Two decisions shape a combined Bangkok-Pattaya trip: how many days for the city versus the sea, and where you leave for the airport on the last day. This itinerary splits five nights into Bangkok 3 and Pattaya 2, and on departure day it does not return to Bangkok: a direct bus runs from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport. The TDAC arrival registration that became mandatory in 2025, the 2026 visa-exemption changes and Bangkok's new MRT payment rules are all laid out from official pages.
How many days for Bangkok, how many for Pattaya
One temple day and a day and a half downtown give first-time Bangkok its skeleton; Pattaya's core is one island day plus half a beach day. So five nights split 3 and 2, and Bangkok comes first. Leaving for the airport straight from Pattaya on departure day removes the leg back into central Bangkok altogether; the direct bus still rides in traffic, but the removed leg is what simplifies the arithmetic.
| Day | Area | Plan | Transport / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrive Bangkok | Suvarnabhumi → city, evening at Jodd Fairs Ratchada | ARL 45 baht, ~30 min |
| Day 2 | Old town | Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew → Wat Pho → Wat Arun, evening in Yaowarat | Start at palace opening |
| Day 3 | Downtown | Chatuchak (weekends) or a park morning → Siam & ICONSIAM, evening in Sukhumvit | BTS & MRT |
| Day 4 | Move to Pattaya | Ekkamai bus ~2 h → check-in → beach walk, viewpoint at sunset | 144 baht, North Terminal |
| Day 5 | Koh Larn | Ferry from Bali Hai pier → Tawaen Beach → return by late afternoon | Boat 35~45 min |
| Day 6 | Pattaya & fly out | Sanctuary of Truth → collect bags → direct airport bus → late-night flight | 16:00 bus advised, ~2 h |
| Day 7 | Arrive Incheon | Morning arrival | Overnight on board |
Adjusting for the weekday. Day 3's morning depends on the calendar: if a weekend overlaps, put Chatuchak Weekend Market there; on weekdays, take a slow morning in Benjakitti Park or the hotel pool instead. Koh Larn deserves the clearer day, but never push the island to Day 6, the departure day: it breaks the airport-bus arithmetic. If rain is forecast for Day 5, it is safer to drop the island and switch to indoor plans (massage, malls). In the rainy season, rough seas occasionally suspend ferry sailings, so check in the morning whether boats are running.
Before departure: entry, connectivity, payment
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Visa | Korean ordinary passports: 90 days visa-free (tourism, bilateral agreement; other nationalities differ). Check that your passport is valid 6+ months |
| Entry procedure | Register the TDAC digital arrival card on the official site within 3 days of arrival (arrival day inclusive); pass immigration with the QR |
| Connectivity | A single Thailand eSIM is enough; buying before departure beats airport SIM queues |
| Payment | Contactless credit cards for MRT, convenience stores and malls; cash for markets, stalls, songthaews, ferries |
| Time difference | Thailand is 2 hours behind Korea |
| Exchange rate | 100 baht ≈ 4,100 KRW (as of September 2026) |
The one new item is the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card). Mandatory for all foreign nationals since 1 May 2025, it replaces the TM6 paper card. Registration opens 3 days before arrival (inclusive) at the Immigration Bureau's official site (tdac.immigration.go.th); enter passport, flight and accommodation details and a QR is issued. Families can submit up to 10 people at once. Visas need no thought on a Korean passport: Thailand trimmed its general visa-free stay to 30 days in 2026, but Korean passports keep 90 tourist days under the 1981 bilateral agreement. Travelling on another passport, check the official Thai rules for your nationality before booking. A passport with less than six months' validity can be refused, and immigration may ask to see an onward ticket, so start by checking your passport's expiry date.
Payment has one Bangkok-specific quirk. The MRT subway lets you tap through fare gates with internationally issued Visa or Mastercard contactless credit cards, and from 1 June 2026 EMV contactless replaced the old stored-value cards as the standard. Foreign-issued debit and prepaid cards are not covered, so plan around a credit card, and UnionPay support is limited to a listed set of cards, so check the official guidance. The BTS Skytrain, by contrast, does not take contactless bank cards at the gate. If BTS will be your daily line, get a Rabbit card at a station office: 120 baht issuing fee, no deposit, top-ups from 100 baht (as of September 2026). Issuing involves an identity (KYC) registration, so bring your passport.
From the airport to your hotel, and between the two cities
Three hotel zones work in Bangkok: Sukhumvit around Asok and Phrom Phong (nightlife and food, on the BTS spine), Siam-Ratchaprasong (shopping, central to everything), and the riverside (views and a resort feel). From the airport, the Airport Rail Link is the default for all three.
| Hotel zone | Arriving (airport → hotel) | Departing (hotel → airport) |
|---|---|---|
| Sukhumvit (Asok/Phrom Phong) | ARL to Makkasan → MRT, or to Phaya Thai → BTS | Not used in this plan (direct bus from Pattaya) |
| Siam-Ratchaprasong | ARL to Phaya Thai terminus (45 baht) → two BTS stops | Same |
| Riverside | With luggage, a taxi is realistic: meter + 50-baht airport surcharge + expressway tolls | Same |
| Pattaya hotel (departure day) | Arrival day: Ekkamai bus to the North Terminal | Direct airport bus, 135 baht, from the North Pattaya Road terminal; 16:00 departure advised |
How to ride. The ARL departs from level B1 of Suvarnabhumi's terminal and runs 05:30~24:00 (as of September 2026). Phaya Thai, the terminus, is 45 baht and about 30 minutes; buy a token at the machines for the gates. Taxis queue at the level-1 rank between gates 4 and 7 with a dispatch machine; you pay the meter plus a 50-baht airport surcharge and expressway tolls. If you land in the evening with energy left, Jodd Fairs Ratchada night market by MRT Thailand Cultural Centre makes a fitting first meal; guides placing it at Rama 9 predate its relocation, so go by the station name.
Moving day to Pattaya. From Ekkamai Eastern Bus Terminal (next to BTS Ekkamai), the Roong Reuang coach is 144 baht one way, about 2 hours. Buses run 5:00 to 22:00 at roughly hourly intervals, with a gap in the 7~8 a.m. band (September 2026 timetable), so plan around the 9 a.m. departure and you reach Pattaya North Bus Terminal before lunch. Songthaews or Grab cover the last leg to your hotel.
Departure-day arithmetic. On the last day, take the direct Pattaya-Suvarnabhumi bus (135 baht, about 2 hours). It leaves from the same North Pattaya Road terminal where you arrived, with departures at 8:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 and 21:00 (as of September 2026; Jomtien has its own 158-baht route). With a three-hours-before-departure airport arrival, a flight in the 23:00 band points to the 16:00 bus. That leaves a long evening at the airport, but it is the trade you make against the 18:00 bus getting caught in evening traffic. Book seats ahead on the Roong Reuang booking site and be at the terminal at least 15 minutes before departure. Fold the hotel-to-terminal transfer into the same arithmetic.
Areas and how much time each deserves
| Area | Anchor spots | Getting there / time | Time to budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangkok old town | Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun | On foot + cross-river ferry | One day |
| Sukhumvit & Siam | Siam malls, ICONSIAM, Jodd Fairs Ratchada | BTS & MRT | A day and a half incl. evenings |
| Yaowarat (Chinatown) | Street-stall alleys, gold shops | MRT Wat Mangkon | One evening |
| Pattaya mainland | Beach Road, Sanctuary of Truth, viewpoint | Songthaew, Grab | A day and a half |
| Koh Larn | Tawaen Beach | Bali Hai ferry 35~45 min | One day |
Day by day
Bangkok old town: three temples in one day
The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew The centerpiece of Bangkok sightseeing: the temple of the Emerald Buddha and the royal halls share one walled compound. Admission is 500 baht including Wat Phra Kaew and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles; open 8:30~16:30 with ticket sales ending at 15:30 (as of September 2026). Sleeveless tops, shorts, torn or skin-tight trousers are refused at the gate, so dress with covered shoulders and long bottoms. Shade is scarce, so entering right at opening saves the most energy. On royal-ceremony days some halls close to visitors, so check the official notices before going.
Wat Pho Home of the giant Reclining Buddha, a short walk along the palace's southern wall. Admission is 300 baht and the grounds are open 8:00~19:30 (as of September 2026), so seeing the palace first and coming here after lunch leaves plenty of time. As the historic home of Thai massage, the on-site massage school makes a legitimate mid-course rest stop.
Wat Arun The Temple of Dawn on the west bank. From Tha Tien pier by Wat Pho, the cross-river ferry (small cash fare) takes minutes; admission is 200 baht, open 8:00~18:00 with last entry around 17:30 (as of September 2026; no official fee notice exists, so this follows multiple current records). The porcelain-encrusted central prang photographs best against late-day light, so make it the temple day's final stop and stay for the illuminated view from across the river.
Yaowarat: the temple day's evening
Yaowarat street-stall alleys Bangkok's Chinatown belongs to its stalls at night. Coming from the old town, walk from Tha Tien to MRT Sanam Chai and ride to Wat Mangkon. Out of the station, grilled seafood, noodle and dessert stands line up under the neon Chinese signboards, with long queues and empty stools side by side. The local method is to sit wherever opens up and graze across several stalls, one plate at a time.
Downtown Bangkok: a market-and-mall day
Chatuchak Weekend Market The huge weekend-only market, reached from MRT Kamphaeng Phet or BTS Mo Chit. Its clothing, homeware and craft sections sprawl like a maze, so arrive early and get out before the heat builds. If Day 3 falls on a weekday, don't force a substitute; use the morning as a rest beat.
ICONSIAM The riverside mega-mall, known for its indoor floating-market food hall and river views. Crossing by the ICONSIAM shuttle boat from Sathorn pier (a paid service per the mall's official guide) doubles as a mini river cruise, and the mall absorbs the hottest hours of the day. For the evening, ride the BTS back to Sukhumvit and finish around Asok or Thong Lo.
Pattaya: an afternoon and evening on the shore
Pattaya Beach Road Don't go far on arrival afternoon. Walk the crescent beach, and toward sunset drift south toward Bali Hai, where the PATTAYA CITY sign comes into view and you scout tomorrow's ferry pier on the way. In town, fixed-route shared songthaews are the default ride: hop on without asking the driver for a destination and pay a small cash fare when you get off; asking for a destination can be taken as chartering the whole vehicle. Off-route destinations are easier by Grab.
Khao Pattaya View Point The open public lookout on Pratamnak Hill behind Bali Hai pier, at the south end of Beach Road, holds the whole crescent bay in one frame. The road up is a steep hill, so ride a Grab or motorbike taxi up and back rather than walking; the fixed-route songthaews do not climb it. The Bali Hai pier below is where tomorrow's Koh Larn boat leaves.
Koh Larn: the day that belongs to the water
Koh Larn and Tawaen Beach Pattaya's real swimming is not the mainland beach but Koh Larn, 35~45 minutes out by boat. Public ferries leave Bali Hai pier; the one-way fare, fixed at 30 baht since 2010, rose to 40 baht in April 2026 (per local press). The public ferry ticket office sells for cash, so carry small notes; the private speedboat sellers along the approach are a separate business, so keep them apart. Boats run either to Na Baan pier or direct to Tawaen Beach, so check the destination when buying; from Na Baan, motorbike taxis and songthaews cover the last stretch. At Tawaen, a rented beach chair fills half a day. Return boats bunch in the afternoon; check the last sailing and leave one boat earlier than strictly needed. Temporary operational changes sometimes shift afternoon return boardings to the Tawaen side, so when you land, confirm the return pier along with the last boat time.
Sanctuary of Truth: the half day before flying out
The Sanctuary of Truth An all-wood carved monument on the Naklua shore, built without nails since 1981 and still under construction. Daytime admission is 500 baht, open 8:00~18:00, with a night tour at 700 baht (18:20~20:30), per official ticketing as of September 2026. Tickets must be redeemed before 17:00 for daytime and 19:30 for the night round, and the adult rate goes by height, not age: 140 cm and above. Online tickets are non-refundable and valid only on the chosen date, so book after your schedule is fixed. As a religious carving compound, clothing that covers knees and shoulders is the safe choice. The carved seaward exterior is the main event, so morning light is the better viewing.
The Sanctuary sits in Naklua, the same northern band as the North Pattaya Road bus terminal. See it in the morning, collect your stored bags after lunch, and the walk-up to the 16:00 airport bus stays short. That arithmetic closes the itinerary.
Practical details for the sights
| Sight | Fee (adult) | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew | 500 baht | 8:30~16:30 (tickets to 15:30) | Strict dress code; textile museum included |
| Wat Pho | 300 baht | 8:00~19:30 | Tickets at the gate; online needs 24 h lead time |
| Wat Arun | 200 baht | 8:00~18:00 (last entry ~17:30) | Cross-river ferry from Tha Tien |
| Jodd Fairs Ratchada night market | Free entry | Evening~night | MRT Thailand Cultural Centre; relocated from Rama 9 |
| Sanctuary of Truth | 500 baht (day) | 8:00~18:00 | Night 700 baht; redeem by 17:00 day / 19:30 night; adult = 140 cm+ |
| Koh Larn public ferry | 40 baht one way (raised April 2026) | Daytime sailings | Bali Hai pier, cash; Na Baan vs Tawaen boats |
| Khao Pattaya View Point | Open public space | No posted hours | Busy at sunset |
Fees were checked against each facility's official pages in September 2026. The Koh Larn ferry follows local press and Wat Arun, which publishes no official fee notice, follows multiple current records. Nong Nooch Tropical Garden prices differ by entry, show and buffet combination, so the accurate move is to check the day's bundle on its official booking page.
Adjust it to your party and season
| Concept | Day to change | Take out | Put in | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With small children | Day 2 | The Wat Pho + Wat Arun continuation | Grand Palace only + ICONSIAM afternoon | Three temples are a shadeless outdoor chain, and preschoolers have no reason to endure midday heat. An indoor mall solves cooling, food and restrooms in one place |
| With parents | Day 5 | The Koh Larn swim day | Sanctuary of Truth morning + massage and beach walk afternoon | Ferry rides and beach-chair logistics only pay off when swimming is the goal. The carved monument is a shaded viewing route that paces stamina, and the freed Day 6 morning absorbs packing and a slow breakfast |
| Food-first | Day 3 evening | The Sukhumvit closer | A second Yaowarat round | To fit pad thai, tom yum, Isaan grill and seafood into five dinners without repeats, lean on the stall alleys, where one meal spreads easily across many plates. Yaowarat is too big to cover in one pass, so a second evening earns its place |
| Rainy-season departure (Sep~Oct) | Day 5 | Afternoon outdoor blocks | Morning swimming + afternoon indoors (massage, malls) | Rainy-season rain often passes as short squalls, though a monsoon front can bring all-day rain. Front-load what must stay dry, and the afternoon indoor blocks make no day a lost day |
Food: allocating five dinners
Start the first evening light at Jodd Fairs Ratchada, an easy MRT ride away. The second day ends in Yaowarat, so stall seafood and noodles follow naturally; the third evening closes Bangkok with tom yum or Isaan grill in Sukhumvit. Split Pattaya's two dinners between beachside seafood and the market lanes and nothing repeats. Per-restaurant prices vary widely: stalls and food courts are the cheapest tier, air-conditioned restaurants one step up, and sold-by-weight seafood houses two steps up.
Budget for 5 nights, per person
Based on double occupancy and Incheon departures, converted at 100 baht = 4,100 KRW (September 2026). Connectivity (an eSIM at 10,000~20,000 won) sits outside the table.
| Item | Budget | Standard | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round-trip flights | 300K | 450K | 600K |
| Hotels, 5 nights (per person) | 200K | 350K | 600K |
| Food, 6 days | 120K | 200K | 300K |
| Transport & admissions | 100K | 130K | 170K |
| Total (KRW) | ~720K | ~1,130K | ~1,670K |
Here is what the transport-and-admissions line actually contains: ARL 45 baht, two and a half days of BTS/MRT around 250 baht plus the 120-baht Rabbit card issuance, the Ekkamai-to-Pattaya bus 144 baht, the Pattaya-to-airport bus 135 baht, around 90 baht of cross-river and Koh Larn ferry round trips, about 250 baht of songthaew and incidentals on and off the island, plus Grand Palace 500, Wat Pho 300, Wat Arun 200 and Sanctuary of Truth 500 baht: 2,500~2,600 baht in all, just over 100,000 won. That sum is the standard tier's base; the table's 130K adds a massage-and-Grab allowance on top. The budget tier's 100K drops the Sanctuary and the Rabbit card issuance, fills in with the open-air viewpoint and beach for about 1,900 baht, and keeps the rest as buffer, while the comfortable tier's 170K raises the massage and Grab counts. This budget allocates 200,000, 350,000 or 600,000 won per person for five hotel nights. Replace that allowance with an actual quote for your dates and room conditions to recalculate the total.
Season and weather
By Thai Meteorological Department normals (1991~2020), monthly average daytime highs run 32~36°C in Bangkok and 31~33°C in Pattaya; rain, not temperature, is what divides the calendar. The rainy season usually runs through October and the dry season spans November to February. The same normals put October at about 17 rain days in both cities, collapsing to about 5 in November. The optimal window for this itinerary is November~February; for September~October departures, apply the rainy-season row of the variation table and stack outdoor plans in the mornings. Heat is a constant regardless of season, so start the temple day at opening time and keep buying water. On days when a downpour passes, some streets can flood, so an indoor plan reached by BTS or MRT is the safer afternoon.
Don't skip these
- TDAC from 3 days before arrival, arrival day inclusive. Register directly at the official site (tdac.immigration.go.th) and keep the QR saved on your phone.
- Dress code first at the Grand Palace. Shorts, sleeveless tops and leggings are refused; ticket sales end at 15:30, so go in the morning.
- Contactless credit card on the MRT, Rabbit card on the BTS. Same city, different gates. If your hotel sits on the BTS, the 120-baht Rabbit card comes first (bring your passport).
- No Bangkok on the last day. The direct airport bus from the North Pattaya Road terminal takes about 2 hours; for a 23:00-band flight, the 16:00 departure is the baseline.
- Cash for ferries and songthaews. The Koh Larn ferry is 40 baht one way since April 2026 (per local press); songthaews are paid in cash as you hop off.
Summary
A Bangkok-Pattaya 5-night trip is half allocation, half exit route. Keep one temple day and a day and a half downtown in Bangkok, one island day in Pattaya, and leave for the airport from Pattaya.
- Entry: TDAC pre-registration + 90 visa-free days on Korean passports
- Intercity: Ekkamai bus 144 baht out, direct airport bus 135 baht back
- Transit: contactless credit-card tap on MRT; 120-baht Rabbit card for BTS
- Temple day: Grand Palace 500 → Wat Pho 300 → Wat Arun 200 baht, starting at opening
- Budget 720K~1,670K KRW per person including flights (connectivity extra); the hotel tier decides it
Organize this trip with Tripop
This itinerary juggles a TDAC deadline, bus timetables and a last ferry. Type "Bangkok Pattaya 5 nights" into the Tripop app and a day-by-day frame appears; upload flight and hotel PDFs and they become vouchers. A baht travel ledger and companion sharing live in the same app.
- Download on the App Store
- Get it on Google Play
- Start on the web, no install needed
What we verified
The fares and hours here were cross-checked one by one on 21 September 2026 by the Tripop travel desk against the Grand Palace, the official Wat Pho ticketing site, the Immigration Bureau's TDAC guidance, the Royal Thai Embassy in Seoul, Roong Reuang Coach and the Sanctuary of Truth's official pages. Where no operator page publishes the value (the Koh Larn ferry fare, the Wat Arun fee, the Airport Rail Link fare, the general visa-exemption cut), the text says so and cites local press or cross-checked current records. Before departure, re-check the official TDAC site, the Grand Palace guide and the Royal Thai Embassy notices. If a number differs on the ground, it changed after our check; tell us and we will fix it promptly.
Images: Pexels (peerasit Sangsirirak: Wat Arun, Maksim Romashkin: Grand Palace, Sergei Gussev: Wat Phra Kaew columns, Peggy Anke: Chao Phraya sunset, Zaonar Saizainalin: BTS, Wilfried Strang: Yaowarat stall, Tony Wu: Yaowarat tuk-tuk, Andreas Maier: Pattaya Beach, GYAN PRATIM RAICHOUDHURY: off Koh Larn, Matrix: Sanctuary of Truth, Markus Winkler: pad thai), Pexels License.