Hello everyone. Today I took a walk in the northern part of Pattaya, at the beginning of Wongamat Beach. I wanted to show you what this beach looks like, how crowded it gets during the high season and why it’s considered one of the best beaches. Our daughter is taking ballet lessons at a ballet school in a hotel nearby. After dropping her off I decided to stroll along the beach and share everything with you.
While I was here a fruit truck arrived. Mangoes were 3 kilograms for 100 baht, which is quite affordable. They also had passion fruit, mangosteen and watermelon. There’s parking available for cars at a fee of 50 baht. The area is spacious, so you can easily drive in and park. You’ll also find fruit slices and even beer for sale.
The start of Wongamat Beach is marked as Secret Beach on some maps, but it’s actually part of Wongamat. To my left is Pattaya city center and to my right is all of Wongamat’s infrastructure. Secret Beach is often preferred by locals because it has a nice shaded area and fresh seafood is brought here. However, the beach is quite rocky. If you look closely, you’ll see large rocks, making it uncomfortable to swim and even risking injury to your feet. Visitors usually sit here to eat. Ready-to-eat meals like fried rice, are also available.
During the off-season this place is usually filled with locals. But when the season begins, tourists frequent it as well. You can rent a beach chair and enjoy nature. There’s an interesting tree here with branches stretching out toward the water. The view is stunning. People usually come here to enjoy the scenery, eat fresh seafood and get massages rather than swim.
Thai massages here cost 280 baht, foot massages are 250 baht and head and shoulder massages are 150 baht. I didn’t try the massages, so I can’t say whether they’re good or not. You can also buy boiled crabs and ready to eat meals here. Children’s toys and chairs are available everywhere.
The view is fantastic. From here you can see high-rise luxury buildings. This is an upscale area. I walked toward the fresh seafood market.
When I reached the market I found a mini-market with pre-prepared seafood in boxes. There were fresh prawns, marinated seafood and even jellyfish. Everything looked very appetizing and the prices were 100 baht per box. The labels had descriptions in both Thai and English, so you can easily understand what you’re buying.
Here different fish like barracuda and sharks are also sold. Sea scallops are coated with cheese and grilled with a blowtorch, which looks quite interesting and delicious. Fried sea scallops with cheese are also sold ready-made. I was thinking about what to try today. After my daughter finished her lesson we tried a few things here together.
There are also mussels served with lemon. They all look very fresh and appetizing. I can say the options are limited. the same things are available everywhere. The crowd is really overwhelming. It's quite normal for this to happen during the high season. The sea is a bit rough, but the water looks beautiful. In the background there's the Centara hotel, which has a large area and beautiful pools. Although it's an old hotel it’s still quite good and I can recommend it.
On the beach toys, inflatable rings and similar items are sold for children. Some places have security barriers, but in areas without them, swimming could be dangerous because water jets are moving and they might not notice you. There are also rocky areas, so caution is advised. Along the beach, there are places selling smoothies and cocktails. Smoothies cost 40 baht, pineapple cocktails are 300 baht and cocktails in a glass are 250 baht. The characteristic feature of Wongamat is that there is no road along the sea. The road is further up and quiet. The main street is a bit far, about a 10-15 minute walk. However, residential areas close to the sea have direct beach access.
There are also events held here. For example, they do a large pig roast. There are foot-washing areas in the apartments near the beach, so you can clean yourself when returning from the beach. The massage prices are a bit high; Thai massage is 400 baht, sports massage is 450 baht and relaxation massage is 300 baht. Prices are higher compared to central locations.
I came to the hotel where my daughter has ballet lessons. The hotel pool is quite crowded and the whole area is full. The hotel has a reception, a small cafe and a nice lounge. When I moved a little further from the sea, traffic became quite calm. Along the road you can find fruit vendors, burger spots and Thai street food. I wanted to try Thai tea and it costs 25 baht. The tea contains milk, cream and condensed milk. I definitely recommend trying it.
My daughter's class is over and now we’re back at the beach. The crowd is incredible. It’s clear that it's the peak of the season. Hoping to find a less crowded place, we moved right from the hotel. But so far, we haven’t had any luck. However, the sea is beautiful, slightly wavy and the weather is perfect for swimming. There are many sunbeds and massage services along the beach. People are enjoying the sun, the light breeze and the sea. I haven’t seen it this crowded in two years. We're even having trouble finding a sunbed. The weather is great, sunny with a light breeze. The kids are already eager to swim and we are still looking for a spot.
We found a place with a little less crowd, but there are no sunbeds. Unfortunately, we even forgot our towel in the car, so we really need the sunbeds; we have no other choice. One thing that caught my attention is how the sand moves differently with the seasonal changes. For example, this season, the sand at Wongamat has retreated a bit and the beach has risen, but at Jomtien's fourth street, the sand has increased. It’s quite interesting how the beaches in Thailand change like this according to the seasons. This last part of Wongamat is one of my favorite spots. it’s less crowded, quieter and the view is beautiful. It would be great to live here, but we’re constantly wondering if it’s worth paying twice as much or if we should spend that money on other things, like travel.
In the past the crowd statistics at the beaches and night markets also reflected this. The number of tourists is increasing and we’re returning to the old days, but I don’t think we’ve reached pre-2020 levels yet. While the number of Chinese tourists has started to rise, Russian tourists are still at the top of the list of those coming to Thailand. Malaysia and China usually share the first two spots. There’s also an increase from Kazakhstan.
We arrived at Bamboo Beach, which is right next to Wongamat Beach. There are a lot of people here too, but we managed to find a spot. The sunbeds are 50 baht per person, quite reasonable. Food is also served on the beach, which is very convenient. For dinner, we tried shark meat. It wasn’t very impressive on its own, but it became a bit more flavorful with soy sauce and spices.
This winter has been really cold, especially in December and January, when temperatures dropped to 18 degrees. The water is also quite cool, but it’s still enjoyable to swim. The water temperature is currently around 26 degrees. Do you think this is warm or cold? Normally, it’s expected to be 28 degrees, so there’s not a huge difference. The air temperature is 28 degrees and is expected to rise to 30 degrees in the next few days. If you come here, be careful not to get sunburned on sunny days because even though the light breeze makes you feel cool, the sun is quite effective.
There’s a Tops Market two minutes away from Bamboo Beach. You can have coffee and do some shopping here. The atmosphere of the beach is very nice and you can relax with live music. There are swings for kids, photo spots for social media and a great view. In the evenings, the atmosphere here becomes calmer and more peaceful.
At the end of the day, we returned to Wongamat. In the evening, the number of people on the beach had noticeably decreased. We had a wonderful day today. The sea, the weather, the atmosphere, everything was perfect. If you come to Pattaya, definitely visit these beaches. Wishing everyone a great holiday.
