BKK to Pattaya by Limo/Taxi

[MaiLuk]

Only made a few pattaya runs from BKK, here is my experience:

 

From your hotel on Suk or where ever, flag down a taxi and negotiate. I've paid 900bt, 1000bt, and 1,100bt. The 1100 bht is high, was at midday on a very hot afternoon, did not want to wait for a reasonable price to come along. Try to negotiate price of toll way into the fare. Standard for me is to say 800 bt, than see what driver comes back with.

 

If you ask your hotel to get you a cab, than hotel will get a cut of the fare which may mean a higher fare for you.

 

Since you are the only passenger, no stops (except possibly for gas) so anticipate 2 hours as long as you don't get fucked on the way out by BKK traffic.

 

As you approach Pattaya, driver will ask what part of Pattaya you want to go, I'll be damned but I can't remember the thai name now. You want to take a right at the main light where the signs are, go to the end, turn left and that puts you on beach road at soi 1. I don't know why these guys can't figure out the area where a sanuking punter wants to go, but they never do.

 

You can use a limo service but why pay 1500 bt if you can have a cab for less?

 

Never used the mini bus, never will. Don't want to spend one extra minute of my pattaya time while other pasengers are dropped off. And who knows what planet your fellow travelers may have come from. But if time is not a problem and budget is limited than you should use it cause its cheap.

 

When you leave pattaya, the fares are much cheaper. I believe the taxi mafia makes it difficult for independent drivers to get business, but not impossible. We ordered a limo service from a travel agency on 2nd road, they said it would be at our hotel in fifteen minutes. They didn't show up quick eneough for me, so we flagged down a passing cab on 2nd road, but it was pure luck. They are difficult if not impossible to find. Paid him 900bt (way too much).

 

Since you can't find a taxi just driving along 1st or 2nd road, ask the bell hop (or whatever you call him) from the hotel to get you a taxi. One time the bell hop told me 1000 bt, I said 800 bt. He said OK, let me have the money now. Told him I would pay when the taxi arrived.

 

Taxi arrives, so does mafia man. I asume the way the system works is farang asks bell hop or hotel to order taxi, they call mafia who supplies the taxi. I watch taxi man pay 300 baht of his own money to mafia man. (I hadn't paid yet, and did not pay until arrival in BKK)

 

On way to BKK, taxi man tells me the deal. He lives in BKK, no wife, mafia gets him one fare to Pattaya, sleeps the night in some slum place mafia arranges in Pattaya, than gets one fare from pattaya to BKK the next day. He gets 500 baht per fare, which sounds to me like good money, rest goes to mafia man. Out of his share, driver pays for gas and I suppose maintanence. Seems to me mafia is good for this guy, they get him a fare every day.

 

He told me "You speak thai [very very little], you should bargain, you pay too much." My guess is if you are a hard ass, you can pay 650 baht for taxi from pattaya to bkk, but in high season who knows.

 

I know there has to be a place in Pattaya where all the taxi drivers wait to be told by the mafia guys where to pick up a fare. If i could find it, could eliminate the bell hop and maybe save some baht.

 

Have fun, another month and I'll be there :hubba:

 

MaiLuk

[MaiLuk]

Ones to AVOID are those along Soi Nana itself, the street, who roll down window and ask where you go. Fuck those guys, fuck them a thousand times and may their taxi's get smashed by a dump truck or bus.

---

 

 

Hehe. Those guys are hanging outside of Grand President, Manhattan and every large hotel in the farang scene. They want to take you to places you don't want to be.

 

Never take a taxi that is parked, only the ones on the road moving.