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PATTAYA
Pattaya is one of the most tourist destinations in Thailand. The place is located on the Gulf of Thailand about 150 kilometers from the capital, Bangkok. The main beach (Pattaya Beach) is a few kilometers long. North of Pattaya is Naklua and south is the popular resort of Jomtien which is often seen as part of Pattaya.
Honestly? Pattaya is not at the top of our list when it comes to favorite destinations in Thailand. Pattaya is often known for sex and GoGo clubs. This of course attracts people who are looking for this and that determines for a part of the atmosphere. Unfortunately, you can hardly avoid this when you walk along the boulevard in the evening or when you go out for a night on Pattaya Walking Street.
Pattaya is particularly popular with Russians and therefore you will regularly see menus in Russian or meet a Thai guide who also speaks Russian!
Nightlife in Pattaya
Nightlife in Pattaya is great! There are countless bars, pubs and cabaret shows. You can also find real clubs and discos in Pattaya. Most entertainment venues are around Pattaya Walking Street, a street that runs parallel to the beach. But several other streets such as Soi Buakhao, Second Road and Beach Road also have bars and other entertainment venues. Quiet evenings with a good or romantic dinner are also possible, as restaurants abound. We also recommend rooftop bars with beautiful views!
Family vacation?
We would not recommend Pattaya if you go on vacation with children. However, if you sleep in a luxury resort with a pool and know what you want to see and what you don’t want to see, you might have less trouble. The beach is crowded with boats and speedboats. But there are sections cordoned off where you can swim and where boats are not allowed, the beach is fine and has many facilities. In the vicinity of Pattaya are some beautiful islands such as Koh Larn and Koh Samet. These are touristy but have beautiful white beaches and nice clear water!
Attractions and sights
Pattaya has many nice (tourist) attractions and sights, also for children. Pattaya itself wants to be a destination for the whole family. For example, there are several beautiful water parks! Markets are also plentiful, there is even an entire floating market rebuilt! Also, the famous wooden temple, The Sanctuary of Truth can only be found in Pattaya and is definitely worth a visit. Just as in Bangkok, Pattaya has the Terminal 21 shopping mall. This shopping mall represents several countries and has the theme of the airport. In short, you will not get bored in Pattaya!
Transportation in Pattaya
The cheapest way to get around in Pattaya is with the songthaews, these half open buses with 2 benches on each side drive fixed routes. Sometimes this bus is also called the baht bus. The songthaews drive along Beach Road (boulevard) and Second Road. On the map, the routes are marked with red and green arrows. There is one-way traffic, on Beach Road the traffic goes south and on Second Road it goes north. There are multiple routes, but for tourists, these are the two most important routes and the most used.
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Songthaew / baht bus usage
You never have to wait long for a songthaew because they drive off and on. You can just stop them by raising your arm to waist height, exuberant waving is not necessary. Then get in at the back. In the bus there is a bell, press it if you want to get off. After getting off you pay 10 baht per person to the driver. Never ask the driver what the price is, he will make a special (much more expensive) price especially for you.
When songthaews are lined up along the road, always take the last one, get in and wait until the van departs or is full. Only ask the driver for a specific or different destination if you want to hire the entire baht bus. Then always negotiate the price before departure.
Taxi’s
Cabs are also plentiful in Pattaya, of course. You will almost always have to negotiate the price. The chance that you will meet a cab driver in Pattaya who wants to turn on the meter is very small, get used to it!
How to get to Pattaya from Bangkok?
From Bangkok it is about an hour and a half to Pattaya by car. If you want you can take a cab or a minibus to save on costs. For a private cab you will pay about 14.00 baht and for a shared minibus 500 baht per person. The cheapest option is the local bus, which easily takes 2.5 hours. Airfare to Bangkok is largely dependent on the season. In the high season you pay, like everywhere else in the world, higher prices. There is no airport in Pattaya (yet).
Look for airline tickets, bus tickets and cab prices on 12Go Asia. Here you can be exactly how long the trip takes and what the costs are. Found what you were looking for, then you can book right away to be sure of a seat.
Best travel time for Pattaya
In Thailand there is a tropical climate, the average temperature is around 30 degrees and the sea is also nice and warm with temperatures between 26 and 30 degrees. Cold you will get only if the air conditioning is too low. The best months to travel to Pattaya are January to September. The humidity is not so high and there is little rain. From March to May the temperature and humidity begins to rise and it can feel very hot (say hot). This does not have to be a problem if you want to lie on the beach a lot and do not want to do so much. The chance of rain increases in the months of July and August, but there are sunny and dry moments in between. In the months of September, October and November the most rain falls. Of which October is often the wettest month.
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