Sex clubs in Thailand: the gentlemen's clubs and go-go bars, area by area

Sex Clubs in Thailand: what the search finds

A sex club search in Thailand mostly turns up one kind of venue: the gentlemen's club, together with its close relations, the go-go bar and the strip club. All three sell a show. Dancers take turns on a stage with poles, there is music and a long bar, and guests sit at tables or along the rail. A guest can buy a table dance or a private dance, and many clubs keep a VIP room for private dances at a higher rate. Drinks carry most of the bill, for the guest and for any dancer he invites to sit with him.

It is worth saying plainly: a gentlemen's club is about a show, dances and drinks, and that is all it sells. The crowd is mixed: stag groups, business travellers after dinner, couples, and expats who know the room. Read the city sections below with that in mind, because the sex clubs listed in them are show venues.

Two other kinds of place answer the same search. One club in Bangkok describes itself as a fetish and BDSM club on Sukhumvit Soi 33, with private themed rooms, a dungeon and a main bar, and says it runs on consent. The other is the swingers club: a private club where adult couples, and on some nights single guests, meet at party nights, and nobody on the staff takes part. Of the sex clubs a reader might mean by that word, this guide lists no swingers club in Thailand.

Bangkok clubs from Nana Plaza to Pracha Uthit

Bangkok has eleven clubs in this guide, spread across several districts rather than one strip. For a visitor typing sex club into a search bar in the capital, the usual starting point is Nana Plaza, off Sukhumvit Soi 4.

• Nana Plaza: Angelwitch Nana Plaza is on the middle floor and opens every day from 19:00 to 02:00. Spankys Bangkok is on the second floor.
• Soi Cowboy: The Dollhouse Bangkok is at number 33/34 and opens every day from 19:00 to 02:15.
• Patpong and Silom: King's Castle 1 is at 87 Patpong, on Saladaeng Soi 1. Fuchsia BKK is in Suriya Wong, Bang Rak, open every day from 20:00 to 03:00.
• Pracha Uthit Road: Booze Bangkok is at 598 Pracha Uthit in Huay Kwang, opening at 19:00 on Mondays and 21:00 on other days, closing at 03:00. The Pimp Bangkok is on Rotchanamin Alley in Wang Thonglang.
• Ekkamai: Czech Club is at 41-43 Soi Sukhumvit 63.
• Saphan Khwai: Rainbow Club is on Sali Ratthawiphak Road.
• Samut Prakan: Jackpot Club Official is at 2029 Theparak Road, open every day from 20:00 to 02:00.
• Phrom Phong: Demonia Fetish Club, the fetish and BDSM venue, is on Sukhumvit Soi 33.

The sex clubs of Bangkok sit a long way apart, so treat the taxi as part of the evening. Several of the city's sex clubs publish no opening hours, and a message before setting out saves a wasted trip.

Pattaya's Walking Street and Soi LK Metro

Pattaya has thirty three clubs in this guide, more than any other city, and the best known run along Walking Street at the southern end of the bay. Anyone after a sex club in Pattaya on a first night usually starts here, because the clubs sit close together and the street is closed to traffic in the evening.

• Walking Street: Eden Gogo is at 186 Walking Street. Fahrenheit Pattaya opens every day from 20:00 to 03:00. Moulinrouge Pattaya is at number 94, open every day from 21:00 to 04:00. Sapphire Club is on Soi 15, open every day from 20:30 to 02:00.
• Soi LK Metro: Crystal Club Agogo, Fever Agogo and Sugar Sugar Agogo are all on this short lane. None of the three publishes opening hours.

A few clubs sit away from both strips. Kings Club Pattaya is on Third Road, open every day from 13:00 to 00:00. Fallen Angels Pattaya is on Soi Pattaya 13/2. Safari Gentlemens Club is in Naklua, open every day from 17:00 to 02:00. The Lake Gentleman Club is out by Mabprachan Lake, closed on Mondays and open from 14:00 to 00:00 the rest of the week.

Five Pattaya clubs give no area at all: Climax Club Pattaya, Maggie Mays, Passion Club, Pleasure Lounge and The Hunny Lounge. Climax Club Pattaya publishes no address either, so ask the club by message where to go. The sex clubs on Walking Street open late; several of the outlying ones open in the afternoon.

Pattaya beyond Walking Street, district by district

Much of Pattaya's club scene has moved inland and south, and a visitor searching for a sex club away from the seafront will find most of it in four districts.

• Soi Buakhao and Soi Boomerang: Club Fate opens from 18:00 to 04:00 most nights. Heaven Above Gentlemens Club Pattaya opens every day from 17:00 to 04:00. Maggie Mays Pattaya, on Soi Chalermphrakiat 25, opens every day from 13:00 to 01:00. Octopussy Club, on Soi Boomerang, opens every day from 20:00 to 02:45. Play Girlz opens every day from 20:00 to 02:00. Slutz Gentlemens Club opens every day from 14:00 to 00:00. The Den Pattaya is off Soi Buakhao and publishes no hours.
• Soi Bongkot: Malibu Club and Red House For Gentlemen both open every day from 14:00 to 00:00. Purple Gentlemens Club and The Factory Pattaya, on Soi Bongkot 8, publish no hours.
• Jomtien and Thappraya Road: Jade House Gentlemens Club opens every day from 13:00 to 21:00. KitCat Club Pattaya and Pussy Galore Pattaya both open every day from 15:00 to 00:00. Nirvana Gentlemens Club is on Soi Welcome Jomtien.
• Pratumnak: CatFlaps Pratumnak opens from 13:00, closing at 23:00 on most days. Venom Gentleman's Club is on Soi 5 Pratamnak.

These sex clubs keep earlier hours than Walking Street, and many are quiet in the afternoon. The sex clubs on Soi Buakhao are close enough to walk between.

Phuket's Bangla Road and the clubs on Koh Samui

In Phuket every club in this guide is in one place: Bangla Road in Patong, the beach town on the west coast. Someone looking for a sex club in Phuket does not need a taxi between venues, because all five sit along the same street or just off it.

• Allure Gentleman's Club is at 31 Bangla, open every day from 21:00 to 03:30.
• Goddess A Go-Go Lounge Patong is on Soi Absolute Bangla Walking Street, open every day from 19:00 to 03:00.
• Moulin Rouge Phuket is on Thanon Bangla and publishes no hours.
• Mystic Strip Club is at 29/1 Bangla Road and publishes no hours.
• Zenithy Gentlemen's Club is at 29/1-2 Bangla Road, open every day from 21:00 to 01:00.

Bangla Road fills up late, and most of these clubs open at 19:00 or later. The sex clubs here face a street crowd that is busy until the small hours, so a quieter table is easier to find early in the night.

Koh Samui is smaller, and this guide lists two clubs on the island. Ballers Samui is on the first floor at Soi Green Mango in Chaweng. Sin By Night is in Bophut, further along the north coast. Neither publishes opening hours, so a message ahead is the sensible first step. For a visitor, the sex clubs of Samui are a short evening out rather than a district to tour.

Sex Clubs in Thailand: how a night runs

What follows is general practice across the gentlemen's clubs and go-go bars of Thailand. Each club runs its own way, so treat it as a guide, not a rule. At the door, expect an ID check, and carry a passport or a copy. Staff show guests to a seat, usually a table or a place by the stage rail, and a drinks order follows soon after.

The show runs in rotation, with dancers taking turns on the poles. A guest who wants a table dance or a private dance asks a member of staff or the dancer herself. Buying a dancer a drink is the usual way to invite her to sit and talk; she is free to decline. Private dances often move to the VIP room, priced separately.

• Ask for the price list before ordering anything: drinks, a lady drink, a table dance, a private dance and the VIP room.
• Ask ahead whether the club takes cash or card, and check the bill before paying.
• No photographs or video inside: the dancers and other guests have not agreed to them.
• A dancer sets her own limits. Nothing is owed beyond what was agreed and paid for, and staff will step in if a guest pushes.
• Arrange the ride back to the hotel before the last drink, using a metered taxi or an app.

Guests who treat the room this way are welcome back. Most sex clubs in Thailand reward a polite, patient guest with better service, and the same courtesy suits sex clubs anywhere.