Cozy Beach (Pratumnak Hill)

Cozy Beach sits on the seaward side of Pratumnak Hill, the green headland with the Big Buddha on top. From Pratumnak Road take the lane signed Cozy Beach down towards the sea; the beach is below the hotels at the end, reached by concrete steps down the cliff. Baht buses do not run down here, so arrive by Bolt or Grab, on a rented scooter, or on foot from the Pratumnak hotels. The steps are the point: they keep the vendors and the crowds away.

The sand is a short crescent closed by rocks at each end, with a line of loungers and umbrellas run by the restaurants above. The water is the cleanest on this stretch of coast after Wong Amat, and because the cove faces west the afternoon light and the sunset are the best in the city. There are no jet skis or banana boats, which also means no engine noise and no pressure to rent anything. At high tide the sand almost disappears, so check the tide if you want space to lie down; at low tide the rocks expose a few pools for children to poke around in.

The restaurants at the top of the steps serve Thai food and seafood at prices a little above Jomtien and well below the hotel terraces, with the view thrown in. Pratumnak Hill itself has the Pattaya Viewpoint, the Big Buddha at Wat Phra Yai and a handful of good rooftop and cliff-top restaurants, so Cozy Beach fits naturally into a late afternoon: swim, climb back up for sunset at the viewpoint, dinner on the hill. For a full beach day with facilities, Jomtien is ten minutes south; for people-watching, Pattaya Beach is ten minutes north.