What Walking Street is
Walking Street is the southern end of Pattaya’s Beach Road. It closes to vehicles from 19:00 to 03:00 and becomes a pedestrian strip. Along it you’ll find seafood restaurants, live-music venues, beer bars, discos, sports bars, go-go bars, nightclubs and hotels.
It is the loudest, brightest part of the city, and the adult side is not subtle.
How it got here. It began as a fishing-village road. In the 1960s and 70s, as “The Strip”, it served US military personnel. Cabarets and discos followed in the 1980s. After car accidents in the 1990s, the road was closed to traffic in the evenings, which gave it its current name.
Who it caters to now. Since COVID, fewer venues aim at Western visitors. More aim at South Korean and Russian customers, and more recently Indian tourists.
The layout
The main strip is about 780 m, running southwest from Beach Road and South Pattaya Road towards the Bali Hai end. Keep the sea on your right when heading away from the Beach Road entrance.
Beach Road entrance and the first side sois
South Pattaya Road meets Beach Road at the northern entrance. From there, Pattaya 14 and Pattaya 15 branch inland before the Soi Diamond connections. These are useful names to remember if you leave the main strip: a side-soi entrance is a more precise meeting point than just “Walking Street”.
Soi Diamond to Soi BJ
Soi Diamond has several connected segments between Walking Street and the inland road network. Farther along the main strip is Soi BJ. Stay on the main road if your aim is to reach the other end; turning into a side soi changes the route rather than providing a parallel seafront promenade.
Towards Bali Hai
Beyond Soi BJ, the next named branches include Pattaya 16 and Soho Square. The mapped pedestrian section then meets the continuation of Pattaya Sai Nueng Road towards Bali Hai. The pier is a separate destination beyond the strip, so agree a specific pickup point rather than using the pier and Walking Street interchangeably.
For a first visit, use these junctions to divide the walk into sections. Choose a venue for its menu and atmosphere; the street layout does not tell you its opening hours or entry policy.
When to go
Its vehicle-free period is 19:00 to 03:00, and it fills up through the evening, and it’s at its busiest late at night, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. Early in the week is calmer.
Closing times vary by venue. For a first look, choose the earlier part of the evening and check with any venue you specifically want to visit.
A first visit
Start at the Beach Road entrance and use the side-soi junctions above to get your bearings before choosing a bar. Eat first and agree where to meet if your group splits up.
Then pick a venue with a price list. From about 10pm the crowds build and the clubs take over, and the busiest hours run to around midnight and beyond.
Go-go bars, clubs and the rest
The go-go bars are what most visitors come to see: indoor bars with dancers on a stage and the boom boom reputation Pattaya is known for. The clubs run latest. The seafood restaurants and live-music bars are the easy way to enjoy the atmosphere without being drawn in.
Our nightlife guide explains the terms you’ll hear, such as lady drinks and bar fines.
Money: prices and bills
Walking Street is priced for the location rather than the neighbourhood, so drinks cost more than on the side streets. In the go-go bars, a bottle of beer typically costs about 150–180 baht, draught is often cheaper at about 95–100 baht a glass, and a lady drink runs about 220–260 baht.
Before ordering:
- Check the price list before you sit down. A venue that won’t show one is a venue to walk past.
- Ignore touts offering special deals, free entry or a free show. They’re paid to bring you in, and the bill won’t be free.
- Ask for an itemised bill and check it. Never let your card leave your sight.
- Watch your drink. Do not leave it unattended or accept an open drink from a stranger.
Security staff and disputes
Keep disagreements calm and avoid confrontation. If a bill or a door dispute starts, ask for an itemised bill, pay what is clearly owed, step outside and call the Tourist Police on 1155.
Dry days
Buddhist holy-day alcohol restrictions have exemptions for qualifying hotels and licensed entertainment venues. Check the venue before making plans. The nightlife guide lists the Buddhist holidays affected.
Getting there and back
From Central or South Pattaya, walk. Baht buses run south along Beach Road and turn back up Second Road just before the Walking Street entrance. At the end of the night, a ride-hailing car from the Beach Road end is the easy way back to Soi Buakhao, Pratumnak or Jomtien.