Looked thru threads, would it be best to buy a Thai SIM card at the airport and cheap phone in pattaya? Or would I get a better deal buying them together in pattaya? Thanks in advance for any replies and information.. 11 days and counting!

the sim card is not expensive.. you can buy it where you want

I did just that thing on the weekend. Forced to operate diffently because I realised that the iphone 4 that I bought was locked and they wanted 1000 bht to unlock at. I thought that buying a new cheap phone was a better option.

If you have your old phone with you then do it at the airport. Dtac has a current deal that is 299bht or an unlimited data for a week. then purchase credit for calls. Local calls are 1bht a minute.

REMEMBER that SKYPE is data and you only have to pay 2.8c per minute for a call back home. If in fact you are calling a landline.

Back to the phone. I went to Tuk com. Bought a Samsung little phone ( not smartphone and cost 550bht and the sim cost 299bht. What a bargain. Wherever wifi is available out come the ipad and SKYPE. Any questions PM me. I am still in Pattaya.

I did just that thing on the weekend. Forced to operate diffently because I realised that the iphone 4 that I bought was locked and they wanted 1000 bht to unlock at. I thought that buying a new cheap phone was a better option.

If you have your old phone with you then do it at the airport. Dtac has a current deal that is 299bht or an unlimited data for a week. then purchase credit for calls. Local calls are 1bht a minute.

REMEMBER that SKYPE is data and you only have to pay 2.8c per minute for a call back home. If in fact you are calling a landline.

Back to the phone. I went to Tuk com. Bought a Samsung little phone ( not smartphone and cost 550bht and the sim cost 299bht. What a bargain. Wherever wifi is available out come the ipad and SKYPE. Any questions PM me. I am still in Pattaya.

I've done exactly the same thing before the first time I took my iPhone. 

I learnt how the unlock the iPhone properly before the next trip that's for sure. 

As for the OP's question I would also recommend buying it all in the same place at Tukcom. 

No point buying one at the airport when you could potentially lose it. 

You may not get a better deal buying them together (it will probably cost the same either way) but at least the salesperson can then put the sim in the phone for you so you are all set. 

I recommend using dTac (happy) also. I prefer it over 12Call but that is just a personal preference.