Vehicle choice · Any tour

Buggy Tours in Pattaya

Any of our four tours can be driven in a 2-seater or 4-seater buggy instead of a quad. The buggy is charged per vehicle rather than per person, and the 4-seater's price already covers up to 3 passengers: four seats, one figure, full roll cage and belts.

Seats2 or 4
ChargedPer vehicle
4-seater coversDriver + 3
LicenceNot needed

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From ฿3,1902-seater · 4-seater from ฿4,590

All prices

Do you need a licence to drive a buggy in Pattaya?

No. The buggies run on private trails rather than public roads, so no Thai driving licence and no international permit are needed. Anyone aged 16 or over can drive after the safety briefing and a practice loop. Every seat has a belt and a full roll cage overhead, and helmets are supplied.

01: THE CHOICE

A vehicle, not an itinerary

The buggy is what you sit in, not where you go

There is no separate “buggy tour”. You pick one of the four jungle tours first, then tell us which vehicle you want waiting at the camp, and the buggy has its own price on each of them, charged for the machine rather than the seat.

Same 16 km of private trail, same guide, same 08:30 pickup, same helmet and briefing. The buggy changes the seat and the controls, nothing else. That is why it sits here rather than on the tour list as a fifth option: it cuts across all four.

The 2-seater puts driver and passenger side by side, so you can talk instead of shouting through two helmets. The 4-seater adds a second row: one adult drives, and three people who would rather not come along belted in, with a cage above them.

We price the buggy by the vehicle, not by the head, which is why a 4-seater costs more than a 2-seater and why nobody in the back of it is billed again. The full price list lays out all four tours side by side, or send us the ages and the date from the contact page.

02: THE VOCABULARY

Four words, one vehicle

Buggy, dune buggy, UTV, side-by-side: one machine, four names

People reach this page having searched four different words, and all four describe the same vehicle. Worth setting out plainly, because the distinction that matters is not in the name.

A buggy in a Pattaya tour listing, a dune buggy, a UTV and a side-by-side are one category of machine. You sit in a seat rather than astride a saddle, you turn a steering wheel rather than handlebars, a belt goes across you, a cage goes over your head, and the second person sits beside you facing forward. An ATV, a quad, a quad bike, a four-wheeler and an all-terrain vehicle are the other category, and those five are also one thing: a saddle, handlebars, and a passenger sitting behind the driver rather than next to them.

The names drifted apart for reasons that have nothing to do with the engineering. Dune buggy came off the beach and became the holiday word. UTV is short for utility task vehicle and comes from farms and work sites, where these things carry loads rather than tourists. Side-by-side is the motorsport term, and it is the only one of the four that describes anything useful, namely where you sit.

On this site we write buggy for the machine with the wheel and quad or ATV for the machine with the handlebars, and we do not swap between them halfway down a page. So if you searched dune buggy, UTV or side-by-side and landed here, nothing is missing; the 2-seater and 4-seater described below are what you were looking for. The long version of the comparison is in our ATV versus buggy guide.

Riders on quad bikes spaced out along a dry dirt track between trees on the jungle trail near Pattaya — The other category · a saddle and handlebars, not a seat and a wheel

03: HONEST COMPARISON

Buggy or quad?

One is safer to share. One is more fun to ride.

We run both, so we have no reason to sell you the wrong one. Here is the trade-off as our guides put it at the briefing.

Buggy: a cage, belts and a roof over your head

Strapped into a seat inside a full roll cage instead of holding handlebars in the open. Nervous first-timers relax faster in one.

Buggy: it carries people who cannot drive

Children from 4, grandparents, anyone who would rather watch than steer; and in the 4-seater, 3 of them are already in the price of the vehicle.

Quad: lighter, and it goes where you lean

A quad answers a shift of your weight; a buggy answers a wheel. If you have ridden before, the quad is the more direct machine.

Quad: better if you came to ride alone

A confident solo rider gets more out of the technical sections on the Experienced ATV Ride.

ATV vs buggy in Pattaya: the long version

Close-up of an off-road buggy's front end showing the roll cage tubing and deep knobbly tyres — Full roll cage · seat belts · knobbly tyres

Can you rent a buggy in Pattaya instead of joining a tour?

Not from us. We run guided tours rather than hire, and the 16 km of trail is private land that comes with the booking rather than with the vehicle. Renting elsewhere buys you your own schedule; it does not buy you this trail, a lead guide, or a group capped at 8 vehicles.

04: RENT OR BOOK

The other way to do it

Renting a buggy, and what a rental cannot include

We sell the tour, so read this knowing who wrote it. It is still worth writing, because the two get compared as though they were the same purchase.

Hiring buys you a clock of your own. Start in the afternoon, stop when you feel like stopping, go round twice, and take the machine wherever you are allowed to take it. For someone who can already drive one, knows the area and wants a whole day rather than a morning, that is a reasonable way to spend it, and none of this is meant to talk you out of it.

What a rental cannot include is this trail. The 16 km behind the camp is private land, and permission to be on it belongs to the tour rather than to the vehicle. Nor does it include the guide at the front who knows which crossing is passable this week, the briefing and practice loop before the first corner, the third-party insurance already arranged, or anybody to pull you out when a wheel goes into something soft.

So the two are not a like-for-like choice, and setting them side by side on price alone measures the wrong thing. If the freedom is what you came for, hire. If the trail is what you came for, a guided booking is the only way onto it.

Renting versus booking a tour: the longer answer

A pair of guests paused together under the trees on the jungle trail while their guide rides on — Guided only · 8 vehicles maximum

05: WHAT IT COSTS

One figure per vehicle

What does a buggy tour in Pattaya cost?

From ฿3,190 for a 2-seater and ฿4,590 for a 4-seater, depending on which tour you put it on. Pick your row, then read across: each buggy column is the whole vehicle, not a seat in it.

Every tour on a quad and in a buggy: driver ticket and per-vehicle buggy prices in Thai baht
Tour	Duration	Quad, per driver	2-seater buggy	4-seater buggy
Beginner ATV RideEasiest	1.5 hours	฿2,890	฿3,190	฿4,590
Experienced ATV RideTechnical	2 hours	฿3,390	฿3,590	฿5,190
ATV & Elephant ExperienceCombo	3 hours	฿3,990	฿4,290	฿5,690
Ultimate Jungle AdventureHalf day	5 hours	฿5,990	฿6,190	฿7,490

Prices verified 23 August 2026

See every price on one page

The two buggy columns are whole vehicles. A 4-seater carries its driver and up to 3 passengers for the figure shown; a 2-seater carries a driver, and its passenger is added on top at ฿990 to ฿2,800, depending on the tour. A passenger riding pillion on a quad is ฿990 to ฿2,990 on the same scale. Want the trail to yourselves? The private VIP upgrade works with a buggy too. No deposit. Pay in cash or by card at the camp. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup.

Two adults and two children sharing an off-road buggy on a forest track, all belted in and laughing — 4-seater · one vehicle price, four seats

06: FAMILIES

The money moment

Two adults, two children, one price

The whole argument for the 4-seater. Take our longest tour, the 5-hour Ultimate Jungle Adventure, put a family of four in one buggy, and you pay for one vehicle; the three passenger seats are inside that figure.

2 adults + 2 children · Ultimate Jungle Adventure, 4-seater buggy

4-seater buggy, one vehicle฿7,490

3 passenger seats in itIncluded

Family total฿7,490

The same four people on quads

2 drivers at ฿5,990฿11,980

2 children riding pillion at ฿2,990฿5,980

Quad total฿17,960

So the buggy is not the cheaper machine, but it is much the cheaper morning: ฿10,470 less for the same four people. A quad seats two, so a family of four needs two of them and two driver tickets at ฿5,990, and every pillion seat on this tour is ฿2,990; the 3 seats behind the buggy’s wheel would be ฿8,970 of passenger charges on quads, and in the 4-seater they are already paid for. Route, elephant programme and lunch are unchanged; you just travel together instead of in a line. The family page has the age rules, and the shorter Beginner ATV Ride works the same way, at ฿4,590 for the 4-seater, if 5 hours is a long morning for small children.

How many people fit in a 4-seater buggy?

Four, including the driver. The vehicle is charged once (฿4,590 on the 1.5-hour Beginner ATV Ride, ฿7,490 on the 5-hour Ultimate Jungle Adventure) and that one figure covers a driver aged 16 or over plus up to 3 passengers from age 4 upwards. The 2-seater is cheaper as a vehicle, from ฿3,190, but its one passenger is charged on top, from ฿990.

07: SEATING PLANS

Five party shapes

Seating plans that actually work

Most of what people ask us is arithmetic rather than adventure. Five shapes of group cover nearly all of it. Every row below is priced on the shortest tour, the 1.5-hour Beginner ATV Ride, so the totals can be read against each other.

Five seating plans on the 1.5-hour Beginner ATV Ride: group totals in Thai baht
Who is coming	Vehicle	Total	Why that one
Two adultsBoth want to drive	Two quads	฿5,780	Two people driving is two vehicles, and two quads is the cheaper pair; two 2-seater buggies would be ฿6,380. If only one of you wants the wheel, one 2-seater is ฿4,180 with the passenger, which beats the 4-seater at ฿4,590.
Two adults, two childrenChildren from 4	One 4-seater buggy	฿4,590	One vehicle price with 3 seats inside it is exactly the shape of this group. A quad only seats two, so the same four would need two quads and two pillion seats: ฿7,760.
Three generations, five peopleOne adult would rather not drive	One 4-seater buggy and one quad	฿7,480	Grandparent and both children sit under the cage with one parent driving, all inside the ฿4,590. The parent who does want to ride adds a quad. Two vehicles, five people.
A group of sixTwo drivers between them	Two 4-seater buggies	฿9,180	Six people, two vehicle prices, two spare seats, and only two of the 8 places in the group used up.
One parent, one childSolo adult	One 2-seater buggy	฿4,180	Vehicle ฿3,190 plus ฿990 for the passenger, and still under the 4-seater at ฿4,590 with its two empty seats. A quad with the child riding pillion is cheaper again at ฿3,880, without the cage or the belts.

The rule under every row is short. You pay for vehicles, and a 4-seater is one vehicle whether one person or four are sitting in it, at any age from 4 upwards. Everywhere else (the second seat on a quad, the passenger seat of a 2-seater) the extra person is charged: ฿990 to ฿2,990 pillion on a quad, ฿990 to ฿2,800 beside the driver of a 2-seater, depending on the tour. The more passengers you have, the better the 4-seater looks.

Change the tour and every figure moves together: the same five plans run on the 5-hour Ultimate Jungle Adventure, where a quad driver is ฿5,990, a 2-seater is ฿6,190 and a 4-seater is ฿7,490. Ages, seating and what to bring for small children are on the family page.

08: THE DAY

How a buggy day runs

From the 08:30 pickup to the last belt buckle

The same day as any quad tour; the differences are the vehicle check and a slightly longer briefing. Times are indicative for a morning departure; the longer tours push the return back.

08:30
Hotel pickup
Air-conditioned van from your hotel in Pattaya, Jomtien and Na Jomtien. Send the room number the night before; we meet you in the lobby.
09:15
Buggy handover
Your vehicle is checked in front of you: cage, belts, tyres, lights. Seats are assigned so the driver is the one over 16.
09:40
Briefing and belts
Pedals, wheel, hand signals, stop signal. Helmets fitted for every seat, then every belt tightened and checked by the guide.
10:00
Practice loop, then the trail
A short loop to learn the steering, then out onto the 16 km of private trail behind a lead guide, 8 vehicles maximum.
12:00
Back, hosed down, home
Showers at the camp, lunch on the tours that include it, then the van home. Photos reach your WhatsApp the same day.

09: WHAT YOU GET

Included and not included

What the buggy price covers

Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Helmet, gloves and safety briefing
English-speaking guide
Drinking water on the trail
Third-party insurance
Full roll cage and seat belts on every buggy
Up to 3 passenger seats inside the 4-seater's price

Not included

Personal travel insurance
Tips for the guide
Anything you buy at the camp

10: THE RULES

Who can drive, who rides along

Four rules that decide your seating plan

Work these out before you book and the morning runs itself. If anyone in your group sits on the edge of one, ask us first.

01
Drivers are 16 and over
No Thai driving licence is required: the trails are private land. No international permit either. A 15-year-old rides as a passenger, however good they are at go-karts.
02
Passengers from 4, belted in
Children from 4 ride as belted passengers with an adult driving. The 4-seater carries 3 of them at no extra charge above its vehicle price; in a 2-seater the passenger seat is charged separately, ฿990 to ฿2,800 depending on the tour.
03
Quads and buggies ride in the same group
A maximum of 8 vehicles goes out behind one guide, mixed as they come. Half your party on quads and half in a buggy still rides as one group.
04
Who should not drive
Pregnancy, a back or heart condition, recent surgery: passenger seat only, or another day. Nobody under 16 drives, and anyone who has been drinking does not drive at all.
The full list of medical and age rules lives on the safety page. Not sure about someone in your group?
Ask us on WhatsApp

11: QUESTIONS

Before you book a buggy

Buggy questions we get every week

Anything else is on the general questions page, or read why we do not rent buggies out unguided.

Is a Thai driving licence needed to drive the buggy?

No. The route is on private trails, not public roads, so neither a Thai licence nor an international permit is required. Bring a passport copy for the camp register.

Who is allowed to drive the buggy?

Anyone aged 16 or over, after the briefing and the practice loop. Off-road experience is not needed: it is a wheel, a throttle and a brake, and the guide sets the pace.

How many people ride free in the 4-seater buggy?

Up to three, in the sense that the 4-seater is charged once for the vehicle and those three seats add nothing to it: ฿4,590 on the 1.5-hour Beginner ATV Ride, ฿7,490 on the 5-hour Ultimate Jungle Adventure. The seats are included rather than free of charge: the vehicle price is what pays for them. In a 2-seater the passenger is billed separately, ฿990 to ฿2,800 depending on which tour it is.

Is a buggy better than a quad bike on these trails?

It depends who is riding. The buggy wins on shelter, belts and shared seats, so families take it. A quad is lighter and more direct for a confident solo rider. Both cover the same 16 km.

Can children go in the buggy?

Yes. Children from 4 ride as belted passengers with an adult driving. Nobody under 16 takes the wheel, and a parent has to be in the vehicle.

Does a buggy cost more than an ATV?

Yes, and the gap is smaller than people expect. A buggy is priced per vehicle rather than per driver, and it sits above the quad driver ticket on every tour: ฿2,890 on a quad against ฿3,190 for a 2-seater on the 1.5-hour Beginner ATV Ride, and ฿5,990 against ฿6,190 on the 5-hour Ultimate Jungle Adventure. The 4-seater costs more again (฿4,590 and ฿7,490) because up to 3 passengers are inside that one figure.

Can two people take turns driving the buggy during one tour?

Everyone who takes the wheel has to be 16 or over, so a swap only works between two adults, and it needs a sensible place to stop, which is the guide’s call on the morning. Rather than promise it on a web page, send us a WhatsApp with the tour and who is in your group, and we will tell you what is possible that day.

Is a buggy available on every tour, including the 5-hour one?

Yes, all four of them. A 2-seater runs from ฿3,190 on the 1.5-hour Beginner ATV Ride to ฿6,190 on the 5-hour Ultimate Jungle Adventure, and a 4-seater from ฿4,590 to ฿7,490, each charged once for the vehicle. Say which one you want when you send the date, so the right machine is waiting at the camp.

What if nobody in the group is 16 or over?

Then nobody in the group drives. 16 is the minimum for a steering wheel or a set of handlebars and it does not bend, so an adult of 16 or over has to come along and sit in the vehicle. Under-16s and children from 4 ride belted as passengers. If the only adult in your party would rather not drive at all, send us a WhatsApp message before you book.

Is a buggy slower than a quad on the trail?

Not in a way you will notice. Both cover the same 16 km behind the same guide, and a group of up to 8 vehicles moves at the pace the guide sets rather than the pace of the quickest machine. The difference between the two is in how they steer, not in how long the tour takes.

Upgrade ladder

Which tour will you put the buggy on?

The vehicle is settled; now pick the length of the day. The figure on each card is the quad driver ticket; a buggy on the same tour is priced per vehicle, from ฿3,190 for a 2-seater and ฿4,590 for a 4-seater.