What's on in Pattaya, Thailand through the year

Peak crowds — Gulf dry season, Christmas and New Year peak

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Gulf dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year peak (18 Dec – 5 Jan)

Busy — Gulf dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Gulf dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Gulf dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Gulf dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Songkran, Wan Lai

• Festival

  Songkran

  13–15 AprWater-festival New YearCrowdedClosures

  Three days of it on Beach Road and Second Road, which here means hoses and pickup trucks rather than a polite splash. Traffic in and out of the city stops working. Source ↗

• Festival

  Wan Lai

  16–20 Apr · usuallyWater-festival New YearCrowdedClosures

  The eastern seaboard keeps going after the rest of the country has stopped: Pattaya's own water day comes almost a week after Songkran and is the bigger of the two here. Source ↗

Still on: Gulf dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Long summer break in Thailand, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Southwest monsoon

  15 May – 31 Oct · usually

  Short heavy squalls rather than all-day rain, and the sea goes murky on the town beaches. Ko Larn boats still run most days and rooms cost a fraction of the high season.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Wettest weeks of the year

  1 Sep – 31 Oct · usuallyMonsoonRisk

  September and October are when the storms stack up and the low streets behind Beach Road flood for an hour or two at a time. The quietest the city gets.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — October semester break in Thailand, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Wettest weeks of the year (1 Sep – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Gulf dry season

• Season

  Gulf dry season

  1 Nov – 30 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  Flat water off Jomtien, boats running to Ko Larn every half hour and the whole strip open. This is the peak, and the traffic on Beach Road behaves like it.

Peak crowds — Gulf dry season, Christmas and New Year peak

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year peak

  18 Dec – 5 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The dearest fortnight of the year, with the Russian and northern-European charter season at full stretch and a countdown crowd on the beachfront. Rooms go months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Gulf dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))