Pattaya to Bangkok for BABYMONSTER on 7-8 November: how to get to IMPACT Arena and not get stuck at night
BABYMONSTER play IMPACT Arena on 7 and 8 November at 18:00. How to get from Pattaya to the arena in north Bangkok, why the bus back barely works and how to plan the day before the show.
The easiest way to get from Pattaya to Bangkok for the BABYMONSTER concert is by car: 160-170 km and 2-2.5 hours to the arena. Getting back at night by bus, on the other hand, is almost impossible. The [CHOOM] tour hits IMPACT Arena on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, the show starts at 18:00, doors open at 16:30, tickets cost 2,800 to 7,300 baht. Below is a plan for the day and the ways back that actually work.
The key thing about the venue: IMPACT Arena is not in central Bangkok but in Muang Thong Thani up north, in Nonthaburi province. From Sukhumvit it takes almost as long as from the airport. So the plan "I'll stroll around downtown and make it by six" usually ends in a traffic jam on Chaeng Watthana.
How to get there from Pattaya:
1. Your own car - the most flexible option. Highway 7 to Bangkok, then toll expressways to the Chaeng Watthana exit, tolls come to about 200 baht one way. Toyota Vios in Pattaya - 1,250 baht a day, insurance included, you need an international or Thai licence and a 5,000-15,000 baht deposit.
2. Transfer - if nobody wants to be the sober driver. Sedan on the Bangkok - Pattaya route from 1,300 baht for up to four, put IMPACT Arena and the time you leave the concert in the request, the driver will confirm details in the chat.
3. Bus - one way only. From the bus station on North Pattaya Road buses run to Mo Chit (from 155 baht) and Ekkamai (from 144 baht), 2-3 hours on the road. From Mo Chit to the arena it's a taxi or Grab.
Getting back is the fun part. In other tour cities the show ran about two hours, so you'll be walking out at 20:00-20:30. The last bus from Mo Chit to Pattaya leaves around 18:00, before the concert even starts. From Ekkamai bus station the last one goes around 22:00 (some timetables say 23:00, check by phone on 02-712-3928). Getting there from the arena means the Pink Line metro to Wat Phra Sri Mahathat and a change to the BTS to Ekkamai, an hour to an hour and a half. Only those who leave during the last song make it. You won't leave early, we know.
Taxi and Grab after the concert are a lottery: thousands of people book a car in the same minute. Local trick - walk over to Cosmo Bazaar or a hotel entrance and book from there. The arena has taxi control points against refusals and rides without the meter, complaints go to hotline 1584. But catching a taxi for 150 km at night is pricey and stressful, it's easier to arrange a car in advance.
If you're driving: IMPACT has over 12,600 parking spaces, the main P1 and P2 hold 2,200 cars each, the base rate is 20 baht an hour. Getting out after a big concert takes 30-60 minutes. On concert days traffic officials advise exiting towards Chaeng Watthana or Si Saman rather than through the Muang Thong toll plaza. Park on the side of the entrance you'll use to get into the hall.
There is now a metro to the arena itself: since June 2025 the MRT Pink Line spur has been running, and Impact Muang Thong Thani station is linked by a walkway to Challenger Hall. Trains run until midnight, a ticket is 15-45 baht. Handy if you're staying overnight in Bangkok, but it won't get you to Pattaya.
Concert day plan by car:
1. 11:00-12:00 - leave Pattaya, lunch on the way.
2. 14:00-14:30 - Muang Thong Thani, parking, time for the lake and cafés near the arena.
3. 16:30 - doors open, entry and photos.
4. 18:00 - BABYMONSTER.
5. 20:00-20:30 - walk out, plus 30-60 minutes to get out of the car park.
6. 23:30-00:30 - you're back in Pattaya.
Staying nearby is a perfectly good plan too, especially if you're going both days. Right by the arena are Novotel Bangkok IMPACT and ibis Bangkok IMPACT, within walking distance of the hall. Just book right away: for big concerts, rooms in Muang Thong Thani go first.
Save Bangkok for a separate day. Trying to squeeze in an observation deck and the river on concert day is a sure way to be late for the show: Mahanakhon and ICONSIAM are in the centre, the arena is in the north. If your concert is on the 7th and the 8th is free (or the other way round), you can see the city with no steering wheel and no traffic: the Evening Bangkok and Mahanakhon tour picks you up from your Pattaya hotel at 11:00, then the Mahanakhon observation deck at 314 metres, ICONSIAM with its fountain show, a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya and back in Pattaya by 23:30. 3,100 baht, daily, Russian-speaking guide. On concert day you'll only see Bangkok through the window, here you see it from the roof and from the deck.
Tickets and entry: the name on the ticket must match your ID, foreigners need a passport, and the name can't be changed later. Professional cameras aren't allowed, phones are fine. Official sellers are Thai Ticket Major and Live Nation Tero, resold tickets are cancelled with no refund. 7 and 8 November are regular days, alcohol is sold as usual.
Cheat sheet: a car there and back is the most relaxed option, a transfer if you want to sing all the way home, the bus only for getting there, and Bangkok at an easy pace on a separate day. All cars with prices are in the transport rental catalogue.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to write.