Quick Guide To Pattaya, Thailand
After spending 6 nights at the W Hotel in Bangkok in March 2013, we were ready to spend 3 nights at Pattaya, Thailand. This smaller city is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, and is about 100 KM (62 miles) from Bangkok and we took a regular taxi to Pattaya. The drive only took about 1 hour and 50 minutes to Sheraton Pattaya Resort and did not cost us that much money. Here is a list of the main things we did in Pattaya and a brief description of where we stayed.
1 hour 50 minute taxi ride from Bangkok to Pattaya
Sheraton Pattaya Resort
Sheraton Pattaya Resort (now renamed InterContinental Pattaya Resort) is a 5 star luxury hotel that is a short 5 minute taxi ride to downtown. We stayed here cause my buddy got us a great discount and since it is a 5 star hotel, wheelchair accessibility should be better than the cheaper budget hotels or hostels.
now renamed InterContinental Pattaya Resort
Sheraton Pattaya Resort is located on a slight hill which was a bit of a workout for my buddy to push my wheelchair on so we relied on taxis most of the time we went downtown. Our hotel did provide a free shuttle to get to downtown, but we never used it. The hotel itself was quite wheelchair accessible with a decent size room. Our bathroom did have a roll in shower but it was quite small and tight that my commode barely fit inside with my buddy inside to help me.
3 pools at this hotel
small bathroom with tight roll in shower
Pattaya Beach/ Pattaya Beach road
Pattaya Beach is over 4 KM (2.5 miles) of beautiful sand and scenery. There are a lot of boats, jet skis, parasails and floating restaurants here. Just steps from the beach on the other side of the line of palm trees is Pattaya Beach Road. This is one of the popular spots with tourists as it is full of restaurants, shops and nightclubs. At night, Pattaya Beach and Pattaya Beach Road is full of prostitutes of all kinds. It does get a little sketchy with questionable people hanging around.
Pattaya Beach
lots of shops and restaurants on Pattaya Beach Road
Walking Street
Walking Street is an entertainment and red-light district and is well known to tourists and locals for its nightlife. The area includes restaurants, live music venues, discos, beer bars, sports bars, nightclubs and hotels. Walking Street is closed to vehicles from 7 PM to 3 AM and also brings out prostitutes and workers who try to get you to pay for sex shows and get you into their clubs. The whole strip can get quite crowded with partiers and lots of young people but it is quite accessible for wheelchairs on the main road.
Walking Street
nightclubs and bars
Koh Larn Island
Koh Larn Island also known as Coral Island is a small beautiful island just off the coast of Pattaya and it is easily accessible by speedboat or by ferry. Ferries are quite cheap and can be found at Bali Hai Pier Pattaya which is located at the end of Walking Street.
ferry from Bali Hai Pier to Koh Larn Island
The ferry wasn’t really wheelchair accessible but my buddy got help from a local person to carry my wheelchair into the boat. I had to stay on the main level of the ferry as there were a bunch of stairs to get to the upper level. It was about a 30 minute ferry ride to Koh Larn Island as we just enjoyed the scenery and the relaxing ride to the island.
on the ferry
Once we got off the ferry, we noticed there were beaches and many water sport activities and equipment that can be rented. There are also a lot of small restaurants and street food carts and food stalls here too. After a quick snack and a bit of exploring near the pier, we were ready to head back on the ferry back to Pattaya.
yummy snack on the island
Pattaya Park Tower
Pattaya Park Tower
Pattaya Park Tower is the highest tower in Pattaya and can be found at Pattaya Park Beach Resort which includes a hotel, plaza, water park and amusement park. The observation deck is on the 55th floor of the tower where you can take in the breath taking views of the city. There is also an option to do a Tower Jump for an added fee and 3 revolving restaurants on the 52nd, 53rd and 54th floor. We didn’t visit any of the restaurants and just spent our time at the tower enjoying the 360 degree views of the city.
observation deck
view looking outside
Jomtien Beach
Jomtien Beach is a small town about 3 KM (1.9 miles) south of Pattaya. There are a lot of condos, beach side hotels, beaches and restaurants at Jomtien Beach and we spent a relaxing few hours here. There wasn’t too much to do in this town but it was still worth a visit to see anyways.
Jomtien Beach
Overall, my buddy and I enjoyed our 3 night stay in Pattaya, Thailand. Even though our hotel was wheelchair accessible, I think if we stayed closer to downtown, it would have been better. Although Pattaya is known for the red-light district, there are still fun things we did like visiting Koh Larn Island and Jomtien Beach. I would like to come back to Pattaya to check out other things I may have missed but this time stay more central.
