Jomtien Beach Pattaya

Featuring a long straight coastline and long white sand beach, Jomtien Beach is located around 2 kilometers from its less salubrious neighbour ? Pattaya Beach. Whereas Pattaya Beach is more geared for the party animal, Jomtien Beach has carved a niche as a more ?family-friendly? environment.

Like its neighbour, Jomtien Beach is popular for water sports such as jet skiing, but with water that is considerably less murky, it is also a much more attractive location for swimming. Given its natural wind conditions and calm sea, Jomtien Beach is also a destination of choice for wind surfers, and a number of instructors work from the area. Jomtien features every conceivable type of accommodation available to those who want to stay in the area.

Like Pattaya Beach, Jomtien hosts an expatriate community but doesn't have the edge Pattaya Beach does. It does though have just as many great restaurants offering cuisine from every corner of the globe. It also has as many hawkers, plying anything from peanuts and fruit to pictures of the king and massages.

They can prove annoying when you are trying to relax, but again, on Jomtien even this is not as hardcore as Pattaya Beach.

How to get there: Just like everywhere else in Pattaya, Jomtien is easily accessible through the multitude of Songtaews that continually move around the ring roads that encircle the coastal areas. A trip is 20 Baht wherever your start or finish.

Naklua Beach

There are three main areas in Pattaya. Pattaya Beach is the central stretch of coastline that supports some of ?raunchier? aspects of local tourism; bars, restaurants, go-go ? pretty much a hedonist?s paradise! Jomtien Beach is much more laid back, offering family friendly establishments and excellent windsurfing. Naklua Beach is the most northerly of the bays and by far the quietest.

Naklua is much smaller than its neighbours and it does not suffer from the mass development Pattaya Beach has experienced. Like Jomtien it is more family friendly. The Pattaya municipality spent 1.8 million Baht on cleaning up the waters around Pattaya, and in Nakula it is now possible to see fish in the water.

This makes bathing in the sea a genuine pleasure. Nakula is also a centre for windsurfers and windsurfing equipment can be hired from the beach.

How to get there: the Songtaew ?Baht Buses? are the most convenient way to get to Naklua Beach

Pattaya Beach

Pattaya Beach is at the centre of the half moon crescent that makes up the Pattaya coastline with Nakula Beach to the north and Jomtien Beach to the south. This part of Pattaya is famous (infamous?) for its nightlife. Very much a hedonist?s paradise, Pattaya Beach is littered with go-go bars and swamped with people employed in the sex industry; both genders (and some of nondescript gender!) and a variety of nationalities including Russians and others from former Eastern Bloc countries.

Although this is the part of Pattaya that has most accommodation available, the nature of the nightlife can put families off. In the last few years though there has been a drive to make Pattaya more appealing to families by restricting some of the less salubrious activities. This has been successful to an extent but the area still maintains its go-go, discos and nightclubs.

By day the area is somewhat different ? the water is packed with jet-skiers, water skiers, powerboats and the sky is full of parasails! It is also a centre for scuba divers. Although as a dive site it might not meet the excellence of other places in Thailand, Pattaya is convenient for Bangkok and those with limited time who want to experience diving might well benefit from taking a course at one of Pattaya?s numerous and inexpensive dive shops. Ko Lan, Ko Sak, Ko Krok, Ko Man Wichai, and Ko Rin are all in easy reach of Pattaya as is a major shipwreck where more advanced divers visit.

Pattaya Beach itself has its appeal, but the numerous hawkers walking up and down the beach make it a difficult place to just sit and relax ? you are offered everything from food to high technology with annoying regularity. There?s no doubt Pattaya Beach is a fun destination, but one that needs some consideration before a visit. Pattaya has its appeal, but perhaps it might not appeal to you or your situation.

How to get there: Pattaya Beach is on the Songtaew route and getting there is 20 - 50 Baht from anywhere in Pattaya.