Soi Buakhao

Overview and Location

Soi Buakhao is a long north-south road running through central Pattaya, parallel to Second Road. It stretches roughly 1.5 kilometers and serves as the spine of Pattaya's mid-range entertainment scene. Where Walking Street is loud, concentrated, and tourist-heavy, Soi Buakhao spreads things out. Beer bars, restaurants, guest houses, massage shops, and food vendors line both sides of the road, mixed in with everyday businesses like laundries, pharmacies, and convenience stores.

The street is popular with expats and long-term visitors who find Walking Street too hectic and too expensive. It's also where much of Pattaya's daily life happens. During the day, Soi Buakhao is a functioning residential and commercial road. In the evening, the entertainment side takes over, but it never quite loses the feel of a real neighborhood. That mix of everyday life and nightlife is what gives the area its identity.

Legal Status

Soi Buakhao falls under the same legal framework as the rest of Pattaya. Prostitution is illegal under Thai law, while bars and entertainment venues operate with standard food, beverage, and entertainment licenses. Enforcement follows the same pattern seen across the city: focused on trafficking and underage exploitation, with periodic crackdowns on closing times or public behavior that come and go with the political cycle.

The official closing time for bars on Soi Buakhao is 1 AM, earlier than Walking Street's 3 AM. Most bars observe this more consistently than the Walking Street venues do, partly because the area has more residential neighbors who complain about late-night noise. Some bars push to 2 AM during peak season, but don't count on it.

Costs and Pricing

Soi Buakhao and the surrounding area offer Pattaya's best value for nightlife spending. Prices here run 30-40% below Walking Street, which makes it the go-to zone for budget-conscious visitors and expats watching their monthly spend.

Drinks. Beer at open-air bars costs 70-120 THB for bottles and 60-90 THB for draft. Happy hours are common and aggressive, with some venues dropping as low as 55 THB for draft beer between 6-9 PM. The Cave, a well-known bar near LK Metro, runs a happy hour with beers at 55 THB. Cocktails at most bars cost 100-200 THB. Soft drinks run 50-80 THB.

Lady drinks. Priced at 150-200 THB at most beer bars, slightly cheaper than Walking Street's 200-250 THB range. The pace is also slower here; there's less pressure to buy multiple rounds quickly.

Bar fines. Beer bar fines on Soi Buakhao typically run 500-1,000 THB. Total short-time costs (bar fine plus worker's fee) range from 1,500-2,500 THB. Long-time arrangements run 2,000-3,500 THB. These prices put Soi Buakhao between the bargain rates of Soi 6 and the premium pricing of Walking Street.

LK Metro. This compact entertainment complex sits between Soi Buakhao and Second Road, a short walk west. It has its own cluster of go-go bars and beer bars. Drink prices at LK Metro run 80-170 THB for beer, with draft options at places like Crystal Club starting at 69 THB. Bar fines are 1,000-1,500 THB, and total costs for short-time run 2,000-2,500 THB.

Food. Tree Town night market on Soi Buakhao has Thai street food from 40-80 THB per dish and sit-down meals for 80-150 THB. The market operates from 5:30 PM to 2:30 AM daily. Small restaurants along Soi Buakhao serve both Thai and international food at 80-200 THB for mains. You can eat well for under 200 THB a day without trying hard.

Accommodation. Guest houses on and around Soi Buakhao start at 400-600 THB per night for basic rooms. Monthly rates of 6,000-10,000 THB are available at many properties, which is why long-term visitors concentrate here. Mid-range hotels run 800-1,500 THB per night. Most accommodation in the area is guest-friendly.

Street-Level Detail

Soi Buakhao is a wide, two-lane road with sidewalks on both sides. Unlike the narrow confines of Soi 6 or the pedestrian crush of Walking Street, it feels open and easy to move through. Motorbikes and songthaews share the road with pedestrians, so watch for traffic even after dark.

The Soi Diana intersection. The junction of Soi Buakhao and Soi Diana, roughly at the midpoint of the road, is the most active nightlife cluster. Soi Diana Inn runs about 375 meters east to Second Road and has its own collection of bars, restaurants, and guest-friendly hotels. This intersection is where most first-time visitors to the area end up, and it's a reasonable place to start exploring.

Tree Town night market. Located at 502 Soi Buakhao, Tree Town is an open-air zone with food stalls, carts, tables, and a few bar counters mixed in. It draws a crowd from late afternoon through the early morning hours. The food is cheap and good, with an emphasis on Thai dishes alongside some international options. It's a useful base for an evening, since you can eat, drink, and people-watch without committing to a bar.

LK Metro. A few minutes' walk west of Soi Buakhao toward Second Road, LK Metro is a small, purpose-built entertainment complex. It has go-go bars (Sugar Baby, Champagne, Crystal Club) and beer bars arranged around a central courtyard. The complex is compact and easy to walk around in under 10 minutes. Regulars who've outgrown Walking Street tend to end up here.

Soi Made In Thailand. A smaller lane off Soi Buakhao with Thai-run bars and restaurants. It attracts a mixed crowd of locals, long-term residents, and visitors who want something less tourist-oriented. Hops Brew House, a microbrewery pouring Thai craft beer, is on this stretch.

Safety

Soi Buakhao is one of the safer nightlife areas in Pattaya. The wide road, good street lighting, and steady foot traffic all work in your favor. The atmosphere is more relaxed than Walking Street or Soi 6, with less aggressive solicitation and a lower-pressure environment overall.

Standard precautions still apply. Watch your drinks at all times. Petty theft happens, particularly bag-snatching from motorbikes, so keep bags on the building side of the sidewalk. Don't flash expensive phones or jewelry. Use Grab for transport after midnight rather than negotiating with freelance drivers or motorbike taxis.

The tourist police number is 1155. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and Pattaya Memorial Hospital are both reachable within 10-15 minutes from the Soi Buakhao area.

Cultural Context

Soi Buakhao has a different social texture from Walking Street. The expat presence gives it a more community-oriented feel. You'll see the same faces at the same bars on consecutive nights, pub quiz teams arguing over trivia answers, and retired foreigners reading newspapers over breakfast at the same cafe every morning. It's less a tourist attraction and more a functioning neighborhood with a nightlife element.

This means the social rules are slightly different. Regulars know the bar staff personally. There's an unwritten code of conduct that values repeat custom over one-time spending sprees. Being polite, tipping reasonably, and treating workers with basic courtesy will get you further here than throwing money around. The area rewards patience and familiarity more than any other part of Pattaya's nightlife.

Scam Warnings

Overcharging at unlabeled bars. Some smaller bars don't display prices and charge whatever they think a customer will pay. Always ask the price of drinks and lady drinks before sitting down. If a bar won't give you a straight answer on pricing, walk to the next one.

Short-change tactics. Paying with 1,000 THB notes late at night invites short-changing. Carry smaller denominations (100 and 500 THB notes) and count your change before leaving the bar.

Taxi and motorbike overcharging. Freelance transport around Soi Buakhao after midnight will quote inflated prices. A baht bus ride anywhere on the main loop costs 10 THB. Use Grab for anything else.

Nearby Areas

LK Metro. A short walk west toward Second Road. This compact complex of go-go bars and beer bars is considered part of the wider Soi Buakhao nightlife ecosystem. It's a good complement to the beer bar scene on Soi Buakhao itself.

Walking Street. About 1.5 kilometers south. A baht bus or Grab ride gets you there in 10-15 minutes. Many visitors start their evening on Soi Buakhao for cheaper drinks and food, then move to Walking Street later.

Soi 6. Roughly 1 kilometer north. A different atmosphere entirely, focused on short-time bars rather than the social beer-bar scene. See the Soi 6 district guide for details.

Meeting People Nearby

Soi Buakhao has more genuine social infrastructure than any other entertainment area in Pattaya. The expat bars host pub quizzes, darts leagues, and live music nights that welcome newcomers. Tree Town is a low-pressure place to strike up a conversation over cheap Thai food. The coffee shops and coworking spaces along Soi Made In Thailand draw digital nomads and longer-stay visitors. For a broader look at Pattaya's dating and social scene, see the main Pattaya city guide.

Best Times

• 5 PM - 7 PM: Bars opening, happy hours active, Tree Town night market starting; good for a cheap, relaxed start
• 7 PM - 9 PM: Beer bars filling up, live music beginning at some venues, foot traffic increasing
• 9 PM - midnight: Peak hours, most venues at full capacity, best atmosphere
• After midnight: Bars winding down toward 1 AM closing; LK Metro stays active slightly later
• Weeknights are quieter and preferred by regulars; weekends draw more tourists from other areas
• High season (November - February): All venues fully staffed, best selection, highest prices

What Not to Do

• Do not rent a motorbike without photographing every existing scratch and dent first
• Do not pay for drinks without confirming the price beforehand
• Do not carry large denominations late at night; bring 100 and 500 THB notes
• Do not walk in the road at night; stick to the sidewalks and watch for motorbikes
• Do not get drawn into arguments with bar staff or other customers
• Do not assume monthly guest house rates include utilities; confirm what's covered
• Do not leave valuables visible in your hotel room; use the safe
• Do not engage with anyone who appears underage; report concerns to tourist police at 1155