Pattaya Daily News Brief
Thailand’s VAT Refund
Thailand offers a VAT refund scheme for tourists, allowing you to easily claim back your tax.
Baht Bus Pattaya
If you have been told the baht bus costs 10 baht, your information is out of date. That price held for more than thirty years. Here is what you need to ride Pattaya's blue trucks without feeling like the target of a very slow con.
Oceanfront Dining in Na Jomtien - toes in the sand
Hotels, restaurants and bars located directly on the water with sand under the table legs not a soi stool under a LED sign. Most visitors have no idea what awaits them down here.
Restaurants and Bars - Without the Bar Fine Scene
Every couple of weeks somebody asks us the same thing. Their wife is flying in, or the girlfriend wants a night out, or the sister and her kids are over from the States, and they want to know where they can get a cold beer without spending the evening pretending not to notice what's going on at the next table.
Thailand Floats a 1,000 Baht Departure Tax. Deep Breath
Your social media feeds are about to catch fire. Every expat group, every YouTube talking head and every guy at the end of the bar will be telling you Thailand is about to charge you 1,000 baht to leave. Some will tell you it starts next month. Some will tell you it's only for farang. Neither is true.
Ramayana Water Park: The Full-Day Escape South of Pattaya
If you’re doing Pattaya the quiet way — Jomtien, Pratumnak, Na Jomtien — you still need one loud day. Not Walking Street loud. Water-park loud. Ramayana Water Park
Thailand Cuts the 60-Day Stamp in Half: September 15
The 60-day free stamp is over. Thailand published the new visa-exemption rules in the Royal Gazette on August 31. They take effect September 15, 2026.
From that date, passport holders from 60 countries and territories including the United States, the United Kingdom, most of the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, India, and Taiwan — get 30 days visa-free for tourism. Not 60. The special 60-day scheme that started July 15, 2024 is repealed.