Pattaya is Thailand’s seaside playground, a busy and colourful resort on the Eastern Gulf Coast most famous for its nightlife.

With its many beaches, theme parks, golf courses, diving spots and watersports, the town is a hive of activity that attracts millions of visitors each year.

Pattaya is most famous for its hedonistic nightlife, but many family-friendly resorts have sprung up over the last few years, along with the presence of new boutique hotels and good restaurants helping to draw in a younger Thai crowd.

For chilling out on the beach, a trip to nearby Jomtien Beach will provide access to cleaner sand and a more relaxed atmosphere than the crowded Pattaya Beach.This 6km stretch of coastline is a popular choice with Thai families on day trips from Bangkok (located about 150 km to the north-west) and other areas.

Pattaya offers year-round diving expeditions, with many of the most popular reefs situated around a group of islands about 25km offshore. The chance to see schools of barracuda, moray eels, blue-spotted stingrays and hawksbill turtles awaits people heading out on a diving trip in Pattaya.

Holidaymakers who prefer to stay above the surface will still find much to enjoy in Pattaya, as there are plenty of opportunities to hire jet-skis, take a ride on a banana boat or enjoy a speedboat tour around the bay.