Routes
The bus, and from whichever end of Bangkok you are already at. Every road option here uses the same motorway and sits in the same traffic, so the mode does not change the two hours: it changes the price and the comfort. Ekkamai runs one every half hour.
About 145 km by road, 100 km in a straight line
Bus from Ekkamai
Roong Reuang Coach, from the Eastern Bus Terminal on Sukhumvit, which is next to Ekkamai BTS and therefore reachable on the Skytrain from most of central Bangkok. The stated time assumes the motorway is moving; Friday evenings and public holidays do not.
Bus from Suvarnabhumi
The same operator, direct from the airport, and the reason Pattaya is an easier arrival than most of Bangkok. Check in on the ground floor of the main terminal, at the desk signposted for Pattaya and Hua Hin, at least fifteen minutes before departure.
Minivan
From Ekkamai and from Mo Chit. Quicker than the bus on paper and not by much in practice, and the bus is the more comfortable two hours. Where both run and the gap is small, take the bus.
Private car
Worth it with luggage or a family, and the only option that ends at your hotel rather than at a bus terminal in north Pattaya. Motorway 7 the whole way.
Train
Ordinary train 283 towards Chuk Samet, third class only, fans and open windows, no reservations and no online booking. It takes nearly twice as long as the bus and leaves once. Take it because you want the journey, not because you want to arrive.
These times and fares come from booking agents and route aggregators, not from operator timetables. Most Thai ferry and minivan operators publish no English schedule. Treat every figure as a planning range and confirm it before you build a day around it. Last read on 2 September 2026, from Roong Reuang Coach, the airport operator, Suvarnabhumi Airport, ground transport and Rail Thailand, train 283.