Pattaya - Hua Hin Ferry

[STEVE G]

Any idea where would that be Barry, Hua Hin, Pak Nampran or elsewhere?

HH Fishing Pier.

Does BaaBaa know something that I don't ....???

Isn't that the Navy pier? Surely that comes within the exclusion zone around the Royal Palace.

[BaaBaa.]

it will never happen it only takes 3 hours by car now plus if you go by boat where does it stop in pattaya .if away from town then you have to get a taxi also where in hua hin will it dock waste of time they have been talking about this service for 10 years

I see that you've had a good read of the thread.

[The understudy]

it will never happen it only takes 3 hours by car now plus if you go by boat where does it stop in pattaya .if away from town then you have to get a taxi also where in hua hin will it dock waste of time they have been talking about this service for 10 years

Sorry russ I hafta disagree with ya in dad one.

It takes allready 2 hours from Hua Hin to Bangers and to get through Bangers via Superhighway to get to the motorway which depends on traffic and time of day takes 30 to 45 Min. to even hours if traffic is really bad. From the Motorway it's only a Road Runners dash to Patts. The fastest time to get from Hua Hin to Pattaya would be 4h, 30 to 45 Min. (excluding stopovers)
Where does it stop in Patts?: Bali Hai Pier in Front of Pattaya Walking Street and @ The south end of Beach road, pretty much walking distance where all the Action happens.
where will it dock in Hua Hin? Hua Hin Fishing Pier near Ye Olde Buffalo Tavern. of course!
Yeah it's been talked about for ten years now we have an actual chance this Project would go through so lets give the Swedish consortium slack so they can work out a Speedy, Comfort and secure trips to both sides of the Rim.

This sums it all up to those who came late and wanna read da first pages again.

Your;s The understudy!!!

[BaaBaa.]

The fastest time to get from Hua Hin to Pattaya would be 4h, 30 to 45 Min. (excluding stopovers)

It's more like 3.5-4hrs Understudy, I've done it myself as has HHF.
(I think he said earlier in the thread?)

[PeteC]

If we're talking the 'real' Motorway that goes past S'boom, that's really a nutty way to get to Pattaya coming from Hua Hin or anywhere south of Bangkok. From the north, ok, it's good. From the south you loop around and the distance is somewhere around 50Km/30 minutes longer than taking the upper deck of the Bagna-Trat highway. Both routes dump you out on Route 36 which then takes you into Pattaya the back way.

I think the southern bridge is now open, correct? This allows you to bypass Bangkok expressways/traffic and again, dumps you right onto the Bagna-Trat highway.

If you're driving into Pattaya from Bangkok at off hours, like a Sunday morning, after morning rush hour etc., the old Sukhumvit Route 3 that goes through Chonburi, Siracha, Lam Chabang is sometimes faster than Route 36, more direct also. Pete

[f0xxee]

Oh god...
yes yes yes they are only concerned about your comfort and safety and yes yes yes its coming soon.... You think they are going to tell you anything other than what they want you to believe?

Heard it all before!

There ain't no money in it! No way it can be commercially viable.

Boats (pleasure boats) cost around 10% of their value per annum in running expenses, maintenance, etc. Add P and I clubs and insurance etc for commecial vessels and survey issues and the cost runs a whole lot higher.

Do you really think they will pack this boat out day in day out 365/year?

I dont.

Pattaya is concussed. Hua Hin is doing better. But it is still a tourist recession.

I think they are mothballing it for a brighter day. My opinion only.

Enjoy flaming me.

[Lung Per]

Oh god...
yes yes yes they are only concerned about your comfort and safety and yes yes yes its coming soon.... You think they are going to tell you anything other than what they want you to believe?

Heard it all before!

There ain't no money in it! No way it can be commercially viable.

Boats (pleasure boats) cost around 10% of their value per annum in running expenses, maintenance, etc. Add P and I clubs and insurance etc for commecial vessels and survey issues and the cost runs a whole lot higher.

Do you really think they will pack this boat out day in day out 365/year?

I dont.

Pattaya is concussed. Hua Hin is doing better. But it is still a tourist recession.

I think they are mothballing it for a brighter day. My opinion only.

Enjoy flaming me.

Hmmm.... Interesting point of view.

[petesie]

I'm not going to trawl through 11 pages of up to 2 year old info.........so...........anyone with an update?

My taxi ride from Khao Takiab to Pattaya via the nearest BTS terminal in BKK to drop herself off took 3.5 hrs..................BTW...

[PeteC]

I'm not going to trawl through 11 pages of up to 2 year old info.........so...........anyone with an update?

My taxi ride from Khao Takiab to Pattaya via the nearest BTS terminal in BKK to drop herself off took 3.5 hrs..................BTW...

I think the below from October 28 is still the latest. Barry will give an update once anything new is learned. Pete

First of all, it isn't a problem with licenses or permits.
I have a boat operating licence here, my own marina, no Thai partners, and my big boat is authorized to travel the Gulf to Pattaya and back.

No money paid for this, simply an inspection of the boat's seaworthiness, safety features, it's suitability for the intended sea area(s) and the appropriate insurance.

The operating licence can also be up-/downgraded at any time according to the operator's justified wishes (e.g. following modifications) or the shipping authority's inspection findings. It has to be renewed annually after inspection.

The ferry service is not a viable option for me, though, because my boat isn't fast enough - cruising speed of 9-10 knots and it would interfere with our day cruise programme anyway.

Secondly, any tour boat (Thai or farang-owned) can dock free at Bali Hai pier in Pattaya at present.
The municipality is trying to introduce fees but is meeting with fierce resistance from Thai boat owners, especially, like those ferrying tourists to and from Ko Larn for 20 baht each way!

Docking this side isn't a problem either, only requiring permission from the owner of the mooring space.


Now for the ACTUAL situation in Pattaya:

I was in Pattaya a couple of weeks ago where I spoke to one of the Swedish consortium and also met their Australian consultant marine surveyor, a man with a lot of knowledge and over 30 years' experience in seamanship and boatbuilding.

I've also just spoken to both of them again on the phone while writing this and am authorised to give the following ACCURATE and UP-TO-DATE information free of any speculation.

The operating licence for the ferry service has already been granted - some time ago in fact!!

The Swedish company will NOT start operating the service until they are 100% happy with the vessel.
They have invested over THB 15 million in the project so far.

They are insisting on having the hulls modified by the boatbuilder to comply with the appropriate specs based on highly professional advice - and the boatbuilding company is unfortunately dragging its heels.

This is leading to inevitable delays and at the moment it is unfortunately not possible to say when the work will be completed.

I would like to reiterate that this is a very serious project and the fault does not lie with the owners.
With an investment of this size, they quite obviously want to start operations as quickly as possible.
According to the original timeframe, the service should already be running.

Nonetheless, they are also very aware of their responsibility and liability vis-à-vis their future passengers and are, to their credit, not prepared to take any risks with regard to the safety and comfort of the public.

If only other operators in different areas in this country and elsewhere would think the same rather than solely in terms of quick profit and return on investment .......!!!

The company apologises for the delay and I will post more information here as it becomes available.

[petesie]

Thanks very much for the info and update................hope this project comes to fruition..............

A transport link from the sublime to the ridiculous has to be appreciated.......

[barrys]

Ok, the latest news is as follows:

The original hulls have been removed from the catamaran and the framework for the new hulls is almost complete. I saw this with my own eyes last Saturday!

It should take around 2 months (my estimation) to finish the new hulls, followed by sea trials.

Someone involved in the project is in the Hua Hin area right now to check out the logistics on this side.

This project is now about 1 year overdue because of the antics of the boatyard commisioned to build the vessel.

I know there are a lot of sceptics out there and it's understandable to an extent.

However, I repeat that this is a serious project with serious people behind it and I firmly believe that the service will go ahead once the vessel is complete and performing to specs.

Too much money has been spent on the project already for it not to progress.

I will post again as I learn more.

[johnnyk]

it will never happen it only takes 3 hours by car now plus if you go by boat where does it stop in pattaya .if away from town then you have to get a taxi also where in hua hin will it dock waste of time they have been talking about this service for 10 years

Sorry russ I hafta disagree with ya in dad one.
Understudy, I hafta disagree with ya in dad one - see below.
It takes allready 2 hours from Hua Hin to Bangers and to get through Bangers via Superhighway to get to the motorway which depends on traffic and time of day takes 30 to 45 Min. to even hours if traffic is really bad. From the Motorway it's only a Road Runners dash to Patts. The fastest time to get from Hua Hin to Pattaya would be 4h, 30 to 45 Min.(excluding stopovers)
Nope. I did it in 3:45 last year including a pee break. Where does it stop in Patts?: Bali Hai Pier in Front of Pattaya Walking Street and @ The south end of Beach road, pretty much walking distance where all the Action happens.
where will it dock in Hua Hin? Hua Hin Fishing Pier near Ye Olde Buffalo Tavern. of course!
Yeah it's been talked about for ten years now we have an actual chance this Project would go through so lets give the Swedish consortium slack so they can work out a Speedy, Comfort and secure trips to both sides of the Rim.

This sums it all up to those who came late and wanna read da first pages again.

Your;s The understudy!!!

[petesie]

Thanks for the update Barry....

[barrys]

The latest update on this is as follows:

I met the main Swedish shareholder here yesterday in Hua Hin.

The new hulls on the catamaran are now almost complete (just painting to be done) and the motors have been re-installed.

They expect the boat to go in the water for extensive trials in about 4 weeks time.

I have been invited to go on the seas trials and I will certainly take up the offer.

I will report further as soon as I have more news.

[Super Joe]

Thanks for the update Barry. Wonder if they'll be prepared to run the service at a probable loss initially, as can't imagine in the current climate they'll be enough punters. Ie: is money not a

Hope their new hulls perform a bit better than they do, they haven't even bothered to update their website for 9 months, the Thai site says they start operating the service October 2009!! I'll still risk it though, there must be some very hungry locals over that side by now

SJ