Thai Marine Department director Sornsak Saensombat recently stated that a one-way fare of THB1250 had been agreed with Royal Passenger. He said he thought this was a reasonable price for the 100km-plus trip and only gave the operator a 30 per cent profit on each ticket sold at most.
A spokesperson for Royal Passenger said the company has already taken delivery of the China-built vessel and it is being checked out by engineers at Samut Prakarn port. The official handover is expected to be within the next day or so and after that the vessel will undergo seaworthiness tests prior to being put in public service.
The service was originally due to launch on 1 January with a 150-passenger capacity catamaran. The new vessel has double the capacity and enough speed to make the crossing in around 90 minutes. 12GO ASIA currently sells tickets for the road journey between Pattaya and Hua Hin. This trip takes longer, but is considerably cheaper.
All systems go for launch of new Pattaya Hua Hin ferry
News in Asia
Thai authorities have confirmed the launch date and fares for a new ferry service across the north end of the Gulf of Thailand. According to Sanook, Royal Passenger Line will inaugurate a ferry service linking the popular seaside towns of Pattaya and Hua Hin on the 12 January 2017.