The sights and sounds of Walking Street are quite unlike anything else in Thailand. Other towns and cities try to claim to have their own version, but nothing comes close to matching the 500 metres of fun which is found at the end of Pattaya’s Beach Road. Taking its name from the fact that it is closed to vehicle traffic after 18:00, almost every building on both sides of the road – as well as many in the side streets around it – is a nightclub, beer bar, restaurant or go-go bar to the extent that the road is almost completely deserted during daylight hours as virtually everything is shut. At night, however, the road comes alive with neon lights, thumping music from different genres, food vendors, street performances and party animals from around the world.

Location: Between the end of Pattaya Beach Road and Bali Hai Pier

Soi 7 is essentially the city’s biggest beer bar complex. The Luxor Bar and Pandora Bar are the particularly noteworthy names on Soi 7. You will also find a couple of the city’s less remarkable go-go bars: Silver Star 2 and World Wide A Go Go. Soi 8 is accessible through a narrow connecting route and has a more modest selection of bars. It is worth mentioning, however, for the Sailor Bar & Restaurant, which is the home of 50 baht cocktails and is an extremely popular place for getting a few cheap drinks in to get the night started.

Location: About 70m south of Central Pattaya Road, between Beach Road and Second Road

Soi LK Metro is kind of like a poor man’s Walking Street, not least because everything costs less here. It is significantly shorter, being only about 200m from one end of the L-shaped alley to the other. It gets its name from the fact that it circumnavigates the LK Metropole hotel. The street itself is almost exclusively filled with go-go bars, with the few spaces between being mostly bars. The staff here tend to be less pushy, creating a more relaxed atmosphere which often suits the older visitors who don’t appreciate Walking Street’s frenetic pace. Top venues include Champagne, The Office, Sugar Sugar and Murphy’s Law Irish Bar. You will also find several good venues on the surrounding streets.

Location: Around the LK Metropole, connecting Soi Buakhao and Soi Diana Inn

The area known as Pattayaland is made up of two and a half streets at the very southern end of Beach Road, just before it becomes Walking Street, and it is the home to a mix of girlie bars and gay bars (though it is mostly the latter). Soi 13/3 is called Pattayaland Soi 1 and is home to X-Boys Pattaya Show and Cupidol Bar. A narrow alley about halfway down the street connects it to Soi 13/4 – Pattayaland Soi 2 – which is home to Cats A Go-Go and The Classroom Ago-go. Finally, Boyz Town (Pattayaland Soi 3) is formed by a loop of soi from Second Road to the middle of Soi 13/4 and contains Boys Boys Boys Nightclub and Copa Show Bar. This whole section of town can be very flamboyant and fun.

Location: Just south of Royal Garden Plaza, between Beach Road and Second Road

Pattaya has something of a reputation around the world for nighttime naughtiness, and Soi 6 is almost certainly the epicentre of that. To old hands and expats, it is Soi Half-a-Dozen and sometimes also Soi Yodsak. As with other areas of Pattaya, almost every building is a beer bar. Notable venues include Ruby Club, Night Wish, Sexy in the City and Butterfly Bar. The neighbouring Soi 6/1 is very similar in nature, but almost every venue is a ladyboy bar, so it is important not to get the two confused. The annual Soi 6 Weekend Party, usually held at the start of June, features more than 50 bars providing free food and over 700 waitresses.

Location: Just south of Pattaya Beach Garden Hotel, between Beach Road and Second Road