Pattaya city, Thailand – Where to Stay and how to Arrive from Bangkok ? What to Visit ?

How is Pattaya city ?
Pattaya – Orientation
Where to Stay in Pattaya ? – Hotels
Transport from Bangkok to Pattaya
Transport inside Pattaya
The Climate in Pattaya
Ko-Larn, the island in front of Pattaya
Jomtien
Things to do in Pattaya

How is Pattaya city ?

Pattaya is a big city, the second after Bangkok. It is located right on the beach. It has a spirit of tourism, not business like the city of Bangkok.
It has some big malls, many hotels, international food, a nice island in front (Ko-Larn) and many, many Go-Go bars.
Pattaya is close to Bangkok, just 2 hours of bus ride, 150 Km.

Pattaya – Orientation

Look at the following Maps, click to enlarge :

Zoom on Central Pattaya :

The beaches of Pattaya are 4 Km long. There is the beach road and a “second road” which is parallel. At the south of the beach road there is the Walking street which is the main nightlife of Pattaya. At the end of the walking street there is the pier to Ko-Larn island.
At the middle of Pattaya beach road, there is a huge mall.
The central bus station is at the north and to the right.
Jomtien (look at the first map) is at the very south of Pattaya after an hill.
See everything on a Google interactive Map :

Where to Stay in Pattaya

Look at the following Map, click to enlarge :

Between the beach road and the second road, there are many perpendicular small streets. They are called Soi and each one has a number. Soi number 1 begins at the north and Soi number 13 is at the south, near the walking street. So, ideally you would like to be near the beach in one of these Soi and more to the south, near the walking street. If you are more to the north, don’t worry because there is a very efficient and cheap transport on the beach road. There are also, many hotels farther of the beaches, after the second road. The hotels get cheaper when you distance yourself from the beaches.
See :
Hotels near the walking street of Pattaya or
Hotels in the South part of Pattaya or
Hotels in the Central part of Pattaya or
Hotels in the North part of Pattaya
Another good option is to live in Jomtien, at the very south of Pattaya beyond a hill. Jomtien has beaches, nightlife and many restaurants and easy transport to the walking street of Pattaya (just 15 minutes with shared Taxis).
Accommodation could be cheaper in Jomtien.
See Hotels in Jomtien beach

If you are looking for a budget hotel in Pattaya, consider Sabai Inn hotel. It is quiet, the rooms are very clean and big enough. The location is excellent : In the north part of Pattaya, near the beach, between the two main streets, near the malls “Teminal 21” and “Marina”. It is also relatively close to the central bus station.

There is even a swimming-pool.

Transport from Bangkok to Pattaya

You can take a bus from Bangkok to Pattaya and arrive in 2 hours. There are also buses from the airport of Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi (there are no trains from Bangkok to Pattaya).

The places to take a bus in Bangkok :

Ekkamai, the eastern central bus station of Bangkok.
Mochit, the northern central bus station of Bangkok.
Suvarnabhumi airport.
Private companies that pick-up passengers from the hotels, like in the backpacker’s area, the Khaosan.

See on a map where are these stations in Bangkok. You can arrive to these stations with the skytrain. The frequency of the buses is quite good, each half hour. Usually, there are places on the next bus, no need to reserve in advance.
At Pattaya, you arrive to the central bus station, which is in the north of the city and to the right. Look at the following map (star marked) :

From Pattaya central bus station, there will be shared taxi (trucks, Tuk-Tuk), that will propose to deposit you at the hotel for 50 Baht.
From the airport of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya :
One bus company will bring you to the central bus station of Pattaya and another company to the bus station of Jomtien (in the south of Pattaya).

See on the interactive map above, where is Jomtien bus station for the airport.
See the airport of Bangkok, on a map.

Transport inside Pattaya

The Shared Taxi (Tuk-Tuk, trucks)

A very convenient and cheap way to move inside Pattaya. Their frequency is very high, usually you don’t wait more than 2 minutes. It costs just 10 Baht.

They run along the beach road and the second road (the parallel). These roads are one-way traffic, in the beach road the direction is south and in the “second road” the direction is north. See the roads on the Map above.
For Jomtien, there are also shared Taxi. They start from a point not far from the walking street. See this station on the interactive map above.
The cost for Jomtien shared Taxis is the same, 10 Baht.

Regular Taxi

There are taxis in Pattaya and they have a taxi-meter but somehow they refuse to make it run and ask for a higher price.

Taxi-Moto

Exactly like in Bangkok, there are Taxi-Moto that can take 1 person at a time. Very convenient when there is traffic jam. The drivers wear an orange gilet.

Rent a Moto

There are many places to rent a motorbike. Prices are between 200 to 300 Baht per day. Gasoline may be 50 Baht per day. The motorbikes are 125 CC.
From time to time there are police controls and they give (small) fines for not driving with a helmet.
See about the motorcycle licence issue in Thailand in the Transport page.

The Climate in Pattaya

Rain

Like in all Thailand, also in Pattaya there is a rainy season. The rainy season is from May till November. The peak of the rain is in September, about 300 mm rain.

Temperatures

Hot. Not changing a lot during the year.
At day time : around 30 Degrees Celsius.
At night time : 22 to 25 Degrees Celsius.

Ko-Larn, the island in front of Pattaya

Note : There is a separate Page about Koh-Larn island, with a lot of Info.

A magnificent escape from Pattaya, the beaches are much nicer than in Pattaya (but very crowded). It is very easy to reach Ko-Larn from Pattaya with a regular service of boats. The pier is located at the south of the walking street (see on Map). The sail by boat takes half hour. The frequency of the boats is each hour.

There are two companies : one is taking to the nearest point on the island (the main village, Naban pier) and the other company to a very nice beach on the other side of the island (Tawaen beach).

There are several beaches in Ko-Larn and you can move inside the island with a moto-taxi or a shared taxi (tuk-tuk, truck) or rent a moto.
There are Hotels in Koh Larn, in case you want to stay there for the night.
There are also speed boats that go to Ko-Larn.

Jomtien

Jomtien beaches are at the south of Pattaya, beyond a hill (see on Map). Jomtien has the same spirit as central Pattaya, just a little bit less crowded. There are beaches, many hotels, many restaurants and bars and some Go-Go bars.

At the north of Jomtien there is an entertainment park with swimming pools and waterslides and a tower from which it is possible to glide with a zip-line.

At the center of Jomtien, there is a night market with a lot of food and music. Some of the food and music is in Russian because there are many Russians who choose to live in this area.

It is very easy to join Jomtien with the shared taxis (Tuk-Tuke, truck), see how.

Things to do in Pattaya

The Sanctuary of Truth

It is a nice surprise to find out that in a beach city like Pattaya, there is a top class attraction. It is a big castle made of wood. In fact, it is supposed to be the largest wooden castle in the world.

The location is very convenient. Less than 5 Km from the north of Pattaya. See location on Google Map and on the following map :

The architecture of the castle is inspired by Ayutthaya Kingdom, Buddhism and Hinduism.

The construction began in 1981 and is still going on. Because of the construction, visitors are required to wear an helmet while visiting inside the building.

You can watch the artists

There is a beautiful elevator that is reserved only for wheelchairs.

There is also an elephant camp and it is possible to ride on an elephant (relatively expensive and considered immoral by some people).

For those who don’t want to ride an elephant, there are also horses.

For those who don’t want to ride any animal, there is a café and it is very nice to sit here and watch the activity.

You can take a Coconut, at the café. There are many.

The castle is located right on the beach.

At the time of writing the entrance costs 500 Baht. Strangely, it is a little bit cheaper when you buy the ticket online.

Sightseeing Bus Pattaya

There is now a touristic bus in Pattaya. An Hop-On Hop-Off bus. It is the same company that operates also in Barcelona and other European cities. The first thought I had when I saw the bus was : why a touristic bus in a city with only beaches ?. But it turns out that the bus takes you to interesting attractions outside the city. There are 2 lines. See their website for details. They have a stop at the the Terminal 21 Mall, and it is possible to buy a ticket there. See “Terminal 21” location on Google Map.

Beaches + one island (Koh Larn)

The water of Pattaya’s beaches is not that great, it is not transparent like on the many islands of Thailand, but it is still great when a big city is open to the sea and it’s nice to walk on the sand on sunset (also in Jomtien).

Luckily, there is an island in front of Pattaya and the beaches there are great. See about Ko-Larn island.

Commercial Centers

It is hot in Pattaya, all year round, so at day time people like to stay inside big commercial centers.

Look at the following map. The malls are marked in green.

The most notorious mall is “Central Pattaya” which is located on the beach road, quite in the center. It is huge. In the underground floor there is a food court and a big supermarket. On the top floor, there are restaurants, including a Sizzler restaurant which has a great salad bar.

In the photo : View from Central Pattaya mall.

A relatively new mall is Terminal 21. It is located in the north, on the second street. This mall is also huge. The theme of the mall is airports, so the design is cool (there is also a Terminal 21 mall in Bangkok).

Outside Terminal 21 mall, there is a night market with interesting street food.

Very close to the Terminal 21 mall, there is the Central Marina mall. The theme of this mall is the sea. This mall has much less visitors compared to Terminal 21.

The mall “Royal Garden Plaza” was the biggest mall in Pattaya. Now it is considered small compared to “Central Pattaya”. On the top floor there is a sort of theme park.

Night Market with an old Boeing 747 airplane

On the second street, there is a night market, with an airplane. It is not possible to get inside the airplane. It is called “Runway Street Food”. See location on Google Maps.

The walking street – Nightlife

The walking street of Pattaya is the main nightlife spot of Pattaya. It is a sort of Las Vegas but instead of casinos there are Go-Go bars. It is a very lively street with music and bars and restaurants, a lot of neon lights and people. The best is to sit to eat an ice-cream and watch the crazy atmosphere of the place.
See the walking street on the map above.

Go-Go bars

There are hundreds of Go-Go bars in Pattaya. Many are in the walking street and many more are on the Soi (little streets) between the beach road and the second road.

Soi number 6 in the north is also very crowded with Go-Go bars.

The Go-Go bars in Pattaya are a safe environment and there is a “Tourist Police” with international volunteers to help in case of troubles (it happens that people get drunk).

See the page about common scams in Go-Go bars.

Massages

Like in all Thailand, where there are tourists, there are also Massage parlors.
The 3 main massages offered are : Thai massage, oil massage and foot massage. Prices are between 200 and 300 Baht per hour.

Muay Thai – Thai Box

You can watch Muay Thai in the walking street of Pattaya.

Discos and Karaoke

At the end of the walking street, you will find several discos and Karaoke. You should learn Russian because some of the songs are in Russian.

The entertainment Park in Jomtien

See Jomtien.

Rent a Motorbike

See about renting a moto.

Floating market

Apparently, there is one on the outskirts of Pattaya. You can arrive to it with an organized tour. Ask for details in one of the many tourist travel agencies on the streets. See location on a Google Map.

Karting + Parachuting

There is a karting (small racing cars) not far from the end of the walking street. See location on a Google Map.

There are Parachutes towed from speed boats, on the beaches.

Salsa dancing

If you are used to dance Salsa in your home country, don’t stop at Pattaya. There is a Salsa community in town. See this Facebook page and this Facebook page.

Other Stuff :

Info about 2 more cool cities: Barcelona and Tel-Aviv
What to Pack ? the visual list that will help you prepare the suitcase.
Visit my Vegetarian Page. Why be Vegetarian ? What to eat ?
Visit my Salsa Dance Page. Salsa main Styles. Why Dance Salsa ?
Listen to nice Songs with translation in French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew.
Listen to basic Words In Spanish, French, Hebrew

star If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

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