Pattaya Thailand Essentials

One of the most infamous streets in the world, Walking Street Pattaya is known for it’s bright neon lights, loud music, go-go bars, beer bars, discos, restaurants, and of course girls.

Walking Street closes down to traffic at 6pm and becomes the center of Pattaya Thailand’s nightlife.  For the first time visitor the sights and sounds of 1000 meters of debauchery can be overwhelming.  There are go-go bars and beer bars lining the street, with a bevy of beautiful Thai girls outside trying their best to get you to come in and have a drink or two.

In addition to the beer bars and gogo’s, there are a number of great restaurants, souvenir and t-shirt shops, and entertainers putting on street performances.  There are girls and ladyboy’s packed into every bar and many freelancers working the street.  The number of freelancer’s increases as the night gets later and bars around other parts of Pattaya shut down.

If you are looking to shoot a game of pool and not be hassled by the girls, there are a few bars that cater to this as well.  Up for a little live music?  You can check out the Blues Factory Pattaya.  A live band plays blues and R&B music.  If your fortune enough to go when Lam Morrison is playing, it is a must see.  He is hands down the best and most well known guitar player in Thailand.

There are a number of well known discos and nightclubs that keep the party going until the wee hours of the morning.  Lucifer’s, Marine, and Insomnia are three of the most popular.  These Walking Street Discos usually have a small cover charge to get in, and the later it gets, the bigger the crowd.

In addition to the Main drag of Walking Street, there are also several smaller Soi’s that jut off the side.  Here you will find many more bars, go-go’s, and restaurants.  Soi Diamond being the most well known entertainment street.

Walking Street is the crown jewel of Pattaya nightlife.  It is well known for its crazy and wild night time entertainment, and rightfully so.

Soi 6 is Pattaya’s daytime Walking Street.  It’s been refered to as sexy, seedy, and sinful.  All could be an accurate description.  Soi 6 is Pattaya Thailand’s daytime center for crazy fun and debauchery, a walk down here is not for the meek and mild mannered.

Soi 6 is a street filled with short time bars and go-go’s that starts operating in the early afternoon and goes on till late.  However it is best know as a place for daytime fun.

The bars and staff are known to be a little bit rougher than their Walking Street counter parts.  A lot of the bars are small and somewhat run down, but that is part of it’s attraction to the regular Pattaya travelers.

On your first walk down Soi 6, you will see dozens of Thai girls sitting outside the front of their bars.  Cat calling to the passing men as only they can do.  “Hello Hansum Man..”  Some will come out to meet you in the street and pull you into their bars.  If your not interested just tell them no thanks and walk on to the next gauntlet of beautiful Thai girls trying to get your attention.

You’ll also find several ladyboy bars and go-go’s on Soi 6.  However most of the bars are strictly girls.  There are too many individual bars to list, but in a future update we’ll put up a map with all the bars on Soi 6.

Soi 6 Pattaya is not for everyone.  But if your in the mood for some daytime debauchery with some of your friends, than it maybe just what you are looking for.

The Blues Factory in Pattaya Thailand is top spot to listen to live music on your holiday.  They have several live bands playing blues, r&b, and rock.  Opened in 2001 and still going strong, the bar is located just off Walking Street on Soi Lucky Star, just opposite the Marine Disco. When you walk in you will be allowed to choose from the available seats, which include tables in front of the stage and dance floor, high top bar tables, or a series of booths along the outside.  Drink and wait service is good, and the music fantastic.

The main headline blues band is The Blues Machine.  The lead singer is Mary from the Philippines, and she can really belt out the songs.  Their main rock band is the Lam Morrison and The Rock Machine.  Lam is probably Thailand’s best known rock guitarist and plays in the Pattaya Blues Factory most nights.  Lam left the Blues Factory for a short while to do his own thing, but has returned recently to rip it up once again.

In addition to the house bands, there are guest bands that come to play in the bar – 3 band nights as they call them.  They have included some well known names in blues and rock from Thailand, Canada, and the U.S. The Blues Factory opens nightly at 8:30 and is a fun and different way to start your night on Walking Street.  It usually brings in a fairly sizable crowd, so always best to get there a bit early if you want to have your pick of the seats.  The Blues Factory is definitely one of the best live music spots in Pattaya.

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Another of the fun day trips you can experience while in Pattaya Thailand is the Mini Siam Park.  Yes it is a little touristy, but most day trips in the area are that way.  This attraction lets you see 100 of the world’s great wonders in miniature.

The park sits on approximately 30 acres (rai) of land and is divided into two parts, Mini Siam and Mini Europe.  Although the second section is Mini Europe, it really contains sites from many countries from outside Thailand.

You can visit Angkor Wat, the Eifel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Sydney Opera House in small scale in Mini Europe.  In Mini Siam you’ll be treated to models of Wat Arun, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and Ayutthaya.  The details of these recreations are quite good and make for some fun pictures.

There are plenty of souvenir shops, a mini cart go kart racing facility, food and drink.  Plenty to keep you entertained for a nice day out.  This trip is great for families as well as the single traveler.

You can book a tour through most tour agencies or through your hotel.  Cost is around 700 THB (Thai Baht) to join a group tour, but can range as high as 3,000 THB for a private tour.  Tours typically consist of about 4 hours, including transfer to and from your hotel and an English speaking guide, but consult with the tour company you book with for full details.

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If you are looking for a daytime excursion to pass a few hours then Underwater World Pattaya might be worth a look.  It is an aquarium attraction located a short distance from downtown Pattaya Thailand.  Billed as a unique edutainment aquarium, it is really not that impressive, but a fun way to pass a couple of hours.

The format as you walk through the aquarium is a ‘journey to the bottom of the sea’.  You start out on the beaches and walk your way past tanks and exhibits with many different types of sea life stopping along the way to look, enjoy, and some times touch and interact with the creatures.  Signage is written in both Thai and English, but is more informational than really educational.

The grand finally of the tour is walking through a 100 meter long see through tunnel that surrounds you with water and sea life.  It really is impressive and you feel like you are right there with the fish as they swim around you.

The aquarium houses over 2,500 animals and over 300 species of fish.  In addition to the tour several shows are put on throughout the day.  You can watch eagle rays being fed, sea otters performing a show, and large sharks and rays being fed.  If you really want to do something special, you can actually dive with the sharks as your friends watch from inside the tunnel.  The cost can be a little prohibitive for this as it runs about 2,500 Baht.

The admission price is about 400 THB (Baht) for adults and 300 THB for children.  You can book this through your hotel or tour agency, or just get a baht bus to Underwater World yourself as it is very close to most Pattaya Hotels.

While Underwater World Pattaya may not be the best aquarium experience if you’ve had the pleasure of visiting some of the major ones in the west, it is still an entertaining way to spend a few hours.  And if you bring your Thai friend, chances are they will really enjoy it as they may have never been there before.

If ladyboy’s are your thing and you’re looking for a comprehensive list of the best ladyboy bars, gogo’s, and clubs in and around Pattaya, you’ve come to the right place.  There are several ladyboy only bars and gogo’s, as well as several bars where they work alongside genetic girls.  We’ve put together a list of the most popular venues broken down by area.

But I have to tell you there are ladyboy’s scattered all over the Pattaya bar scene.  One or two in every other bar that you walk by…it is insane.  And that talent is often a lot better than the well known venues.  But getting out and doing the field work takes time…so if you are short on it, best to take a look at these bars.  They have a lot of great, high quality girls.

I’m working on putting together a map, including some of the locations of  the other ‘hidden gems’ of the LB world that exists in Pattaya.  Bookmark this page (CTRL + D) for further updates…

Soi 6

Pook’s Soi 6 –
A long running ladyboy bar.  It has a downstairs with a pool table, podiums for the girls to dance, and plenty of seating.  They have an upstairs bar that has opened and closed on numerous occasions.  It is a ladyboy only bar with a nice selection of girls on staff.

Hi Boss Bar –
Another established bar with a reputation for being a bit on the ruff side.  There are a few winners in there, but most are a tad rough.  Not necessarily recommended for beginners, however a visit there should be on your list – just to say you’ve been there

So What Bar –
A smaller ladyboy bar on Soi 6.  Recently remodeled it has gained some presence on the radar with some good selection of girls on staff.

Lucky Love Bar –
Also run by the same folks as So What Bar.  This is another small bar that has recently undergone renovations.  Worth checking out.

Soi Buakhao

Pook’s Swan Bar –
Owned by the same folks who run the Soi 6 establishment.  It is mainly an outdoor bar with ladyboy’s dancing on podiums right next to the street.  If you’re shy about your pursuits it may not be an ideal venue for you.  There is a pool table and bar inside as well, but most of the girls work outside.  Definitely a go to place with an excellent selection of ladyboy’s on staff.

Blue Room Bar-
Small bar right next to Pook Swan house.  Not a large selection of ladyboy’s or activity, but you can occasionally find a few stunners there.

Soi Yamato / Soi 13/1

Stingfellows –
An established Ladyboy Go-Go bar in Pattaya.  It is small and dark, but a good selection of Ladyboy’s on Staff.  Though there can be some pressure to buy lady drinks at times.

La Bamba Bar-
A good happy hour bar with a friendly staff.  Good place to relax and have a drink.  A few ladyboy’s on staff and quite a few freelancers.

Walking Street Ladyboy Bars

Koyo No.7 -
A great bar at the moment.  On the second floor of the beer bar complex right before you cross under the walking street sign.  Nice selection of girls, pool tables, and a fun atmosphere.  If you are shy this is not the place for you.  The venue is well lit, and open to the street below.  It is not uncommon to turn around in you chair and see tourists filming the scene from across the street.  For those that don’t care – awesome venue.

Jenny Star Bar – Now New England Bar
Once the best ladyboy bar in Pattaya, now a shell of its former self.  The talent is mostly freelancers, and the quality is hit or miss.  Pressure to buy drinks is high.

Linda Bar-
Known to be a little rough around the edges and the talent being the same it is still a good bar to stop and have a drink at, you may find the occasional diamond in the ‘rough’.

Soi VC / Sunee Area

Famous Bar -  A new bar in the Sunee area.  A bit off the beaten path for those not looking to head over to the gay section of Pattaya.  However a really nice bar and layout.  Girl selection is OK, nothing special.  Owned by Karl and Lita, former proprietors of the once famous Ezy Bar.  Hopefully they can make this star shine as bright.

That covers the major Pattaya ladyboy bars and go-go’s.  Further updates will include some of the smaller venues, Drinking Street, Nakula, Jomtien, and a downloadable map.  If you are looking for a hotel, check out our Ladyboy Friendly Hotels In Pattaya list.

Closed Ladyboy Bars In Pattaya

Ezy Bar –
Used to be the best ladyboy bar in Pattaya, but no longer open.  The owners started a new bar in Soi VC (See Below), and seemed to have left this bar to waste away…a shame really.  A good brand, and the only Air Con bar on Walking St.