The Pattaya Guide

Night life in Pattaya

Pattaya is internationally famous for its nightlife, and has a reputation as Thailand’s naughtiest city. Whatever you are looking for, Pattaya nightlife has it all, from pub restaurants to go-go bars and from trendy discos to world famous transsexual cabaret shows.

Probably the most famous nightlife area of Pattaya is Walking Street in South Pattaya. From the evening until the next morning this road is closed to vehicles. The street itself and its adjoining lanes, known as sois, are all packed with go-go bars, massage parlours, beer bars and restaurants. It is crowded daily and the noisy bustle attracts those from all over. A walk down the street gives a visitor an eye opening experience of what Pattaya nightlife is all about. Apart from girly bars, Walking Street also has an Irish style pub and several discos which are usually packed. Most of the action continues until the early hours of the following morning.

Central Pattaya around sois 7 and 8 down to the beach is not as mad as South Pattaya, but there are still a mass of beer bars, restaurants and other bars to contribute to the nightlife in Pattaya. This is an area frequented by many of the foreign residents of the city, and is more suited to a combination of drinking and chatting. As with all bars in the town, girls will happily sit with men if provided with a drink.

Nightlife in North Pattaya is quieter still, but even here there are probably a hundred bars. There are also restaurants and pub-restaurants with a variety of music from modern western rock to pop performed by local bands and singers. North Pattaya is also home to the famous Alcazar Cabaret and the even larger Tiffany Cabaret, both of which feature transexuals who mime to both old and modern music while dressed in glitzy costumes. These remain extremely popular with tourists.

For the gay nightlife scene Pattaya has Boyz Town centered round Soi Pattayaland 1 and 3. This noisy and popular area has many gay go-go bars and beer bars. The adjacent Sunee Plaza is similar but both quieter and more private. Gay bars can also be found in other parts of Pattaya that cater for a more mixed crowd in usually quieter settings. Jomtien Beach is another gay meeting area.

Pattaya also has a number of other night time venues. Thai kick boxing known as Muay Thai can be seen at a number of bars scattered around Pattaya. These do not host events every night, so it’s best to ask at your hotel for information on where to go on a particular night.

Sometimes, a walk down the Pattaya bay promenade, simply people watching can be an entertaining and more low-key way to enjoy the nightlife, although you are likely to be accosted constantly by ‘freelancing bar girls’ who can be quite annoying with their persistence. It’s all part of Pattaya’s atmosphere. There are of course, plenty of decent, quiet restaurants and pubs to hide in if the whole scene becomes a bit too much.

Pattaya also has three cinema complexes featuring English soundtrack movies. These can be found at Big C in North Pattaya, Royal Garden Plaza in Central Pattaya and the Avenue in Central Pattaya. There are also three bowling alleys that can be found at the Avenue, opposite Big C on Second Road and above Tops supermarket on Pattaya central road. Ripley’s Believe It or Not also opens fairly late with a number of entertaining attractions in addition to its bizarre exhibitions.