One of the hottest beach-resort destinations in Thailand, Pattaya may not be idyllic but it certainly makes up for it with a wide variety of activities, accommodation and nightlife venues. Pattaya is a popular beach resort on the Gulf of Thailand just 150 km. southeast of Bangkok - a mere two-hour drive. Pattaya’s pulsating nightlife is well known, but local authorities have, in recent years, improved the quality of the beaches and reinvented the resort as a more family-friendly destination. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors are drawn each year to Pattaya to windsurf, water ski, swim, sunbathe, snorkel, sail, or take trips to nearby islands. Other activities include Bungee jumping, cycling, skydiving, go-Karting, Muay Thai (Thai boxing), and Paintball. Golfers, both novice and expert, are well catered to as well, with a wide selection of golf courses around Pattaya. Another major draw for visitors to Pattaya is the wide selection of restaurants serving some of Thailand's freshest seafood. Due to the high number of expatriate foreigners in Pattaya there is also an excellent selection of authentic foreign eateries serving French, Italian, Swiss, German, Hungarian, Scandinavian, English, Indian, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese cuisine. Drawing such a large number of diverse visitors from across the world, it’s no surprise that Pattaya also boasts an incredible choice of accommodation. Those on a tight budget and those with money to spend are equally able to find rooms to suit their needs. Visitors can always find some peaceful beach time at nearby Jomtien beach, just 3 kilometers south.Just over one hour from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Pattaya is a lively beach town that draws visitors from around the world. With activities that include a wide array of water sports, golf, shopping, cabaret shows, an elephant village, and fascinating museums, it’s impossible not to have an action-packed Pattaya holiday. Unless of course it’s relaxation you crave, in which case there are beach chairs and umbrellas lining the Pattaya shore, where wandering vendors will cater to your every need: from barbequed shrimp to a foot massage. Pattaya is certainly a Thai beach resort that meets the needs of any visitor on any budget.
Things to do & see In Pattaya
Pattaya Hill (Khao Phra Bat)
Pattaya Hill is a vantage point to get the best panoramic view of the curved bay of Pattaya either in the day or at night. On the top of the hill are situated a statue of HRH Prince of Jumborn, the father of the Royal Thai Navy and the RTN Broadcasting station (FM 104.75 MHz) as well.
Phra Tamnak
Phra Tamnak Hill is another hill nearby. You can go up to its top to pay homage to the Buddha images enshrined here.
Million Years Stone Park & Pattaya Crocodile Farm
An over-100-rai park & farm, 15 minutes' drive from the centre of Pattaya, featuring curios and beautiful things of different types: crocodiles in their natural surroundings, a zoo of wild animals, award-winning trained trees, a million-year-old petrified tree and hundreds of huge, grotesque rocks.
Million Years Stone Park & Pattaya Crocodile Farm
Pattaya Crocodile Farm
Man-catching-crocodile shows are performed daily.
Information Tel. 0 3824 9347 to 9
Open Daily, 08.00-17.00 hours
Cabarets
Fantastic, exquisite and unique, the cabaret shows are famous throughout the country and are known worldwide. Here, female dancers are so pretty, lovely and attractive. But they aren’t female at all! Their performances are so fascinating that the show is a must for all visitors to Pattaya.
Alcazar Cabaret Show
Tiffany’s Show
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Located on the 3rd floor of Royal Garden Plaza Building in Central Pattaya. A fascinating assortment of weird but wonderful exhibits from all parts of the globe can now be found at Ripley's Believe It or Not! here.
They include genuinely puzzling facts, curios, illusions, etc. proving once again that fact is stranger than fiction. Also enjoy the hi-tech simulator ride in the moving theatre and hi-tech laser game.
Information Tel. 0 3871 0294 to 8
Open Daily 10.00-24.00 hours
Admission Fee Adult 680 B, Child 580 B (Special all play package)
Sriracha Tiger Zoo
The greatest tiger zoo in a natural atmosphere where you can hold, feed and take photos with baby tigers. Watch a sow breast-feeding tiger cubs. Make some new friends as you pet and feed camels, deer, elephants, donkey and especially the tiger cubs. Try your accuracy at the shoot’n feed, shoot the target and feed the tigers. Witness the excitement of the Crocodile show.
Information Tel. 0 3833 9111
Open Daily, 08.00-18.00 hours
Admission Fee Adult 450 B, Child 250 B
Mini Siam & Mini Europe
Located near Central Pattaya at km. 143 of Sukhumwit Road, it is Thailand's first wonder displaying Thai and European heritage on a miniature scale.
Wat Phra Kaeo Model
This is the third miniature town in the world built after those in the Netherlands and Taiwan that brings together models of important objects and historical sites of different cultures and civilizations of various periods from the ancient time till present. More than 100 models, each on a scale of 1:25, are displayed in an area of 29 rai, surrounded by natural setting.
Information Tel. 0 3872 6201 to 3
Open Daily, 07.00-22.00 hours
Alangkarn
Modern-Thai Multi Dimension Extravaganza Show
Located on Sukhumvit Road, Km. 155. The Alangkarn Theatre is a splendidly designed gigantic theatre with a capacity of 2,000 seats.
Alangkarn
Featuring the Hexa Stage with a length of 70 m., the theatre presents extravaganza shows with modern light & sound technique and pyrotechnics. Besides, there are cultural plaza, souvenir shop and large restaurant serving Thai and international buffets.
For more information and reservation, call 0 3825 6007.
Pattaya Elephant Village
Pattaya Elephant Village is located at km. 145 of Sukhumwit Road. Shows are staged in which you will see elephants displaying forestry skills, playing football, and a parade of elephants decorated with ancient battle gear. The village also demonstrates how wild elephants are captured in the northeastern part of Thailand.
Elephant rides to the nearby woods are also available at 10.30 and 16.30 hours.
Information Tel. 0 3849 1456
Open Daily, 08.30 - 18.00 hours
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden & Resort
Located about 15 kilometers from South Pattaya, it is best-known as the most beautiful garden in Southeast Asia. The entire area of some 500 acres is beautifully landscaped with an orchid nursery as well as other tropical and botanical gardens. Experience various kinds of fascinating and impressive Thai cultural and traditional performances, mini zoo and elephant shows.
Information Tel. 0 3870 9358 to 62
Open Daily, 07.00-18.00 hours
Art in Paradise
Art in Paradise, the first interactive art museum in Thailand, offers the newest form of interactive art presentation by allowing viewers to be more than just a viewer, but an art object themselves. They can actually be part of the artists’ works. The place displays over 100 3D paintings in 10 different themed zones. Every painting looks so real that you will have to move closer to see if they are actually painted on the flat surface and each piece allows visitors to creatively pose for their best shots. You don’t need to be a true connoisseur of the arts to fully appreciate the works as this is an enjoyable activity for both photographers and persons who have their photo taken. Even their friends or relatives who look at the photos later can smile.
Open
Daily, 09.00-21.00 hours
Pattaya Water Park
Pattaya Water Park is on Thapphraya Road, to the north of Jomtien Beach, covering an area of around 32 acres. Pattaya Park offers an amusement park, Jacuzzi and a gigantic slide. It is an ideal outlet for family relaxation.
Underwater World Pattaya
Situated on Sukhumwit Road near South Pattaya, Underwater World Pattaya is a leisure attraction showcasing more than 200 species of marine life to be found around the region. Here visitors are taken on a 'voyage to the bottom of the sea', which begins at the sandy beaches and shallow rock pools at the water's edge.
From here, they start their descent, passing brightly coloured corals and all kinds of exotic ocean-dwellers along the way. Finally they come to a spectacular 100-metre long tunnel with acrylic windows, home to great shoals of fish, prowling predators and a host of other creatures that inhabit the ocean depths.
Information Tel. 0 3875 6879
Open Daily, 09.00-18.00 hours
The Bottle Art Museum
The Bottle Art Museum is situated at km. 145 of Sukhumwit Road. It contains an extensive collection of more than 300 pieces of artwork contained in glass bottles in the forms of well-known tourist attractions, churches, temples, palaces, ships both Thai and foreign. These creations result from the tireless efforts of Dutch sculptor, Mr. Peter Bedelais who crafted the various intricate parts and assembled them in glass bottles of different shapes.
Information Tel. 0 3842 2957
Open Daily, 8.30-17.30 hours (except public holidays)
Admission Fee Adult 200 B, Child 100 B
Wat Yannasangwararam
A temple under H.M. the King's patronage is unique for its modern Thai architecture. Located at km. 160 of Sukhumwit Road, 20 km. to the south of Pattaya, the park-like temple is vast, scenic and tranquil. It consists of a pagoda containing the Buddha's relics and several beautiful buildings built in international architectural styles such as Chinese, Indian, Swiss, etc.
Wihan Sian
Situated in the vicinity of the temple to be dedicated to H.M. the King in 1987 is Wihan Sian (Anekkuson Sala), an epitome of the harmonious blend of Buddhist beliefs, Taoism and Confucianism. Collections of priceless antiques and works of art from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are on display here.
Among others, Wihan Sian boasts the hard-to-be-seen writing-brush calligraphy of Prince Pu Jie (Emperor Pu Yi's younger brother), on the signboard of the building, which reads "Dan Fu Yuan", the Chinese name of Wihan Sian.
Khao Chichan, Pattaya
The line-etched Buddha image on the cliff of Khao (Mount) Chichan is not only a Buddhist sacred object but also the largest effigy of its kind. Foreign tourists who see it will be amazed by such a magnitude scale.
The image was christened "Phra Phuttha Maha Wachira Uttamophat Satsada" by H.M. King Bhumibol. The name means "the Buddha is the prophet who enlightens and shines like a diamond."
Pattaya Floating Market: The Latest Cultural Conservation Centre in Pattaya
Pattaya Floating Market is the world’s largest floating market located on an area of about 100,000 sq m on the outskirt of Pattaya. It is divided into four parts representing the cultural heritage of the four regions of Thailand. Scattered on the fresh water swamp are islands of various sizes and many Thai style teakwood houses linked together with wooden bridges.
Every day over 80 paddle boats are ready to take visitors on tour to see Thai style architecture, traditional ways of life and waterborne vendors paddling their boats selling freshly cooked food. There are restaurants and more than 100 boutique shops offering handicrafts and souvenirs from all over the country. Exquisitely carved image of Ganesh, the Hindu god with an elephant head and some rare pieces of carved wood are exhibited at The Woodcarving Museum. Thai cultural shows, martial art demonstrations such as the water boxing, and many activities are also performed daily.
Pattaya Nightlife
Nightlife at the Pattaya city is different then in Bangkok but very well known. There are a plenty of go-go bars, night clubs, beer bars, gay clubs in Pattaya, and multiplex entertainments offering diversity of enjoyable activities. Girls, shows, games are major points for night tourists. Cabaret revues featuring kathoeys (male-to-female transsexuals) are also very renowned in Pattaya. Pattaya Walking Street is the central night activities. Addtionally, if visitors stay in Pattaya long enough, they will notice that there are new clubs opened very often in order to offer new sort of nightlife activities in Pattaya. Barzia Club, NAB Club, Tonys, Marine Disco, X-Zyte, Lucifer, Hammer, Mixx, Alcazar, and Tiffany are the most famous places in Pattaya nightlife. Another important point is that the famous restaurant’s offering impressive foods for visitors at much cheaper price compare to major nightlife in Thailand such as Bangkok, koh Samui, or Phuket.
Girls In Pattaya
Girls from Thailand can be wild, crazy, fun, and very sexy; that is what attracts men from all around the globe to the “Sin City” of the east. Of course there are beaches, golf courses, wildlife parks, and all the usual things that can be enjoyed at countless locations across the world.
