With the thai baht appreciating against the dollar, what is the current scene like in pattaya?  I read online that tourists are not visiting Thailand as much any more.  Are the bars hopping or quiet? Im planning to visit in Oct/Nov, so trying to understand what to expect.

The Thai Baht has appreciated vs many currencies this past year, not just the USD.

Take what you read online with a grain of salt.  Everything is mostly rage bait.

It's low season in Thailand, so it's naturally less quiet, but Pattaya and Thailand is still plenty of busy.

Only way to find out, is come.    Or continue to read rage bait articles and stay at home.   Up to you.

I booked a room for November and surprisingly,  at least to me, some places are booked and others are sold out of many types of rooms. So if that tells you anything  ...

25 minutes ago, HimBadMan said:

The Thai Baht has appreciated vs many currencies this past year, not just the USD.

Take what you read online with a grain of salt.  Everything is mostly rage bait.

It's low season in Thailand, so it's naturally less quiet, but Pattaya and Thailand is still plenty of busy.

Only way to find out, is come.    Or continue to read rage bait articles and stay at home.   Up to you.

I guess I'd come anyway. Worse case situation, I can explore Phuket or CM. yes, I read the articles and saw a couple of YT videos. Didn't realize they were rage bait. Thanks for the response

Edited August 6, 20251 yr by PirateDog

7 minutes ago, PirateDog said:

I guess I'd come anyway. Worse case situation, I can explore Phuket or CM. yes, I read the articles and saw a couple of YT videos. Didn't realize they were rage bait. Thanks for the response

YouTube is propaganda...

Example:   a Thailand YT Vlogger releases a video talking about less tourists, it does well and gets a lot of views..   views = money 

Other Thailand Vloggers use AI Chatgpt, Grok etc.    "give me a good idea about a video about Thailand that will get a lot of views".

AI:  talk about the decline in tourism

It goes on and on and this cycle continues until the next money grabbing headlines hit..

Want proof?    Look at how many "is Thailand dead".  "Thailand tourism dead" videos you will see made in the last 90 days...     YouTube vloggers follower the script, they follow the views which AI tells them generates views

 

Edited August 6, 20251 yr by HimBadMan

5 year chart shows many ups and downs, but that you're still getting a little more baht per dollar than in August 2020.

A 15% to 20% currency fluctuation won't chase away guys who are still  able to have way more and better quality fun in Pattaya at 50% to 25% of the cost at home.

As others have pointed out, bloggers fabricate drama in an attempt to make money. Their presence in Pattaya is one form of tourism we would all be better off without, with only very few exceptions.

 

36 minutes ago, chemtrail69 said:

5 year chart shows many ups and downs, but that you're still getting a little more baht per dollar than in August 2020.

A 15% to 20% currency fluctuation won't chase away guys who are still  able to have way more and better quality fun in Pattaya at 50% to 25% of the cost at home.

As others have pointed out, bloggers fabricate drama in an attempt to make money. Their presence in Pattaya is one form of tourism we would all be better off without, with only very few exceptions.

 

2020 was peak covid so I don’t think many people were visiting to be impacted.  I was looking at the chart for the past 3 years and also the news/yt articles. that being said, someone pointed out that they could be engagement farming for  money, which could be true  

With few exceptions SEA YT vloggers are full of crap. I'm still trying to figure out how to live like a king in the Philippines for $1k per month 😂

16 minutes ago, ValleyCowboy said:

With few exceptions SEA YT vloggers are full of crap. I'm still trying to figure out how to live like a king in the Philippines for $1k per month 😂

That’s easy, once you understand that one man’s kingdom is another man’s hellhole. 

3 hours ago, PirateDog said:

With the thai baht appreciating against the dollar, what is the current scene like in pattaya?  I read online that tourists are not visiting Thailand as much any more.  Are the bars hopping or quiet? Im planning to visit in Oct/Nov, so trying to understand what to expect.

The Thai economy has been getting stronger these last couple years. It’s not that the US Dollar is getting weaker against the Thai baht, but that the Thai baht is getting stronger.

23 minutes ago, momo5 said:

That’s easy, once you understand that one man’s kingdom is another man’s hellhole. 

You could say that. You could also say that one vlogger's BS to generate views is another man's fantasy that often turns into a stark reality.

4 hours ago, PirateDog said:

Worse case situation

I'm curious what is the worst case that you are fearing?

- No girls left in town? (I can assure you that is not happening)
- All bars closed due to no customers? (not happening either)
- Too few other tourist to interact with? (Would be a plus for me, but you always meet other westerners in Pattaya, luckily most of them are very nice people)

The low season affect bar girls and bar owners, specially for those outside of the most popular areas and places that doesn't have a lot of expat visitors. But for a monger it's heaven on earth.

What you can expect:
- Girls are more eager to go with you
- Traffic is more manageable (except if you go during one of the event weekends)
- Most bars are less crowded than in high season, specially outside of Soi 6 and WS
- XS is still crowded
- Raining on some days, but it have never ruined my day

4 hours ago, PirateDog said:

2020 was peak covid so I don’t think many people were visiting to be impacted.  I was looking at the chart for the past 3 years and also the news/yt articles. that being said, someone pointed out that they could be engagement farming for  money, which could be true  

Dude forget those charts, news/YouTube articles, just get your ass over here and enjoy yourself man! What's that saying I've seen around here "you think too much"! 

 

You asked what the scene is like, it's wonderful here!

7 hours ago, PirateDog said:

With the thai baht appreciating against the dollar, what is the current scene like in pattaya?  I read online that tourists are not visiting Thailand as much any more.  Are the bars hopping or quiet? Im planning to visit in Oct/Nov, so trying to understand what to expect.

What you should expect, is to have great time. 

Yes the exchange rate is the worst I've seen it in 15 years. Yes, inflation, and shrink flation has hit Thailand.

Yes some bars are very quiet, many have been sold or closed over the last few months.

But. Some bars have been jammed. I couldnt find a seat in a lk agogo the other night. Billabong has been doing a good trade. the GC I frequent, my regular has been averaging 3-4 trips upstairs most days.

I get messages every day from girls asking me to let them come over, or come buy them a drink.

There just isn't a bad time to be in pattaya. Even during the covid lock downs, those who were here, would rather be here then back in the west.

Don't think too much. Pack your bags and buckle up.

7 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

What you should expect, is to have great time. 

Yes the exchange rate is the worst I've seen it in 15 years. Yes, inflation, and shrink flation has hit Thailand.

Yes some bars are very quiet, many have been sold or closed over the last few months.

But. Some bars have been jammed. I couldnt find a seat in a lk agogo the other night. Billabong has been doing a good trade. the GC I frequent, my regular has been averaging 3-4 trips upstairs most days.

I get messages every day from girls asking me to let them come over, or come buy them a drink.

There just isn't a bad time to be in pattaya. Even during the covid lock downs, those who were here, would rather be here then back in the west.

Don't think too much. Pack your bags and buckle up.

Good to hear! Thanks!

TBH, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Currencies are always in a state of fluctuation for a massive number of macroeconomic factors.

Right now, avoiding politics, there are some factors that are driving the dollar down (albeit by smaller % than you'd expect)

That being said, FOREX trading exists for a reason. 

In short, meh. Not a huge concern.

OP’s post is nothing do with YT, social media or propaganda. Simply about Baht appreciating and its impact. Currencies tend to fluctuate and people make the necessary arrangements and adjustments - down grade or upgrade flights, better hotels or more affordable hotels. Save more before coming etc. 

Pattaya remains the same with the usual low and high season and there is always critical mass when it comes to establishments and girls. Over 3 decades, it has remained the one of the best known monger’s choice. Bars and girls come and ago. The exception was COvid. 

Soi 6 has gotten better girl wise, GGs more or less the same, GCs seem to grow in numbers, more FLs in bars than before. 

 

9 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

There just isn't a bad time to be in pattaya. Even during the covid lock downs, those who were here, would rather be here then back in the west.

Best 10 months of my life. 

11 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

Yes the exchange rate is the worst I've seen it in 15 years. Yes, inflation, and shrink flation has hit Thailand.
 

Sorry, but it is well above the "worst in 15 years".  It's currently over 32, but the USD/THB exchange rate dipped below 29 in 2013, 2020 and 2021.

 

 pattaya even in slow season will be busy Ben there in March and June maybe march was more busy but still business as usual, THBT price for USD was 34, 33 and now 32 is fine still ok not big difference even you change 10000$ only a round 2000 b loss , will be back again next week sure it will be fun  

Its at a strong resistance right now and looks like its forming a double bottom. That would bring it at the october 2022 highs. This wont happen over night tho and could take a few months. 

Edited August 14, 20251 yr by Hnl88

On 06/08/2025 at 02:50, bethnalad said:

The Thai economy has been getting stronger these last couple years. It’s not that the US Dollar is getting weaker against the Thai baht, but that the Thai baht is getting stronger.

I actually disagree, USD is weakening against essentially everything in response to deficit spending and bond rates. It's why international stock indexes are, accounting for currency, absolutely rolling the US market index this year from a returns perspective. 

You can see this in the dollar index, which measures USD against 6 of the largest freely traded currencies - 

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy

On 15/08/2025 at 11:24, AnonBenefactor said:

I actually disagree, USD is weakening against essentially everything in response to deficit spending and bond rates. It's why international stock indexes are, accounting for currency, absolutely rolling the US market index this year from a returns perspective. 

You can see this in the dollar index, which measures USD against 6 of the largest freely traded currencies - 

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy

It’s honestly both. USD is weakening too but that is a more recent conversation than the baht getting stronger.

Hi,

Same for EURO, but in any case, all the price are still 50% less then Italy. 
The problem is the girl service that is generally poor and start to cost..

 

T

Recency (bias? ) is often a big factor on how the economy feels. 

However looking at a 5y window.

• USD vs EUR (EURUSD) — Aug 2020 avg: 1.1831 → Jul 2025 avg: 1.1671 (≈ –1.35% for EURUSD, i.e., USD slightly stronger vs EUR).  

• USD vs THB — Aug 2020 avg: ฿31.20 → Jul 2025 avg: ฿32.46 (≈ +4.0%; USD a bit stronger vs baht over 5y). Also note the swing: from the peak around ฿37.07 in Sep 2022 back to ฿32.46 by Jul 2025 (≈ –12.4%; baht firmed a lot since 2022).  

• EUR vs THB — Using the monthly averages above, ≈฿36.91 (Aug 2020) → ≈฿37.88 (Jul 2025), about +2.6%(baht slightly weaker vs EUR over 5y).  

Inflation, last ~5 years (cumulative):

 

• United States: CPI index Aug 2020 259.918 → Jul 2025 323.048 ≈ +24.3% total.  

• Euro area: HICP Aug 2020 104.88 → Jul 2025 129.04 ≈ +23.0% total.  

• Thailand: Through end-2024, 5-year cumulative inflation was ~8.3%; in 2025 headline CPI has been slightly negative YoY at times (e.g., –0.7% in Jul 2025), so the 2020→mid-2025 total is still single-digits.  

Takeaway: over a full 5-year window the baht hasn’t “run away” from the dollar—if anything USD is a tad stronger vs THB—though the baht has rebounded sharply since 2022’s weak point. For a trip budget in Oct/Nov, the FX impact vs 5 years ago is modest; the bigger story has been post-pandemic price levels (US/EU up ~23–24% vs Thailand’s much milder rise).