Ekkamai
Thonglor's calmer cousin — craft beer bars, community malls, and the Eastern Bus Terminal if you’re heading to Pattaya.
Craft coffee shop and low-rise cafes on a quiet Ekkamai soi
Why people stay in Ekkamai
Ekkamai is BTS station E7 on the Sukhumvit line, one stop east of Thonglor. The two neighbourhoods share DNA — both grew out of what was once suburban Bangkok in the 1990s, both are now home to the city's creative and design class — but Ekkamai runs at about 70% of Thonglor's speed and 60% of its prices. Where Thonglor's Soi 55 is a wall of neon and $18 cocktails, Ekkamai's Soi 63 has independent coffee roasters, a few genuinely good restaurants, and quiet lanes of low-rise houses converted into design studios.
The traveller-relevant strip is Sukhumvit Soi 63 (Ekkamai) itself, plus the numbered sub-sois branching off (Soi Ekkamai 10, 12 and 21 are the ones to know), and the two community malls — Gateway Ekamai at the BTS station (mid-market, Japanese-themed) and Big C Extra a bit further. The famous Ekkamai Beer House does 40 taps of craft beer from $6 a pint, HOBS on Soi 21 is another good bet, and if you want proper Isaan food, Baan Ice on Soi 20 serves som tam and grilled river prawns for a fraction of Sukhumvit-strip prices.
The other significant Ekkamai fact: the Eastern Bus Terminal is right at the BTS station. This is where every bus to Pattaya, Rayong, Trat and the ferry ports for Koh Samet and Koh Chang leaves from. Roughly $4 to Pattaya, two hours, buses every 30 minutes 5am to 10pm. If your trip involves the eastern gulf coast, staying at Ekkamai saves you a fraction of a day at each end.
Suits: travellers who want Thonglor's food and design scene without Thonglor's prices, anyone heading onwards to Pattaya or Koh Samet, digital nomads on longer stays, couples over 30. Skip if: you need to be a five-minute walk from every dinner (Ekkamai is longer and more spread out than Thonglor) or you want a proper nightclub scene (there's one, Beam, and it's fine but not a destination).
The cluster is along Soi 63 (Ekkamai) and the numbered sub-sois. Ekkamai itself is a long road stretching a full 3 km north, so location matters — anything past Soi Ekkamai 12 gets far from the BTS. In the walkable zone, Sofitel Sukhumvit Ekkamai and Well Hotel are the main international-branded options at $100-160. For boutique, Josh Hotel opened an Ekkamai property, and there are half a dozen design-focused $70-100 places on the numbered sois. Serviced apartments (Somerset Ekkamai, Fraser Suites) are strong for stays over a week, $80-140 a night with a kitchen and gym. Avoid the far end of Ekkamai (past Soi 30 heading north) — you’ll be reliant on Grab for everything, and the trip to the BTS is 15-20 minutes.
Things to do in Ekkamai
26 Ekkamai Soi 10, in a converted house set back from the road. 30 taps of craft beer, half local Thai brews, half Danish imports — pints $8-12. Kitchen does solid pub food including a proper burger for $12. Open 5pm-midnight, packed after 8pm on weekends. Book on Fridays.
Roast (The Commons, Thonglor Soi 17 — 10 min walk from Ekkamai BTS) does the Sunday brunch that everyone under 35 in this part of Bangkok goes to. $18 for a full brunch. 80/20 (Chinatown) is a very different, tasting-menu-only option — but for Ekkamai locals, Roast is the ritual.
Sukhumvit Soi 20, a five-minute walk from Ekkamai BTS. Full menu of Isaan (northeastern Thai) staples — som tam $3, grilled Isaan sausage $4, gai yang (grilled chicken) $6. Air-conditioned, family-friendly, English menu. Open 11am-11pm. The southern curries are the sleeper hit.
Ekkamai Soi 12 has slowly become a design district — furniture showrooms, ceramics studios, a few small galleries. Walk it 11am-4pm on a weekday. Everest Ceramics and Fabrik Living are the two most visited. Combine with lunch at Rabbit Hole cocktail bar (opens 7pm) or a coffee at Casa Lapin.
Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekkamai Bus Station) is 100 metres from the BTS. Pattaya: buses every 30 min, $4, 2 hours. Rayong (for Koh Samet ferries): $8, 3 hours. Trat (for Koh Chang): $12, 5 hours. Buy tickets on-site 30 minutes before. First bus 5am, last 10pm.
125 Soi 63 (Ekkamai), three storeys, speakeasy vibe. Serious cocktails ($12-15) with proper technique — the bartenders competed internationally. Open 7pm-2am. No dress code but the crowd skews well-dressed after 9pm. Bar seats let you watch the show; book upstairs for groups.
What to see
Hotels near Ekkamai
No hotels are listed in Ekkamai yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Getting around Ekkamai
From Suvarnabhumi: Airport Rail Link to Makkasan ($1.30, 20 min), then MRT one stop to Phetchaburi, transfer to BTS Sukhumvit Line at Asok, three stops east to Ekkamai ($0.90 total on BTS). Total $3, 55 min. Metered taxi is often faster and only $10-13 including tolls — 30-45 min. From Don Mueang: taxi $12-15, 40-60 min. Inside Ekkamai the BTS is one stop from Thonglor and three stops from Asok (main Sukhumvit hub) — a $0.30 fare each way. Sukhumvit main road is walkable but the north-south direction of Ekkamai Road itself is not — grab motorbike taxis at $1 for any trip more than 500m along it. The BTS runs 6am-midnight. For late nights, Grab or bar taxis.
Questions about Ekkamai
Same neighbourhood-type, cheaper and quieter. Thonglor is denser, louder, has more bars and clubs, hotel prices 20-30% higher. Ekkamai has more coffee shops than cocktail bars, more Japanese chains than European ones, and the Ekkamai bus terminal makes it useful for onward east-coast travel. If you can’t decide, base yourself in Ekkamai and walk to Thonglor for dinner — it's a 15-minute walk between the two BTS stations.
Yes, it's a functional government bus terminal with 24-hour lighting, cameras, and staff. Buses to Pattaya are the standard-issue orange or blue Bor Kor Sor coaches — air-con, luggage under the bus, arrive 20 minutes early to buy your ticket. Avoid the touts offering minivans (unregulated, often overcrowded, worse driving). Petty theft is the only real risk; keep bags on your lap not on the floor.
Ekkamai spreads north 3 km from the BTS, so it depends where your hotel is. Within the first 500m of the BTS station you have Gateway mall, several restaurants and coffee shops, and can walk to Thonglor in 15 minutes. Past Soi Ekkamai 12 it thins out and you’ll use motorbike taxis or Grab. Choose a hotel between the BTS and Soi 10 if walkability matters.
BTS runs approximately 6am-midnight, last train from Asok around 12:15am. After that: Grab (the app) is the reliable option — $3-5 back from Thonglor or Sukhumvit 11, $6-8 from Silom. Street taxis are fine but insist on the meter or agree the fare beforehand. Motorbike taxis run all night and are cheapest but only sensible if you’re travelling light and reasonably sober.
