Pattaya Beach in Thailand is world famous. It runs along Beach Road Pattaya from the dolphin roundabout near Dusit Thani Resort passing through Walking Street to Bali Hai Pier at Pattaya Bay. According to my GPS watch, the total distance is about 4 km. However, for sun, sea, and sand activities, I would consider about 3 km only - from Holiday Inn Hotel area at Beach Road to the entrance of Walking Street, with all the pubs and entertainment outlets becoming alive as the sun sets.
Yes, I know Pattaya is notorious for all the wrong reasons. But please don't let the dirty laundry of Pattaya stop you from appreciating this wonderful beach city with its sun, sea and sand.
For this article, I would like to focus on the nature beauty of Beach Road Pattaya, the busiest and most happening street in Pattaya city of approximately 150,000 people.
Wide foot path with coconut trees at Beach Road Pattaya
On one side of Beach Road, there is where the famous Pattaya Beach lies, separated by a very widem flat and clean foot path (I believe it's wider than one car lane) with many coconut trees, shaded trees and areas to sit and relax. It runs in parallel with beautiful Pattaya Beach.
This foot path between the ocean and Beach Road is a hive of activity around the clock. I would say that you are bound to experience different things depending on whether you go there in early morning, day time or evening time.
As a runner and an island boy (yeah I still would like to call myself an island boy since I was born in a tropical island despite my current age), Beach Road Pattaya is a great attraction to me. The road is wide, flat and clean and it runs in parallel with the beautiful Pattaya Beach.
In the morning, you will see early risers doing their exercises, walking, jogging and running along this foot path. Imagine - with the cool sea breeze from Pattaya Beach blowing on your face as you walk, jog or run, that's truly relaxing and heavenly!! I just simply couldn't let go of the opportunity to wake up early to run at Beach Road. ( You can read my tourist running article by clicking here ) It was so relaxing enjoyable and unforgettable! The feeling of "freedom" as I ran was so awesome! You must experience it yourself one day to run on a beach or near a beach. The feeling is totally different from running in cities or trails.
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| wide foot path at Beach Road, Pattaya with early risers walking, jogging or running. |
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| Such a lovely road next to sandy Pattaya beach with awesome sea view! |
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| By just walking, jogging or running along the footpath at Beach Road, you will get to experience different things in the morning, afternoon and evening. |
Paragliding and Speedboat to Ko Larn
Paragliding is very popular in Pattaya. There are many tourists who love to experience paragliding. This can be done right off the beach at Pattaya Beach at Beach Road, or you can go to Pattaya Bay to do it from one of the several large pontoons that are floating a few hundred meters off the shore.
Besides paragliding, taking speedboat from the beach to Ko Larn is another very popular activity. Ko Larn is a small Thai island off the coast of Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. Its beaches are set against a backdrop of wooded hills. There will be many tourist buses arriving here and offloading the tourists (80% of them are from China). The excited tourists will then be herded from the buses onto the crowded speedboat for few hours of island trip to Ko Larn.
It's amazing to see such a booming tourism in Pattaya!
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| Don't look at me - focus on the herds of tourists walking toward the speedboat to Ko Larn! :) |
Beach chairs and umbrellas
If you don't see beach chairs and umbrellas, you are not in Pattaya! There are rows and rows of colorful beach chairs and umbrellas occupying the sandy beach - almost the whole 2-3 km of it. They are operated by different vendors serving cold beers, coconut drinks, local Thai food and even Western pasta, etc. The beach chairs and umbrellas are provided for free should you order something. You can sit there to relax, to read a book, or to have a swim in the sea, or just have suntanning at the beach. By the way, most of the operators provide free wifi service too so that you can instantly post up your latest beach photos from Pattaya Beach to your Instagram or Facebook!!
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| I simply love to relax on beach chairs... |
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| Do you feel very relaxed now and want to go for your next holiday? |
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| The sun was about to set at Pattaya Beach. |
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| The water scooter, the sun, the sea, the sand, the beach chairs, the umbrellas!! Perfect beach holiday! |
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| Roys and rows of beach chairs and umbrellas for you to choose from! |
Other beach activities
Please take a stroll at Pattaya Beach at Beach Road in the early morning and during sunset. You will get to see tourists and locals and all the beach lovers just soak themselves in the sun, let their feet wet with the sea water, and sandy with the smooth beach sands. There is so much of peace and serenity in the beach atmosphere!
Just to share below photos of other beach activities taken by GoPro HERO 5 Black action camera.
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| Cute little dog - taken with the wide angle of GoPro HERO 5 Black action camera! |
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| Local Thai children come to Pattaya beach to enjoy themselves and the sunset. |
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| A slow stroll at Pattaya beach is super relaxing! |
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| water scooter and some sea bathers. |
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| Two kids tried to build their sand castles. |
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| Felt so nice with the waves touching my feet! |
Hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, food stalls, convenience stores, market stalls
On the other side of the road, there are all the major hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, fast food restaurants, food stalls with street food, convenience stores and market stalls selling tee shirts and all types of interesting stuff. Tucked behind Beach Road Pattaya on the same side, you will find many more hotels and food stalls at very reasonable price. For the most recent trip, I stayed at a beautiful quiet boutique hotel hidden at 4th Road (Soi Si), a mere 200 meter walk to the main Beach Road. I would say that you can find almost anything you want here on this side of Beach Road Pattaya.
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| A view from Royal Garden Mall's food court at Beach Road |
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| Holiday Inn and other hotels are on the other side of Beach Road. |
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| When the weather was getting too hot, I then went into one of the many convenience stores to cool myself down! haha! |
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| I couldn't remember how many cups I drank! Cha Yen (Thai Iced Tea) is a must for me when in Thailand! The 4th Road leading to the hotel I stayed - 200 m from Beach Road. |
Breathtaking views of hotels and buildings taken from Pattaya Beach
In the early morning after my morning run. I took GoPro HERO 5 Black action camera with me to Pattaya Beach. During that time, the sea water had subsided, which gave me the opportunity to walk far onto the deeper end of the sea. When the water tide rose again later, this part would not be accessible. I just wanted to capture how beautiful Pattaya Beach was against the backdrop of the sun, the sea, the sand and the buildings to give it a great modern contrast.
I wanted to show to all that Pattaya is indeed a very beautiful beach city worth visiting over and over again!
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| I love this picture - with the great contrast of the sea and the buildings. |
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| Northern beach road and Pattaya Beach. |
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| Scenic view! |
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| I was so so happy and relaxing when in Pattaya!! |
Pattaya Beach, I will see you again soon!
May be simply because I was born on an island.
May be simply because I love outdoors and nature.
May be simply because I love sun, sea and sand.
Pattaya Thailand is one of the beach destinations that I will visit and visit again.
I could just spend the whole day walking, strolling down Beach Road at Pattaya Beach, sunbathing at the beach, reading a book drinking coconut drink or beer on the beach chair under umbrella, or hop from one food stall to another eating all the delicious local Thai food.
I must come again. And it shall be a running vacation running the Pattaya Marathon as well as relaxing at this beautiful beach city.
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| Pattaya Beach and Pattaya Bay |
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| Pattaya - I shall see you again soon! |
Written by Vincent Khor on August 8, 2017.
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