Pattaya - General Information
Pattaya is located on the East Coast of the Gulf of Thailand (Eastern Seaboard Thailand), around 145 km south of the capital Bangkok, and with in Chonburi Province.
Distance from the international Suvarnabhumi airport is aprox 115 km, or 60 to 90 mins drive to Pattaya. The land area of Pattaya is around 50 square kilometers. The registered number of citizens is near to 120,000. However, the real number of people living in Pattaya is estimated at around 300,000 to 600,000. 5 million+ tourists visit Pattaya every year. The city of Pattaya is a self governing special municipal area which covers the whole districts of Nongprue and Naklua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Palai.
Pattaya Roads
Pattaya's downtown areas are easy to navigate.
Running North-South, a few hundred meters apart, are Pattaya Beach Road (Thanon Hat Pattaya) which borders the beach (Hat Pattaya), Pattaya Second Road and Pattaya Third Road (with the smaller but busy Soi Buakhao in between), and the main Sukhumvit Road coastal highway. Beach Road is one-way southbound, Second Road one way northbound.
These are connected by the three major east-west roads: North Pattaya Road (Thanon Pattaya Nua), Central Pattaya Road (Thanon Pattaya Klang) and South Pattaya Road (Thanon Pattaya Tai).
Also connecting Beach Road and Second Road are a large number of smaller streets or Soi's. The main Soi's are numbered from 1 to 16, from North to South. Soi's 1-6 are between North Pattaya Road and Central Pattaya Road, Soi's 7-13 are between Central Pattaya Road and South Pattaya Road (including the Pattayaland Soi's, immediately North of South Pattaya Road), Soi's 14-16 are South of South Pattaya Road. Most of these East-West Soi's are (in theory at least) one-way!
Beach Road, Second Road, and North Pattaya Road (plus Naklua Road to the north) all meet at the Dolphin Roundabout landmark.
Second Road South of South Pattaya Road becomes Phratamnak Road, which shares a junction with both the southern end of Third Road and the northern end of the main road to Jomtien, Thappraya Road.
Walking Street, southern end of Pattaya Beach Road and south of South Pattaya Road is closed to vehicles in the evenings (currently 18:00-02:00) as this is the main tourist area for nightlife.
At the southern end of Walking Street is Bali Hai Pier.
The Beaches and Islands
Pattaya Beach is situated alongside the city center, close to shopping, hotels, restaurants and bars. Most sections of the beach are covered by rented deckchairs run by local beverage vendors during daylight hours. The section of beach from Central Road (Pattaya Klang) south to the Pier is adjacent to the core of Pattaya's abundant nightlife area and is less family-oriented than the North Pattaya, Wong Amat (Naklua) and Jomtien beaches.
Beyond the southern end around Buddha Hill and the headland that divides Pattaya Bay from Jomtien, there are several other smaller beaches. At the northern end of Pattaya beach is Wong Amat Beach, which is reached from the Naklua Road and Soi Wong Amat.
Jomtien Beach is separated from the main part of Pattaya by Phratamnak Hill, just south of the city. Jomtien beach is a popular family and water sport location, a residential area with beachside hotels, bungalow complexes, condominiums and restaurants.
Dong Tarn Beach, at the northern end of Jomtien Bay, has a traffic-free promenade.
Wong Amat Beach is located at northern end of Pattaya Beach and separated by Rachvate Cape (accessed from Naklua Road and Soi Wong Amat). This is a quiet relaxing residential area with direct waterfront hotels, condominiums.
Further North is the smaller Crescent Moon Beach and Palm Beach, and far North is the main Naklua Beach.
Koh Lan or Coral Island is a small island situated 7.5 km west of Pattaya. It has several beaches with soft white sand and crystal clear water, and is known for its relaxing atmosphere and exotic fish.
The Island can be reached by speedboat and ferry. The ferry departs hourly and is a 45-minute ride costing just 30-50 Baht each way. Speedboats are more expensive but can reach the island in less than 15 minutes.
Off Pattaya there are two small island groups, the Near Islands Koh Sak and Koh Krok located close to the northern shores of Pattaya, and Koh Lan, and the Far Islands Koh, Rin, Koh Man, Koh Wichai, Koh Hua Chang, and Koh Badan which are located offshore due west of Pattaya. These islands, especially the Far Islands, are the mainly scuba diving destinations in and around Pattaya.
Accommodation
Pattaya has an abundant supply and choice of hotels, apartments and guest houses to suit every budget, including luxury hotels with private beaches, bay side hotels and bungalows and inland economy class hotels and guesthouses. You can find a room from 500 Baht (15 USD) per night in a guest house up to 10,000 Baht (300 USD) and even more in a five star hotel. In Thailand very often the price for a double / twin room is the same or nearly the same as it is for a single room. Check out time is always at noon and often breakfast is included. From our experience it is always cheaper to book a room on the internet than to book it direct with the hotel. For online bookings you can use companies like Asia Rooms or Direct Rooms or many more. If you plan to stay during the high season from December to February you should book your room well in advance, as during this time many hotels are already fully booked.
Transportation with in Pattaya
The so called "Baht Buses" (Songthaew) are very popular in Pattaya. They provide transportation on the main roads of Pattaya, Naklua and Jomtien. You can stop them wherever you see them. When you have reached your destination, you just press one of the bell buttons on the bus and they will stop. Price is normally 10 Baht per person per trip, however you have no influence on the routing, but you can ask this in advance. You can also private hire a Baht bus. Be sure to agree on the fare in advance to avoid problems later. The fare should not exceed 250 Baht for a trip from Jomtien Beach to Naklua or 120 Baht from Naklua or Jomtien to Pattaya. If you private hire a Baht bus the number of Passengers does not matter on the fare. Pattaya also has Bolt and Grab Taxi, just simply download the app and you’re good to go. There are regular meter Taxis as well, here they have meters, but you will find out, that very often the drivers refuse to use them, so you will need to agree a fare in advance of your trip, however first you should ‘friendly’ try to force them to use the meter, as it’s always cheaper.
Motorbike taxis are available and can be found on nearly every street corner. You can hire them as well - agree the fare in advance! -, but keep on mind that there a lot of motorbike accidents and so it is always a little bit dangerous. Always insist and wear a helmet.
Airport – Transfer
Transfer from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport cost wsith a taxi 1,100 to 1,500 Baht, with a Limousine service around 2,000 to 2,500 Baht. If you go from Pattaya to the airport you can find taxi offers in Pattaya for 800 to 1,000 Baht. There is also a direct bus (air conditioned) transfer from the airport to Pattaya. Price is aprox 130 Baht for one way per person. Departures during the day time every 4 hours. Road Journey time takes aprox 80 to 90 mins, Via the Bangkok Chonburi – Pattaya Highway No.7 and Highway No.36.
Climate
Pattaya enjoys a year-round tropical climate and has 3 seasons:
November – February: Hot and Dry Season, Temperature daytime 24 to 30 Degrees Centigrade (77 to 86 Degrees Fahrenheit). Sunny nearly every day, normally no rain
March to May: Hot and Humid Season, Temperature daytime 30 to 40 Degrees Centigrade (86 to 104 Degrees Fahrenheit). Good weather, but sometimes there is a chance of rain showers.
June to October: Hot and Rainy Season, Temperature daytime 27 to 35 Degrees Centigrade (80 to 95 Degrees Fahrenheit). Actually, the rainy season in Pattaya is not the same as in the other provinces of Thailand. The heaviest rainfall here tends to be at the beginning and end of the season with some rainy days in between, but often you have many days with perfect weather and sunshine. - Pattaya and Hua Hin are the cities with most sunshine hours per year in Thailand!
Hospitals and Health Care
Pattaya boasts excellent international standard hospitals, many foreign tourists have inexpensive medical and dental care here compared to most western countries. Excellent service, well known in Pattaya is the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital at Sukhumvit Road or the Pattaya International Hospital close to Pattaya Beach Road.
Restaurants
In Pattaya you find a wide range of restaurants, both local and international. A main course starts from a little bit more than 100 Baht in a cheap restaurant up to 600 Baht in a very good restaurant, there are Top Gourmet restaurants as well where a main course is up to 1,500 Baht.
You can easily find fine English, German, Italian, French, Scandinavian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Indian Restaurants, and of course a many Thai and Sea food restaurants. Western fast food chains include McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks Coffee and Hagen Daz.
Local Thai food, Pattaya has a lot of fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables. As there are a lot of people from the north-east (Isarn) living and working in Pattaya, there is an abundance of north-eastern favorites such as Spicy Papaya Salad (Somtum) and Spicy Sour Chopped Pork Salad (Larb).
Some restaurants provide soft live music as well.
Many restaurants, especially in South Pattaya are open 24 hours daily.
Shopping
Pattaya has many shopping centers including Terminal 21 in North Pattaya, Central Festival Center Pattaya Beach Road, and others like Big C Extra, Lotus, Mike Shopping Mall, Royal Garden Plaza, The Outlet Mall, the Avenue Center. Opening and closing times are normally between 10 or 11 am to around 11 pm daily.
At South Pattaya Road is the "Tuk Com", a shopping centre on 6 floors only for mobile phones, computers, software and accessories.
Like in many other cities in Thailand you will find "Gold - shops" at nearly every corner.
Also there are many Mini Marts like 7-Eleven and Family Mart which are open 24 hours daily.
The big Thai Markets are Thepprasit Night Market and the Soi Buakhao Market.
Spa and Massage
Spas of a very high world-standard can be found at the city’s top resorts, hotels and shopping centres.
There is also an abundance of massage shops. The most common types of massage include Thai massage, foot massage, oil massage and reflexology massage.
Entertainment
Pattaya is renowned worldwide for its entertainment and nightlife. New clubs and bars are opening all the time. There are hundreds of Pubs, Beer bars, Karaoke bars, Sports Bars, Theme bars, night club and discos including Lucifer 2.0, The Mixx, 808 and Insomnia.
There is also the famous Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya Beach Road.
The world famous Walking Street is the Center and main entertainment area of Pattaya's nightlife, located at the South end of Pattaya Beach road, and is closed for vehicles from 7 pm to 3 am.
Cinemas in Pattaya are SFX Cinema in The Terminal 21, Central Festival Center and Central Marina, and Major Cineplex in the Avenue Center, you can see the newest Hollywood blockbusters (English language) and Thai movies.
Other Entertainments include: Alcazar and Tiffany Cabaret Show, Alankarn Thai Art Culture Theatre and Show.
Pattaya's Western creative arts are growing daily as the number of expat residents continues to climb. Art galleries are numerous and other arts oriented programs and organizations are starting to thrive including the theatre group entitled the Pattaya Players, a troupe of amateur thespians.