A plan for Pattaya

Orientation

Pattaya's downtown area is easy to get around. Running north-south, a few hundred metres apart, are Beach Rd (Thanon Hat Pattaya, sometimes also referred to as First Rd) which borders the main beach (Hat Pattaya), Pattaya Second Rd and Pattaya Third Rd (with the smaller but busy Soi Buakhao in between), and the main Sukhumvit Road coastal highway. Beach Rd is one-way (southbound), likewise Second Rd (northbound) -- this is the main circuit of the songthaews that cruise downtown.

These are connected by the three major east–west aligned roads: North Pattaya Rd (Thanon Pattaya Nua), Central Pattaya Rd (Thanon Pattaya Klang) and South Pattaya Rd (Thanon Pattaya Tai). North Pattaya Rd is a dual carriageway and carries the highest volume of traffic to and from Sukhumvit Rd.

Also connecting Beach Rd and Second Ro are a large number of smaller streets or "sois". The main sois are numbered from 1 to 16, from north to south. Sois 1-6 are between north Pattaya Rd and central Pattaya Rd; sois 7-13 are between Central Pattaya Rd and South Pattaya Rd (including the "Pattayaland" sois, immediately north of south Pattaya Rd); sois 14-16 are south of south Pattaya Rd. Most of these east–west sois are (in theory at least) one-way.

Beach Rd, Second Rd, and north Pattaya Rd (plus Naklua Rd to the north) all meet at the Dolphin Roundabout landmark.

Second Rd south of South Pattaya Rd becomes Pratamnak Rd, which shares a junction with both the southern end of Third Rd and the northern end of the main road to Jomtien, Tappraya Rd.

Beach Rd south of south Pattaya Rd is closed to vehicles in the evenings (18:00-02:00) and is called Walking Street; it's the main tourist area, both for nightlife and shopping. Other major tourism areas include the section of Second Rd between sois 1–4, and the sois immediately north of south Pattaya Rd.

Many attractions marketed as being in Pattaya are actually located in Jomtien, Sattahip and Si Racha.

Animals, zoos and aquariums

1 The Million-Year Stone Park and Crocodile Farm (อุทยานหินล้านปีและฟาร์มจระเข้พัทยา), Chaiyaphonwithi Rd (15 minute drive from central Pattaya), ☏ +66 38 249347(-9). 08:30-18:30. Features an exotic zoo and crocodiles, fire-swallowing and magic shows, as well as the garden and stone park. Its grounds are landscaped with flowering and rock gardens. Hundreds of crocodiles as well as some rare animals, including albino bears and horses, are kept. There are crocodile shows, magic performances and animal shows 7 times a day from 09:00-17:00. (updated Feb 2024)

2 Pattaya Elephant Village (หมู่บ้านช้างพัทยา), 54/1 Moo 2, Tambon Nong Prue, ☏ +66 38 249145(-7). This elephant camp focuses on the daily lives of elephants and their keepers and also offers stage shows demonstrating how to catch wild elephants, elephants-at-work in the jungle, elephants playing football, and a grand war elephants parade. The shows are held daily at 14:30 and last one hour.

Museums

3 Teddy Bear Museum, 436/49 Moo 9 Soi 1, Beach Road (Corner of Beach Road and Soi 1), ☏ +66 38 411285. 09:00-20:30. 300-500 baht. (updated Feb 2017)

Sacred places

4 Ban Sukhawadee (บ้านสุขาวดี), 219 Moo 2, Sukhumvit Rd, ☏ +66 38 223536(-9). Mon-Fri 08:30–18:00, Sat-Sun, hols 08:00-18:00. This is the residence of Dr. Panya Chotithewan. Visitors can enter the house to pay respect to the Bodhisattva Kwan Yin, to see the spacious conference room and the roof.

5 Buddha Hill (เขาพระตำหนัก หรือ เขาพระบาท Khao Phra Tam Nak) (between Thap Praya Rd and Phratamnak Rd; 5-10 mins by songthaew). Buddha Hill is one of the highest points in Pattaya. At the summit is the biggest Buddha statue in Pattaya, and nearby is a beautiful Chinese-style sacred area dedicated to Confucius and Lao-zi. The next hill, just across Phra Tam Nak Rd, has the best Pattaya Bay coastline viewpoint and is also worth a visit, especially for sunsets. The locals come here to pay homage to Wat Khao Phra Bat atop the hill and the monument of Kromluang Chomphonkhetudomsak, who is regarded as the founding father of the modern Thai navy. (updated Feb 2024)

Beaches

The 3 km long 1 Pattaya Beach runs alongside the city. The beach is full of life with hotels, restaurants, shopping malls all along the road facing the beach. The street south of Beach Rd, Walking St, comes alive with rock music as the night sets in. People throng the street to experience the night life, which is unique in all respects. There are hundreds of beer bars, go-go bars, discothèques around the area. Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing, in open arenas in some of the beer bars adds to the carnival atmosphere.

Jomtien Beach, more popular with families, is in the southern part of the urban area, and separated from Pattaya Bay by Buddha hill. Jomtien, a paradise for water sports enthusiasts, is calmer and more serene compared with Pattaya. Jomtien is also popular for its amusement park and tower, to keep children entertained. The 1 km long, Wong Phrachan Beach, at the north end of Pattaya Beach is a favourite among swimmers.

There are acres of sand jam-packed with deck chairs (recliners) and umbrellas (usually with an "in-house" supply of drinks), serviced by an army of laid-back but tenacious hawkers offering anything and everything from food (especially seafood, fruit, ice cream) to massage, manicure/pedicure, tattoos, lottery tickets, newspapers, herbs, flowers, gems, perfumes, sunglasses, CDs, watches, lighters, clothes, toys, souvenirs, handicrafts and so on. Eventually you buy a pair of very dark sunglasses and just pretend to be asleep.

Pattaya Beach is almost 3 km long and bordered by Beach Rd. Due to its central location and proximity to several hundred hotels, and because it's a relatively narrow strip of sand, it's crowded at the best of times (and even more so at high tide). Hefty fines for littering help keep the sand neat and tidy, however the sea is not so clean.

The north end of Pattaya Bay is occupied by 2 Wong Amat Beach, which is accessed from Naklua; and beyond the southern end, around the Buddha Hill headland that separates Pattaya Bay from Jomtien, are several more smaller beaches.

There are many restaurants, food carts, food courts, food markets, motorcycle-sidecar hotdog and meatball vendors, fruit sellers both mobile and stationary, even a roaming coffee peddling tuk-tuk. OK, so the germ theory of disease doesn't yet seem to be widely accepted but don't let that stop you from ordering the sushi. Many (although not all) non-Thai-cuisine restaurants also have at least a limited menu of Thai favourites as well.

Chonburi Province has a lot of fresh seafood and dried fruits. As there are a lot of people from the Isaan region living and working in Pattaya, there is an abundance of northeastern favourites such as spicy papaya salad (som tam) and spicy-sour chopped pork salad (larb).

Street food

Near the beach around the Pattaya Walking Street

1 Several outdoor food stalls. along Soi 15 (just off Walking Street). Foreigner friendly and cheap prices (e.g., fried rice, 50 baht; chicken, rice and soup, 30 baht).

Budget

Near the beach around the Pattaya Walking street

2 Fra Pattaya, 597/9 S Pattaya Rd. Unassuming setting yet absolutely excellent food. Good place for Thai food. Completely local. It's like market area ambience. A real Sino Thai restaurant where you can enjoy a lacquered duck. (updated Aug 2022)

3 King Kebab, Pattayasainueang, Chon Buri 20150, Thailand. Perfect for eating kebabs. It's good for a quick bite to eat on the go. Kebab really good served in this little place. The owner is very courteous, the prompt service. Good before clubbing and afterwards. (updated Aug 2022)

Near the beach around the Royal Garden Plaza shopping mall

4 Baywatch Restaurant, 290/51 Beach Rd. Don't let its unassuming appearance fool you. This hole-in-the-wall has great food. The American breakfast is a great deal. Bacon, eggs, taters, toast, coffee, and fresh squeezed juice. Their cheeseburgers are beyond anything. On the other side, asking for anything special or substitutions like "can I have rice instead of potatoes?" will met with a curt "no!". Still delicious. (updated Aug 2022)

Pattaya is internationally known for its nightlife—you might want to think twice before heading into the insanity that's called Pattaya. Obviously famous as a sex tourist destination, you don't necessarily have to partake in order to experience Pattaya's nightlife. More and more visitors come over just to see what the fuss is about. There are ample opportunities to dance, drink, and observe humanity even if paid sex is not of interest. Steer clear of the staid hotel bars and head into the warrens of central Pattaya, where nightclubs, transvestite cabarets, coffee shops, karaoke bars, open-air bars and restaurants with live music and entertainment compete for attention. Most of these establishments are located along Pattaya Beach Road, Pattaya 2 Road, and in South Pattaya, which is also the city's major shopping area.

Beer and go-go bars

Pattaya is especially famous for its beer bars, staffed by "bar girls" who are "for hire" to the tourists and ex-pats who drink there. Popular beer bar pastimes include pool, connect-four and shut-the-box.

Open-air beer bars can be found all over Pattaya, with the biggest and best known concentrations being along and around Soi 7/Soi 8 and Walking Street, at numerous points on Second Road, Beach Road, Soi Buakhao, and in smaller numbers just about everywhere else, including along the southern end of Naklua Road. Although the staff of a typical beer bar will usually include many working girls, customers who have no wish to pay a "bar fine" and take a lady are welcomed and indeed make up the majority of the clientèle. Indoor beer bars can also be found all over Pattaya, the most notorious areas being Soi Yodsak (Soi 6) and parts of Soi Post Office (Soi 13/2). While some of these bars are much more "bar fine" oriented, in most cases customers who simply want to drink are welcome.

By songthaew

Apart from a handful of privately operated examples, Pattaya has no tuk-tuks and most ad hoc local transport is undertaken by a flotilla of over 700 dark blue coloured songthaews - pickup trucks used as buses (hence the local term "Bahtbus"). The Bahtbus fare is the same for trips within Pattaya for locals and foreigners, and is usually 10 baht. Having the correct change is by no means essential, but does keep the potential hassle factor to a minimum. Some drivers will short-change you on a 20 baht note if you don't act like you know what you're doing, but most will return the correct amount. Avoid asking for a particular destination (or talking to the driver at all) when riding a songthaew, as many drivers will charge you a lot of money (100-200 baht, as it's considered a private journey). If you know the direction of where you're going, it's recommended you just wave at the truck to stop, get on the back, and ride the songthaew without talking to the driver. That way you will just pay the normal fare per person no matter how far you go.

Flat fares only apply when operating as a bus. Beware of the driver of an otherwise empty songthaew, especially one that's parked at the roadside, who might presume (or decide on your behalf) that you want to charter him as a taxi, in which case expect a much higher fare, depending on your negotiating skills. Taxis in Pattaya do not use meters at all.

The busiest route is the beach circuit: from the junction of Second Rd and South Pattaya Rd, north along Second Rd to the Dolphin Circle roundabout; then south along the full length of Beach Rd; then briefly east along South Pattaya Rd to complete the loop. Frequency is virtually non-stop, and even at the most unlikely hours, average waiting time is literally no more than a minute, often only a few seconds during daytime hours.

Traffic

For most people, the most hazardous aspect of visiting Pattaya is the traffic. The top three accident black spots are:

Dolphin Roundabout (intersection of Beach Rd, Second Rd, North Pattaya Rd and Naklua Rd)

junction of Beach Rd and Central Pattaya Rd

junction of Beach Rd / Walking St and South Pattaya Rd

Most accidents in Pattaya involve motorbikes, and are especially common late at night and in the early hours of the morning, when drunk driving is a significant problem. Be careful on the roads, even if you're just crossing one on foot (and be equally careful both on and off pedestrian crossings, as Thai drivers generally ignore them, and many foreigners seem to approach them with the hope of scoring double points); be careful on the pavements too - obstacles apparently purpose-engineered to trip up as many people as possible are commonplace, and motorcyclists use footpaths as short cuts with impunity. When riding in the back of an otherwise empty songthaew, it's probably safest to sit directly behind the cab.

In the event of an accident, the injured are usually bundled into the back of the next available songthaew or pickup truck or even onto the back of a motorbike (now you know why Pattaya has so many songthaews, why Thailand is the world's biggest pickup truck market, and why so many Thais ride motorbikes).

A completely different genre of traffic-related accident was highlighted by a fatality in January 2006 when a surfacing diver was hit by a speedboat propeller near Ko Laan. The popularity of Pattaya's beaches combined with a relatively relaxed attitude to safety concerns in general means that swimmers and divers (and even sunbathers on the beach!) being struck by speedboats and jet skis is not such a rare occurrence. Stick to swimming in the 4 or 5 areas cordoned off with red and white booms and you should be safe as boats and jet skis are unable to enter.

Scams

Some of the scams to be wary of:

Jet-skiing rentals are available along all the popular beaches, with rates starting around 600 baht for 30 minutes. A common scam involves some operators attempting to collect surcharges for supposed damage - call the Tourist Police (1155) if necessary.