Pattaya is alive. This is the most dynamic, bustling and full-blooded resort in Thailand. Pattaya can fall in love with you for life, you can not understand it and obsessively talk over and over again about the cons of the trip, or you can treat it correctly and get exactly what you want in return: a quiet vacation in a secluded hotel, the crazy nightlife of Walking Street , amazing Thai temples, decent sea, exciting excursions, delicious and unusual food. The main thing is to clearly and reasonably formulate your desires, and Pattaya will help them come true.
In addition, the resort is very affordable in terms of prices, which makes it more affordable than Phuket or Koh Samui , and is conveniently located just a couple of hours drive from Bangkok with its airports and numerous low-cost airlines. This allows you to break away at any time and fly to the other end of Thailand (or even to a new country) for an amount equivalent to a good dinner with drinks in a not very pretentious restaurant.
One of the main trump cards of Pattaya is the direct proximity to Suvarnabhumi Airport . Just a couple of hours by bus and you are there. Of course, the resort also has its own air gates, but while the U-Tapao airport specializes more in local destinations, charters from a dozen Russian cities, as well as Astana and Alma-Ata, rush here only during the season. Also, if you wish, you can get to the popular resort from other cities in Thailand and even neighboring countries by train, bus and ferry - from the other side of the Gulf of Thailand.
Tourist Pattaya lies between the sea and the Sukhumvit Road and is conveniently "cut" through streets into several large areas, so there should not be any particular problems with orientation to the terrain. In addition, on every corner there are free advertising brochures with more or less intelligible maps.
All above North Pattaya Rd - conditional North Pattaya. There is not much entertainment here, but there are enough local shops, inexpensive cafes and budget housing in the area with the wonderful Russian ear name Naklua, as well as more expensive - in the Wongamat microdistrict, interesting with small private beaches of coastal hotels. An important point on the map is the wooden Temple of Truth .
A piece of the resort pie between North and South Pattaya Rd - Central Pattaya. Noisy, fun, drunk, crowded - these are pluses and minuses, to each his own. Beach and Second Rd run parallel to the sea - streets with a bunch of shops, bars, cafes, massage parlors, you can always find inexpensive accommodation, a variety of drinks, food, company and entertainment. The beach does not cause sympathy, the water is dirty, there is not enough space. Central Pattaya will suit desperate party-goers and those who are thirsty for the special nightlife of Walking street, which, in fact, is the main attraction of the area.
The area below South Pattaya Rd is South Pattaya. In it, the tourist is interested in the coastal Pratamnak and Jomtien. These are quite quiet areas with a focus on family vacations and related entertainment and infrastructure. Beaches and water are cleaner, debauchery is many times less, the price tag in hotels is higher, but this is a reasonable price for the advantages listed above.
Another option is to settle behind the Sukhumvit highway. Here you can rent very decent housing for little money, eat inexpensively and tasty in establishments that are not focused on “Russo-tourist” during the day, and sleep peacefully at night, without tossing and turning due to the noise of a neighboring disco or neighbors who have gone too far. The downside is the distance, you will have to rent a bike or car (and give up alcohol) or budget for a permanent article “by taxi”.
The islands of Pattaya are a good opportunity to see the clear sea, lie on the soft sand, go snorkeling and diving without having to travel several hundred kilometers to Trat, Phuket or Koh Samui. Of course, they will not be a full-fledged replacement for more expensive resorts, but for a budget trip, they are a great alternative to not very attractive city beaches.
The most accessible and popular island is Ko Lan . This small piece of land is located 7.5 km from the city center, ferries run from 7:00, the last flights to Pattaya are usually set at 17:00-17:30. The boat is faster, you don’t have to stand in line and depend on the schedule, but the price tag is much higher. The island has two piers, half a dozen pleasant beaches, a tuk-tuk network, police and a first-aid post, bike rental, shops, cafes, mini-hotels and a good water entertainment infrastructure.
Ko-Sak is very close to Ko-Lan, but there is no pier, and therefore there are much fewer tourists. You can only get there by boat, one beach of the tiny island is suitable for swimming, the second one is for snorkeling. Rocky Koh Krok is another small neighbor of Koh Lan. Suitable for those wishing to admire the coral reefs.
Having done a little more than 20 km on a speedboat and landed on Ko Phai's "Bamboo Island", it's hard to believe that a couple of hours ago you were in stuffy and overcrowded Pattaya. Ko Phai, as well as its small satellites, still retain the entourage of "wildness" and untouched. Swimming in warm and clear water, white sand, exciting fishing, diving, snorkeling - if you can’t get to the Similans or Phi Phi, then you just need to go here.
When choosing a hotel in Pattaya , you will have to focus not only on the budget, but also on vacation plans - the city stretches along the coast, is hilly in places, and intricately curved streets greatly increase the route to the beach or pier, which seemed so simple and fast on the map. The price of housing directly depends on the season. If in July a room in a standard "treshka" will cost 600-700 THB , then in December-January (and we are not talking about holidays) the cost will easily increase to 1200-1600 THB .
There are cheaper options - some hostels or two-star hotels offer rooms for 400-500 THB even on New Year's Eve , but you need to book such budget accommodation well in advance. By the way, in many small 3-star hotels, breakfasts and swimming pools turn out to be a very conditional and dubious bonus. The former are outrageously modest, while the latter, hiding in the shade of dense buildings and lush vegetation, are cold even on hot January days. Don't count on hot water. Another thing is 4 * hotels. Here the food is better, and the infrastructure is nicer, but you will have to pay 1800-2800 THB per day during the tourist season . Boutique hotels with 5 "stars" rate accommodation at their place in amounts from 4300-6500 THB. There are luxury complexes with villas, bungalows, private pools and sea views in Pattaya for 27,000-50,000 THB and more, you just have to want.
Walking around Pattaya is far from always convenient, and more often it is also too lazy. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for moving around the city: tuk-tuks, taxis, motorcycle taxis and rented vehicles.
The name is not entirely correct, but it has taken root, and we will not get into the jungle and try to retrain the whole world. Tuk-tuks in Pattaya are called pickup trucks, converted into a traditional songteo - a minibus with two benches and an awning-roof. The fare is 10-20 THB , there are several routes tied to districts and main streets. Brief instructions: find a road with a tuk-tuk going in the right direction, wave your hand, climb into the back, a few meters before the end point, press the bell in the cabin, get out, give the driver 10 THB (on the "orange" route along Sukhumvit - 20 THB), go about your business. Sometimes drivers deviate from the intended path if they manage to cheat a tourist and earn extra money for a taxi. The essence of the trick: as soon as you ask the driver if the car is going to place X, and the driver answers with a nod of his head, the tuk-tuk turns into a taxi. Some not very honest drivers "transform" into taxi drivers when the first passengers board an empty body. Solution: ignore the empty tuk-tuk until the helmsman himself says the cherished “tuk-tuk, not a taxi!”. Prices on the page are for August 2022.
It is convenient, if only because there are parking lots of “motosais” even on remote jay streets where tuk-tuks do not go. Plus - quickly, you can bargain and do not need to push with sweaty neighbors on the minibus. Cons - a lot of reckless drivers and the need to wear a dirty helmet. If you are afraid of fast riding a moped, ask in advance not to accelerate. Well, you have to put up with the helmet, a dirty head is definitely better than a broken head. When moving between areas, focus on the amount of 100 THB . Within one area, it is quite possible to agree on 30-60 THB .
A taxi ride even for the shortest distances starts from 100-200 THB , in the evening and at night the price tag will easily increase by 2-3 times: tourists spent too long in Pattaya with money, and everyone quickly gets used to the good. A taxi is a good option for a company trip to a remote attraction, but you need to negotiate the amount in advance and it would be good to bargain. In addition, there will certainly be a driver at the hotel, you just have to ask, at the same time the chance of being deceived will decrease.
150-500 THB per day, the price depends on the season, model and condition of the device. What you need: theoretically - an IDP, a must - experience of driving a bike and driving experience in Asia, a complete rejection of alcohol, insurance with an extreme and active sports clause, a helmet, a smartphone with navigation. In return, the bike rider and his passenger get almost complete freedom of movement, the opportunity to see, try and get to know a lot more backpackers.
There is a certain combination of circumstances in which renting a car in Pattaya is justified and reasonable: holidays with small children, driving experience in countries with left-hand traffic, driving experience in Southeast Asia (yes, these are different things), indifference to alcohol, strong nerves and the desire to see not only Pattaya itself, but also interesting places within a radius of 100-150 km. A bike is enough for young people without children, and those who are especially interested in high-grade nightlife need a slightly different car - a taxi.
Cars for rent are offered by both international intermediary aggregators and various local firms - Thai, opened by European and American expats, Indians and other enterprising comrades. There are also Russian-speaking companies among them, which is very convenient in a country that speaks little English.
The average rate for a small car and economy class is from 600-700 THB per day, SUVs - from 1500 THB , many companies have a minimum rental period of 3 days. The tenant will need to provide a copy of the passport, IDL, and also make a deposit of 5000-7000 THB , which in the event of an accident or damage to the car will cover the insurance deductible.
Important: carefully inspect the car before concluding a contract for possible damage and scratches, hold back emotions and in no case swear with the police, do not confuse the direction of traffic, find out if the hotel has parking spaces, pay attention to signs, including parking, and exclude ppm in the blood.
You should take a Thai SIM card at the airport, they are actively distributed even before the passport control zone. A local number will come in handy for inexpensive calls home and communication with friends vacationing in Thailand at the same time. Tourist "sim cards" are often provided with detailed instructions in Russian, so it will not be a problem to deal with the intricacies of activation and replenishment.
There are more than enough shareware Wi-Fi points in cafes, hotels, shopping centers and other public places in Pattaya, and the density of establishments is so high that while sitting in one restaurant, you can easily surf using the network of a neighboring hotel. To do this, it is useful to pre-install an application on a smartphone or tablet that monitors possible connections and passwords for them. In addition, the network of free access points ICT Free WiFi is developing more and more actively . To enter the network, registration is required, one account is given 10 hours of Internet per month. If suddenly this is not enough, then we register again, but now to another mail.
Based on such opportunities, the need for paid mobile Internet in Pattaya tends to zero. The exception is independent long trips on a rented bike or car inland, where tourists and free Wi-Fi are rare. But this is a completely different conversation.
It’s worth starting with the words that Pattaya is far from being a beach resort. Its beaches cannot be compared with island Thailand, you need to understand this, do not expect or demand the notorious “bounty” from the trip and, of course, do not try to get at least some impression of the country’s resorts with only one city on the shores of the not-so-clean Gulf of Thailand . And now to particulars.
Pattaya Beach (Central Beach) stretches along the entire city center for 3 km. It is always full of life, and across the road from the waterfront there are many hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. Suitable for swimming or too bold (by nature or from drinks from a nearby bar), or the clear sea has never seen.
Jomtien Beach is located in the southern part of the city and is separated from Pattaya Bay by Buddha Hill. Compared to the central part of the resort, it is more suitable for families with children. But the water is often quite dirty. Pratamnak can be called another family beach - a good sea, a gentle entrance, attractions and entertainment for children and a shady alley along the sea to relax from the hot sun.
Naklua Beach stretches north of Pattaya Bay and is adjacent to the small Palm Beach. The sea here is cleaner than in the center of the resort area, and the rest is more relaxed.
Dongtan Beach is located in the north of Pattaya Bay and is interesting for the pedestrian promenade and the square in front of the Avalon Beach Resort , which is known as a place for gay parties.
The main beaches of Pattaya are a paradise for lovers of water sports: banana and parachuting, water skiing, windsurfing.
Fans of the combination of "hotel-beach" should immediately choose the first line of the Wongamat area. Here, the state of the beaches is monitored by hotels, bathers are waiting for almost clear water and a minimum of fuss. True, there are still critically few water entertainments here.
A rented car or bike will give you a chance to visit Sai Keo Military Beach, which is about 30 km south of Pattaya. It is praised for its tranquility, good water, lush greenery in the neighborhood and the opportunity to relax with children. This is one of the few paid beaches in Pattaya, they charge 100 THB for entry , but it's worth it. But sunbeds under umbrellas are paid everywhere.
The rather dirty and muddy waters of the Pattaya coastal line may suggest that diving in these places is, if not impossible, then most likely of dubious quality. In fact, everything is not so bad. The coast of the Gulf of Thailand, especially near large cities, is really not particularly transparent water, however, moving away from the coast at a certain distance, the traveler will get what he is looking for - colorful corals and fish, interesting artifacts and quite decent visibility.
In Pattaya, there are several large diving centers at once, including Russian ones, there is an entire infrastructure for rental, training and certification. Diving here can be recommended for beginners to gain experience and first acquaintance with the depths of the sea and its inhabitants. But experts of the underwater world will find something to see. Particularly popular are places with sunken ships. Near Pattaya itself, three Thai landing ships, Khram, Kut and Mataphon, rest at the bottom at once. Their fate is prosaic - the ships that had served their time were flooded already in the 21st century for the artificial formation of reefs. A more interesting site is the steamer Hardeep, which was bombed during the Second World War, as well as the German Bremen, which died in the 30s. of the last century due to an explosion in the boiler room, but they will have to be reached for about an hour by land and some more by water.
In Pattaya, there are many shopping centers, supermarkets, markets and small shops where you can find things that are completely different both in price and quality. Most of the shops are concentrated in the center of the resort on Beach Road and Second Road.
Although Thailand is famous for its open-air street markets, there are not many of them in Pattaya. On them, with some luck and the ability to bargain, you can very profitably buy various handicrafts, ceramics, clothes for every taste and color, etc.
In addition, Thailand is widely known throughout the world for its gems and jewelry. A visit to the jewelry center is usually included in a city tour offered by tour companies. When buying jewelry, you need to be extremely careful and in no case buy items from your hands, even if the price is very tempting.
Markets and small shops in the tourist places of Pattaya try to squeeze the maximum out of visitors during the season, hence the prices for fruits, souvenirs and various trifles are overpriced by 2-4 times. The best option would be to get into a large Tesco Lotus or BigC shopping center in the very first days in order to imagine adequate prices and not leave half of the trip budget in the pockets of cunning street vendors.
Pattaya does not have its own unique historical craft, so humble yourself and take home wood and bamboo crafts, coconut oil, funny Thai soaps, scrub salts and toothpastes, as well as healing plasters, balms, ointments, potions and capsules. But by no means from "unique", "royal" and other pseudo-exclusive pharmacies. The best for these purposes are network pharmacies in large malls or good-quality pharmacies “for their own” on streets remote from the center.
It so happened that Pattaya is no longer quite a Thai city, the flows of tourists from different countries, an endless series of those who are trying to make money on them - and also from different countries, mix linguistic and cultural boundaries into a strange vinaigrette. This is especially noticeable in the local cuisine. In cafes and restaurants, national delicacies are reshaped to suit the requirements of capricious "bags" or boring white pensioners, spicy becomes insipid, sour - sweet, oriental - European, and cheap - expensive. This is especially true for establishments with Russian letters on the menu.
But this multinational cocktail has its advantages. For example, in Pattaya, Indian cuisine is very well represented - a good opportunity to discover wonderful flatbreads and gravel sauces. You see several Indian companies at the tables of an Indian cafe - feel free to stop and start exploring the mysterious menu.
If you want to try exactly Thai food, then again focus on the natives, give up the restaurant and buy pla pao fish, rolled in salt, stuffed with fragrant herbs and baked on coals almost in front of you, right on the street, try lightly fried and squeezed through a special press crop-crop squid, and for dessert, order roti or canom-buang pancakes stuffed with mango, coconut flakes, banana and other goodies from the mobile vendor-chef on a moped.
And of course, Pattaya would not be the same without stalls with fried cockroaches, crickets, caterpillars, larvae and the like, once crawling reptiles. They cannot be called a purely local dish, more often it is an attraction for tourists. But why not?
The resort has many cafes and restaurants : from Asian cuisine to quality French cuisine. There are restaurants with exotic dishes: rare seafood, ostrich, crocodile.
Catering establishments in Pattaya can be divided into nondescript eateries for locals, inexpensive street cafes for everyone, and everything else designed for a tourist, rich and not very rich. The former can scare away with excessive simplicity, not the most ideal cleanliness, and the menu is only in Thai. Their advantages are real Thai food, amazing prices and the hospitality of the owners.
For a soft drink in an inexpensive street cafe for tourists and middle-class Thais, they ask for 30-80 THB , not the most fancy dish with rice or noodles will cost 40-80 THB , the famous tom yum can cost 80-200 THB per plate, but, to Unfortunately, the relationship between the quality of soup and its price is not always traced. The average check in the food court for a set of the first, second and salad is 150-200 THB . Often this is a good opportunity to get acquainted with the local cuisine without pointing a finger at the sky: understandable and convenient pictures above the distribution lines introduce the composition of the dish, its price and appearance.
Tourist establishments offer cuisine from different countries, many specialize in European and Thai dishes, the price for a serving of rice with chicken or pork can start from 120-200 THB and up to astronomical sums in really cool and rated restaurants.
Many consider Walking street, bars and the sex industry of all colors, trends and styles flourishing around them, but fortunately, the resort is not limited to this “hot” set at all and offers a whole scattering of activities and excursions for every taste.
The majestic and vibrant Thai temples will help you stop and think. Perhaps the most popular (and how else if it can be seen from everywhere?) is the local Big Buddha or Big Buddha Hill . Here you can get acquainted with a whole complex of religious monuments and architectural compositions, get the blessing of the monks and cleanse your karma, buy souvenirs and contribute to the upkeep of the temple by donating a small amount. And on top of the hill a little cooler and fresher - also a reason to arrange a tour. Another famous object of worship is the wooden Temple of Truth , standing on Cape Rachvat in the Naklua region. Around there are a garden, a cafe, you can ride elephants or ATVs, admire the sea from the cape, in a word - spend the whole day slowly and measuredly.
The complete opposite of temples, but still an acquaintance with the local culture, will be a visit to Tiffany's show . Only those who have seen with their own eyes have the right to snort or shake their heads in disapproval. They say that even the most severe Chelyabinsk and Tagil hard workers left the famous performance of the cabaret of transvestites with satisfied faces and whistling their favorite tunes. You can hardly think of a better ad. Oh, and Tiffany is one of the top ten shows in the world according to Travel.com magazine.
Mini Siam Park will help you see the whole world in 3 hours , which has collected on its territory miniature copies of famous sights from America, Asia, Asia and Europe: the Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, St. Basil's Cathedral. If all this has already been examined in the original, then you should pay attention to the beautiful copies of the most famous Thai temples and pagodas. Also lovers of miniatures should like the collection of the Museum of Bottles . In just a few rooms, there were about 300 bottles with copies of sights painstakingly collected inside them. It is also very convenient that the museum is located next to Mini Siam Park.
Perhaps, Pattaya will not get rid of the “adult resort” stamp for a long time, but serious work is being done in this direction, and rest with a child is no longer perceived as something extravagant and unacceptable.
In May 2016, Thailand's largest water park, RamaYana, was opened 30 km south of Pattaya. More than 50 water complexes and attractions await guests of all ages, many of which, according to the representatives of the park, have no analogues in Southeast Asia. You can order a transfer to the water park directly on the website of the entertainment facility. Given the scope of the park, it is better to go straight to the opening.
With older children, you can go to the Dream World amusement park , which is located on the northern outskirts of Bangkok. It takes about 2 hours to get here from Pattaya; tours to Dream World are offered by many tour agencies of the resort. There is no analogue in Pattaya itself yet.
Other entertainment for children is getting to know the living world of Thailand. One of the most important zoos in the country Khao Kheow is located north of Pattaya. It will take at least a day to explore the famous open zoo , where you can walk next to the animals and feed them. But it's better to be prepared to be asked to visit the menagerie again. To the south of Pattaya, Nong Nooch Tropical Park awaits guests - a beautiful botanical garden with an elephant show, a crocodile farm and a butterfly farm, a bird garden, restaurants, a hotel complex, swimming pools and other entertainment infrastructure. Slightly smaller, but no less interesting: Si Racha Tiger Zoo and Pattaya Elephant Village.