Ferry service between Pattaya and Hua Hin
More and more people are calling for a ferry service between Pattaya and Hua Hin to open again. This requires a feasibility study and the necessary finances. Currently, the overall cost would be four billion baht.
It is not only about the boats, but also about the entire infrastructure around this ferry service. The catamarans would connect the two places with a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. The calculated travel time would be three hours.
This connection would be beneficial for trade and tourism. The ships would have to carry 3 million passengers and 220.000 cars on an annual basis to make it profitable. Before making this possible, an entire infrastructure such as harbours, moorings and associated buildings must first be developed. An optimistic Prajin Juntong hopes to start the first (trial) sailings as early as 2017. Other places are Pranburi and Bang Pu that could be visited.
Whether the entire plan will be put on hold for the time being due to the disappointing economy is not yet known and the reduced tourist numbers will undoubtedly also play a role. The former connection Pattaya – Hua Hin has been stopped due to technical defects of the catamarans and disappointing clientele. The weather also sometimes played tricks, so it was not possible to sail. Time will tell whether this project will be achieved in a time frame of barely two years.
But for the time being, there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome for the good progress of this project. And what priority will this get on the political agenda?
A nice trip but…
Fill it with >8.000 passengers & 600 cars per day!
Don Muang – Utapou – HuaHin is much more obvious and certainly easier to make profitable.
But yes…I don't think Thai.
Perhaps using a plane is a better solution for tourists. I don't like ferries and raging waves. But the airlines have no plans yet, so it will probably be a water event again, which will be canceled after 3 months.
Morning Jack,
Sitting bouncing for 3 hours is not really pleasant and then just keep hoping that the weather will stay good and he will sail.
I also think that people with own or rented car prefer to have it with them.
At least we do.
Jomtien-Hua Hin, 5 hours in total, including a coffee stop and you can go where you want at your destination.
LOUISE
We can fly from U-tapao to Hua Hin with http://www.kanairlines.com on some days of the week and departure 19.40 arrival 20.10. for a minimum of 1000 bath can be more luxurious So not suitable for day trips.
With Kan-airlines you can fly to many places in Thailand from U-tapao for a very reasonable price.
They fly with small aircraft Cessna Grand Caravan 208B, 12 passengers
Projects are always profitable, until the setbacks come when they are started.
600 cars a day over how many sailings?
And in why is it beneficial for trade?
As a pleasure boat for tourism, it could still be attractive if the outward and return journey can take place in 1 day and the ship is arranged in such a way that people can walk on a deck.
Then there must be a return ticket to book, so that you cannot sail back unexpectedly.
On a ferry that goes through the water at 80 km per hour, you really cannot go for a walk on deck, you are lashed in a kind of airplane seat,
With a taxi it is more relaxed, despite the traffic on the road.
Paid 2500 baht last year for a ride Pattaya -Chaam.
450 passengers and 33 vehicles per ship. So do the math…
3 million passengers a year seems very ambitious to me.
Then about one and a half times as many people would have to use it as all Amsterdam tour boats combined.
Even a Thai with a calculator they love so much can tell you that this is impossible in practice.
If it has now been calculated that a distance of 115 km at a speed of 80 km/h results in a journey time of 3 hours, the rest of the feasibility study will probably also have to be examined very critically in due course.