The beach curves from north to south and is largely paralleled by a tree-lined promenade and beach road which is lined, in the northern and central parts, by hotels and restaurants. The northern section of the beach is largely tranquil, while the central and southern parts become increasingly lively, thanks to a juxtaposition of shops, department stores, boutiques, beauty salons, supermarkets, bars, discotheques, restaurants and nightclubs.

The central area of the beach is a major nightlife shopping areas, while the southern end is one of Pattaya's major nightlife areas. Unlike Koh Samui and Phuket, Pattaya is not really a family holiday destination and has obtained a reputation for being sleazy, although some effort has been made to clean up this image, the main issues still remain. However, if partying is your thing then Pattaya offers a broad spectrum of entertainment options. Discos , hundreds of bars, pubs and go-go bars are centered around walking street, which has the US military in the Vietnam era to thank for its origins.

Pattaya offers a broad range of things to do. One may enjoy riding Elephants or driving humble automatic mini-bikes, monstrous motorcycles, or even  multicolored convertible Jeeps. Others go for firearms shooting, scuba diving and surfing clubs, deep-sea fishing, speed boats, scooters, water-skiing, parasailing, or air sports of gliding ultra-lights, flying motor-propelled gliders, and more during the day. And at night, there are restaurants, bars, theaters, cabaret shows, night clubs, bowling halls, billiard & snooker clubs, exotic erotic shows, discos, sauna & massage parlours, not to cite its absolutely incredible shopping which is non-stop day-and-night.

Check out Lucifers Discotheque on Walking street open until 2am.