The Avenue Shopping Mall is a popular alternative to the larger indoor malls found in Pattaya, with a modern, open-air design, some great value factory outlet stores and range of entertainment options. Pattaya Avenue is most accurately described as a lifestyle mall because of its blend of shops on the lower floors with bars, restaurants, a bowling alley and a cinema complex higher up. Located in Central Pattaya on 2nd Road, it’s easy to find behind Mike’s Shopping Mall and a short walk from Royal Garden City.

Housed on the third floor of Royal Garden Plaza, the Ripley’s museum features more than 300 exhibits inside 10 individually themed galleries inspired by Robert Leroy Ripley’s books “Believe It or Not!”. Designed to balance among the three elements – strange, shocking and beautiful – the museum will blow your mind away with objects and people you never thought existed on this planet. And if you leave the museum doubting whether what you’ve just seen actually exist in real life, you haven’t seen enough of the world yet.

Royal Garden Plaza was the originator of the ‘entertainment mall’ concept in Pattaya, bringing together family attractions and activities, a selection of restaurants, and international brand shopping, and it is still a blast of fresh, air-conditioned air to the beach city’s shopping scene. Occupying the full block between Beach Road and 2nd Road in Central Pattaya, the mall can be accessed from either side, but for the most impressive facade, go to the 2nd Road entrance and walk underneath the eye catching mock airplane that is half hanging out of the upper floors of the shopping centre.

Walking Street Pattaya is the biggest and busiest party hotspot in the whole of Thailand, with only a couple of the top places in Bangkok beating it for sheer volume and variety. A full kilometre from its high-tech gateway at the Beach Road end to the Bali Hai Plaza end, almost every building along its length is a nightclub, go-go bar, beer bar or restaurant. Each of the side streets – which span from Soi 14 to Soi 16, with a couple of uniquely-named streets in between - is more of the same, making the whole southern end of the city into a warren of nightlife entertainments, with something for practically every taste.

Central Festival Shopping Mall is the flagship shopping destination in Pattaya and is constantly popular with a varied mix of tourists and locals who flock there for the international brand clothing, varied eating options and all-weather entertainment, such as a cinema, bowling and children’s arcade. With a beachfront location and glass-paneled façade, Central Festival feels miles away from the cheap trinkets and polyester ‘Bad Boys Go To Pattaya’ T-shirts found in the stalls surrounding the mall on either side. Opened in 2009, the modern, ocean-facing design gives visitors a panoramic view of Pattaya Bay, which is an eye-catching backdrop to an afternoon’s shopping.

As this guide to Pattaya Beach will show, there is a lot more to this 4 km crescent of coastline than just sand and sea. In fact, the beach is not even the star attraction, even if it is home to a huge number of speedboats, parasails and jet skis, as well as diving boats and floating restaurants. Pattaya Beach Road, which is just a line of palm trees away from the shore, is the place to be. Our Pattaya Beach Guide will show you where to find the best attractions, the best shopping, the best eating and the best partying in the the main part of the sprawling conurbation now known as ‘Greater Pattaya’. Between Pattaya North Road (Pattaya Nua) and Pattaya South Road (Pattaya Tai), there is a wealth of experiences to enjoy, ensuring that you will never be bored.

Bali Hai Pier – commonly known as Pattaya Pier – is a central feature of the city, located at the end of Walking Street, near the southernmost point of Pattaya Bay. It is a hive of activity, with endless day-trippers on the way to the nearby Coral Island (Koh Larn), as well as scuba divers, fishing enthusiasts and even private charter boat trips setting off or returning to dry land. The jetty stretches quite far out into the bay and is lined on either side with boats of all descriptions. It can be seen clearly from Pattaya View Point and has now become a classic image of Pattaya itself.

While the beaches in Pattaya, Thailand may be your source for relaxation, Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya is your one-stop for fantastic food, drinks, and entertainment. We’re located on the beachfront of the Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya, surrounded by tropical palm trees and across the street from pristine beaches. Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, is 147 kilometers away, though you can get to the area’s top destinations with just a short drive, including the awe-inspiring Sanctuary of Truth, the lush Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden, unique “shops” of the Four Regions Floating Market, and the bustling and fun Walking Street.

There are several different operations offering go-karting in Pattaya but Easy Karts is easily best, with a choice of karts, safety gear and a professional set-up to please any potential speed king (or queen). Located a few hundred metres from Bali Hai pier, the racetrack is easy to find and, with two separate tracks of varying difficulty, is the largest in Thailand. There are many pleasing elements that sets Easy Karts above its competition: the karts are all well built and maintained, international standard safety helmets are provided and all lap times are recorded and displayed on monitors which helps to create an authentic racing environment. There is also a central viewing deck with unobstructed views of both tracks that offers great angles for photos.