The relatively cheap cost of a vacation or living in Pattaya, including inexpensive food and drink, budget-priced hotels, lively nightlife, and the abundance of beautiful, fun-loving single Thai women, is why Pattaya has long been one of the most affordable and fun destinations for single men worldwide.
However, whether it’s sky-high flight prices, poor currency exchange rates, seasonal adjustments, or hiked-up nightlife and entertainment prices, there are times when visiting Pattaya can cost more than expected.
How To Stay In Pattaya Cheap For Single Men
If you were thinking of canceling your trip, maybe looking for a cheaper alternative, read this budget guide to Pattaya for single men first.
You might just be surprised at how little it costs to stay in Pattaya when you use money-saving hacks like connecting with Thai girls online instead of in bars and choosing the best time and location to take advantage of cheap girl-friendly accommodation and budget eating options without paying unnecessary fees.
Cheap Transport To and From Pattaya
You can keep your costs down even before arriving by getting to Pattaya cheaply by bus. It costs less than 150 baht to get to Pattaya from Bangkok by bus, and under 200 baht from the airport. You can pre-book tickets online to secure a seat and save time.
The amount you save by traveling on a budget could pay for two nights of inexpensive accommodation in Pattaya.
Visit Pattaya in the Low Season
The best time to get cheap hotel deals in Pattaya is in the low season—May to November. It’s also true that if you book well in advance—you can find discounted hotel deals in both the high and low seasons, but generally, the best deals are found in the low season.
With fewer tourists around—meaning more available girls with time on their hands—the low season can actually be the best time to visit Pattaya for single men looking for female company on vacation.
Stay in Central Pattaya
The central (downtown) area between Beach Road and 3rd Road is, anyway, the best place to stay for single men in Pattaya for nightlife, but even more so if you’re on a budget.
Staying here—especially in the Soi Buakhao area—means you can easily find cheap accommodation and you’re never far from the baht bus route and within easy walking distance of an abundance of cheap eating places, bars, 7-Eleven convenience stores, and everything else you need to live and party in Pattaya on a budget.
Downgrade to a Cheaper Hotel
Downgrading from 5-star hotels to 4-star makes average prices about 1000 baht per night cheaper.
Downgrade to 3 stars, even in December, in downtown Pattaya, you can find hotels for less than 1000 baht, including several cheap hotels on Pattaya Beach Road.
Downgrade to 2-star hotels, there’s still a good choice of hotels with swimming pools, starting at 500 to 600 baht per night.
Get Discounted Rates For Extended Stays in Pattaya
There are cheap rooms, whether apartments, guest houses, or condos, for rent fortnightly or monthly in all areas of Pattaya for as little as 3000 baht per month, less than 100 USD. Where the same places also offer daily or weekly rates, it’s usually more than double the monthly rate per day.
You can find rooms where the electricity and water are included. Otherwise, expect to pay up to double or more the government electricity rate of 4–5 baht per unit.
Best Place to Find Cheap Accommodation in Pattaya
Search where you would like to stay, whether near the beach or your favorite nightlife area, etc. Generally, though, Soi Buakhao and its many side streets, especially Sois 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 between 3rd Road and Soi Buakhao, are home to oodles of cheap hotels, guest houses, and apartments.
Don’t Pay Joiner Fees
Wherever you decide to stay, if you intend to take guests such as bar girls back to your room, ask about the joiner policy and if there is any additional fee for your guests. Hotels that don’t charge oiner fees are known as guest friendly hotels.
Here is a list of popular guest friendly hotels in Pattaya.
Eat Cheap in Pattaya
Cheap western restaurants are abundant throughout downtown Pattaya, especially in and around Soi Buakhao, where most bars/restaurants serve cheap western and Thai meals.
Places like the Hungry Hippo on Soi Buakhao have extensive western and Thai menus. Daily specials, including spaghetti, fish and chips, chicken curry, and pork chops with mash, cost as little as 99 baht. Simple breakfast items like eggs on toast cost 69 baht.
You can eat cheaply 24 hours a day in Pattaya. One of the most popular cheap all-day eating places is Kiss Food on the corner of 2nd Road and Soi Diana. They sell simple western and Thai dishes at prices similar to those of Hungry Hippo.
Convenience food is cheap and available 24 hours a day at 7-Eleven stores in Pattaya. You can buy frozen Thai meals and fast foods such as toasties, burgers, etc, for 30–50 baht. Just take it to the counter and ask them to warm it in the microwave at no extra cost.
You can choose to eat inside at many 7-Eleven stores in Pattaya. You can even enjoy beautiful sea views from the balcony at the 7-Eleven near Baywalk on Beach Road.
At small roadside cafes, you can get Thai food that’s popular with Westerners, such as Pad Krapao, for 60–70 baht.
The Sailor Bar on Soi 8 is a popular cheap eating place. Simple meals like cheeseburgers and fries cost around 80 baht. Beer is cheap, and cocktail prices are among the cheapest in Pattaya.
Besides the well-known fast food outlets McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC, there are cheap fast food vendors selling burgers, kebabs, hotdogs, fries, and all manner of fast food around town
See and Do Things Cheaper in Pattaya
To find things worth doing, get the best discounts, and to help you plan your own cheap Pattaya sightseeing itinerary, read this guide to getting cheap tickets to attractions in Pattaya.
Cheap Nightlife in Pattaya
Doubtless, single men on vacation spend most of their budget in Pattaya on nightlife. Still, if you need to, you can do the Pattaya nightlife cheaper by avoiding Walking Street, especially the Agogo bars.
Alternatively, visit Walking Street when it’s cheapest, during the early evening when Agogo bars have happy hours.
The Cheapest Way to Meet Pattaya Girls
Going from bar to bar, buying lady drinks along the way, until you find a likeable girl is how you usually meet girls when girls are what you visit Pattaya for.
But even in the cheapest bars in Pattaya, what it costs to buy a few lady drinks for a few girls in a few bars and then pay a bar fine can amount to considerably more than a few baht.
You can meet some of the hottest Thai girls in Pattaya on the cheap in Walking Street’s nightclubs and discos when they fill up with girls from the closed agogo bars.
Drink Cheap Thai Beer
Thai beers Chang, Leo, and Singha are popular but cheap beers at most bars in Pattaya. They cost considerably less than imported beers such as Corona and a little less than other popular foreign beers like Heineken and Carlsberg.
Drink at Cheap Bars in Pattaya
Generally, in any nightlife zone in Pattaya, beer and other alcoholic drinks are cheaper at beer bars, whether they’re beer bar complexes or open-fronted bars.
Among the cheapest bar and nightlife areas in Pattaya are Soi New Plaza, Soi Honey, Soi Made in Thailand, Soi Chaiyapoon (pothole), and Soi Buakhao.
For drinks deals, happy hours, and plain cheap bars, you should try the Soi Buakhao area. At Places like Nikom Court, for example, although it’s not a girly bar, you can get large bottles of Thai beer for 70–80 baht and partake in the most popular cheap pastime in Pattaya—people watching.
Open a Thai Bank Account and Transfer Money Cheaply
For regular, frequent visitors to Thailand, the benefits of opening a Thai bank account include cheap ATM fees and no need to carry large amounts of cash. You can use services like Wise (Transferwise) to get a better exchange rate and transfer your money cheaper than your regular bank.
Requirements for foreigners to open a Thai bank vary from bank to bank and even branch to branch in Pattaya. Some may require you to have a Thai work permit or an ‘O’ visa; others may only require a tourist visa.
Agents such as Tik Tok Services and Mot’s can help you open a Thai bank in Pattaya; otherwise, it’s just a case of visiting local banks and asking what is required.
How Cheap Can You Do Pattaya as a Solo Traveler?
You can get a basic room in Pattaya with air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, a balcony, and a minibar for around 400 baht per night.
Eat three western meals a day at cheap restaurants in Pattaya at around 450 baht per day. Eat Thai food; you could eat for as little as 200 to 300 baht.
Whatever you spend on beer, nightlife, and girls is up to you, of course, but despite the poor exchange rates and expensive flights, you can still have a cheap and very cheerful stay in Pattaya.
The True Cost of Living in Pattaya Today
Several websites, numbeo.com, for example, provide current living costs in Pattaya and cities worldwide.
You can also compare prices in Pattaya against other famous cheap single men’s destinations in Thailand or around the world, for example, Pattaya vs Phuket, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Angeles City, etc.
Free Pattaya Guide For Men: If you’re visiting Pattaya for the first time and looking for more information on Pattaya girls, nightlife, and how it all works, here are some first-time in Pattaya tips for men.