take the earlier exit at Lum Lukka (Hwy 3312) but that road, although a short stretch can be quite congested at commuter hours, the exit after that on Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Rd takes you straight to Hwy 346

The exit from Highway 7 (Motorway) into the ring road does have some queues too, it's just after the Airport,

You could continue on and take the expressway through Bangkok and head north after Dindaeng and take the Tollway north to Pathum Thani that way too

[LennyW]

Do you go north(counter clockwise) or south(clockwise) on the Highway9 ring road? cause both can be quite a detour, but I can see it being preferable to driving through Bangkok.

I haven't done the trip from Pattaya, but when I'm in Bangkok I prefer to go to Kanchanaburi by exiting north of Bangkok around Rangsit / Pathum Thani and take a little road called Highway 346, it's a dual carriageway, but if you are there in the morning it's quite desserted, it's much less stressful compared going straight west out of Bangkok

So don't go all the way up north to Bang Pa In on the ring road, take the earlier exit at Lum Lukka (Hwy 3312) but that road, although a short stretch can be quite congested at commuter hours, the exit after that on Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Rd takes you straight to Hwy 346

The exit from Highway 7 (Motorway) into the ring road does have some queues too, it's just after the Airport,

You could continue on and take the expressway through Bangkok and head north after Dindaeng and take the Tollway north to Pathum Thani that way too

North, counter clockwise to the 340 then left onto the 346.

[2unique]

I'd say Outer Ring (especially with the new(ish) exit link) every time - I return to Puttamonton every weekend and it may add 10km to my personal journey but it's a good 10km...

Get an Easy Pass and that helps sail past the toll queues also...

Yes, I was thinking that the ring road would be the best option but both my Sat Nav (garmin) and the trip adviser web site show the route straight through Bangkok.

I've never made this particular journey before from Pattaya, which exit do you take off the ring road?

My SatNav also says to go through town however the correspondent ETA has me driving at 120kph for all that time!

BTW I go to Amata Nakhon and get on the Elevated Motorway. You now have to take the fork saying Chonburi around 35km outside of Pattaya instead of going straight. Alternatively you can exit for Bang Na if you are on the "new" motorway and that way you can stop at the Service Station.

On the elevated the exit is now clearly marked with a huge sign saying Rama 2 - it's the one before Bang Na's final terminus exit and on approach you can see IKEA's tower from a couple of km before the sign.

After exiting stay left and take the very first immediate left ramp about 75 metres from the toll booth. I cannot stress this enough as the sign seems to indicate going straight which brings you down then cruelly funnels you away and sends you kms in the wrong direction to a confusing uturn system to get back.

Edited August 25, 2013 by 2unique

[morrobay]

Relax and enjoy life - Take the train, It goes across the river Kwai too. The Bangkok station is across the river from Banglamphu. Hit the tracks Jack

[Chang_paarp]

Relax and enjoy life - Take the train, It goes across the river Kwai too. The Bangkok station is across the river from Banglamphu. Hit the tracks Jack

Mobi is an experienced Thai hand and has probably seen the train derail stories in the press in the last few weeks. They do not have a good record of late. I'm pretty sure he can drive to Kanchantaburi in the time it takes the train to get from Pattaya to Bangkok, without including the travel time to the final destination. As to leaving his car in BKK while he goes travelling I'm sure that is not a option either.

As he is not yet planning to leave this mortal coil any time soon he would probably not take the bus either, another public transport sector that has a less than impressive safety record.

[galoubet]

I used to regularly travel from Sriracha to Kan and went through Bangkok via the elevated expressway and off at Victory Monument and across the Krungton Bridge.

But since the southern stretch of the 9 highway was completed a few years ago I go that way. Far quicker. I now live in Kan and use the same route regularly to go to Suwarnapoom airport.

So from Pattaya I'd take the 7 motorway to Chonburi then the 34 elevated motorway to just past the southern end of the airport to join the 9 highway. Then turn off left soon after the final toll booth to the 4 highway to Nakhon Pathom and shortly after Nakhon Pathom take the 323 to Kan.

It takes me about 2 hours from Kan to the Airport in the early hours (no traffic, no red lights) and 3 hours door to door to Sriracha.

If you have a Garmin device I can post a route for you. My taxi driver (who picks me up from the airport when I fly in from London) sometimes comes off the 9 highway when it is very busy onto the 35 highway to Samut Sakhon then up to Nakhon Pathom on the 3097. I've also done that route when the 4 highway was flooded a couple of years ago. It's considerably longer but quite fast.

[Pattaya Pat]

How do you people know the roads so well here? My head is spinning reading all of that.

I was always under the impression that expats here just got pissed and didn't know any further than their next soi?

[LennyW]

How do you people know the roads so well here? My head is spinning reading all of that.

I was always under the impression that expats here just got pissed and didn't know any further than their next soi?

A lot of people think that!!!!

[Pattaya Pat]

How do you people know the roads so well here? My head is spinning reading all of that.

I was always under the impression that expats here just got pissed and didn't know any further than their next soi?

A lot of people think that!!!!

I know people that have been here more than 10 years and still don't know any further than Sukhumvit.

My head is still spinning. I never knew there were so many 'normal' farangs here?

[Mobi]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies.

Well, we set off early Monday morning with my daughter and husband who are here on a visit, and we took the Chon Buri - Bang Na elevated expressway and then SOUTH around the outer ring road 9 and then drove north up to the 346 turning and then west to Kanchanaburi.

According to Google maps this route was only 3 – 4 kms longer than going through Bangkok, and the driving time was only 3 ½ hours, with no serious traffic congestion anywhere.

Coming back, late yesterday afternoon, I made the fatal error of taking the 323 and then east on highway 4 to the outer ring road. This was a disaster (as some people said in their posts), and it must have taken close to 2 hours to go maybe 50 kms along highway 4. Once back on the outer ring road it was plain sailing, but the total journey time back was around 5 hours!

So my advice to anyone going to Kanchanburi, is to take the 346. It is duel carriageway all the way and relatively low on traffic and, most importantly, not many intersections. Route 4 is teaming with intersections and red lights.

We had a great time and stayed in the heart of the action to walk to the Bridge on the river Kwai and the Jeath war museum. We then drove out to the Allied war cemetery and the nearby railway museum. Later we drove to the towering twin wats of Tham Seua and Tham Khao Noi, both well worth a visit. Yesterday we headed off west towards Burma and visited the Sai Yok Noi Falls and then onto the Sai Yok National Park where we saw the Sai Yok Yai falls amongst other park attractions, such as caves and hot springs. This is a beautifully kept park and well worth the 200 Baht entrance fee.

On the way back we stopped at the Hellfire Pass museum and walked down a very steep stairway to visit the recently discovered railway track built by the allies in WW2.

We didn’t go to the Erawan Fallas as it entails a 2 hour walk, and we definitely gave the Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua) a miss as entrance fees start at 600 Baht and I have a thing about wild animals who have all been trained by cruelty.

We had excellent weather and a great two days, and the long journey home didn’t spoil it.

Once again, thanks for all the trip advice.

Mobi