Pattaya, one of Thailand’s pioneering resorts, has been attracting Bangkok residents since the 1960s and began welcoming international visitors soon after. The city has impressive sites such as the Sanctuary of Truth, but it is best known for being a place to relax on the beach during the day and spend the night in clubs and cabarets. Once you’ve had enough of this environment and have done your shopping, you can continue your journey in a quieter place, and Krabi could be the perfect destination. As a gateway to the Phi Phi Islands, in Krabi you can enjoy the beaches and karst landscape or continue exploring other parts of the country. If you want to go from Pattaya to Krabi, do not miss the information we will provide below.
Highway 7 on the outskirts of Suvarnabhumi Airport connecting Bangkok, the airport and Pattaya © Patnaree Asavacharanitich / Shutterstock.com
Options to go from Pattaya to Krabi
The journey from Pattaya to Krabi is long and you have to pass through Bangkok to do it. This section of the route can be unpredictable due to the heavy traffic that usually prevails there. The road route is 900 kilometers long. Therefore, even if you had your own car and didn’t take any breaks, the journey would take around 11 hours, so it’s not recommended to start driving. But if you’re looking for a cheaper option, a bus from Pattaya to Krabi might be a good option. A faster alternative is to take a bus or taxi to Bangkok and then fly to Krabi, but this is more expensive than the bus.
From Pattaya to Krabi by bus
Before you start, you should know that there are no direct buses from Pattaya to Krabi. Therefore, if you choose to travel this way, you will have to change trains at some point along the way. There are several bus companies to choose from that serve different routes. You can take a bus to Bangkok, and once in the city change to a bus that goes directly to Krabi. This can be a good option as there are many buses that run from Pattaya to Bangkok as well as several companies that offer a route from Bangkok to Krabi. Even if we add the price of both tickets to this, it is still a very cheap option. The disadvantage of traveling this way is that you have to make two separate reservations, one for each ticket. You can check timetables for two routes via 12Go.asia.
Another option is to take a bus from Pattaya to Phang Nga with a company like Sawadee Tour. They have daily departures on the VIP or VIP 24 buses. The VIP 24 buses are more spacious and have more leg room, so they may be a better option for such a long journey. This journey to Phang Nga should take approximately 14 hours and 20 minutes. There you can take the local bus to Krabi, which takes 1.5 hours.
Whether you’re traveling via Bangkok or taking a drive through Phang Nga, you’ll need to change trains at some point along the way. The total duration can be from 16 to 17 hours.
From Pattaya to Krabi by bus and plane
Given the time it takes to travel by bus from Pattaya to Krabi, and the fact that flying is not much more expensive, many travelers opt for the quicker journey, first by bus to Bangkok and then by plane to Krabi. .
You can buy combined bus and flight tickets for this trip through 12Go. This way you will avoid the stress of searching for different dates and booking two tickets. On this page you will be able to see the combined results of the most relevant bus timetables for the departures of each flight. Please note that there are many bus options to Bangkok, not to the airport. If you don’t want to spend a few days in Bangkok, we recommend taking a bus that goes directly from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport or Don Mueang Airport as it will save you a lot of time. It doesn’t make much sense to drive into Bangkok to go to the airport from there as it would be more expensive and take longer to get there.
There are many bus and plane options to get from Pattaya to Krabi in no time. You can make a reservation with Bell Travel, for example. Your bus departs from Pattaya Bus Station at 11:00 AM and arrives at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 1:00 PM. From the stop you will have to walk a short distance to the terminal where the Thai Airways flight to Krabi departs. This flight takes only 1 hour and 20 minutes, although there would be a four-hour wait at the airport before takeoff. This means that the entire trip from Pattaya to Krabi would take around 7.5 hours. While it would take a significant part of the day, there is no doubt that it is much faster than the entire bus journey.
From Pattaya to Krabi by taxi and plane
Thai Lion Air at Don Mueang International Airport (north of Bangkok) © SasinTipchai / Shutterstock.com
If you want to save even more time and don’t mind spending more money, the quickest way to get from Pattaya to Krabi is to take a taxi and then fly. A direct bus to the airport is a good option, but you are limited to schedule times by the bus company. However, if you take a taxi to the airport, you can make your arrival at the airport coincide with your flight and thus avoid waiting hours at the airport.
It is also possible to book a combination of taxis and planes through 12Go, so we recommend taking a look at their website to see the different options available. You will find that the quickest way is to take a taxi to Don Mueang Airport, the journey takes about two hours and from there fly to Krabi with Thai Lion Air.
If you are looking for a cheap solution, you can go from Pattaya to Krabi by bus. But since there is no direct connection, the journey is very long and not much cheaper than other options. Therefore, we recommend checking available flights from any airport in Bangkok. The section from Pattaya can be covered by bus or taxi. This way you will reach Krabi in less time and with more comfort.