Pattaya Water Park

Come for the slides, not for atmosphere. This is a straightforward water park on the Chon Buri side of Pattaya, with a spread of slides and swimming pools that covers everyone from toddlers paddling in the shallow end to teenagers who want the steep drops. If you've got kids and a spare afternoon between beach days, it earns its place on the itinerary. If you're travelling without children, I'd spend the day elsewhere.

Weekends and Thai public holidays are when it fills up, and it fills up properly. The park opens an hour earlier on Saturday and Sunday, at 9am rather than 10am, which tells you something about the demand. My advice is to go on a weekday if your schedule allows. Same slides, a fraction of the people, and you'll actually get more than one run per queue. Everything closes at 6pm, seven days a week, so a late-afternoon arrival gives you very little time.