Has anyone taken the Utapao shuttle from Central Festival?

[Hal65]

I am taking it at 5:10am next week and want to be damn sure I know where it will be. Inquiring with Air Asia turned up fruitless (their customer support didn't know they even offered a shuttle). 

 

It's on the beach road side right? Is it parked out front? I have seen other shuttle vans there but never an Air Asia branded one.

[tolsti]

I saw one parked in the soi which forms the side road of Central. Its clearly marked as Air Asia.

[BruceMangosteen]

You are better off spending 1000.Baht on a private taxi. (I just wanted to say that before someone else did, but in truth, it's very risky leaving at 5AM not to mention, risky being outside at that hour in Pattaya.) Another idea...since we are here..why not go over there at 5AM and look for yourself?(you say next week is when you are flying)

[Pdavies99]

52 minutes ago, BruceMangosteen said:

You are better off spending 1000.Baht on a private taxi. (I just wanted to say that before someone else did, but in truth, it's very risky leaving at 5AM not to mention, risky being outside at that hour in Pattaya.) Another idea...since we are here..why not go over there at 5AM and look for yourself?(you say next week is when you are flying)

If there is no bus advance reservation / booking then they will not be there at all,. So hard to check in advance.

[canopus1969]

1 hour ago, BruceMangosteen said:

You are better off spending 1000.Baht on a private taxi. (I just wanted to say that before someone else did, but in truth, it's very risky leaving at 5AM not to mention, risky being outside at that hour in Pattaya.) Another idea...since we are here..why not go over there at 5AM and look for yourself?(you say next week is when you are flying)

 

Agree 100% except the fare is 800 Baht - the best bit is you do not need to leave until 6.00am  

[Hal65]

5am there is safe, I say this as an expat in the area. There is actually security all around central festival too.

 

Canopus, how do you get 800 baht for a taxi to Utapao? I asked a mototaxi outside that area and he quoted 1,000. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by Hal65

[dotpoom]

Just now, Hal65 said:

5am there is safe, I say this as an expat in the area. There is actually security all around central festival too.

 

Canopus, how do you get 800 baht for a taxi to Utapao? I asked a mototaxi outside that area and he quoted 1,000. 

 

Wow, that's high, 1000 Baht for a motorbike taxi to U-Tapao.  About 14 years ago it was 800 Bt. from Pattaya to Don Mueng in a meter Taxi. Then Swampy opened and I thought it would be a bit cheaper but the price remained at 800 Bt.

   I would have imagined it would be around 1,000 Bt. to Swampy these days . U-Tapao is a lot nearer than Swampy? 

[cnx355]

5 hours ago, tolsti said:

I saw one parked in the soi which forms the side road of Central. Its clearly marked as Air Asia.

I agree with you,  used the shuttle about 3 months ago and like you said, it was parked on the little side soi that run between Beach Rd and Second Road.

There are a lot on van there and the shuttle had a sign in the window marked Air Asia.

 

On my way in, I asked the driver his cell number and that was how I could fin where he was parked on the return trip.

Edited August 26, 2016 by cnx355
To improve my reply

[Alex2015]

3 hours ago, Hal65 said:

5am there is safe, I say this as an expat in the area. There is actually security all around central festival too.

 

Canopus, how do you get 800 baht for a taxi to Utapao? I asked a mototaxi outside that area and he quoted 1,000. 

I got a taxi from Pattaya to U-Tapao last week, 800 baht, took 45 minutes.

[bobobo]

Alex is right..800 baht a week ago..pick You up at Your place and off You go...

[Scotwight]

So that's 40 baht for Songtau and 60 baht for the Van on Suk and 800 for a taxi.  

[Pdavies99]

8 minutes ago, Scotwight said:

So that's 40 baht for Songtau and 60 baht for the Van on Suk and 800 for a taxi.  

PT Taxis, very reliable etc 700 Baht

 

http://www.pttaxiservice.com/

 

 

Edited August 26, 2016 by Pdavies99

[stvette2002]

I Have taken the shuttle Air Asia from the north side of the Central Festival. It is at the entrance on the soi 9 side. If you booked it with the flight they will have you name. Very convenient.

[pizzachang]

Contrast that 800 to 1000฿/ Pattaya to Utapao and 1500 ฿ from Swampy to Pattaya.  Big difference in distance.

[nongsangcity]

ive used the service a couple of times...everything went smooth.....

[lonewolf99]

14 replies to the question and only 4 gave the correct information......

I will make it 5 out of 15  to raise the bar to 33%....I have seen the van at various times of the day and it is clearly marked.

[nongsangcity]

2 hours ago, lonewolf99 said:

14 replies to the question and only 4 gave the correct information......

I will make it 5 out of 15  to raise the bar to 33%....I have seen the van at various times of the day and it is clearly marked.

you havent answered the question either.....you have seen the van...where ???....and what is clearly marked....555

[lonewolf99]

you are kidding ???? I need to fill in the obvious blanks....... Soi 9 and Air Asia on the van......maybe you do not have total command of the English language and you need the subject matter at the start of the sentence....e.g.

Car red

Avenue Victor Hugo

Vin Blanc

 

 

[siam2007]

On 26/08/2016 at 6:02 PM, Pdavies99 said:

PT Taxis, very reliable etc 700 Baht

 

http://www.pttaxiservice.com/

 

 

 

 

hard to believe the prices mentioned on their website are correct. 1K from Swampy to PTY ? I don't believe this is available nowadays

[Rimmer]

Grammar police bickering posts removed

[Pdavies99]

16 hours ago, siam2007 said:

 

 

hard to believe the prices mentioned on their website are correct. 1K from Swampy to PTY ? I don't believe this is available nowadays

The prices are correct, I called him to confirm.   Paul

 

[peeba7]

If you want to do it by the cheap, not 800 or 1000 it is most likely possible to do it for 100 or 200 or maybe less.  The last time I took a mini van on suk I met some folks going to Utapao (actually going to nice beach nearby) and word has it you can catch a songtoa or M/C (50 baht) from suk to Utapao.  This may be limited to those with less luggage.  Maybe someone else can confirm the details, like where exactly to get off the the suk mini vans. I imagine if you can afford to fly you can afford a taxi. Or best of luck with the shuttle. 

[Hal65]

Good thing I posted about this because I would not have thought to look on the Soi 9 side:

 

 

I see you hiding behind that fence!

Edited September 2, 2016 by Hal65

[siam2007]

On 28/08/2016 at 4:21 PM, Pdavies99 said:

The prices are correct, I called him to confirm.   Paul

 

 

 

If like that, this company will probably soon have a new customer

[TheGhostWithin]

I took this shuttle last month.

 

You are best to book the shuttle online, because as others have stated it may not run if there are no bookings.

People may not realise, the shuttle is not actually owned and run by AirAsia – it is a contractor, this is stated on a sign inside the van. When I booked the flight, AirAsia at first told me there was no van pick up, and then told me there was but could not tell me exactly where the pick up point was. It was badly organised.

Be extremely careful, as a Farang, with a flight ticket which indicated I had paid, the contractor tried to make me pay again for the transfer. Even after I told him in English I had paid, he demanded payment. It was not until I spoke to him in Thai explaining that he and I both knew how the system worked, and he could call his bosses if there was an issue that he stopped asking for payment. Amusing for the other passengers onboard, but a hassle for me.

They pick you up at the road entrance at the back of Central Festival on second road, there is a road which runs right through alongside the mall onto second road beside the Policing area. The day I caught the van it was the Pattaya marathon, and AA gave us absolutely no instructions on where to catch the van so we were late sitting around waiting for passengers to find the van so be early and be vigilant.

It is much cheaper than a taxi, but if you are just a tourist and have money you might be better to catch a cab.

[BruceMangosteen]

1 hour ago, TheGhostWithin said:

 

Be extremely careful, as a Farang, with a flight ticket which indicated I had paid, the contractor tried to make me pay again for the transfer. Even after I told him in English I had paid, he demanded payment. It was not until I spoke to him in Thai explaining that he and I both knew how the system worked, and he could call his bosses if there was an issue that he stopped asking for payment. Amusing for the other passengers onboard, but a hassle for me.

 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. It never ceases to amaze and amuse some when Thai's attempt to rip  off the stupid farang. Unfortunately we aren't in a position to introduce violence into such scam attempts. The driver should have never allowed you on the van if he wasn't in fact paid in advance. So the only conclusion one can make is he/she was attempting to scam you knowing  you had a flight to catch and no other options. This in the long run causes a decrease in tourism and loss of tourists who tell others as you have done. Welcome to the third world. 

[Hal65]

I had a good experience, the driver asked for my flight, I showed him my phone with the info, and that was that. No money requests and a polite goodbye at the airport.