Where is Pattaya?

[stepaniak]

thanks for the help...since my girlfriend is coming with, perhaps we will start looking for flights to phuket instead.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Its generally accepted as a town for reeb and xes (spell em backwards) although its trying to clean up its act. Or to put it another way its not somewhere you would take the wife or girlfreind. Beaches are very very poor if you have "tropical paradise" in mind.

For diving - very poor but a good place to take instruction and learn.

You left out the syobydal

 

[Nikki T]

Thanks,
The purpose of the trip is not diving, actually we will not be there that long. If the diving was great, we would work that in, if not, we are looking for other things to do. Is pattaya beach nice? or are there better places to spend a week around bangkok?
thanks for the advice.
mike

Lots of beaches around Thailand. Koh Samui is always nice to go to. Good beach, good food, nice parties. May tend to be a little crowded but still worth it. Must fly out of Bangkok though. Forget Pattaya - I thought it was horrible. Phuket would also lose out to Koh Samui.

 

[stepaniak]

already been to koh samui...i would like to go somewhere i havent been.

 

[davidlkh]

i think we are just looking to relax and get away, so a beach would be ideal. We will be in bangkok for a while to take in the cultural side, just looking for the best place to relax after that.
i have not ruled out taking a short flight to get somewhere else in thailand.
mike

Super nice hotels in Pattaya are Dusit and Royal Cliff. Marriot is OK, not really worth it.

Pattaya beach is not that great. Nicer is Koh Lan just off Pattaya beach. There are other islands out there too.

If you want to see what the local do at the beach, BanChang (not sure how to spell it) is where I noticed there are no tourist. You will bypass this place as you travel from Bangkok to Pattaya.

Rayong also has some beaches near Novotel. As you get closer to the PetroChemical Industrial Park, the quality of the beach detiorates.

You must allow ample travel time, as traffic is a real time killer in Bangkok. Travelling at night can help avoid a lot of Bangkok jams.

 

[buksida]

There are a lot of dive spots around the Pattaya area and probably the best selection of wrecks in the Kingdom. A good summary or all the dive spots can be found here:

http://www.asiadivesite.com/thailand-dive-sites/pattaya/

If you're after better viz and big pelagics you may be better off on the Andaman side.

Enjoy!

 

[danno]

Run down Pattaya all you want, I've been living here for 5 years and think it isn't all that bad. The diving is okay, usual stuff to see. Not much for big stuff. it has a few good wrecks in the area that are worth diving.
The beach is okay, there are swimming areas but not real sure how clean the water is. Koh larn, a 45 minute (20 Baht) ferry ride will get you some nice clean swimming beaches and great sea food pretty cheap.
There is a lot to do here, with or without a girlfriend/wife. It is known as a single guys paradise but couples can have a great night out as well. My wife and I go out often and have a fine time. You will find what you want here, good or bad.
My 2 cents worth....

 

[ScubaJoel]

i think we are just looking to relax and get away, so a beach would be ideal. We will be in bangkok for a while to take in the cultural side, just looking for the best place to relax after that.
i have not ruled out taking a short flight to get somewhere else in thailand.
mike

Hi,
if your are not into sextourism (that's what Pattaya for me is all about) go to Kho Samet. IMO four hours with bus from Bangkok.
Or Krabi, Raleigh Beach - a flight must be about 2 or 3 hours.

 

[whitehead]

It looks as though Pattaya may have another wreck dive coming up soon:

http://www.whiteheadimages.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=4&catid=2

 

[Vie]

It looks as though Pattaya may have another wreck dive coming up soon:

http://www.whiteheadimages.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=4&catid=2

The ex-US LSM 1 class ship that may be sunk to “to create a new shipwreck dive site as a marine tourism promotion project for Pattaya” is actually called RTMS Kut (formerly USS LSM 338 and is/was Kram’s sister ship).