Soi Cowboy vs Nana Plaza vs Patpong: Which One Is Worth It?

Three streets. Bangkok has three famous nightlife areas. One is worth your night. One depends on who you are. And one, I would skip.

Soi Cowboy. Nana Plaza. Patpong. Every first timer asks me the same question: which one? So here I compare all three. Location, crowd, hassle, and price value. And at the end you get my verdict, plus the one bar most newbies walk straight past.

My verdict in short

• Soi Cowboy: the one for your first night. The most central and the easiest.
• Nana Plaza: your second night. More variety, more hassle, and many ladyboy bars.
• Patpong: once, if you are bored, for the market. Do not follow anyone upstairs.

First, what you are choosing between

All three are what people call red light districts. Streets or buildings full of gogo bars and beer bars. If you have never been inside one, here is how it works.

You walk in. You sit down. You order a drink. There is a stage with dancers. If you like someone, you can invite her to sit with you, and you pay for her drink. That is called a lady drink, and it costs more than yours. If you want her to leave the bar with you, you pay the bar a fee. That is the bar fine. Everything after that is between you and her.

That is the system. It is the same in all three places. What is different is everything around it.

And one thing before we start, so your expectations are right. Do not believe the lighting. Inside a gogo bar, almost everybody looks good. I would say I personally find maybe one in five attractive. So it can take you a few bars to find someone you really like. That is normal. Take your time.

Area 1: Soi Cowboy

Soi Cowboy is one short street. You can walk it end to end in two minutes. Around forty bars, all neon, all on the same strip.

Location first, because that is its biggest advantage. Soi Cowboy is the most central of the three by far. It sits right at the Asok intersection, where the sky train and the underground cross, across from the Terminal 21 mall. If you stay anywhere near Asok, you walk there.

The crowd is a mix. Tourists taking photos, expats at the outside tables, groups, couples, single guys. It is busiest from Thursday to Saturday. During the week it is quieter, and honestly, during the week you often get a better deal.

The hassle is low to medium. Girls stand outside the bars and try to pull you in, but it is friendly, and a smile and a no is enough.

And if you just want to look, Soi Cowboy is perfect. Get a beer at an outside table and watch the street. Nobody forces you to go in anywhere.

The bar most newbies walk past

The most fun gogo bar in Bangkok is not on Soi Cowboy. It is right outside of it, just around the corner. It is called Crazy House. Most newbies never find it, because they walk the strip, pick a random bar, and think that was it.

Let me say it like this. What you see is what you get. And once you have been there, the bars on the strip feel a bit boring. You have been warned.

Area 2: Nana Plaza

First, the names, because this confuses everyone. Nana Plaza is a building. A three floor complex with dozens of bars inside, built around a courtyard. The street it stands on is Sukhumvit Soi 4. But people say Nana for the building, the street, and the whole area.

Location. About ten to fifteen minutes on foot from Soi Cowboy, along Sukhumvit, and you pass a lot of street bars on the way. So you can do both in one night.

The crowd. This is where it is different. Nana is not only the plaza. The whole street is busy. Beer bars, freelancers standing along the road, and the famous hotel car park across from the bars. People sit there from the early afternoon, but it really starts late in the evening.

And here is what a first timer needs to know. A lot of the best looking dancers in Nana Plaza are ladyboys. Some bars are ladyboy bars. Some are mixed. I am not judging anyone. If that is what you are looking for, Nana is your place. If it is not, know what you are walking into, because it is confusing, and the lighting does not help.

The hassle is higher than at Soi Cowboy. On that street you will be approached a lot.

But Nana has one thing I really like. The beer bars across from the hotel. You get a cheap beer, you sit down, and you watch the street. It is strange, and it is very entertaining. Just do not film anyone. That is my job.

Area 3: Patpong

I could sum this one up in two words. Do not. But you would not believe me, so let me explain.

And first, do not mix up Patpong and Patong. Patpong is in Bangkok. Patong is the beach town in Phuket. Different places.

Patpong is in the Silom area. A few streets with gogo bars, and in the middle of it, a night market. Fake watches, bags, T-shirts. That market is the reason the normal tourist guides send people there.

Location. It is the furthest of the three from everything else. Different part of town. You need the train or a taxi, and nothing else from this post is nearby.

The hassle. This is the problem. Walk through the market at night and men will step up to you with a laminated menu. A show. No cover charge. Come and look.

Here is what happens next, and I have this from many people. You go upstairs. You order a beer that is on the menu for 100 Baht. When the bill comes, it has things on it that you never ordered, and the number is nothing like 100 Baht. And when you want to argue, there are a few large men between you and the stairs.

A viewer of mine went through it. A tout offered to show him some bars. In the end he paid $60 for six beers, just to get out of there calmly. And he was a seasoned traveler.

To be fair. If you stay away from the upstairs shows and the guys with the menus, Patpong is not dangerous. Your biggest risk at the market is paying too much for a fake watch. And there are a few normal gogo bars on the ground floor.

But ask yourself why you would go. Everything Patpong has, you get at Soi Cowboy and Nana, closer to your hotel, with less of this.

Soi Thaniya, the Japanese street

Right next to Patpong is Soi Thaniya. I mention it because you will walk past it. Girls in nice dresses sit outside the bars, and it looks great. But it is built for Japanese customers, and the prices are too. When I walk down that street, nobody approaches me. Sometimes someone politely tells me, this is the Japanese area. Good for a look. Not for your night.

By the way. If you want all of this on a map, the bars worth going to, Crazy House, and the places to avoid, that is exactly what the interactive maps in my Thailand Guide are. Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, over 500 pins.

The comparison, side by side

• Location: Soi Cowboy wins. Nana is second. Patpong is last.
• Variety: Nana wins, because the whole street is alive, not only the plaza.
• Hassle: Soi Cowboy is the easiest. Nana is more intense. Patpong is the only one where I tell you to be on guard.
• First timer friendly: Soi Cowboy, clearly.
• Price value: gogo bars at Soi Cowboy and Nana are in a similar range. The beer bars around Nana are cheaper. And at Patpong, the price depends on which stairs you walk up.

How to do it cheaper

Two things that work in all three places.

One. The 7-Eleven method. There is a 7-Eleven on every corner. Have your first drinks from there, or at a simple beer bar. Then go into the gogo bar, order the cheapest drink on the menu, and take your time with it. You can watch the show for an hour for the price of one beer. I am a bit of a cheap Charlie, I admit it.

Two. Timing. A lot of the dancers go to the late clubs after their shift, if they did not leave with a customer. There is no bar fine there, the mood is completely different, and it is often the better deal.

My verdict

For your first night in Bangkok: Soi Cowboy. Walk the street once, have a beer outside, then go around the corner to Crazy House.

Second night: walk to Nana. Sit at a beer bar, watch the street, then look inside the plaza. Now you know what is in there.

Patpong: once, if you are bored, for the market. Keep your hands in your pockets and do not follow anyone upstairs.

And after that, you have seen the three famous ones, and you will understand something. These streets are the start. They are not the whole city.

If you want the full picture, with the exact bars, the late clubs, and where to stay near all of this, I have put it in one place: the Thailand Guide. 60+ videos, 3 eBooks, and the interactive maps for Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, with over 500 pins. One payment, lifetime access.

Quick answers

Which is better, Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza?

For a first night, Soi Cowboy: it is the most central, the easiest and the most first timer friendly. Nana has more variety, because the whole street is alive, but more hassle.

How far is Nana Plaza from Soi Cowboy?

About ten to fifteen minutes on foot along Sukhumvit, so you can do both in one night.

Is Patpong worth visiting?

Once, if you are bored, for the night market. Everything else Patpong has, you get at Soi Cowboy and Nana, closer to your hotel. Do not follow a man with a menu up a staircase.

Are there ladyboys in Nana Plaza?

Yes. A lot of the best looking dancers in Nana Plaza are ladyboys. Some bars are ladyboy bars and some are mixed, so know what you are walking into.

What is Crazy House in Bangkok?

A gogo bar just around the corner from Soi Cowboy, not on the strip itself. For me it is the most fun gogo bar in Bangkok, and most newbies never find it.

Read next

• Your First 24 Hours in Bangkok, Hour by Hour
• Where to Stay in Bangkok: 5 Areas Ranked
• Bar Fine in Thailand (2026): What You Pay and Why
• Patpong Red Light District in Bangkok
• The Bill That Grows by Itself: 5 Bar Bill Tricks

This post is for adults and for information only. Bars open, close and change. Check before you go, and use common sense. Maps: map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, Natural Earth.