Before writing this post, I collected in a draft the top popular queries in Yandex, my personal knowledge and flipped through the sites of my colleagues. I just looked at what they usually write about on request. It seemed interesting that most of the articles about the airport in U-Tapao begin with a historical remark, although even a hint of the history of the airport in Pattaya never slipped in the top queries. In short, we go from the opposite direction and on my blog you will first get answers to your questions and only at the end of the post I will write a little about the airport itself.
The content of the article
- one Where is Utapao airport
- 2 How to get from Utapao to Pattaya and back
- 3 Scheme of U-Tapao airport and its infrastructure
Where is Utapao airport
Usually I place the map of the object in the tail of the article, as an addition to the basic information, taking into account the fact that not every reader goes SO into the details that they are ready to master all these buttons for scaling and switching map layers. But in the case of U-Tapao Airport, the card must be presented to you first, and for this reason.
There are almost forty kilometers between the resort town of Pattaya and U-Tapao airport. For most novice tourists, this turns out to be the discovery of the century, but these are the realities: Utapao Airport in Pattaya is not. And 40 km is a distance that can no longer be covered on foot, by metro or tuk-tuk, so you have to choose between the four main transfer options Utapao-Pattaya.
Map of the area where Utapao is located
Map of the area where Utapao is located:
How to get from Utapao to Pattaya and back
There are four main ways to get from Utapao to Pattaya and in the opposite direction: taxi, regular transport, minibus shuttle or train. All points, regardless of their headings, imply that the modes of transportation and the price of the transfer «there» exactly the same as «back». I just don't want to rewrite a hundred times «Utapao Airport - Pattaya» and «Pattaya - Utapao Airport». I will definitely tell you about rare differences..
A train
Six kilometers from the terminal there is the Ban Phlu Ta Luang railway station, from which train # 284 departs daily at 13:35 to Bangkok. In Pattaya, it stops at 14:20, but just in case, always check the timetable on the Royal Thai Railways website..
The method is very much an amateur and can be used only once a day, plus you will still need to drive these six kilometers from the airport, but this is in the region of 100-150 baht. Just do not be alarmed by the rise in the cost of the transfer, because train tickets cost 27, 14 and 6 baht for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class of the car respectively. Six baht, Karl! Return train # 283 from Pattaya to Ban Phlu Ta Luang station departs the same daily at 10:35 and arrives at 11:20.
Regular Thai transport
Sukhumvit Road is regularly operated by large multicolored buses and white minibuses with Thai inscriptions to their destinations: Chonburi-Pattaya-Utapao-Rayong. Used to transport local people, with appropriate prices. And in order not to compete with tourist shuttles, the inscriptions in English on such buses are not made. Is that on the windshields of large buses, but small white mikriki you will have to identify with your eyes.
They ride often, every 5-15 minutes. They stop with a wave of the hand or at public transport stops. The price of the trip is 50-60 baht, the ride is long, because they stop at each stop.
You will have to leave 3.5 km from the terminal, the rest of the way is covered by a tuk-tuk or moto-taxi, which are on duty in the area of the turn to the airport, the price of the trip is about 100 baht. In total, this turns out to be cheaper than any minibus for 250.
Minibuses for locals
Private minibus shuttle
There are several private companies that transport passengers from U-Tapao to Pattaya by minibuses, including the popular low-cost airline Air Asia, which sells two flight options to Pattaya: the destination Pattaya and Pattaya-Downtown, which you can choose at the stage of booking your ticket. on the carrier's website. The transfer fee (210 Baht) is automatically included in the ticket price. But, if your company has two or more passengers, then it will be more profitable to take a taxi. Moreover, Air Asia does not carry out a transfer throughout Pattaya, but only to the Central Festival shopping center, which is located in the city center..
Here is the button for ordering a transfer from Air Asia
Upon arrival at U-Tapao airport, at the exit from the arrivals area, you will see the Airyji counter, the employee of which must present your ticket. After that you will be taken to the minibus and in 40 minutes you will find yourself near the Central Festival in Pattaya. You won't be able to buy a transfer separately - everything is tied to Air Asia tickets and flights. If you arrived without booking a transfer, then you can choose any of the counters that offer minibus transfers from 250 baht per person. In principle, the shuttle is an option for singles. If you are traveling with a company of 3 or more people, and even with children, then it is already more profitable to take a taxi.
Taxi Utapao-Pattaya
A taxi from Utopao airport to Pattaya and in the opposite direction costs from 800-1000 baht. You can take a car upon arrival at the counters in the arrival hall. On the Internet, they ask for up to 3,000 baht for a private transfer from all sorts of obscure services that pop up with an active search on the network. Therefore, if the task is to order a car in advance, then it is better to take it from the proven Kiwitaxi (here my personal experience).
To be honest, KiwiTaxi's price tag is so-so. Look at the cost of Utapao-Pattaya, it starts somewhere from 1400 baht per car, a regular sedan. There are also a number of private drivers, which can be found in the communities of any social network on the topic «Pattaya», from 800 baht for a sedan for 4 passengers to 1800 baht for a nine-seater minibus. But if you want with online payment and from a large service, so that with a guarantee of meeting with a sign at the airport, then this is Kiwi. So let's say, for those who do not care about the price too much.
Car rental
40 km is not the distance for which you should rent a car, but I will add this method too. Because if you want to actively drive around the area, then it is better to take the car right at the airport and then give it back there. I said, and I will repeat it again, it is better to rent a car for a short time through large network distributors, which are present only in airports and large cities. In great detail about all the nuances of car rental in Thailand in my post.
In order not to go through the sites of rental companies one by one, it is best to use the Economybookings service, which will display all offers from everyone at once. You order and upon arrival a car is already waiting for you.
Rent a car with a discount>
Scheme of U-Tapao airport and its infrastructure
Due to the fact that the airport was originally built for the needs of the military, U-Tapao looks more like a village, small-town airport than a large communication center with international flights and high throughput. Roughly speaking, two-thirds of the space is occupied by the check-in and departure area, and one-third by the arrival area..
The airport infrastructure includes a Duty Free zone, shops, a food court, an exchange office, SIM cards and rental car stands and parking. Taxis are bunched up near the exit from the arrivals area. Everything is located very compactly, you do not need to receive any special instructions for survival at Utapao airport.
Utapao Airport Map, Pattaya
Online scoreboard Utapao
