Each year Pattaya receives more than five million visitors. It became a well-liked place for vacation and has continued to stand as such. You can get on Bangkok Airlines and get connected from the UK to Pattaya's U-Tapao Airport via Phuket. Or you better just trip to Bangkok, from there you get many options to fly into Phucket, which is only 150 kms away from Pattaya, so it is much easier if you arrive to it by road.
You can decide to fly in, U-Tapao, which is primarily a military facility. It is the closest airport handling commercial passenger flights but only to a handful of destinations. The direct door-to-door minibus is the quickest transportation option to get you from U-Tapao to Pattaya, about 30 minutes.
In the last few years, Pattaya has tried to draw families of visitors with a new image. The beer bars and go-go joints have been de-emphasized, and now families from Thailand and from all over Asia visit Pattaya in large numbers. The beaches nearby are excellent, and many kinds of entertainment can be found, ranging from shooting to golf to bungee jumping.
Getting around Pattaya offers its own options. The songthaew, public passenger pick-up vehicles, also called Baht Busses, are available throughout Pattaya. You may also choose the local bus, motorbike taxi, or meter taxi. If you wish to brave the erratic (by Western standards) traffic, you can hire a car, motorbike or scooter.
Pattaya sees the most visitors around Christmas and New Year's, when visitors want to go somewhere sunny and warm. Several of Pattaya's beaches are very popular, such as Pattaya Beach near the city center. Pattaya Beach has many stores, hotels, and nightspots nearby. Many jetskis, powerboats, and deckchairs are available for rent in the area.
Jomtein Beach is south of the city and a more popular spot for families. Away from the beach, you can visit the Pattaya Park entertainment complex offering a water park, roller coaster, monorail and children's activities.
Islands surrounding Pattaya also offer great beaches. Ko Lan, or Coral Island, is accessible by speedboat or ferry The Near Islands are close to Pattaya's northern shores and the Far Islands lie directly to the west. Both offer the primary scuba diving destinations for Pattaya.
The North Pattaya Fishing Park provides rod and bait, serves refreshments and has live music after dark.Fishing is a popular diversion. Deep sea fishing excursions often include breakfast, lunch and a stop at one of the island beaches for swimming.
How could we overlook gold as being one of the islands specialties. With more than 20 courses within an hours drive of Pattaya all designed by some of golf's most famous names it is no wonder so many golf lovers flock to the area. One of the finest golf courses in the area is the International Country club, it is in fact ranked third of Thailand's top courses.
Underwater World aquarium offers visitors an up-close chance to view the marine life in the Gulf of Thailand. The acrylic pedestrian tunnel gives a 180 degree view of rare angel fish, sharks, stingrays and turtles.
The Pattaya Elephant village offers daily one-hour shows featuring demonstrations of how to catch a wild elephant, elephants at work in the jungle and elephants playing football.
