Ekkamai Bus Station (Eastern Bus Terminal in Bangkok)

Location of the Eastern Bus Terminal Ekkamai in Bangkok

Unlike other big bus terminals Thai capital, Bus Terminal Ekkamai is located in very  convenient place – in the south-eastern part of Bangkok near the country’s largest highway Sukhumvit, which concurrently serves as a significant urban streets in the settlements through that passes. Comfort lies in the fact that just 100 meters from the Eastern Bus Terminal Ekkamai you can find one of station of BTS SkyTrain with same name –  Ekkamai. The bus terminal is located on the left side of the road if you are driving into the center of the metropolis.

Since Bangkok’s subway is the fastest way to move around the city, which does not depend on the road conditions, you can be 99% sure that access to the Eastern Bus Terminal will be on time, without any loss of time and nerves. Neither the North Bus Terminal of Bangkok (Mo Chit), nor, especially, the Southern Bus Terminal Sai Tai in Bangkok can not compete with Ekkamai in this matter. Because you can not to use subway or BTS Skytrain for directly way to them (only with public transportation of Bangkok, taxi or walking (from the subway to the North Bus terminal through the Chatuckak park in Bangkok). I want to note that in different sources in internet and on various maps of Bangkok, this Bus Terminal you can see two name: Ekkamai and Ekamai (or just Eastern Bus Terminal). In any case it is the same Bus Terminal.

Ekkamai Bus Station on the Google map

If, for some reason, you do not want to use BTS SkyTrain and you are not afraid to lose time in one of Bangkok’s traffic jams, it is possible to get to the Eastern Bus Terminal Ekkamai on buses from various parts of the Thai capital. For example, using buses №25 and №507 can be reached from the main railway station of Bangkok – Hua Lamphong. Between the Eastern Bus Terminal, Ekkamai bus station and the Mo Chit bus Terminal (Nothern Bus Terminal) there is a bus №159. And from Banglamphu district, where the most famous streets of Bangkok – Khao San road – can be reached by bus № 507, №511 and №2 (bus stop on Ratchadamnoen Avenue).

Getting to the Eastern Bus Station from Bangkok airports 

When traveling to Thailand often there is a need to getting from Bangkok Airport (Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang international airports) to Ekkamai bus terminal. For example, to make the trip from Bangkok to Koh Chang from this bus station. So below I will briefly tell you about a few ways to get to the bus station with an indication of the approximate duration and cost of the trip.

How to get to the Ekkamai Bus Station from Suvarnabhumi Airport

If you arrived to the main Bangkok airport – Suvarnabhumi, the cheapest and fastest option to get to the Ekkamai Bus Terminal – the use of skytrain lines. Firstly, you need to get from the airport to the city. Make it easier just using the Airport Rail Link. Such a trip to the city (to Phaya Thai station) will cost 45 THB (less than US $ 1.3). You can find more information about this train in a separate article – “How to get from the airport to Bangkok – all ways.”

Next to the station Phaya Thai (who is also the one of Skytrain Station), you need to make a simple transfer (direct) to the station BTS Ekkamai. The trip will last 16-17 minutes, and the fare when purchasing a single ticket – 42 baht. You can, of course, to get from the airport by express train to Makkasan station, then to the underground subway MRT Bangkok, followed by a transfer to the Asok station and then to the Ekkamai BTS. But I do not see the point, as the option is more complicated and more expensive, and time-saving is not.

If you prefer to travel by taxi (especially in Bangkok, where taxi service very cheap), you can get from the airport Suvarnabhumi to Ekkamai Bus Station in around 350 THB per car. Ie If you have three passangers, it will cost about 120 baht per person. If we talk about time, then, at best, a trip takes at least half an hour, and if you get into one of the city’s traffic congestion (which happens regularly, especially at rush hour), the way from the airport takes you  from about 50 minutes till 1.5 hours (at worst).

How to get to the Ekkamai Bus Station from Don Mueang Airport

As in the previous case, you can either use a taxi in Bangkok, or use public transportation. The cost of a taxi service from Don Muang Airport to Ekkamai Bus Station is about 200-220 Baht and travel time – about 45 minutes. Named the amount should include an extra fee for the car to enter the territory of the airport taxi. A more affordable option, especially when you are traveling alone or together – public transport.

You need a special bus from the Don Muang airport to station of BTS SkyTrain with name Mo Chit. The fare in a bus – 30 THB. Later the road continues by Skytrain (Sukhumvit Line). Trip direct to BTS Ekkamai station takes 26-28 minutes and its cost – THB 42 when buying a single ticket. All the way in this case takes about 50 minutes (which is comparable with the time travel by taxi), and the cost – 72 THB.

Eastern Bus Terminal Ekkamai – review and facilities

As I wrote, as compared with big buildings of other bus stations in Bangkok, Ekkamai is relatively small for objects of this type strict building with thin square columns along the facade. Above the main entrance to the building of the Eastern Bus Terminal in Bangkok you can see many Thai flags. As well as a portrait of the reigning King of Thailand – Rama IX and the royal yellow flags. (After the recent death of the King, his portrait can be replaced by a portrait of the new king of the country.) Above the facade on the roof you can see the large letters that make up the inscription «Bangkok Bus terminal (Eastern)».

Frontage of Ekkamai bus station in Bangkok

Inside this half-open bus station can be found the typical objects for this type of building  – ticket offices, on each of which is written the bus routes (destination, to which in this ticket office you can buy tickets on the bus. Of course, all of inscriptions in Thai language are duplicated in English for the convenience of tourists. There are a number of seats for passengers waiting for their route inside the building and next to the bus platforms, which are also numbered and have inscriptions indicating bus routes departing from the platform. Samih platforms, by the way, a few dozen.

As the bus station is small enough, on its territory you will not find big food court or the many shops, famous restaurants or fast food. However, to die of hunger will not allow a few small shops, where you can buy cookies, peanuts, potato chips, candy bars, soft drinks, popular thai beer and other some simple foods that can be eaten both on-site and also during your bus trip to the desired cities. From popular supplementary services for bus passengers, we can note in the back of the station a toilet  (on the right side). Toilet is clean and its use costs only 3 THB. Entrance to the toilet is made after the payment, through the turnstiles. From left in the back of the bus terminal, you can find luggage storage. The service is available from 06-00 am to 18-00 pm. Keeping of one luggage unit costs 30 baht.

Buses at the platforms of Ekkamai Bus Station

If you love (or at least not afraid) to use traditional Thai food you can buy at a good price rice with chicken at the point of the sale of such food at the bus station or several kinds of kebabs and fruit in mobile kitchens that are easy to find on the way from the station Ekkamai subway to the bus station. If you want to eat more familiar, but the harmful fast food or buy food in the usual way, you can visit located within walking distance on the Sukhumvit, the country’s largest supermarket chains Big C and Tesco Lotus.

Ekkamai Bus Terminal – routes

In general, the Eastern Bus Terminal in Bangkok caters to only one direction: bus routes from the capital to the eastern regions of the country. And not all of eastern Thailand, and only a province located between Cambodia and the Gulf of Siam. Those. So in a such large distinctive region of the country as Isan, buses from Ekkamai bus station do not go. At first of all Eastern bus terminal can be used by tourists and locals who want to get from Bangkok to Pattaya, to Koh Chang and Koh Samet, to Trat, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi, etc.

Ekkamai bus terminal – ticket offices

Of course, tourists are primarily interested in Buses to Pattaya and the islands in the Gulf of Thailand – Koh Chang and Koh Samet. You can use buses to Pattaya every day from early morning until late at night at intervals from half an hour to 40 minutes (depending on time of day and place of arrival in Pattaya). A similar situation with the island of Samet (just do not look in posted on the page below schedule Bangkok bus – Samet, because the bus takes you to a only to ferry pier in the municipality Banphe to which route are performed once every hour from 03.30 am to 20.30 pm.

Remember that ferries are not used at night, so it’s best not to go at the last bus. For more information about how to get to the island of Samet from Bangkok and Pattaya can be found in a separate article. Wanting to get the bus to the Koh Chang Island should be checked at the ticket office if the bus go to the island directly (ie whether the price of the ticket ferry included), or a bus will take you only to the ferry pier, or even to the bus station in Trat. In the article “How to get from Bangkok to Koh Chang: all the ways” is written about this in more detail.

Inside of Ekkamai Bus Terminal in Bangkok

Bus schedule from Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekkamai) in Bangkok

(Click on a schedule for comfortable viewing)

Ekkamai Bus Terminal – bus schedule with fares

* In the above schedule may be change of departure time and the fares, which may vary slightly depending on the class of buses. I recommend using air-conditioned buses of the 1st class ticket which costs a little more expensive, but the more comfortable. However, the length of the longest route from Bangkok’s Eastern Bus Terminal, Ekkamai is usually not more than six hours, so if you want to save, you can use the night bus of second class or a bus departing early in the morning, when on the street and in the bus is not very hot.

I also want to remind you that there is an excellent service of search and ticketing on buses, ferries, trains and planes in Thailand and other Asian countries. You can see the schedule and fares online on your dates on the website farang.12go.asia. Very important that you can to reserve tickets and pay for them online. Also you you can see on the map where the point of landing to bus and point of destination on the map. Enjoy your trips in Thailand from Ekkamai bus station in Bangkok!

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