Pattaya & Hua Hin

Pattaya is a city on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast known for its beaches, about 150 km southeast of Bangkok.  A quiet fishing village as recently as the 1960s, it’s now lined with resort hotels, high-rise condos, shopping malls, cabaret bars and 24-hour clubs. Nearby, hillside Wat Phra Yai Temple features an 18m-tall golden Buddha. The area also features several designer golf courses, some with views of Pattaya Bay. 

On weekends and holidays, Pattaya Beach is crowded with domestic visitors, many of them day-trippers, from Bangkok and surroundings, since it’s a 2-hour drive from the nation’s capital. On these occasions, the daytime might not be so comfortable for some foreign tourists, but at night, everything goes as usual. Pattaya occupies most of the coastline of Bang Lamung District (one of the eleven districts that comprise Chonburi Province). This article only deals with Pattaya proper, which spans the areas to the east of Naklua Beach and Pattaya Beach, plus the Buddha Hill headland (which is immediately south of Pattaya Beach). Jomtien is covered in a separate article, and contains Jomtien Beach and the areas east of it, including Dongtan Beach. The beaches of Jomtien are much broader and generally in a better shape, and the atmosphere locally is more sedate and family-oriented than at Pattaya Beach.

Hua Hin is one of eight districts in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand.  The district’s population was estimated at 65,983 in December 2019 and in an area of 911 km² (352 sq mi). By road, it is 199 km (124 mi) south-southwest of Bangkok.

A favorite getaway for Bangkok residents, Hua Hin is a pretty beachside town. Family friendly and relaxed, it lacks the all-night partying and seedier aspects that make other nearby beach resorts a haven for unsavory characters. Once a small fishing village, it was transformed into a royal resort, and it’s these close links with Thai royalty that ensure Hua Hin won’t become overdeveloped or lose its small-town vibe.

Thailand’s original beach resort is no palm-fringed castaway island and arguably is the better for it. Instead, Hua Hin is a refreshing mix of city and sea with lively markets, good golf courses and water parks, excellent accommodation and an ambience that just keeps getting more cosmopolitan.