My 2017 trip to Thailand has been pretty amazing! I’ve spent time in Jomtien/Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and now Hua Hin. I’ve just come back to Pattaya from Hua Hin, and I took advantage of the new ferry service that crosses the Gulf of Siam. It’s a great service and cuts the transit time in half or better.

The ferry uses a large, new, high-speed catamaran that only takes about 2.5 hours to make the 130km transit. You can choose between general seating or their Business Class level. The general seating is fairly crowded, and the Business Class is more open, and you sit on the upper level. You also get a free cup of coffee, tea, or a soft drink. Yippee!

The ferry service curretly costs 999 baht for general, and 1,299 for Business Class. They also appear to have two cabins for more privacy – I don’t know what those cost. These prices are for Feburary 2017 only, and will most likely rise at the end of the month.

Pattaya Hua Hin Ferry Schedule

The schedule is certainly subject to change. You can check in at 12:00 and enter the waiting area. I’d recommend getting there on time – they left a passenger waiting on the pier during my trip. The ferry left about 3 minutes early, and that guy looked very upset!

There’s no facility for waiting before the 12:00 noon check in time. If it’s raining or super hot there’s no place with any cover, except for the restaurants on the beach next door to the terminal. They’re small and will fill up very quickly. Keep an eye on the weather and plan ahead.

Speaking of the restaurants and the beach. I ate breakfast in first restaurant (see pictures below) and it was excellent. I think I paid 140 baht for a big plate of scrambled eggs, toast, ham and those little hot dogs, a glass of orange juice and a big bottle of water.

If you have any questions feel free to post in the comments section below.

Here’s a video of the ferry leaving the terminal on February 6th, 2017

Khao Takiab Terminal

Getting to the Khao Takiab terminal is very easy. You can grab a tuk-tuk anywhere in Hua Hin and be there in about 10 minutes. I was charged 200 baht (ouch) and I don’t know if I was a sucker or not. It’s a pretty long way so I didn’t mind. Plus, it was really hot and I didn’t want to bother with negotiating and maybe having t find another driver. Hua Hin has regular taxis, though you’ll rarely see them. You can get a phone number at your hotel or any of the many travel offices in town. Just tell the driver you want to go to the ferry, and if he doesn’t get that, tell him Khao Takiab (or  Monkey Mountain). You can see photos of the back side of Monkey Mountain in the gallery, and in the video above.

In Pattaya the ferry docks at the Bali Hai pier. That’s right underneath the big Pattaya sign on the South end of town, and when you walk out of the marina area you’ll find yourself on the far end of Walking Street. Curiously, there were almost no taxis at the marina, and everyone was scrambling to find a ride. It pays to have a few taxi phone numbers in your phone.

Speaking of phones, I had reliable cell phone service for almost the entire trip. There was a window of maybe 20 minutes that was dark.

Pattaya – Hua Hin Ferry Photo Gallery: