Where is the best area in Pattaya to stay?

[stephenterry]

I would suggest any condo close to Big C and Foodland, Central road. Reasonable rental costs and everything is within walking distance, and frequent baht buses go up and down from Sukhumvit Road down to the beach. I found the ambience of life around me conducive for whatever I wanted to do, day and night. 

 

Mainly, a quiet residential/shopping and restaurant area, with transport or a brisk 15 minute walk to all of the usual activities and music zones around or before beach road. 

 

I visited most of the other areas quoted on here, and just didn't feel they ticked all the boxes - but that depends on what you want, doesn't it?

 

 

[DPKANKAN]

Bang Saen. A few miles up the cost. Cheap beachfront hotels and seafood. A favourite with Thais!!????????????

[wombat]

On 5/18/2019 at 10:57 PM, mike787 said:

I second that...its excellent 24/7

 

concur

[Denim]

Just get a long term room rental in soi 6 and have done with it.

[Golden Triangle]

I have lived out on the Darkside for 8 years, the only drawback being that you need transport as the only baht bus route is from the top of Soi Siam Country Club at the old golf course down to Chicken Crossroads where it does a left to Nern Plawb wan and down to the Sukhamvit road.

 

There are a wealth of great & cheap restaurants offering food from every country in the world almost, plenty of bars both normal & girly / P4P.  Plenty of shops where you can buy most Western stuff, Siambury's for example.

 

If you like golf there are plenty of bars offering golf days at reasonable prices - Pool leagues, darts etc.

 

There are plenty of places for rent around Mabprachan Lake as well, whether it's a small resort or private housing estate.

 

And finally if you want to go into town for a night of fun & frolics then Grab can get you there & back for a very reasonable price.

[mushroomdave]

City One Residence.  Very clean, new, great lady at the front desk daily, and out of the way just enough from the hustle & bustle.  Good sized room with + swimming pool for 4,500 + electric.    I have a room here with the bf (tour guide) who works in Pattaya and love it!!  https://city1residence.com/

[Darkside Gray]

Huai Yai, Quiet and when the new roads open easy access to everywhere if you have transport.

[madmen]

City One Residence.  Very clean, new, great lady at the front desk daily, and out of the way just enough from the hustle & bustle.  Good sized room with + swimming pool for 4,500 + electric.    I have a room here with the bf (tour guide) who works in Pattaya and love it!!  https://city1residence.com/

Those prices include aircon? Looks like Great value

[dode57k]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 9:45 AM, bkk6060 said:

Not always the case with the baht bus from Jomtien to Central.

On a Friday or Saturday evening you can sit in the thing for an hour before arrival.  All the while sucking up the exhaust of buses and other vehicles.

I would choose Pratumnak and recommend the OP get a motorbike wherever he decides.

Where do you get on? The Song Taew to Pattaya comes from the far end of Jomtien beach, it'll sit there until full but anywhere else on the journey just jump on one of the many and 20 minutes later you're in central Pattaya.

Pratumnak is a decent shout.

[champers]

1 hour ago, DPKANKAN said:

Bang Saen. A few miles up the cost. Cheap beachfront hotels and seafood. A favourite with Thais!!????????????

Full of young lush students and nurses from the hospital. Ooooh matron!!!

[champers]

29 minutes ago, mushroomdave said:

City One Residence.  Very clean, new, great lady at the front desk daily, and out of the way just enough from the hustle & bustle.  Good sized room with + swimming pool for 4,500 + electric.    I have a room here with the bf (tour guide) who works in Pattaya and love it!!  https://city1residence.com/

Not sure I'd fancy a swimming pool in my room.

[dode57k]

22 hours ago, madmen said:

23 hours ago, bbi1 said:

A huge big pain in the ass to take a songtaew there and back. Big queues of people at South Pattaya Rd intersection, so many Russians and the traffic jam to get there sometimes is very bad.

Yeah high season is the big drawback. Russians storming the baht bus as if it were the last one on the planet

Some people easily put off. At that place there are regularly upwards of a dozen Song Taews just waiting to reverse into place to take the next batch of people. It's a great, cheap service.

[Pattaya46]

11 minutes ago, madmen said:

Those prices include aircon? Looks like Great value

You can find many cheap, nice, small apartments around Pattaya. Many locations given already in this thread. But many of these places are nearly lost in the middle of nowhere and in areas totally dead not long after the night felt. Depends what you are looking for, but I couldn't live in most of them. 

[NoshowJones]

 

14 minutes ago, champers said:

Not sure I'd fancy a swimming pool in my room.

How much is the electric per unit?

[Gandtee]

The Shamrock Bar????

[yogi100]

On 5/18/2019 at 3:06 PM, CGW said:

The "Darkside" worked well for me, spent 15 years living there, the "madness" of downtown is just a drive away when you want it, need to have your own transport though, preferably four wheels.

Once he arrives at the 'madness' of downtown where would he park a vehicle with four wheels? Sometimes it's hard enough finding anywhere to park a two wheeled vehicle.

 

It's as much a headache running any sort of vehicle in Pattaya as it can be in any other city. Few cities have a transport system that is as efficient or as cheap as that found in Pattaya. I used to use a Yamaha motor scooter in Pattaya but it was not worth the expense of running or the worry of owning it.

 

Baht buses are cheap as chips, as are the more speedy M/C taxis and regular metered taxis are also very economical.

 

If he's not bothered about girly bars and wants somewhere quiet and peaceful he'd be best off in Jomtien or the Darkside and just using public transport for journeys into town.

[Mukdahanman]

On 5/18/2019 at 10:03 PM, Pattaya46 said:

Quiet for sure, and I would even say dead as soon as the night arrives

Most Pratamnak is not on or near a bahtbus route and very few people would choose to walk to Pattaya: 2-3 km going up and down the hill ! You must have a bike if you stay in this area.

I remember a whorehouse called the Ginnery in the middle of Pratamnak, that was pretty exciting 

[Mukdahanman]

2 minutes ago, yogi100 said:

Once he arrives at the 'madness' of downtown where would he park a vehicle with four wheels? Sometimes it's hard enough finding anywhere to park a two wheeled vehicle.

 

It's as much a headache running any sort of vehicle in Pattaya as it can be in any other city. Few cities have a transport system that is as efficient or as cheap as that found in Pattaya. I used to use a Yamaha motor scooter in Pattaya but it was not worth the expense of running or the worry of owning it.

 

Baht buses are cheap as chips, as are the more speedy M/C taxis and regular metered taxis are also very economical.

 

If he's not bothered about girly bars and wants somewhere quiet and peaceful he'd be best off in Jomtien or the Darkside and just using public transport for journeys into town.

So true about the parking

[scubascuba3]

Once he arrives at the 'madness' of downtown where would he park a vehicle with four wheels?

Couldn't you park a car at Central Festival, the Avenue, Mike Shopping Mall, T21?

The main problem with cars is the wasted time being stuck in traffic

[CGW]

10 minutes ago, yogi100 said:

Once he arrives at the 'madness' of downtown where would he park a vehicle with four wheels? Sometimes it's hard enough finding anywhere to park a two wheeled vehicle.

 

It's as much a headache running any sort of vehicle in Pattaya as it can be in any other city. Few cities have a transport system that is as efficient or as cheap as that found in Pattaya. I used to use a Yamaha motor scooter in Pattaya but it was not worth the expense of running or the worry of owning it.

 

Baht buses are cheap as chips, as are the more speedy M/C taxis and regular metered taxis are also very economical.

 

If he's not bothered about girly bars and wants somewhere quiet and peaceful he'd be best off in Jomtien or the Darkside and just using public transport for journeys into town.

The only times I went into town the last ten years I lived in Pattaya was during the daytime, there was enough multi storey parking five years ago, has that changed?

 

I know very little about Baht buses, in my 31 years in Thailand have used them only a handful of times, personal choice was to use my own transportation, when I first moved to Pattaya traffic and parking was never an issue, when that situation changed I never did! too old and stuck in my ways I guess ????

Each to their own ???? 

[CGW]

18 minutes ago, Mukdahanman said:

I remember a whorehouse called the Ginnery in the middle of Pratamnak, that was pretty exciting 

You don't remember it very well? "K" ring a bell 

[Mukdahanman]

1 minute ago, CGW said:

You don't remember it very well? "K" ring a bell 

No, help me out

[CGW]

1 minute ago, Mukdahanman said:

No, help me out

Kinnaree? ????

[Mukdahanman]

1 minute ago, CGW said:

Kinnaree? ????

My spelling has let me down once again ???? but it was a pretty cool place right?

 

 

[CGW]

3 minutes ago, Mukdahanman said:

My spelling has let me down once again ???? but it was a pretty cool place right?

It was - back then there were a lot of good daytime bars, Harley Bar, Winchester, Butterfly & Belgium Embassy the forerunners - sure there are still a few good ones around.

[newnative]

    I usually say do some thinking about what a typical week will be for you here.  How will you be spending your time?  My partner and I have lived about everywhere except the darkside and Cosy Beach.  Liked Pratamnak but no public transportation. South Jomtien proved to be too far a  hike to central Pattaya--we tend to hit the malls 2 or 3 times a week.  We're on the beach in Wong Amat and liking it so far. Still no public transportation but using back roads it's easy to get to Terminal 21, the hospitals, Central Festival, and Central Marina.

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

 

 

Couldn't you park a car at Central Festival, the Avenue, Mike Shopping Mall, T21?

The main problem with cars is the wasted time being stuck in traffic

 

You might not want to be visiting Central Festival, the Avenue, Mike Shopping Mall, T21 or somewhere with a car park.

[murraynz]

Cosy beach is great place to stay. Plenty of restaurants,quiet,yet I can get to walking st for 60baht on mbike taxi, or walk to baht bus takes 20 mins.. Good views, no sexy ladies looking for work.only problem is too many rude Russians in high season. 

[Mac98]

Pratamnak Soi 4 or 5 with a balcony open to the sea breezes. Restaurants, bars, street food, nice beach end of Soi 5. Motorbike taxis down the hill into town, then switch to baht bus on regular route, if you don't have your own.

[scubascuba3]

You might not want to be visiting Central Festival, the Avenue, Mike Shopping Mall, T21 or somewhere with a car park.

then you get the baht bus or god forgive, walk