Staying safe at night

At a glance

Ambulance

1669Source 1

Tourist Police

1155, 24 hours, several languagesSource 2

Police

191Source 1

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya

Emergency centre, 24 hours: +66 3825 9986Source 3

Pattaya Memorial Hospital

Emergency room, 24 hours: +66 38 488 777Source 4

Australia’s advice

Exercise a high degree of caution in Thailand overallSource 1

US advisory

Level 1, exercise normal precautions (issued 7 July 2026)Source 5

What the governments say

None of the three calls Pattaya safe or unsafe in a word, and we have no local figures that would. Australia’s overall advice for Thailand is to exercise a high degree of caution, and it names the night-time entertainment areas of Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket as places to be extra careful, citing assault, sexual assault and robbery. The US rates Thailand at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, and warns that some bars and entertainment venues overcharge. The UK says sexual assaults and unprovoked attacks are most common near bars late at night. All three name road crashes, and Australia and the UK warn of methanol in drinks.

Your drink

The UK government says drink spiking happens in tourist areas across Thailand, to men and women. Australia’s advice is never to leave a drink alone. Buy your own drinks, watch them made, don’t accept drinks from strangers, and stay with people you trust.

Methanol is a separate danger: it can be in badly made or fake spirits, and you can’t taste or smell it. The UK’s Travel Aware campaign suggests branded beer, cider, wine and premixed drinks in sealed bottles and cans, care with spirit-based cocktails, shots and buckets, and buying only from licensed bars, shops and hotels. Australia’s advice is to drink only branded, sealed drinks.

If you think you were spiked, or feel suddenly very ill

1. Stay with someone you trust, and get to a safe place. Don’t go off alone, and don’t try to sleep it off.
2. Get urgent medical help: call an ambulance on 1669, or go to a 24-hour emergency room (Bangkok Hospital Pattaya or Pattaya Memorial, numbers below). Say what you drank, and where.
3. Report it: the Tourist Police are on 1155, in several languages, and the police on 191.

Signs of methanol poisoning, by the UK’s Travel Aware campaign: at first vomiting, poor judgement, loss of balance and drowsiness, like a hangover that feels worse than it should; from 12 to 48 hours after drinking, abdominal pain, vertigo, breathlessness, and blurred vision or blindness. Trouble with your sight is a red flag. Signs of spiking: feeling far more drunk than you should, drowsy or confused.

The bill

The US State Department warns that some bars and entertainment venues overcharge for drinks and cover charges. Ask prices before you order where there is no menu, keep your chits, and check the bill. If a dispute goes nowhere, ask for the Tourist Police; in 2026 Pattaya Mail reported bill disputes in Pattaya ending with officers mediating. See what drinks cost.

On the road

Australia says Thailand has one of the highest road death rates in the world, that motorcyclists are most at risk, and that alcohol is often involved. Don’t drive or ride after drinking. The limit is 0.05% blood alcohol, and 0.02% for anyone under 20, on a temporary licence, with a licence for another kind of vehicle, or with no licence; riding a scooter on a car licence puts you under the lower limit. Police checkpoints run all year in Pattaya. Neither limit is a safe amount: take a ride app or a baht bus, see getting home.

The UK warns that rental scooters in tourist areas are often unregistered, that riding without a valid licence can void your travel insurance, and that the law requires a helmet.

ID and your passport

Carry a copy of your passport photo page and visa; Thai police may ask to see it. Never leave your passport as a deposit with a jet-ski or motorbike rental: the US government says rental firms have held passports until people paid for damage, real or invented.

Who to call

Questions