Pattaya - Pattaya Sporting Opportunities, Pattaya Nightlife, Pattaya Special Events

Pattaya Sporting Opportunities

Water Sports

Windsurfing
Best at Hat Jomtien Where tuition is available for beginners. October through June is the best months, with ideal water and wind conditions for windsurfing.

Sailing
Sailing is a year-round sport in Pattaya's waters, and the most popular craft to rent are Lasers, Prindles and Hobie Cats. For more information, visitors should contact their hotel travel desk or the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. Tel. 0 3825 0116, 0 3830 6290

Water Skiing
The most popular venues are the northern and southern parts of Pattaya Beach, Jomtien Beach and Ko Lan, while freshwater skiing is available at Lakeland Cable Ski at the 150.5 km. marker on Sukhumvit Road. Open daily 10.00 a.m.-7.00 p.m. Tel: 0 3823 2690-2

Game Fishing
Expeditions are organised by many operators, with the waters around Ko Manwichai, Ko Rin and Ko Khram popular for the pursuit of marlin, king mackerel and barracuda.

Parasailing
This sport is widely available throughout the resort. Scuba Diving and Snorkelling both sports are popular around Pattaya's offshore islands. The resort has several dive shops, and beginners can take PADI open water certification courses.

Pattaya Nightlife

Major hotels operate gourmet restaurants, cocktail lounges, discotheques and nightclubs, and such establishments are well suited to family entertainment. Nightlife beyond Pattaya's hotels is more liberated, with discotheques, transvestite cabarets, nightclubs, karaoke bars and open-air bars.

Most of these attractions are located along Pattaya Beach Road, Pattaya II Road, and in South Pattaya. Pattaya is famous for its transvestite cabarets: Alcazar and Tiffany both on Pattaya Road.

Alcazar
Tel: 0 3841 0225, 0 3841 0224-7
Tiffany
Tel: 0 3842 9642

Pattaya Special Events

Pattaya Music Festival
Held in March along Pattaya Beach and town, the jamboree includes the Walking Street Festival for three days and two nights and the Three-Stage Free Concert - the Red Stage for Pop, Rock and Country music, the Green Stage for Pop Jazz, and the Blue Stage for Indy, Hip-hop, and R&B music from 6.00 p.m. till midnight.
Website: www.thailandgrandfestival.com

Wan Lai Fair
This is the Eastern Seaboard's version of Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, and is organised simultaneously with the Pattaya Festival in mid-April. Events include a floral float parade, water sports contests and a sandcastle-building competition.

Pattaya Marathon
Held in July each year, this is a fun activity that attracts hundreds of local and international runners.

Loi Krathong Day
This day is one of the most popular festivals in Thailand celebrated annually on the full-moon night of the 12th lunar month, usually in November. "Loi" means float and "Krathong" is a lotus-shaped vessel made of banana leaves.

The festival is of Brahmin origins in which people offer thanks to the Goddess of the water. It is believed that the Krathong carries away sins and bad luck, and wishes are made for the New Year due to start soon.

Shopping in Pattaya

South Pattaya is the major shopping area, along with Pattaya II Road. The best buys include souvenirs, gems and jewellery, silk, cotton, handicrafts and tailor-made clothing.

Pattaya Accommodations

Pattaya offers accommodation in all price ranges, from luxury resorts to basic bungalows. A full list of accommodation choices can be obtained from Hotels & Resorts in Pattaya page.

How To get to Pattaya

	By Car Pattaya is about a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Bangkok, taking the Bang Na-Trat Highway or the new, faster Bangkok-Chon Buri Expressway.
	By Bus The two-and a-half-hour journey from Bangkok can be made on regular buses leaving from Bangkok’s Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai). Air-conditioned buses depart from Ekamai every 40 minutes from 5.00 a.m.-11.00 p.m. Tel: 0 2391 2504. There are also air-conditioned buses leaving the Bangkok Bus Terminal on Kamphaeng Phet II Road every 30 minutes from 4.30 a.m.-8.00 p.m. Tel: 0 2936 2852-66.
	By Rail Few visitors to Pattaya are aware that the city does have a railway station. The train leaves from Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lamphong) at 7.00 a.m. and takes about 5 hours to Pattaya. Tel. 0 2220 4334, Hotline 1690
	By Air The vast majority of tourists going to Pattaya are unaware that the resort does have U-Tapo Airport at Sattahip. Currently, the only scheduled flights are operated by Bangkok Airways to and from Ko Samui. Tel. 0 2265 5555