Car Hire Pattaya - Mini guide to Pattaya
Less than two hour’s drive from Bangkok is one of Thailand’s most commercially developed beach resorts, drawing the crowds with its mixture of excitement, cheap deals, good beaches, sleaze and weekend hideaways for Thailand’s elite.
Depending on your taste, you’ll find this resort town exciting or tacky and it draws a vast number of Thailand’s tourists, mostly package tour groups. However, is still features endless restaurants with delicious but spicy Thai food, lively bars packed with lonely Thai ladies, Karaoke lounges and good value hotels. Recent efforts have seen Pattaya’s image upgraded with several top class hotels and facilities, effectively the city now caters for all budgets and tastes.
Most of the action is clustered around Pattaya bay with its sweep of sand and line of high rise hotels. There are all sorts of watersports on offer here, but if you seek something quieter and more private, the adjacent beaches of Naklua bay and Jomtien beach are pleasant. Typically you can enjoy a beachside cocktail, Thai massage or simply relax in the endless sun.
Scuba diving is popular and there are many dive shops in the tourist strips offering good quality excursions to nearby reefs and islands.
By night, Pattaya isn’t short of entertainment and is well known for its sex scene. These are generally clustered in areas and recognised by the scores of single ladies prompting you to come in. However, the are many more reputable establishments in which to enjoy a quiet sunset drink, watch videos while you get drunk, or feed off the sumptuous seafood that the Gulf towns are famous for. Many discos and karaoke bars are scattered about, the one’s located in international hotels being the most reliable. Traditional Thai massage, or foot massages are highly recommended and easy to come by.
Shopping is also excellent value for money at the various day and night markets that are hard to miss in the tourist areas. Beware of fake goods, but look out for excellent-value silk and other clothing.
Many buses run frequently to Pattaya, either from the Southern bus terminal in Bagkok, or directly from the airport or leading hotels.
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