Pats to Akamai... how long does it take?

[davidst01]

We were planning our big bus journey from the bus station in Pats. Do they depart every half hour or every hour? How long is the journey if we are leaving around 8am?

We have a 1230pm appointment near Siam and would thus like to drop our bags off at the hotel nearby by 1130am. What time do you think we should be leaving the bus station at Pats?

thanks

[jeanpierre]

you mean ekemai bkk? take about 1,45 h depends on the traffic in bkk bus leaving pats aprox every 40 minutes

[dddave]

At that time of day, especially if a weekday I would allow 2hr30min. If you put bags in the lower storage compartment, you can only get off at Ekkamai but if you have only small bags and carry them on the bus, you can get off at Udom Suk BTS station just after the bus turns on to Sukhumvit in Bang Na.

Getting onto the BTS there will get you to your destination quicker than waiting to get to Ekkamai.

[Dexlowe]

8am? Somchai will be on his 4th Krating Daeng by then - so expect about 45 minutes.

Sorry. Just joking. The drivers of the blue buses from the Pattaya Nua bus station have been fine when I've used the service. As stuttering Dave says, you'll only be able to get off at Ekamai if you've got bags in the luggage bays. That's on average an extra 20 minutes longer after turning onto Sukh from Bangna highway (where you can alight and jump on the BTS, if you have only carry on bags) - so allow for 2 hours to be on the safe side. Usually no more.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

I would be at the bus station for 0800. Buses leave every 10-20 minutes. The fare is 108 baht per person.

So say you have to wait till 0840 for departure. This means you will approach Udom Suk BTS station at 1025 -- about 1 hour, 45 mins after departure from Pattaya. This gives you an hour to get to the hotel and drop off the bags and hit the street again by 1130. I always like to have loads of relaxation time before having to be somewhere in BKK. As others pointed out, you cannot have any baggage below if you exit the bus at a BTS station.

My advice is based on 150-200 roundtrips in the last 5 years, this year doing 3-4 roundtrips a month.

[KhunBENQ]

Can you book a seat for this bus in advance?

(will have a similar trip in July)

Edited June 10, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Can you book a seat for this bus in advance?

(will have a similar trip in July)

Nope. You won't need to. They sked buses based on moment to moment demand. Sometimes they leave every 10 minutes. Now, later in the day they are less frequent and in the evening less so again. Mornings and and early afternoons are busiest.