Mo Chit is not where the Skytrain sign says
The name catches people out. Mo Chit is a BTS Skytrain station, but the Northern & Northeastern bus terminal that everyone calls Mo Chit — sometimes Mo Chit 2 or Mo Chit Mai — is a good distance from it, near the Chatuchak market area. Travellers who take the train and plan to walk the last part often find it much further than it looked on the map. A van Pattaya to Mo Chit Bus Terminal goes to the terminal building itself, so when the door opens you are at the bus station, not beside a busy road with your luggage.
This is the terminal for buses to Chiang Mai, the north and the northeast, so many people starting here have long, often overnight, journeys ahead and big bags with them. Being driven straight to the departure hall takes most of the stress out of that start.
Leave room for the unexpected
The hard part of this trip is not the bus; it is crossing Bangkok in time to catch it. North Bangkok traffic can crawl at the end of the working day, which is exactly when many long-distance buses leave. Send us your departure time and we suggest a pick-up with a real margin. Plan on two to three hours from Pattaya depending on the time of day, and do not cut it fine. If you have not bought a ticket yet, tell us that too: you will need extra time to queue at the counter, especially before long weekends and holidays, when northbound buses fill up early.
- Note your bus company before you arrive — the terminal is large, with many company counters
- Keep your ticket, booking reference and passport out of the suitcase
- Pick up snacks and water for a long ride before you board
- Collecting friends from another hotel on the way? Add the address when you book
One fixed price for the whole vehicle
The fare for your van Pattaya to Mo Chit Bus Terminal is confirmed in chat before the trip: a fixed price for the whole vehicle, tolls and fuel included, paid in cash to the driver when you arrive. There is no deposit. The Toyota Commuter seats nine with room for eight bags, which suits a family or a group of backpackers heading north together; smaller cars are available for one or two travellers.
Coming back from the north and heading down to Pattaya? The same chat works in reverse — send us your bus’s expected arrival and we agree where to meet. And because Chatuchak Weekend Market is close by, an evening bus on a weekend can leave time for a few hours there first; if you want the driver to make that stop or wait, it is priced in chat before you go.