How to get there
It's possible to access Pattaya and its environs by air, rail and road; air is the most practical.
By air: Pattaya is best served by Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. There is also an airport at U-Tapao served by Bangkok Airways. The three main carriers are:
Bangkok Airways: Within Thailand, Tel. 1771, Outside Thailand, Tel. +66 (0)2 265 5555
Nok Air: Within Thailand, Tel. 1318 Outside Thailand, Tel. +66 (0)2 900 9955
Thai Airways International: Tel. +66 (0)2 356 1111
By train: One train on the eastern line departs Bangkok’s Hua Lumphong Railway Station daily and takes three hours to reach Chonburi, three and a half to reach Pattaya. For further information regarding train services contact Hua Lumphong Railway Station, Tel. +66 (0)2 223 7010.
By road: The drive from Bangkok to Pattaya averages ninety minutes from Suvarnabhumi International Airport and an additional hour from downtown Bangkok.
Local transport
Aside from getting to and from Bangkok, limousines and taxis are ideal for exploring the region and getting to and from the golf courses; they can be arranged through most hotels.
Self drive car hire: There are a number of local car hire companies including internationally recognized agencies.
An international or local driving license will be required as well as valid passport.
Hertz: Pattaya Office, Tel. +66 (0)38 710474
Avis (Thailand): Pattaya Office Tel. +66 (0)38 361627-8, 428755-9
Budget (Thailand): Pattaya Office, Tel. +66 (0)38 710717-8
Where to eat
The range of restaurants around Pattaya is all-encompassing. Expensive eateries with fine International cuisine are everywhere, with menus originating from virtually every country. Local food is well represented too, with specialties including hot and spicy dry curries, originating from Laos.
The seafood restaurants in the small coastal town of Bang Saen are magnificent, both for quality and price. Some of the best and cheapest crabs are found just outside Rayong at a small restaurant on the way to the Rayong Resort Hotel. Justlook for all the parked cars, as this place is hugely popular!
For best information and insight on where and what to eat, see Pocket Guide FOOD Thailand − launching first quarter of 2010 − and its online version, www.foodguidethailand.com
Other golf courses
There are two unlisted golf courses worth a mention: Royal Lakeside Golf Club, near the dolphin pier on the Bang Pakong River, to the north of Chonburi, and Bangpakong Riverside Country Club a bit further up the river.
The former has a seaside feel to it with lots of palm trees along the fairways; much of the course is bordered by a marina. It’s a flat and gentle layout but a nice course all the same.
Bangkok Pattaya Hospital
On Sukhumvit Road
24 Hr Contacts Centre: From within Thailand, Tel. 1719; from outside Thailand, Tel. +66 (0)38 259999
Pattaya International Hospital
On Beach Road
24 Hr Contacts Centre: Tel. +66 (0)38 428374
Chantaburi Bangkok Hospital
In Taluang Road, opposite Tesco Lotus
24 Hr Contacts Centre: From within Thailand, Tel. 1719; from outside Thailand, Tel. +66 (0)39 319888
Bangpakong Riverside has possibly the most generous fairways in the neighbourhood, so it’s an excellent course to get some confidence in your driving. Three of the par 5’s are all good golf holes worth a crack at eagle in the right wind conditions.
There are at least fifteen other courses in this region, most within reasonably easy reach of Pattaya. Some of the less fashionable tracks stand out, and courses like Greenwood Golf & Resort and neighbouring Treasure Hill Golf & Country Club are such great designs that they are well worth playing.
Peter Thomson’s design at Greenwood is an excellent piece of work with a plethora of pot bunkers, all in the right places, to make the course a real challenge.
Bangpra International Golf Club is one of the older established courses in Thailand and is a testing layout with mature trees in strategic places, some long holes to negotiate and very difficult crowned greens that make it hard to stop the ball.
