Nong Nooch Orchid Garden in Pattaya: everything about visiting – prices, tickets, tips

Description and is it worth visiting

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden – the largest and most beautiful garden in Southeast Asia. It's a must-visit for anyone vacationing in Pattaya, especially women and children. This place is a true oasis, with over 600 acres (about 2.4 km²) featuring thousands of tropical plant species, including a famous collection of orchids and palms. The park ranks among the top ten most beautiful gardens in the world.

At the entrance, you'll see unusual sculptures of butterflies and elephants made from clay pots. You can also have your photo taken with a tiger, chimpanzee, or other animals here. Then, following the map, you'll stroll and enjoy the views. Be sure to check out the greenhouse with different orchid species (one of the largest collections in the world), the tropical butterfly garden, palms, cacti – a special pride of the garden. At the souvenir shops, you can buy orchids specially packed in a glass bottle for transport, complete with growing instructions (starting from 300 baht (8.9 USD) per bottle with several sprouts).

The huge park grounds can be explored both on the ground and from above – suspended walkways (skywalk) have been built at tree-top height. The upper level offers a great view of the landscape zones designed in different styles: French, English, as well as the famous cactus and bonsai gardens. You can rent a bicycle or take an elephant ride through the park. In our opinion, the best way to explore the park is by the tour bus – it saves your energy in the heat.

Besides tropical vegetation, you'll enjoy a colorful traditional Thai performance and an elephant show. Elephants play football, volleyball, paint pictures, and ride bicycles. After the show, you can buy "elephant art" and souvenirs. Seeing the entire grounds takes a lot of time, but you can grab a snack or buy water right there – there are restaurants on site, including Indian cuisine.

Nong Nooch Garden is constantly well-maintained, exhibits are updated, and tropical plant species are preserved. The bright photos will long remind you of this amazing place.

What you need to know about visiting, useful tips

• Time for the visit. The park is huge, with many places to see. A quick glance will take a couple of hours, but a leisurely walk for enjoyment, including the shows and photography, will take 4 hours, and including travel, almost the entire daylight hours.
• Getting around the park. You can walk around the park, but for convenience, there's a tour bus that follows a route around the grounds. To use it, you need to buy a ticket + bus combo, which is 100 baht more expensive. But it's not necessary – we easily walked around the park.
• Elephant show and cultural show. The cheapest ticket includes only entry to the park and gardens. But there are more expensive combo tickets that include admission to one or both shows. It's better value to buy a ticket for both shows at once. They take place on the grounds in separate areas according to a schedule (times and schedule below). The inconvenient part is that they happen at the exact same time. So if you want to see both, you'll have to work around the schedule and walk through the park between shows.
• Elephant rides. You can ride elephants in the park, but it costs extra – 400 baht per person for 10 minutes.
• Clothing and protection. You'll be walking under the blazing sun. It's best to wear light cotton clothing that covers your shoulders and arms, put on a hat, and protect your eyes with sunglasses. If you've only been in Pattaya for a few days, apply sunscreen.
• Food and drinks. There are cafes and a shop on site where you can buy water and order snacks. You'll need lots of water, so it's a good idea to bring a large bottle – it's allowed.