| The road and its beaches |
 The Beach Road, the city’s most popular thoroughfare, is the converging point for most visitors who come to Pattaya. Along the road is where the North, Central and South beaches are located.
The North Beach or Pattaya Neu is the least crowded among the three and the most peaceful . It starts from the Dolphin roundabout in front of Dusit Resort. Beach chairs complete with colorful umbrellas are available for rent along this shady beach with restaurants and bars as well as convenience stores, all at a walking distance. This is preferred by those who want a more laidback outing. Middle or Central Pattaya beach is the busiest and the most crowded at any time of the day or even night. Just a bit off North Pattaya beach, passing the golden mermaid and dolphin statues, it is the most popular and always abuzz with different sights and sounds. This is also where shopping malls, boutique shops, bars and restaurants are practically cramped together, competing for the limited space.
The South Pattaya beach has a totally different character than the North and Central beaches. There is no beach area here to speak of. The whole beach area is occupied by business establishments. Here, the real fun and excitement starts at 7 p.m. when the street is closed to vehicular traffic and transforms itself into what everybody calls the Walking Street. The place teems with restaurants and bars, with adult entertainment in every nook and cranny. At the end of the beach is the Balihai pier, jump-off point to nearby islands. At night, the pier is well lit. Indeed a good place for a leisurely walk – especially during breezy nights. |
On the beach are clusters of the deckchairs with colorful umbrellas that can be rented for a flat rate of Bt20. There’s a wide array of food to choose from, available at the flick of a finger, thanks to those ubiquitous ambulant vendors who sell everything from coco juice, roasted pork to amulets.
