Pattaya With Kids: Is It Family-Friendly?

Where to base a family

Jomtien, over the hill south of the centre, is the default answer. The sand is wider and calmer than Pattaya Beach, the strip behind it runs to family restaurants and long-stay condos rather than bars, and Thepprasit Night Market is close enough for an easy evening.

Na Chom Thian, further south again, is the other option and a better one if you are driving — it puts you within a few minutes of the two big water parks and Nong Nooch. Without a car it is the wrong choice, because nothing there is walkable.

What to avoid is booking in the middle on price alone. Central Pattaya is fine to visit with children in daylight and less fine as a place to walk back to at eleven at night.

The two water parks, and which to pick

Ramayana bills itself as the biggest water park in Thailand — 184,000 square metres at its 2016 opening — and is the one to choose for a full day with a wide age range — it has the slide count for teenagers and enough shallow water for small children. Columbia Pictures Aquaverse, which older guides still call Cartoon Network Amazone, is smaller, more themed, and easier on a family with young children only.

Both are in Na Chom Thian, both are a full day, and doing them on consecutive days is a lot of queuing. There is also Pattaya Water Park at the foot of Pattaya Park Tower, which is older and plainer but cheaper, quieter and actually inside the city.

Animals and gardens

Khao Kheow Open Zoo is the standout and the furthest out, about an hour north depending on traffic, with large enclosures and enough walking to fill a day. Nong Nooch is a botanical garden with a dinosaur park and elephant show bolted on, which sounds like a mess and works better than it should.

If you want an animal experience without a show, the Elephant Sanctuary near Bang Sare does feeding and bathing in small groups, with no riding and no tricks. That distinction matters to a lot of parents and it is the reason it is one of my picks.

Rainy-day and short-attention options

The city's indoor attractions cluster in the centre and are mostly an hour or two rather than a day: Art In Paradise for the trick-art photographs, Ripley's on Beach Road, the Dolphinarium, Underwater World by Tesco, and Mini Siam's miniature landmarks.

These are the right answer for a wet afternoon in the rainy season and the wrong answer for a whole holiday. Ratings vary more here than anywhere else on the site, so check the individual pages before committing a day to one.

Beaches that work with children

Pattaya Beach itself is a working city beach and not where you want a toddler in the water. Jomtien is the sensible in-town swim, with Dongtan at its northern end quieter than the main stretch.

For a proper beach day, go south. The navy beaches around Sattahip — Nang Rong, Nang Ram, Sai Kaew — have the clearest water in reach of Pattaya, though each has its own checkpoint procedure to get in, so read the individual pages before setting off rather than navigating to the sand.