Pattaya to Hua Hin

No. The ferry everyone remembers was Royal Passenger Liner's 346-seat catamaran, which started in January 2017 and crossed from Bali Hai pier, at the end of Walking Street, to Khao Takiab pier at the south end of Hua Hin in about two hours. It cost ฿1,250 in standard class and ฿1,550 in business. It stopped for the low season more than once, then stopped in 2020 and never restarted. Direct Ferries now says the route is no longer available, the ferry-times sites have added notes saying it has ceased, and 12Go's search for a November date returns no boats at all.

The confusion comes from pages that still print the old timetable, with a 13:00 or 10:00 departure from Bali Hai, and from an earlier catamaran, Thailiving's three-times-a-week service from Ocean Marina to Pak Nam Pran, which launched in 2010 and has also stopped. If a new boat starts on this crossing, I'd book it only through the operator's own channel and look for a dated review from a recent passenger before planning around it. For now the fastest way across is the flight, and the bus is the one I'd book.

Roong Reuang Coach, the company that runs most of the Bangkok to Pattaya buses, has the only direct bus to Hua Hin. It leaves the Pattaya North bus terminal on Pattaya Nuea Road at 15:30, stops in Cha-am in front of Bangkok Bank on Phetkasem Road, and ends at its own bus station on Phetkasem Road beside Hua Hin Airport. The company says about five hours, and 12Go times it at 5 hours 20, so expect to arrive between 20:30 and 21:00. The fare is ฿526 a seat on Roong Reuang's own site, and about ฿686 on 12Go with its fee. It's a 24-seat VIP coach, three seats across, with a toilet.

Older pages say this bus leaves at 11:00, under the name Bell Travel, which is Roong Reuang's door-to-door brand, and quote ฿410 to ฿470. The company's current timetable has only the 15:30. Get to the terminal 15 minutes early, as it asks, and allow extra time to cross Pattaya in the afternoon traffic, because one 12Go reviewer missed the bus that way. Two others found the toilet locked or not flushing, so use the terminal's before you board.

EZY Airlines, a small Thai regional airline, flew its first scheduled flight between Hua Hin and U-Tapao, Pattaya's airport, on 23 October 2026. It flies on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays in a Cessna Grand Caravan with about 10 seats, and the flight takes about 40 minutes. For November and December, Hua Hin Today reported the flight leaving U-Tapao at 12:10 and landing in Hua Hin at 12:50. Launch fares started at ฿2,900, and tickets are sold on EZY's website and at its airport counters.

U-Tapao is about 30 km south of Pattaya, about 40 minutes by Grab or taxi, and Hua Hin Airport is on Phetkasem Road about 7 km north of the town center. With the drive and check-in, plan on about three hours from a Pattaya hotel to a Hua Hin one. It's the fastest way across, but a new route on a small plane can change, so check the day you want on EZY's own booking page and ask about the bag allowance before you pay.

OSRM puts Central Pattaya to Hua Hin at 323 km, about 3 hours 50 minutes of driving without stops, because the road has to swing around the top of the Gulf on the edge of Bangkok. In practice the drivers on 12Go quote four to five hours. For a November date it listed about 20 firms, with sedans from about ฿3,300 and most quotes under ฿4,500, nine-seat vans from about ฿4,500, and a few premium cars well above that. The price is per car with tolls, so for three or four people with bags it isn't far off the bus per head.

I'd avoid leaving on a Friday afternoon or the first day of a long weekend, when the Bangkok ring roads fill and the drive can stretch toward six hours.

If the direct bus is full and you can't use the airport change, go through Bangkok. Roong Reuang's buses leave Pattaya North for Ekkamai every hour from 08:00 to 20:00 for ฿144 and take about two hours. Nor Neane's minibuses to Hua Hin leave the same Ekkamai terminal roughly hourly until 19:00 for ฿200 and take three and a half to four hours, dropping along Phetkasem Road in the center of Hua Hin. It's the cheapest way, about ฿344, but allow six to seven hours with the wait.

There's no train from Pattaya to Hua Hin, and the rail route through Bangkok only works for train fans. The daily ordinary train No. 284 leaves Pattaya at 14:21 and reaches Hua Lamphong at 18:15 for ฿31. From there it's the MRT to Krung Thep Aphiwat, where Express No. 85 leaves at 19:50 and reaches Hua Hin at 23:42. Our Bangkok to Hua Hin guide has every train and fare.

Both Roong Reuang buses end at its station on Phetkasem Road beside Hua Hin Airport, about 7 km north of the clock tower, so take a Grab or a taxi for the last stretch to your hotel. The flight lands at the airport next door, so the same applies. The Ekkamai minibuses drop along Phetkasem Road in town, and the private cars take you to the door, which matters most if you're staying at Khao Takiab or Suan Son at the far south end. Our Hua Hin guide covers which part of town suits you.