Nong Nooch Tropical Garden near Pattaya
Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is a beautiful botanical garden that never ceases to fascinate. Not only because of its impressive size (240 ha), but also because of the variety of plantings.
It is not for nothing that it has won several awards, such as the World Palm Association award in October 2012. It was chosen as the best Palm Park in the world, because all types of palms that were known have been brought together here. In addition, as a participant of the Chelsea Flower Show in London, they have won first prize a few times. In 2013, Nong Nooch was awarded the gold medal for the 4th time. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles were deeply impressed by this Thai horticultural art.
The park has seven different themes including a French garden, a stonehenge garden, a butterfly hill and an area dedicated only to cacti near the "temple buildings". For those who love orchids, this is the place to be. Behind the entrance is a beautiful orchid farm with thousands of plants to admire with overwhelming varieties and colors. Because the park is very large, shuttle buses (50 Bath) can be driven through the park, which stop everywhere so that photos can be taken.
In addition to all this natural beauty, there are also other activities in the park. In a simple "theatre", ancient Thai cultural dance shows, a battle between 2 rulers on elephants and a Thai boxing match are shown.
The management of the park has now been taken over by Nong Nooch's son, Kampon Tansache, and is trying to make the botanical garden even more attractive. He works closely with the Chonburi Agricultural College and the students can do their practicals here.
Kampon is a lover of old cars and these can be admired in the park.
If one day is not enough, there is the possibility to spend the night in a hotel in the park. Several restaurants with Thai and European food are available. As an extra service, people can be picked up with a park van from their Hotel in Pattya/Jomtien, only 100 B more above the entrance fee of 500 Bath.
The park is located about 18 km south of Pattaya on Sukhumvit Road and is clearly signposted.
This is indeed a piece of beautiful nature that you should not miss if you are in Thailand (Pattaya).
Really beautiful, has become very commercial in recent years, I was there in 2007 and 2013 and a lot had changed and not always for the better, but yes, those things happen and there is no reason not to go for the third I will go there again when I go to Thailand again, and the round trip is 100 bath and not 50 as stated (but really do it) is great.
Visited two years ago and I found nong nooch garden one of the most beautiful botanical gardens I've ever visited. My interest in botany undoubtedly contributes to this. The concept is not an amusement park. It is botanical wealth without question and fantastically beautifully presented.
I am not a palm fanatic, but friends of the palm will truly go into ecstasy in nong nooch garden. No, not from the Belgian beer. They don't serve that there 🙂
It is one of the better attractions in Pattaya and the surrounding area, without a doubt. My wife and I go there once a year and always take a few people with me. The last time was in February this year with family, who had come over from the Netherlands. The advantage is that the entrance costs are low if you have a Thai driver's license. This option is being granted less and less by the Thai at attractions. After a long walk, I suggested that we also take a look at the orchid garden. We knew that because we were attacked by a large group of black mosquitoes, which caused quite a bit of nuisance, especially with a woman who turned out to be allergic to those mosquito bites and who still had large itchy spots for days. So take vests with you or rub them in before you want to see the necessary things there and come out unscathed.
Do not forget to visit the car museum
Massively visited park but most visitors (Chinese groups stay in the front part near the shows and shops). The "botanical" character is (in Western eyes/standards) completely negated by the very excessive number of disfigured images of all kinds of animals and dinosaurs, with the much too loud Jurassic park roar that goes over the entire park quickly becoming annoying. Of course there are many dining options. Unfortunately, the elephants are also emphatically turned on as well as the drugged tiger. In short, most likely ideally suited to Asian (possibly Russian) taste, but not recommended for Westerners.