Nong Nooch Tropical Garden
The largest botanical garden in Southeast Asia, 20 km from Pattaya: a Versailles-style French garden, a Stonehenge replica, a world-class palm collection and daily elephant shows.
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is the largest botanical garden in Southeast Asia, sitting at kilometre marker 163 on Sukhumvit Road between Pattaya and Sattahip, about 15-20 km south of the city. In 1954, Pisit and Nongnooch Tansacha bought 1,500 rai of land here for a fruit plantation of coconuts, mangoes and oranges. Madame Nongnooch had seen ornamental gardens abroad and decided to recreate that beauty on her own land. The park opened to visitors in 1980, and since 1983 it has been run by her son, Kampon Tansacha. Today the grounds have grown to more than 1,700 rai, over 270 hectares, holding dozens of themed zones.
Every zone here is its own world. The French garden, styled after Versailles with strict symmetrical parterres, was laid out in 1996-1998, and the Stonehenge replica went up in 2000, built from stone brought from Prachinburi. The cactus garden holds more than 300 species of cacti and succulents, some of them nearly forty years old. Nong Nooch's palm collection is one of the largest on Earth: 1,567 species out of roughly 2,600 known worldwide, which earned the garden a Guinness World Record. Nearby are orchid greenhouses, a bonsai garden, topiary figures and Dinosaur Valley, more than 180 life-size figures that opened in 2017. Four times a day, at 10:30, 11:30, 13:30 and 15:30, the elephant show and a Thai cultural performance with traditional dance take the stage.
The garden is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00. Foreign visitors pay 500 baht for entry alone or 800 baht with the elephant and cultural shows included; Thai nationals and holders of a Thai driving licence pay 300 baht. Children under 90 cm enter free, those between 90 and 120 cm pay 360 baht, and anyone taller pays the adult price. The grounds are huge, so plan on half a day to a full day, and use the golf carts or the garden tram to get between the farther zones.
You can reach Nong Nooch on your own by rented scooter or car: rentals in Pattaya are available through MyThai GO from 200 baht a day, and the drive takes about half an hour.
If you don't have your own transport or would rather skip arranging tickets and a guide at the gate, a ready-made tour is easier. The classic Nong Nooch tour covers half a day: transfer, guide, entry ticket and the elephant show. If the garden interests you more as a botanical collection than a box to tick, the extended VIP tour runs a full day and leaves more time for the orchids and the palm collection. And for an evening out there's a separate evening programme: the daytime garden plus a show and buffet dinner after sunset.
