Bangkok vs Pattaya
The short answer
Pattaya is the cheaper trip, by roughly 17% a day — $30–75 against $40–80 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in Nov–Feb, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇹🇭 Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Pattaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $40–80 | $30–75cheaper |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $1.50–3 | $1.50–3.50 |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $50–100 | $35–90cheaper |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $0.50–1.80 | $0.30–1cheaper |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $800 | ≈ $450 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇹🇭 Bangkok
Chaotic, friendly, and outrageously good value. Street food that outclasses most restaurants, a skytrain gliding over legendary traffic, and golden temples around every corner.
- Sky Bar (Lebua State Tower)$$$Nightlife
- Jay Fai$$$Restaurants
- Calypso Cabaret$$Theater & shows
- Teens of Thailand$$Nightlife
- Thipsamai$Restaurants
🇹🇭 Pattaya
Thailand's original beach resort town, 90 minutes from Bangkok — brash nightlife on one strip, family-friendly beaches and day trips a short ride away on the other.
- Hops Brew House$$Nightlife
- Mantra Restaurant & Bar$$$Restaurants
- Tiffany's Show$$Cabaret & shows
- Gulliver's (Red Car Bar)$Nightlife
- The Glass House$$Restaurants
Practicalities
| Bangkok | Pattaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Thai. English is common in tourist areas, hotels, and malls; sparse elsewhere. | Thai. English is very widely spoken given decades of tourism — arguably the easiest Thai city to get by in without any Thai at all. |
| Tap water | Don't drink it — bottled and filtered water everywhere, often free at hotels | Don't drink it — bottled water is sold everywhere, often free at hotels |
The same in both:
- Currency
- Thai baht (฿). US$1 ≈ ฿35
- Time zone
- ICT (UTC+7)
- Power
- 220V; outlets take most two-pin plugs (A/C hybrids)
- Emergency
- 191 police · 1669 ambulance · 1155 tourist police (English)