What is a tuk in Thailand? Nimble minibuses - tuk-tuk in Thailand

The word “knock-knock” is translated from Thai as “cheap”, although in reality it cannot be called inexpensive. Prices start from 100 baht for a few kilometers. In fact, this is a taxi, where the fare is negotiable.

Tuk-tuks can look different in different cities: sometimes they are a three-wheeled vehicle (as in Bangkok), sometimes they are a small pickup truck (as in Pattaya or Koh Chang). Accordingly, two people or a dozen can ride in it at the same time. Below we will describe and show photos of tuk-tuks in Thailand at each of the resorts. You will not find such a detailed guide to this type of transport with photos anywhere else on the Internet.

This transport is convenient to use to get from the airport or bus station to the hotel and when you have a lot of luggage. In other cases, it will be cheaper (2-2.5 times) to travel by motorbike taxi, especially when you are alone. But for a large group, it is still better to ride a tuk-tuk, since the price of travel is announced by the driver for the entire vehicle, and not for each person. That is, if there are five of you and the fare is 150 baht, then each person will get 30 baht. However, this option will not work in Bangkok, since only two people (plus one or two children) can fit in a tuk-tuk there. But in Pattaya you can travel with ten people - there will be enough space.

Songthaew in Thailand

Sometimes the word “knock-knock” is called “songthaew”, which is completely wrong. Songthaew in Thailand is a public one that runs along a strictly defined route and the fare is fixed. Another thing is that if the songthaew is empty (travels without passengers), then it can be hired as a tuk-tuk. Drivers who have a fixed government salary are always happy to earn a little more and take you wherever you want. Naturally, the price will already be negotiable. At night, all songthaews operate as taxis.

Songthaew is not available everywhere in Thailand. They are absent in Bangkok, since there are a lot of government ones there. There are none in Phuket, Lanta, Phi Phi, Koh Tao, Chiang Rai, Mahogson.

Tuk-tuks in the cities of Thailand

In Bangkok

Tuk-tuk in Bangkok is a symbol of the capital of Thailand. They have changed little over the past half century and some people want to ride them simply because they have heard about it. This is a three-wheeled vehicle converted from a motorcycle. The driver sits in the front and there is seating for two passengers in the back. They are good to ride once or twice as an exotic ride, but they are not suitable for regular trips.

Firstly, it’s not very pleasant to ride along the dusty streets in an open “carriage”, and secondly, travel in tuk-tuks in Bangkok is the most expensive in the city: 1-2 km - 20 baht, across the whole city - 200 and more. It will be cheaper and more comfortable to travel in air-conditioned ones (according to the meter). And if you don’t want to stand in traffic jams, then use the metro.

In Pattaya

This is a small truck or otherwise it can be called a converted pickup truck. From the front it looks like an ordinary car, and at the back there are two parallel benches under the roof. There is no glass. Travel starts from 120 baht for 3-4 km (for example, from to). At night, prices can double.

There are also a lot of songthaews that look the same as tuk-tuks. Travel to them costs 10 baht and they run along certain routes. You can enter at any part of the route; there are no specific stops. To do this, you just need to wave your hand and it will stop. You can also get out anywhere, just press the bell in the salon. To pay the fare at the end of the trip, prepare the amount without change.

In Phuket

Tuk-tuk in Phuket is something! They are compact and have a very unusual shape (see photo). It can fit 4-6 people, no more. Some are equipped with stereo systems that play music during the ride. You can find them on any beach, near shopping centers, large and. Travel is very expensive: to the neighboring beach they ask for about 300 baht.

There is no Songthaew in Phuket; their function is performed by buses, which can be ridden for 10-50 baht (depending on the final destination).

On Koh Samui

On Lanta

Tuk-tuks on Lanta look very original - they are a motorcycle with a sidecar (see photo). Can fit two people. Prices are average: from the northern beaches to the central ones you can bargain for 200 baht (distance about 15 km). There are no buses or songthaews on Lanta yet. Apart from a tuk-tuk, you can only travel by motorbike.

To Krabi

Tuk-tuks in Krabi are the same as in Phuket. They are located in crowded areas and near the coast. Sometimes you can find single specimens, the same as on Lanta.

Songthaews operate between the bus station, Krabi Town and Ao Nang. Similar to Pattaya (pickup trucks with benches). The fare from the bus station is 60 baht.

Tuk-tuks on Koh Larn, as in nearby. There are several near the piers.

In Ayutthaya

Tuk-tuk in Ayutthaya (the old capital of Thailand) looks very unusual (see photo). It is a three-wheeled pickup truck with two parallel benches at the rear. Can fit 6 people. It is best to rent them for the whole day to see the main ones. Drivers know the area well and can suggest a route themselves.

On Koh Phangan

Tuk-tuk on Koh Phangan is the same as on Koh Samui. The main stop is at the pier in Thongsal, there are several cars at. You can hardly find them in the west and north of the island. Those that stand on the pier have a fixed price; the trip starts from 100 baht and depends on the distance.

A tuk-tuk on Koh Tao can be absolutely anything. Local residents who have cars offer their services as taxi drivers. So you can ride in an ordinary passenger car of various shapes and sizes. But there are several pieces, the same as on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. There are no Songthaews on the island.

There are two types of tuk-tuk in Chiang Mai. The first one is the same as in Bangkok, a three-wheeled rarity. The second is an enclosed pickup truck with windows (so when it rains you don't get wet). This option is more typical for Songthaew, although the price is negotiable rather than fixed (remember that a tuk-tuk differs from a Songthaew not in appearance, but in the negotiable fare).

Songthaews in Chiang Mai usually run from the bus station to the Old Town and the zoo. The price starts from 20 baht for 1-2 km. If it comes from the bus station and crosses the Old Town (or stops next to it), the driver will charge you 40 baht.

Many tourists going on holiday to Thailand would like to know what a “tuk-tuk” is?

Despite the intriguing-sounding name, the tuk-tuk in Thailand is a ubiquitous form of transport, something between a moped and a car. The tuk-tuk serves as a taxi in Thailand and is used mainly for transporting passengers, but in some cases it can be used to transport not very heavy loads. In fact, the tuk-tuk is an example of the improvement of an ancient type of Asian transport - the rickshaw, in which a person was the draft force.

What does a tuk-tuk look like?

A tuk-tuk looks like a small three-wheeled pickup truck with a canopy roof over the body and two benches for passengers. The tuk-tuk is assembled from scooters, most often already in use. The characteristic sound of the engine reminds Thais of the combination “knock-knock”, which served as the name for the vehicle. Although in local dialects the tuk-tuk is called differently, for example in Pattaya its name is “songthaew”. All motorcycle taxis on the same route usually have the same colors and design.

Thanks to good maneuverability, a nimble taxi can easily move along city streets, even if the roadway is very busy. A small motorcycle taxi can accommodate four passengers of average fatness, so corpulent Europeans and Americans most often ride two in a miniature cabin. Due to the low speed of movement (no higher than 40 - 50 km/h), most often tuk-tuk runs to –, Phuket, etc.

How to ride a tuk-tuk?

Usually tourists ride tuk-tuk; local residents rarely use this type of transport. Drivers can easily identify visitors by their appearance, and in order to stop a motorcycle taxi, a tourist just needs to raise his hand and vote, just like on any road. If a tuk-tuk travels along a certain route, then you can simply take an empty seat in the booth. If you need to get out of the taxi, you should press the special button located at the top.

Tuk-Tuk safety

Due to their low speed, compact size and good maneuverability, accidents involving tuk-tuks are very rare, making taxi travel safe. Another thing is that due to the unprotected cabin, passengers may be exposed to splashes of dirt during rain, stones from under the wheels, etc.

Tuk-tuk fare

Unfortunately, tuk-tuks are not equipped with taxi meters. Prices for a tuk-tuk in Thailand vary depending on the city and the distance you plan to travel. Particularly convenient for tourists is that the tuk-tuk is used not only as a taxi, but as an excursion transport. Experienced tourists recommend in this case to negotiate not only the cost of travel, but also the route. This is especially important if there is a shopping trip, because the driver can only take visitors to those stores that pay him extra for potential buyers, despite the fact that the range and quality of goods here may be lower than in other retail outlets. Approximate fee for the cost of transportation services: a trip by motorcycle taxi up to 10 minutes costs 10 baht, more than 10 minutes - 20 baht within one locality. Prices between villages range from 30 baht to 60 baht.

It should be borne in mind that in the evening and at night, all tuk-tuks, even minibuses, function as a traditional taxi, so you should immediately agree on how much delivery to the desired location will cost, and bargaining is not forbidden. Sometimes, upon arrival at the destination, the driver changes the price; experienced tourists advise not to argue, but to give, silently, the pre-agreed amount. Usually the incident ends this way.

Nimble minibus - tuk tuk in Thailand. How to stop, where does it go and how much to pay? All the subtleties and nuances of using this funny vehicle.

On the roads of Thailand there are no minibuses or buses that are familiar to us. The traditional type of public transport in this country is the tuk-tuk, which is called by many names: autorickshaw, songthaew or motorcycle taxi. In Pattaya, the vehicle - a tuk-tuk in Thailand - is a compact pickup truck equipped with benches along the body. It is distinguished by its maneuverability and the possibility of “easy” travel without prior purchase of a travel ticket and other things. Tuk-tuk does not have clear routes and a stable schedule.

Route map - tuk-tuk in Thailand

Each color represents a route. Depending on the wishes of the driver or client with money, the route may change.

What does a tuk tuk look like in Thailand?

The traditional tuk tuk in Thailand is a vehicle with three wheels, resembling a cross between a moped and an auto taxi. In Thailand, a converted Japanese pickup truck is most often used as a tourist tuk-tuk. The cargo compartment in such vehicles is equipped with a roof, handrails and two benches. A step platform is installed at the back of the tuk-tuk, which not only makes it easier to enter the vehicle, but is also used as a place to ride while standing - when all the benches are occupied. Due to its compact size, the tuk-tuk is considered a fast and maneuverable form of transport. On busy Thai streets, a Thai minibus moves at a speed of 30-50 kilometers per hour.

To put it correctly, such a pickup truck is called a songthaew (translation: “two benches”), and a tuk-tuk in Thailand is a motor scooter with a body. However, tourists mixed these concepts, and now any maneuverable public transport is called a tuk-tuk.

Windows-doors

Tuk-tuk has a natural air conditioning system - the absence of windows and doors, or rather, glazing as such. Of course, this is a plus. No one will ask you to close the windows because it is “breathy”, as in Russian minibuses. If it starts to rain, simply lower the protective film that is rolled up on the outside of the windows.

Tuk-tuks are designed for small stature (Thais), it will be difficult for a tall Russian person to ride while standing.

How to stop, go to tuk tuk

The surest way to catch a tuk tuk is to stand on the sidewalk, or move in the direction of traffic along the road and listen to the sound of the horn. If a characteristic signal sounds, it means the driver intends to stop. If there was no sound, but you see the minibus approaching, just wave your hand.

Drivers do not always stop when they wave their hand. Firstly, the tuk-tuk can be crowded. Secondly, the minibus can currently operate as a taxi and carry other tourists.

How to get off a tuk-tuk at the right place, at the right stop

As soon as you enter the transport, look for a button on the ceiling. Pressing it will mean your desire to get off the minibus. No button? Shout! =)

The driving element of a tuk-tuk (not a songthaew) is a scooter. Since when riding the scooter makes characteristic sounds similar to tapping, this is where the small covered “ferryer” for tourists got its funny name.

Fare - tuk tuk Thailand

Fixed fare – 10 baht. The cost is indicated for travel in one area (Pattaya). If you cross 2 districts, the fare doubles. Traveling along the Sukhumvit road (route No. 5 on the map above) will cost 20 baht.

When boarding a tuk-tuk, do not ask whether the car will go to a certain location. The driver may consider your question as a request and “turn” into a taxi, the fare of which will increase by about 10-20 times.

How to pay for a tuk tuk ride

Payment is made after the trip. As soon as you have made a stop (after pressing the button), go around the tuk-tuk and feel free to hand over the reward to the driver. It's better to have small money. Firstly, this will avoid delaying the driver and other passengers, and secondly, in a hurry, the change given out may be much less.

After 22:00 tuk-tuks turn into taxis. There are no meters (taximeters)! Accordingly, the fare directly depends on your agreement with the driver.

Knock Knock and Security

Tuk-tuk in Thailand have an open body and no seat belts, which can frighten inexperienced tourists. In fact, according to statistics, tuk-tuk vehicles are rarely involved in serious accidents. This is due to the fact that the Thai songthaew moves at a relatively safe speed, and the driver beeps every minute, attracting the attention of tourists.

If you ask the driver to take you to a specific location, be prepared to pay taxi fares. If you need to go to the outskirts of the city (for example, to the Jomtien area), the driver will most likely ask for an additional payment, so discuss the cost with him in advance. Please note that along the way, drivers often recommend tourists to visit certain souvenir shops and shops. But the goods in these establishments are very overpriced.

Thailand attracts millions of tourists with its golden sand beaches and tropical palm trees. It will be difficult to move around the country's resort areas on foot in the heat, and the distance between the beaches is quite large. Public transport seems to be not an option, so people have to either rent it or use the services taxi in Thailand. To understand the features of using each of all types of Thai taxis, you need to consider its types and costs.

Knock Knock

Tuk-tuk taxi in Thailand is one of the most popular means of transportation in resort areas. In terms of the services offered, they are somewhat similar to our minibuses, but they look like a mini-van with a canopy (roof).

Local drivers are constantly trying to upgrade their vehicle with a body kit, neon lighting, and putting chrome rims on the wheels. Usually, a tuk-tuk always plays cheerful and loud music, often with such bass that you definitely won’t be bored on the road.

But all these delights do not mean that all tourists like tuk-tuks. And there are three reasons for this:

Bad condition- among all the beautiful cars in Thailand, there are real rusty and dirty buckets that you just don’t want to sit in.
Riding in the rain- no one will like this situation, in which a tuk-tuk, driving through puddles in the rain, will leave its passengers covered in mud, so it’s better not to ride in white.
Safety- alas, a tuk-tuk is not a safe taxi at all; in case of a serious situation, there will be many casualties.

Moto-sai

Motorcycle taxi (moto-sai) is considered the most common and mobile means of transportation in all of Thailand. In order to become a passenger in such a taxi, you need to negotiate with the driver. Depending on the distance and route, the cost may vary. Often, bikers, as if forgetting about the passenger, begin to drive recklessly and thereby endanger him. So you have to constantly remind him of you. Isn’t it better to hire a company than to use their services?

Taxi Taxi meter

Taxi meter in Thailand is a familiar passenger taxi. Most often, this type of transport is used to travel to the airport or hotel and back. Officially they have meters, but few people turn them on in Thailand, and the cost depends on the resort and the route of the trip. The only downside to this Thai taxi- traffic jams, if tuk-tuk and bikes can easily get around them, then the Taxi meter cannot do it.

Transfers

Another difference is the ability to order a minibus, provided that you are traveling in a large group and do not fit into a regular passenger car.

How much does a taxi cost in Thailand?

Approximate cost for tuk-tuks:

Phuket. Karon - Patong - 350 baht, Kata - Patong - 500 baht.
Pattaya. For about the same distance the price is 2-3 times lower.

Approximate cost for bikes:

Phuket. Karon – Patong – 250 (300) baht.
Pattaya. Likewise.

Approximate cost for Taxi meter:

Phuket. Airport – Patong 800 (900) baht, Karon – Kathu – 900 (1000) baht.
Pattaya. Likewise.

Due to its island location on

Pattaya is a fairly large city in Thailand, so large that you can’t walk from one end to the other. Fans of hiking will, of course, be indignant, they say they didn’t walk such distances, but most of the tourists come to Pattaya specifically to relax. This means that the maximum marathons they are counting on are 300 meters to the sea and 200 to the restaurant, so as not to damage their shape, acquired by long hours of office life. Therefore, in this article we will talk about how to reduce the amount of walking to a minimum, without going broke if possible.

As for me, Pattaya is very similar to some popular Black Sea resort, for example, Adler, Gelendzhik, Anapa or Kabardinka. I even compared Pattaya with the latter in one of my essays. Many people. There are a lot of people: in the city, in cafes, in restaurants, on the beach, on the streets in transport. In the central part of the city, the sea is dirty and the beaches are crowded, so many people want to scatter to the outskirts. The bus station, market, large supermarkets cannot be reached on foot, so you have to study the features of local transport, which you begin to get used to over time.

Why did Pattaya remind me of Kabardinka? There are also a lot of Russian or Russian-speaking people here, the entire local population is employed in the service sector, and the conditions are far from a tropical paradise, such as on the islands. For comparison, read a couple of articles; you may notice noticeable differences:

Transport in Pattaya is represented by the following types, I will try to list them as the cost of traveling around the city increases:

Sangteo (knock-knock) in Pattaya. These are pickup trucks converted into city transport, with two-row seats in the back. By mistake, tourists often call them tuk-tuks, but this is not entirely true. There are about 10 sangthaew routes in the city, most of them cost 10 baht per person.
Knock-knock in Pattaya. It is a three-wheeled moped or scooter with a passenger sofa in the back. Seen only a few times, serves more as a decorative form of transport, the cost of the trip usually depends on your bargaining ability.
Motorcycle taxi in Pattaya. A fairly popular type of transport, consisting of a bike and a driver, with whom you sit as a passenger. There is an official taxi service with fixed prices starting from 60 baht per person in the city, but as in all of Asia, you can try to catch a private taxi driver, which will often be even cheaper.
Hornbeam and Uber internet services in Pattaya. Not many people know, but there are a couple of taxi drivers in the city who work with international services, the price of which is lower than generally accepted standards in Pattaya. On average, the price of a trip is 30 baht per 1 km of basic amenities, this is the ability to pay by card, use of additional bonuses, as well as clearly indicating pick-up/drop-off points on the map
Sangteo in the form of a taxi in Pattaya. For a large company, it may be quite profitable to rent a sangteo instead of a regular taxi. The price of the trip will be 300-400 baht per car, and its capacity is about 10 people, although you can pack it up if you wish. Well, you yourself saw how 20 girls climb into a Cossack, but the pickup truck has a much larger body
Taxi around the city. There are two options for traveling by taxi in Thailand and Pattaya in particular: “by meter” or “by agreement”. As a rule, the second option turns out to be more expensive, except in cases where the taxi driver, not knowing where to go, wanders around the city, turning up the meter. The average cost of a taxi trip is 250 - 400 baht, but Sangthaeo taxis cannot boast of the capacity. One of the advantages of a taxi is air conditioning, so the trip will be cool, without noise and dust
Buses in Pattaya. Judging by old records, there used to be two regular routes around the city with a trip price of about 5 baht, but they were canceled a long time ago. Therefore, buses to Pattaya either bring tourists from the airport or take them to the airport. Buses can be divided into three types: scheduled, express, and transfer. The first two go from the bus stations, of which there are also two in Pattaya and differ in route and travel time. The latter type is used for the delivery of package tourists, which is why it is not available to many people.

As you can see, transport in Pattaya is quite familiar, with the exception of Sangteo and motorcycle taxis, so I will only dwell on them in more detail.

Among other things, in Pattaya, and throughout Thailand, you can rent or buy: a bicycle, a motorbike or a car, but they deserve a separate article. The main thing to remember is that in Thailand they are stricter about following traffic rules, and it is easy to go to jail for drunk driving, so most tourists prefer to use public transport.

Features of renting a bike and car in Thailand

How to use a tuk tuk in Pattaya sangthaew routes

As I wrote just above, Sangthaeo is often called tuk-tuks in Pattaya. Tourists generally like to call any unusual type of transport a tuk-tuk. A sangteo is a pickup truck with two rows of seats opposite each other, while a tuk-tuk is just a moped with one sofa (sometimes two) for passengers. In Pattaya, sangthaews are used as an urban mode of transport, which in most cases costs 10 baht, with the exception of particularly long routes. There is one caveat: if the driver asks where to take you, it means he wants to act as a taxi and will not charge you 10 baht for it, so you should refuse such a sangteo and take the next one, where there are people.

At first, it seems that the tuk-tuks (sangteo) scurrying in all directions around Pattaya move chaotically and it is extremely difficult to guess the one you need. However, this is not quite true. There are about 10 regular routes in the city that are followed by the sangthaew. The main question remains: how to understand where a particular pickup truck is going?

The route is written on the front visor of the tuk-tuk (sangteo), unfortunately, in most cases it is written in the local language, completely incomprehensible to tourists, but there are exceptions. In addition, the route number is indicated on the visor. In Pattaya, city maps are distributed on every corner, including sangthaeo routes.

The trouble is that all the names look similar: Naklua - Jamtien, Naklua South Pattaya, but drivers drive around them as they please. I noticed that the same sangteo numbers prefer to travel along the same route. So, the 209th tuk-tuk regularly runs near my house. For ease of movement, it is advisable to have an idea of the end points on each tuk-tuk route in Pattaya, in this case it will be much easier to choose the right direction and get to the right place with a minimum number of transfers, and therefore with a minimum amount of costs.

How to use a tuk tuk (sangteo) in Pattaya

In order not to overpay for using public transport, I will briefly tell you about the basic rules for traveling by tuk-tuk (sangteo) in Pattaya. Once again, large blue or white jeeps (passenger pickups) are correctly called sangteo, but for convenience I will sometimes call them tuk-tuks; anyway, the latter are extremely rare here.

It is important to remember that sometimes such sangtheos can stand empty in unusual places; most likely, they earn extra money by working as a taxi. Therefore, I recommend boarding an empty sangteo only when moving along the route or when it is at the end point of the route.

Another equally important rule for traveling by tuk-tuk in Patatya is the principle: “if you go the wrong way, get out.” Sometimes drivers can change routes at their own discretion, in the hope of collecting more passengers, so it is not always possible to accurately guess where he will go next . For example, on one of the forums I read interesting news regarding travel:

The girl at the “info service” said this:

“They themselves don’t know where they will go next, wherever they want, they will turn there. Or to the North, towards Sukhumvit, or further to Nyklya, or left, to Beach Road, ”to the second circle. Depends on his mood and the number of passengers, i.e. where it seems to him now would be more profitable to travel.”

The opening hours of the sangthaeo in Pattaya depend on the routes; on the most popular of them, cars run around the clock, only the number of vehicles is reduced. While the less popular ones begin to move strictly according to the needs of tourists, for example from 5:30 – 6:00
Last but not least important rule. When boarding a Sangthaew tuk-tuk in Pattaya, watch your pockets. There are plenty of virtuoso pickpockets here, they often act according to proven international schemes: they sit down in a crowd, press you from all sides, and at some point empty your pockets. Therefore, always be on alert when using city transport

Happy holidays, and have fun riding around the city of Pattaya, in fact, it’s quite fun here, and not as dangerous as they like to scare us. Come and see for yourself.