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ThailandNong Nooch Garden: Is It Worth Going and What Awaits You
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is the largest and most beautiful garden in Southeast Asia. It's a must-visit for everyone vacationing in Pattaya, especially women and children. This place is a true oasis, covering over 600 acres (about 2.4 km²), with more than 12,000 plant species, and a palm collection that is one of the largest in the world (over 1,500 species). The orchid collection boasts over 670 species, making it the largest in the country. The park is among the top ten most beautiful gardens in the world.
The park is divided into several themed zones. Here are the main ones you shouldn't miss: French Garden No. 1 and No. 2, Dinosaur Valley, Garden in the Sky, Cactus Garden, Pottery and Orchid Garden, Stone Forest, and the Car Museum. But these are just the main zones — there are about a dozen more. Some essentially duplicate each other, but they're still interesting and beautiful. To figure everything out and not get lost, there are signs and information boards with maps. There's also detailed mapping on Google Maps and offline map apps like Organic Maps or Maps.me — you can use those too.
At the souvenir shops, you can buy orchids specially packaged in glass bottles for transport, with growing instructions (costs from 300 baht (9.05 USD) per bottle with several seedlings).
But keep in mind an important point. Theoretically, importing plants with roots into Russia and other countries is prohibited due to high phytosanitary risks. So when going through customs upon entry, such orchids may be confiscated. But from personal experience, we know that bottled orchids are still brought in, as border control is conducted selectively.
Suspended walkways (skywalk) are built over some areas of the park — they offer beautiful views of the French Garden, Cactus Garden, and other landscape zones. You can also move around the park on rental bicycles or take an elephant ride. There's also a sightseeing bus (included in the higher-priced ticket). You don't have to use it, as it only gives general views, but for the elderly and children, it will be much easier to get around.
The park also hosts two shows: a traditional Thai performance and an elephant show. The elephants play football, volleyball, paint pictures, and ride bicycles. After the show, you can buy "elephant artwork" and souvenirs. However, the shows are only available with more expensive tickets — details on ticket types and prices are in the "Entrance Fee" section.
Exploring the park with shows and photography will take 4–5 hours, and without shows but with a leisurely walk — 2–3 hours. You can grab a snack or buy water right on the grounds — there are cafes with reasonable prices. Restrooms are free.
There's also a retro car museum on the grounds — a collection of unusual cars, race cars, and all-terrain vehicles. It was assembled by the park owner, Mr. Kampon Tansacha, who is a professional race car driver. The museum has over 100 vehicles.
And for photo lovers — Butterfly Hill with picturesque views, a great spot for selfies. Nong Nooch Garden is constantly maintained, with exhibits updated and tropical plant species preserved. Bright photos will long remind you of this amazing place.
What to Know About Visiting, Useful Tips
- Time for visiting. The park is large, but in 2–3 hours you can cover the main zones. If you plan to watch the shows and take your time — allow 4–5 hours.
- How to get around the park. You can walk, but there's a sightseeing bus (extra 100 baht to the ticket). An alternative is renting an electric bike for 320 baht for the whole day (you can ride around the entire territory).
- Navigation. There are signs and maps on the grounds, but for convenience, we recommend downloading Organic Maps, Maps.me, or Google Maps — they'll help you not get lost and plan your route. If you want to familiarize yourself with the layout and zones in advance, the official website has an interactive map, scroll down the page a bit and you'll see it. And here's a direct link to the image map.
- Elephant show and cultural show. They take place at different times, so you can visit both without rushing, one after the other. Both shows are located near the main entrance and ticket offices, so they're easy to reach on foot.
- Elephant riding and feeding. Elephant riding – 400 baht/person for 10 minutes. Feeding elephants bananas – 50 baht (kids love it).
- Feeding arapaima. Another interesting feature – for 50 baht, you can feed a giant arapaima fish using a fishing rod with chicken (like feeding crocodiles).
- Clothing and protection. You'll be walking under the open sun — need a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Clothing — light, covering shoulders and arms.
- Food and water. There are cafes on the grounds, prices almost like in the city. Restrooms are free.
- Bringing your own food and water. According to park rules, bringing your own food and drinks is prohibited. In practice, fortunately, this rule is hardly enforced, so we brought in a bottle of water and a pack of snacks without any problems.
🌐 Official website: https://www.nongnooch.world/
🕐 Opening Hours
Daily from 08:00 to 18:00. It's better to plan a full day for visiting. Ideally, choose the dry season (November to April), as beautiful photos won't turn out in cloudy or rainy weather. In the rainy season, it's worth checking the weather forecast the day before, and it's better to come in the first half of the day when the chance of rain and clouds is lower.
- Elephant show: 10:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:30
- Traditional show: 11:30, 12:30, 14:30, 16:30
💵 Entrance Fee / Ticket Prices
There are several types of entrance tickets with different prices (different visit programs), but in addition, the price also differs depending on where you buy them. Official prices for foreigners at the ticket office and on the park's website are:
- Entrance ticket (Package 1): adult – 600 baht (18.1 USD) / children (90-140 cm) – 400 baht (12.07 USD).
- Entrance ticket + sightseeing bus around the grounds (Package 2): adult – 700 baht (21.12 USD) / children (90-140 cm) – 600 baht (18.1 USD).
- Entrance ticket + elephant show + cultural show (Package 3): adult – 800 baht (24.14 USD) / children (90-140 cm) – 650 baht (19.61 USD).
- Entrance ticket + elephant show + cultural show + sightseeing bus (Package 4): adult – 1000 baht (30.17 USD) / children (90-140 cm) – 750 baht (22.63 USD).
- Children under 90 cm – free.
There are several more expensive ticket types with lunch at the PlubPlueng restaurant — you'll find all of them on the official website or at the ticket counters.
💰 The main life hack – buy tickets online! Buying at the entrance or on the official website is the most expensive option. On aggregator sites (e.g., Trip.com), the basic entrance ticket (Package 1) costs only about 340 baht – almost half the price of 600 baht at the ticket office. Payment is made with Russian cards and via SBP, conversion at the bank's rate, without additional losses. You can buy tickets online even on the morning of your visit, but it's better to do it the evening before.
Discounted tickets on these aggregators:
- Trip.com (accepts Russian cards and SBP)
- GetYourGuide (only foreign cards)
🚶 How to Get There
The park is located about 20 km from central Pattaya (Nong Nooch on the Pattaya map). You can visit it on your own or with excursions. An excursion in most cases is essentially just a transfer and guidance to the ticket office, and then you're on your own. So if you know how to use local transport (taxi or rental), you don't need an excursion. Here are the visiting options in more detail:
Excursions
The most convenient option is a group excursion. Excursions are sold everywhere at street travel agencies and cost from 800 baht (24.14 USD), more expensive from hotel guides. The price includes minibus transfer from the hotel to the park, entrance ticket, national show, elephant show, and return transfer to the hotel. You can buy excursions online:
- Sputnik8 – Nong Nooch excursions from Pattaya with Russian guides
- Tripster – Nong Nooch excursions from Pattaya with private guides
- Trip.com – many excursion options, tickets, and transfers to the park
On Your Own
A taxi ride via Grab/Bolt/Maxim apps from central Pattaya one way will cost from 300 baht (9.05 USD). A motorbike taxi will be half the price. Just keep in mind that ordering a car via apps from Nong Nooch back to Pattaya might be problematic, so you may have to overpay for a regular taxi around 500 baht.
Another great way – by rented transport. You can rent a motorbike in Pattaya from 150 baht, and a car from 600 baht for a few days. There's a huge free parking lot for visitors in front of the entrance next to the ticket offices. In a rented car or bike, you can also visit nearby temples — check out our Pattaya attractions map.
Finally, there's one budget way to get here, but it's very inconvenient. About 1.5 km from the park entrance, there's Suan Nong Nuch railway station. Commuter trains from Pattaya run to it once a day on weekdays and twice a day on weekends. Cost about 20 baht.
Weekdays only (30 minutes travel):
- Train No. 283 from Pattaya station to the park – 10:34
- Train No. 284 from Suan Nong Nuch station to Pattaya – 13:51
Weekends additional (20 minutes travel):
- Train No. 997 from Pattaya station to the park – 09:13
- Train No. 998 from Suan Nong Nuch station to Pattaya – 15:59
The schedule may change, so check it before each trip. You can do this on the websites http://www.railway.co.th/Home/Index (by route) or https://ttsview.railway.co.th/v3/ (by train number or station).
But the problem with this method is that you first have to get to the railway station in Pattaya, which can only be done by taxi. And when you arrive at this station, you'll have to walk another 1.5 km to the park. If you still decide to go this way, from Central Pattaya you need Pattaya station, and from Jomtien – Pattaya Tai station.