Pattaya, the well-known R&R destination for US soldiers in the 60s and 70s has recently enjoyed a well-deserved face lift. Hotels and local businesses have strived to become more eco-friendly, as well as family-friendly. Fun parks, shopping centres and an array of international restaurants now compliment the many different sporting options available – including 22 golf courses, horse riding and watersports of all description.

Pattaya is now only a 1 hour and 15 minute drive from Bangkok's new international airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport.

• By car – many hotel packages will include a private transfer from Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi International airport to Pattaya in their quotation.  If not, ask your travel agent for a quote.  The journey should take around 75 minutes.

• By bus – from the Bangkok's Eastern bus terminal, the trip takes 3 hours.  From Bangkok’s northern terminal, the trip takes 2 ½ hours.

• By train – the trip is 4 hours from Bangkok’s Hualamphong Station.

Water sports – Diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, boating, sailing. If you find Pattaya beach too crowded and busy, visit nearby Jomtien, Naklua or Cliff beaches.
Nightlife – Pattaya is jam packed with restaurants, bars and night clubs. Many venues have live bands, caberet, and some even beauty contests for ka-toey (transvestites), many of whom would fool even the best-trained eye.
Eat seafood – as Pattaya is directly on the coast, the seafood is very fresh, and by international standards, great value.
Golf – there are 22 golf courses of exceptionally high within the vicinity of Pattaya. Popular courses include Bang Phra, the Siam Country Club and the Bangpakong Riverside Country Club.
Buffalo racing – if you are visiting in October, be sure to look out for this annual festival, which features a fair, human and water buffalo beauty contests and buffalo races.
Khao Kheow Open Zoo – covering 1200 acres and offering more than 50 specifies of wildlife, this attraction is both entertaining and educational for the family.
Nong Nooch Village – this vacation and recreation park is set on 500 acres south of Pattaya and features coconut and mango plantations, an orchid nursery and botanical gardens. There are daily cultural and elephant shows. Accommodation is available in hotels or antique Thai houses.
Underwater World Pattaya - Underwater World Pattaya is a modern aquarium with a 100-metre state-of-the-art acrylic tunnel where visitors can walk through an underwater environment filled with dozens of marine species including the rare shovel-nosed ray, a hybrid between a shark and a stingray.
Amusement Parks - Pattaya is the amusement park capital of Thailand!  There are so many different parks here, you could go to a different on every day of the week!  Click here to find out more
The Sanctuary of Truth Made entirely of wood and with exquisite architectural carvings, the building was conceived out of the vision that human civilisation has been achieved and nurtured by religious and philosophical truth. www.sanctuaryoftruth.com