Tuk tuk traffic in Pattaya on the map. New tuk tuk traffic pattern in Pattaya, with old routes

Hello dear friends! I often notice that tourists do not know how to properly use songthaew in Pattaya. They knock on the driver’s window instead of pressing the bell, pay before boarding, or try, without knowing it, to hire a songthaew as a taxi. To help tourists avoid such situations, I decided to write a kind of instruction for using songthaew in Pattaya.

As I already wrote in the article about, public transport in Pattaya is often called tuk-tuks. But this is wrong, because tuk-tuks are a three-wheeled type of transport, which you won’t see in Pattaya during the day, but there are many of them in Bangkok.

So, how to ride a songthaew in Pattaya? I present to you step-by-step instructions.

Songthaew in Pattaya is one of our favorite tourist attractions!

1. How to stop songthaew in Pattaya?

There are no official songthaew stops in Pattaya, although tourists are sometimes misled by the bus stop signs that line the beach streets. Therefore, to stop the songthaew, just wave your hand.

As a rule, songthaews in Pattaya themselves honk at pedestrians while driving, so you don’t have to walk around constantly turning around.

Sometimes it happens that the songthaew to which you waved did not stop, although there were few people in it. This happens when the songthaew is busy as a taxi, or when the driver picked up the afternoon sanuk.

2. How to announce that you are leaving songthaew?

The main thing is not to knock on the driver’s window or on the roof above him. Go to songthaew, look around and you will immediately see small special bells in white or red. There are several of them in the songthaew, they are either on the roof or at the very top of the handrails.

As soon as you see your destination, press the bell. Sometimes there is no sound in the cabin, it only sounds from the driver, so don’t worry and don’t call several times.

And yet songthaew in Pattaya is an unsafe form of transport. For example, passengers are sprayed with water from head to toe!

3. How to pay for travel to songthaew in Pattaya?

Tolls in Pattaya are paid at the exit. Only when you go out, go around the songthaew on the left side! Driving in Thailand is on the left, so passing a songthaew on the right (driver's side) is dangerous. I saw several times how people tried to get to the driver among the cars. Nightmare! By the way, you can use .

Money is transferred to the left window– often a “controller” sits next to the songthaew driver. Often this is a family member of the driver. If there is no controller, don’t worry, the songthaew driver will take your money himself.

4. How do I pay for travel to Songthaew?

It is better to pay for travel to songthaew in Pattaya in small bills. And don't drop them! And then it may happen...

When paying for travel to songthaew in Pattaya, it is best to pay according to coins or small bills - 10, 20 or 50 baht. Unfortunately, there are cases when unscrupulous songthaew drivers, having received large bills of 100, 500 or 1000 baht for travel, take off without giving change or giving less change.

One of such cases was described to us in ours.

5. How not to pay more?

A typical mistake of tourists is to approach the songthaew driver in Pattaya and ask if he will get to such and such a hotel/shop/restaurant. The driver takes it as if you are trying to hire his songthaew as a taxi., and tells you the price from 150 baht. While everyone else will go to songthaew for 10 baht.

Therefore our advice: study the songthaew route map in Pattaya in advance, if necessary, ask other passengers how best to get to the place you need. You can find the map near the 7-Eleven store, which.

Songthaew routes in Pattaya are indicated on many maps of the city. And they move steadily both during the day and at night. But still, there is a normal public transport network.

TWO EXTRA TIPS

• If you see that the songthaew is crowded and you can only ride on the back step, it’s better to wait for something else - fortunately, there is no shortage of songthaews in Pattaya. When the songthaew is driving slowly, riding on the rear platform is not dangerous; but when it travels long stretches without passengers and accelerates, you have to hold on very, very tightly.
• If you suddenly decide to drive like a hare into Songthaew, the driver will not chase you with a stick. But then he will probably give change to another passenger that is not in his favor. Therefore, our advice: just go to the window and apologize that you cannot pay. Nothing bad will happen, the Thais are very understanding people.

How much does it cost to go to Songthaew in Pattaya?

Around the city within one route - 10 baht.
Within two routes - 20 baht.
From Sukhumvit – 20 baht.

Any resort has public transport, and Pattaya also has it, however, in the understanding of a Russian tourist, this is not quite what he is used to seeing in his homeland. In this article we will talk about transport and what tuk tuk traffic patterns exist in Pattaya.

Getting around the city on foot is not always convenient, especially if you need to get from a remote area (for example, Jomtien to the city center); for this, the locals have come up with a cheap and cheerful option for public transport - songthaew, which all vacationers call tuk tuk.

Tuk tuk in Thai means cheap and in fact it is true; driving such a car is not such an expensive thing.

The car is a pickup truck converted to transport people. Surely many have seen a similar solution in a photo or video. An awning is stretched over the car body, benches are installed on the sides that can accommodate up to 12–15 people (depending on the length of the car and the greed of the owner).

How to use tuk-tuks in Pattaya

Before talking about the features of use, it is worth clarifying that in Pattaya there are two types of songthaew - white and blue.

White, those who travel long distances, outside the city, and the fare in them is twice as expensive (not in the city, only outside). Blue is a regular city tuk tuk plying the route. These songthaews will be located at the final stops, you will recognize them immediately.

How long do tuk tuks run in Pattaya? According to the rules, it is open 24 hours a day, but in the evening it is problematic to get into a car outside a stop, on the street, since there are a huge number of people willing.

So, a little about the rules of use:

• the car number does not match the route number;
• tuk tuk stops with a wave of your hand, anywhere, like a taxi;
• the driver can honk at you himself when he sees you, in such a situation (if you are ready to go) just silently sit in the cabin (he usually doesn’t know the language anyway);
• there is no glass in the “salon”; in the rain, the film can be lowered;
• prepare payment without change so that the driver does not cheat (they can);
• to get out you need to press the bell in the “salon”, then pay for the trip and leave the tuk-tuk;
• the driver can independently change the route, and in such a situation you either leave or obey.

Tuk-tuk fare

What's the fare? A blue car a priori costs 10 baht, and a white car costs 10 baht within Pattaya, and 20 baht outside of Pattaya.

If the driver begins to resist and demand a large fee or drop him off, threaten him that you will complain - the telephone number for complaints is 1137. First take a photo of the license plate of the car or the driver, as a rule, this is enough in 99% of cases, but there may be exceptions to any rule.

Tuk-Tuk traffic diagram

Tuk tuk routes in Pattaya are busy and popular, and this is normal. Below is a map of tuk tuks in Pattaya, which describes the main routes in 2018. You can download the map for free using this link.

Tuk tuks operate on major tourist streets, and if your hotel is located in the depths of the city, it is likely that there may not be them there.

Work options

Each car can operate either as a standard public songthaew, where it picks up passengers and takes them along a route, or as a taxi, where the driver asks to pay a price higher than the standard ride (approximately 100 baht). In such a situation, you have the right to count on delivery to your destination. But is it worth it? Maybe it’s easier to study the tuk-tuk traffic pattern and make one or two transfers?

By the way, even if your destination is one block from the end point of the tuk tuk and you ask the driver to drive 50 meters further, the taxi mode will immediately turn on and the price will increase 10 times, so there is no point in asking for a ride outside the route for the price there is no songthaew.

Description of routes

So, let's look at tuk tuks in Pattaya and the routes they follow. The following routes exist:

• ring (second street (second road) - beach street);
• from Jomtien to central Pattaya;
• along Naklua street;
• along South Street;
• along Central Street;
• along North Street;
• along Tepprasit street;
• according to Sukhumvit.

Annular

This route, like the others, starts early in the morning and ends late at night.

The stop where drivers collect tourists is on Second Road, from where the car starts moving towards Walking Street. The car makes a U-turn near the monument with dolphins, in the place where the second street intersects Severnaya. There the tuk tuk goes towards the beach street, along which it returns to its original position. On the way back, the car turns right, in front of the famous Walking Street.

It is by this car that you can get to the Central Festival Pattaya and other large shopping centers located in the Center itself. In total, the length of the route in time is 20–25 minutes.

On the map the routes are marked in different colors (green and blue)

from Jomtien to Pattaya Central

One of the most popular tuk tuk routes is from Jomtien to City Center. It is also considered a ring road, but cars go back along the same route as towards the center. The movement starts from the southern part of Jomtien and this is one of the few cases when the car starts moving without taking a full body of passengers, since there are practically no hotels at the final stop and there are not many tourists.

The songthaew should walk along the beach, and on Thappraya Street they turn towards the center, and having passed it to the end, they move along the second road, turn around on the dolphins and move in the opposite direction.

On the map the color of the route is brown.

According to Naklua

The stop is at the beginning of the street, Naklya soi 22. The traffic pattern is quite simple: first north, almost to the end and back to the dolphins, from there there are two options, either back again, or a circle through the beach and second-hand roads.

On the map the color of the route is yellow.

Along Yuzhnaya Street

The route begins at the Sukhumvit highway, and then everything is simple, the car moves towards the sea along the South Road, goes to the right on the second road, turns left near the dolphins to the beach road and returns to the starting point. The final part of the route coincides exactly with the circular route.

On the map the color of the route is blue.

Central

The final stop, as in the previous case, is at the intersection of Sukhumvit Highway and Central Street. The route is simple, from Sukhumvit you go to the beach road, where you turn left, and in the reverse order along the second road.

On the map the color of the route is purple.

It’s worth mentioning that cars don’t pass by very often in this section, about once every 10–15 minutes, so don’t rush to do anything on foot, or you’ll have to wait.

Along North Street

The traffic pattern is simple, it starts near the Best supermarket and ends at the intersection with the Sukhumvit highway. There is an option when the car drives onto the beach street and returns along Second Road. Cars are also infrequent visitors here, the waiting time is about 10–15 minutes.

On the map the color of the route is dark purple.

Along Tepprasit street

The route is circular. Starts at Thappraya Road and ends near the night market. Tuk-tuks travel here very rarely, as it is not the most popular route.

On the map the color of the route is dark green.

Along Sukhumvit Highway

On the map the color of the route is orange.

It is worth mentioning right away that this is a kind of intercity tuk tuk, since the route begins in the city of Sattahip, where the market is located, and ends in the city of Sriracha, near the Robinson store.

The fare is 20 baht if you start outside Pattaya or your destination is outside Pattaya. Within Pattaya the cost of the road is 10 baht.

Advice, have money ready without change so that the driver is not tempted to forget or make a fuss that the fare costs more.

New routes

The routes listed above are no longer considered new, since new songthaew traffic rules have been in effect since 2017. However, this does not cancel the desire of drivers to earn money, and not everyone follows the established new routes.

There is no point in describing them; below are detailed maps that you can study on your own.

So, tuk tuk in Pattaya is a cheap and convenient form of transport, which is available even to a tourist who does not know the language, because knowing the songthaew routes, just a couple of hand gestures are enough, and you are there.

Where to stay in Pratumnak

Previously, there were no tuk-tuks in Pratumnak, but starting in 2018, cars for 10 baht began to appear here. Let’s make a reservation right away: if a tuk tuk beeps, then most likely the price of the trip is 10 baht. It’s easy to tell the difference if, when you stop, it stops so that you can immediately get in – the cost is 10 baht; if it asks where you should go, it’s a taxi.

Previously, a tuk tuk could be caught on Thappraya Street or at the pier, depending on where the hotel was located.

Don’t forget to share your impressions of your vacation in the comments, they are needed for those who have not yet decided on their vacation destination.

Tuk Tuk in Pattaya

Despite the fact that the resort area in Pattaya occupies a vast territory, moving around its areas will not be difficult for you. The transport system in Pattaya is very developed, convenient and accessible.

This type of transport began to be called tuk-tuk thanks to the light hand of tourists. Thais prefer to use the official name – songthaew, which means “two benches”.

What is a knock-knock

Songthaews are Japanese cargo pickup trucks converted for passenger transportation. In front is a cabin, like a car. A conductor may sit next to the driver. At the rear there is a body with a roof and handrails, the side walls without glass. Along two sides there are two parallel benches for passengers; this can accommodate 10 – 12 people.

There is a platform step at the back, through which it is convenient to climb into a tuk-tuk. It can also accommodate several passengers if there are no free seats on the benches.

1. Songthaew on Sukhumvit Highway - orange

Suksumvit is one of the main highways of the country. It runs away from the hotels and goes around, as if fencing off, the entire resort area of ​​Pattaya. White tuk-tuks ply here; travel will cost you 20 baht, regardless of the distance. If you need to quickly get to another area of ​​Pattaya, do some sightseeing on your own, or visit large supermarkets, you should use this route. The end points of the white songthaew route are the city of Sappahin and the city of Sriracha.

2. Route along Tepprasit street - dark green

The route along Thepprasit Street is designed for passengers going to the night market. Therefore, tuk-tuks only operate here from Friday to Sunday. The rest of the time, if necessary, you will have to take a taxi.

3. Route along Severnaya Street - dark purple

Tuk-tuks don't go here very often. One of the stops is near the Best supermarket, located on North Street, near the intersection with Naklua. The final stop is the intersection of North Street and Sukhumvit Highway. This is a circular route, the fare, regardless of the distance, is 10 baht.

Another route departs from the Northern Bus Station, runs along Severnaya Street, then along Plyazhnaya and to the final stop on Volkin Street. The fare is 20 baht.

4. Driving along Central Street - violet

The stop is located at the beginning of Central Street, at this point it intersects with the Sukhumvit Highway. Driving along the entire Central Street, the tuk-tuks go to Plyazhnaya Street and reach Walking Street, then exit onto Second Street and turn back onto Central Street. The movement interval is about 15 minutes.

5. Transport on Yuzhnaya Street - blue

The starting stop is the intersection of Sukhumvit Highway and South Street, and the final stop is at the Chaimongkron Temple, also located on South Street. Tuk-tuks pass through the entire Yuzhnaya Street, then drive along Second Street, at the Dolphinarium they turn onto Plyazhnaya, go all the way through it and return again to Yuzhnaya.

There is also a route that runs around the ring, exclusively along Yuzhnaya Street, without turning anywhere.

6. Traffic along Naklua - yellow

Here, the movement of passengers is provided by two routes. They both start from the southern end of Naklua Street and move north. At the end of Naklua they turn around and drive south, turning onto North Street.

After driving 200 m, they turn around and go towards the Dolphinarium.

7. Route from Jomtien to Central Pattaya - brown

The traffic is carried out along the ring, the parking lot is located in the southernmost part of the Jomtien area. Songthaews move along the sea coast, passing the entire beach. Then they turn onto Tappraya Street, drive through it all and turn onto Second. Near the Dolphinarium they turn onto Plyazhnaya and move to Volkin Street.

Then they turn onto Second Street again and stop near the school.

Here they have a short layover planned to fill the cabin with passengers heading to Jomtien. If you move within one area, the fare is 10 baht, if you need to get to another - 20 baht.

8. Route: Second Street - Beach Street - green and blue

The final stop is located on Second Street (at the intersection with South). Along this route, the songthaews pass the entire Second Road, turn left at the dolphin sculpture and immediately go to Plyazhnaya. They follow it back to their starting stop on Second Street.

Using this route, you can get, for example, to all the main shopping centers in Pattaya or to Walking Street.

You should definitely pick up a free map from the hotel that shows the routes of public tuk-tuks in Pattaya.

Find your desired destination on it, and then decide where you are now. Google maps will be the best option, as they work perfectly in Thailand.

Remember that tuk-tuks stop everywhere along the route.

Pattaya has its own public transport that runs along the routes. Officially it is called songthaew, which translates as “two benches.” But foreigners sometimes call it tuk-tuk, which is incorrect (more on that below). Literally “knock-knock” translates as “cheap”. Travel within the city and between is fixed and costs 10 baht, regardless of the route. From Jomtien to Central Pattaya (to the intersection of South and Second streets) you can also get there for 10 baht. In fact, the name can cause confusion, so it is better to call cheap public transport "songthaew", since "tuk-tuk" are taxis (although they look like songthaews), where prices start from 100 baht per trip.

In this review you will find out the most comprehensive information about tuk-tuk routes in Pattaya, their parking lots and, in addition, answers to frequently asked questions.

What does a tuk-tuk look like?

Externally, it is a pickup truck with a roof, but without windows. Opposite each other there are benches on which 10-12 people can sit, a couple more people can fit on the rear step. Sometimes up to 20 people can ride on a tuk-tuk at the same time.

Which streets does public transport use?

Tuk-tuks in Pattaya go along only a few streets: Beach (First, Beach Road), Second (Second), South, Central, North, Naklua, Tepprasit. There is also a route from Jomtien and back, which runs along Thappraya Street.

And finally, songthaews run along the main Sukhumvit highway, the route of which begins and ends in the cities neighboring Pattaya - Sattahip and Sriracha. Within Pattaya, travel costs 10 baht (for example, from North Street to South Street), if you travel from Jomtien (for example, the Ambassador Hotel) to Naklua and further, then travel is 20 baht.

How to distinguish a public tuk-tuk for 10 baht from a taxi

Why is it important? Yes, everything is simple, the cost of travel to Pattaya is from 100 baht.

Externally, this is not possible, since the same car can work both as a minibus and as a taxi.

The basic rule is: if you see a tuk-tuk on streets other than those described above, then it is a taxi.

Second rule: if the car is driving completely empty, then it is quite possible that the driver has decided to earn extra money as a taxi driver and is looking for potential clients, or even returning home after a working day. True, this is mainly typical for tuk-tuks, which can be seen on Thapprai. On South, Beach and Second streets they are most likely public - it’s just that all the passengers have left, but there are no new ones yet.

Third rule: If there are several people in the car (especially during rush hour) and it does not stop after you wave to the driver, then it is a taxi that takes clients to a certain place.

How to stop a tuk-tuk, are there any stops along the route?

Any point on the route is a stop. You can enter or exit wherever you wish. To get into the car, just wave your hand and the driver will stop. They often honk their horn themselves if they see a person walking alone on the street. Walking in the heat is not accepted here. Without asking him anything, you just sit down and calmly drive along the route. In recent years, there have been many stops where boarding and disembarking takes place, but often drivers do not comply with this and you can get on and off anywhere.

When you need to get off, press one of the many bells on the ceiling or wall of the cabin. After that, you go to the driver’s cabin and hand him 10 baht (it’s better to have money without change, drivers are sometimes cunning and can change less). Knowledge of English is absolutely not required for the trip.

Songthaew routes, their final and starting stops

Tuk-tuks will not start moving from all parking lots until almost all the seats are occupied. During the day this may take 10-15 minutes, during rush hours (from 17 to 20) - 1-2 minutes.

1. Ring route: Second Street - Beach (on the map the route is green and blue).

The stop is located on Second Street, at its intersection with South. These songthaews go all the way to Second Road, then go along Naklua Street to the Fish Market, then go in the opposite direction: Naklua Beach Street. Very rarely, at the Dolphin sculpture (at the intersection with Severnaya Street) they turn left, after half a minute they go onto Plyazhnaya and drive along it back to the final street on Second.

There is also a stop on Second Street, near the intersection with Central. These songthaews always go to Naklua until the Fish Market, then return along Beach and Second streets.

Using this route, you can, for example, get to from any point on the Second Road and to all the main ones.

2. Ring route from Jomtien to Pattaya (brown).

Officially, their starting and final stop is located in the southernmost part of Jomtien, where there are almost no hotels anymore, but some of them do not reach the final stop and turn back in the center of Jomtien beach. The route runs parallel to the beach, the songthaews drive all the way through it and turn onto Thappraya Street. Then they drive through it all and drive along Second. At Dolphins turn left, then along the beach road and up to Volkin Street. Then they go to Second and stop near the school to pick up new passengers for Jomtien.

Or they don’t stop and go straight to Jomtien from the beach. Moreover, some songthaews do not go to the end, but turn around near Chaupryk Street in Jomtien and go back to Central Pattaya.

From the central part of Jomtien to Second Street it takes 15-20 minutes. The fare costs 10 baht. If you go further (for example, to Dolphins), they sometimes ask you to pay 20 baht.

There is a very rare route that goes from Jomtien to the Naklua Fish Market and then back. The fare costs 20 baht officially.

3. Naklua route (yellow).

The songthaew parking lot is located at the very beginning of the street, near its intersection with Naklua Soi 22. In fact, you should not wait for the songthaew to leave the parking lot. It is better to take any passing songthaew coming from Central Pattaya (they come in a stream, often within a minute).

All the songthaews travel north along Naklua to the Fish Market, turning around at the end and heading back south. Then they drive along Northern Street for about 200 meters, turn around and drive towards Dolphins. Then they drive along Plyazhnaya, drive all the way through it, then along Second and then again to Naklua.

4. Route along South Street (blue).

The starting stop is the intersection of Sukhumvit Highway and South Street, the final stop is near South Street.

From Sukhumvit they drive all the way through Yuzhnaya, then go along Second, at Dolphins they turn onto Plyazhnaya, go all the way through it and return to Yuzhnaya.

Sometimes there are songthaews who take the ring route only along the South, without passing through Second Road and Beach Road. Very rarely, some Songthaews, driving through the entire South, then go to Jomtien.

5. Route along Central Street (purple).

The stop is located at the beginning of Central Street, near its intersection with Sukhumvit. Songthaews run here infrequently, once every 15 minutes. They drive all the way through Central Street, go to Plyazhnaya Street and up to Volkin Street, then exit onto Second Street and further to Central Street.

6. Route along North Street (dark purple).

It also doesn't go very often. The initial stop is located at the door, on North Street, near its intersection with Naklua. The final stop is the intersection of North and Sukhumvit. They travel along a circular route, the fare is 10 baht.

9. Soy Bokao (red).

The final stops of this route are located at the intersection with South and Central streets.