Pattaya by plane
U-Tapao Airport (IATA: UTP | ICAO: VTBU | tel: +66-38245295), often known somewhat inaccurately as "Pattaya Airport", is at Sattahip, just off the main Sattahip - Chanthaburi (Sukhumvit) highway, 30km south of Pattaya. Primarily a military facility, it's the closest airport fielding commercial passenger flights, but only to a handful of destinations. There are no commercial passenger flights connecting U-Tapao directly with Bangkok.
Schedules (all daily, as at January 1st 2006):
Bangkok Airways (PG) flies to/from Ko Samui (USM) and Phuket (HKT) - UTP-USM & USM-UTP flights are usually slightly less expensive than BKK-USM & USM-BKK flights
- PG272 - UTP (12:10) to HKT (13:50)
- PG271 - HKT (14:20) to UTP (16:00)
- PG252 - HKT (09:20) via USM (10:40) to UTP (11:40)
- PG285 - USM (13:10) to UTP (14:10)
- PG286 - UTP (14:40) to USM (15:40)
- PG284 - UTP (16:30) to USM (17:30)
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When booking flights to U-Tapao...
...consider pre-booking onward transport at the same time, as competitively priced door-to-door transfer services may not be available on arrival at U-Tapao on an ad-hoc basis.
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The easiest way to transfer between U-Tapao and Pattaya is by direct door-to-door minibus - driving time is normally about 30 minutes (200-250 baht per person for pre-booked services).
If speed and convenience don't matter, the ad-hoc option is to hop on virtually any bus on Sukhumvit Road. Going south, if it's a bus that terminates at Sattahip you'll have to swap buses or finish the journey by songthaew; if it's going further east (eg Rayong, Chanthaburi or Trat) it'll drop you off at the airport entrance as it goes by. Going north, wait for a bus that's going further than Sattahip and then you won't need to transfer. Alternatively, the white songthaews that ply Sukhumvit Road between Pattaya and Sattahip charge just 20 baht.
Or to buck the trend big time, go by rail (3rd class, weekdays only) between Pattaya and Sattahip, get off just before or after the line crosses Highway 3, and connect with the airport by songthaew or bus. The fare for the 40-50 minute train ride is 6 (yes, six!) baht - depart Pattaya 10:18AM, arrive Sattahip 11AM; depart Sattahip 1:30PM, arrive Pattaya 2:21PM - but don't forget, no trains on Saturdays or Sundays.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Pattaya
