Tours in Pattaya: prices, descriptions and reviews

Tours in Pattaya: what you need to know before your trip

Pattaya isn't just about beaches and nightlife. For thousands of travelers, it becomes a base from which it's easy to explore almost all of Thailand and even neighboring countries. Pattaya itself doesn't have an abundance of historical monuments – all the most interesting stuff is outside the city. But it's here that one of Southeast Asia's largest tour markets has taken shape. Huge competition among hundreds of agencies and operators means that tour prices in Pattaya are among the lowest in Thailand.

From Pattaya, you can easily get to Bangkok's main temples, the ruins of the ancient capital Ayutthaya, waterfalls and floating hotels on the River Kwai, as well as the famous Angkor temple complex in Cambodia. They also offer short trips to nearby islands like Koh Larn, and city tours to Nong Nooch Tropical Garden or the Sanctuary of Truth.

Even if you usually prefer to travel completely independently, it's worth looking into organized tours here. Very often, a ready-made tour with transfer, entry tickets, and a guide costs the same or even less than going on your own by taxi and buying tickets at the box office. Plus, you won't have to figure out public transport routes, which don't even go to most attractions anyway. In short, tours in Pattaya are not just a checkbox on your itinerary – they're a genuinely convenient and cost-effective way to see as much as possible in a short vacation.

Where and how to buy without overpaying

The golden rule of Pattaya: street agencies and online services almost always offer better prices than hotel guides from tour operators. But each option has its own nuances worth knowing before you leave a deposit.

Hotel guides (from the tour operator)

If you came on a package tour, you'll most likely meet your hotel guide on the first day. You can buy tours from them – guaranteed in your language and with familiar service. But this option has two downsides: the price is often 1.5–2 times higher than on the street, and the program may include additional visits to jewelry factories. For a first introduction to the country, this is a decent and relatively safe way, especially if you don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of street offers. But if you're not a first-timer and already know how things work, you can safely skip this option.

Street travel agencies

Pattaya has hundreds of kiosks and offices with signs in Russian. Buying here is no riskier than at the hotel: your insurance still applies, and the tour operator won't penalize you (that's a common myth). The advantages – noticeably lower prices and a much wider selection of tours.

What to look out for when buying from a street agency:

• Tour language. Russian signs in the window don't guarantee a Russian-speaking guide. Always check what language the tour will be in.
• Hidden extras. Sometimes entry tickets or lunch aren't included in the price. Ask for the final "all-inclusive" amount and keep a receipt with the list of services.
• Tour operator. Most street outlets are middlemen who add a markup. It's better to go directly to the operators, but they're hard to identify. So just compare prices and descriptions at 2–3 neighboring agencies.

Buying tours online

The most convenient and modern way. Essentially, you're buying the same tours from the same operators (and sometimes directly from tour operators) as you would on the street. Prices are similar, sometimes even lower. The main advantages – calmly reading descriptions and reviews in Russian without sales pressure, the ability to pay with Russian cards, and easy booking from your phone or laptop.

Trusted services where we look for tours ourselves:

• Trip.com – the biggest tour database, accepts Russian cards
• Sputnik8 – tours in Russian, verified guides
• Tripster – private and group tours in Russian
• GetYourGuide – international platform with lots of reviews

The most popular tours in Pattaya

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden and Orchid Park Recommended

This is one of the most popular and interesting tours in Pattaya. It includes a visit to Nong Nooch Tropical Garden and Orchid Park – the largest garden in Southeast Asia. What's great about this tour is that for 1,000 baht you get both transfer and entry tickets to the park, which on their own cost from 600 baht. For that money, you wouldn't get to the park (which is far out of town) by taxi, so the tour is the most cost-effective way to visit this wonderful garden. Plus, you'll have a guide (not in all tour options, but in most) who'll point you in the right direction and tell you what to look out for.

Mini Siam Park

Price with hotel transfer from 600 baht. This park features many models of the world's most famous architectural landmarks at 1:25 scale. It includes not only modern buildings but also ancient structures, like the Angkor temple complex in Cambodia.

You can visit Mini Siam Park without a tour, since it's not too far from the city center. But for that, you'll have to first figure out how local transport in Pattaya works.

Underwater World

This tour is a visit to Pattaya's aquarium. It's a great place for a tour with kids – they'll love it. Getting to "Underwater World" from Pattaya's tourist areas isn't easy, so it's better to use a tour to visit this place, especially considering that a tour with transfer costs 600 baht, while entry tickets if you get there on your own are 500 baht. More about the aquarium "Underwater World".

Sanctuary of Truth Recommended

On this tour, you'll visit a unique structure – the Sanctuary of Truth, built entirely of wood without a single nail. At least, that's what its creators claim. The place is quite interesting and truly unique, though there's a small drawback: the visit price is quite high. Construction at the temple is still ongoing, but that doesn't stop you from visiting.

Pattaya city sightseeing tour Recommended

If your tour operator didn't include a free sightseeing tour in your Pattaya program, you can buy one yourself for a relatively small fee. Tour programs vary between agencies, but what they have in common is that they include visits to interesting free-access spots in Pattaya. This could be a set including Buddha Hill, the viewpoint, Pattaya Floating Market, the giant Buddha image on the mountain, as well as visits to a jewelry factory, a wholesale souvenir shop, and so on.

Tour to Bangkok (Bangkok Temples) Recommended

If during your trip you haven't visited Bangkok (which is simply unacceptable), you can make up for it with a tour from Pattaya to Bangkok. The tour program is very packed, and in one day you'll see the most significant Bangkok sights: the Grand Palace; the Reclining Buddha temple; a boat ride through the canals of the Eastern Venice; shopping at a mall in the Baiyoke Sky Tower, where you'll also go up to the observation deck and have dinner.

We highly recommend this tour, because leaving Thailand without visiting Bangkok is unthinkable. Of course, there are other tour options to Bangkok, but all of them necessarily include the mentioned main Bangkok landmarks.

Ayutthaya and Bang Pa In Royal Palace Recommended

Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of Thailand, which was the center of the Siam kingdom until the capital was moved to its current location – Bangkok. Today, Ayutthaya consists of architectural monuments that remind many tourists of the famous Angkor temple complex in Cambodia. This is an incredibly interesting place, especially for those who love ancient history. During the tour, you'll see the most popular ruins of temples and palaces left from the great capital, and you definitely won't be disappointed. Additionally, you'll visit the much more modern Bang Pa In Royal Palace.

The tour lasts one day, and it's the only way to visit this city in one day for a reasonable price, because from Pattaya, apart from a tour or taxi, there's no way to get to Ayutthaya. The only downside is that you won't see all the monuments of the ancient capital – to see all the Ayutthaya sights you'd need not just one, but even two days.

For exotic vibes on the River Kwai Recommended

This is a very packed and interesting tour deep into Thailand, away from the beaches and tourist spots. Depending on the program, it can be two or three days. The route includes a trip from Pattaya to Kanchanaburi province and back, visiting many interesting places and sights along the way. You'll visit a floating market, cruise along canals by boat, see a teak wood carving craft center, check out the Erawan Waterfall, spend the night in a floating hotel, swim in hot springs, visit the bridge over the River Kwai, ride elephants at an elephant village, and much more.

Overall, this is a very worthy tour program for a very reasonable price.

Koh Larn Island – beach tour

If you want to switch up the beach scene for a day, head to Koh Larn – it's only 7 km from Pattaya, and the ferry takes about 45 minutes. This is the most popular one-day trip to paradise beaches with clear water and good conditions for snorkeling. An organized tour usually includes transfer to Bali Hai pier, round-trip ferry tickets, and even lunch on the beach. You can just buy a ferry ticket separately and explore the island on your own, but with a tour there's less hassle – they'll pick you up from your hotel and meet you at the pier.

Cambodia

Pattaya is an ideal base for visiting the Angkor temple complex in Cambodia. If time and budget allow, be sure to head to the neighboring Kingdom of Cambodia, where you can see with your own eyes the temples you've only seen on beautiful postcards. During your stay in Cambodia, you'll visit the most popular temples of the Angkor temple complex, visit Tonle Sap Lake, and Phnom Kulen National Park.

Tours come in several options of varying durations from 2 to 5 days. The tour price includes everything: transport, meals, accommodation at a hotel in Siem Reap, and entry tickets to the temples. The visa to Cambodia is processed upon arrival at the border, so you don't need to worry about it in advance.

This tour is the best way to see all the most interesting Cambodian sights from the Angkor period in a short time, and it's definitely worth taking.

This list of tours in Pattaya is far from complete (these are just the most popular ones) and there are plenty more options from Pattaya. You'll be able to find out about all of them on the spot or in the tour descriptions on tour sales websites.

Price list for street tours

And to make it even easier for you to get your bearings and plan everything in advance, we've collected and scanned the options with prices and schedules from one of the Russian-language travel agencies in Pattaya – you can check them out for reference to see real street prices and selection: