The answer, up front
Is the Pattaya beach fire show and dinner worth it, and how long is the show?
Short answer. Yes, if you want a slow evening on the sand that ends in fire. You take a bamboo couple seat, or a sofa for four to six, at the water's edge on Krating Lai Beach, watch the light go, eat a set dinner package, and then performers fill the beach with spinning torches and acrobatics. The fire show itself is short, about 20 to 30 minutes depending on the wind, so think of the night as dinner on the beach with a show to close it. Seats go to whoever arrives first, and you pay per seat or sofa, not per person.
It is
A dinner with a fire finale
A beachfront restaurant evening in Pattaya: a seat on the sand, a dinner menu booked in advance, the sunset over the water, then a fire show close to the tables. Digital fire photos with the performers are part of the evening. The seating is roofed, so a light shower does not stop the show, and hosts speak English and Thai.
It isn't
Not a stage production
The fire is the finale, not the whole night. The menu isn't à la carte: the package you book decides the food, and anything extra is paid at the restaurant. No seat is reserved in advance. And anyone with a heart condition should give it a miss.
The fire night in four lines
- The fire
- About 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the wind.
- Priced by
- Seat or sofa, not per person.
- Seating
- First come, first served on the beachfront.
- Dinner
- A set package; extras paid at the restaurant.
Inside a fire show
The acts of a beach fire show, and where they come from
The troupe sets its own running order and changes it, so nothing here is promised for your night. These are the skills fire shows are usually built from, and their roots.
Drawn from English Wikipedia's articles on fire performance, poi, the fire staff, fire breathing, fire eating and the fire knife. The fire-pump line is the restaurant's own billing.
- Torches First century
Spinning and tossing torches
A fire torch is a club or baton with a wick at one end, swung like an Indian club or thrown end over end. One early account, from the Second Temple in Jerusalem, describes a rabbi tossing eight burning torches upward with one hand.
- Poi Māori roots
Poi on a cord
Poi began with the Māori of New Zealand as balls on cords swung in rhythmic patterns, traditionally by women. Fire poi carry fuel-soaked wicks instead, a practice believed to have begun in Hawaii in the 1950s.
- Staff Spun or rolled
The fire staff
A pole with wicks at one or both ends, balanced in the middle. Performers spin it by hand or roll it over arms and body; a burnoff flings spare fuel off the spinning wicks as two balls of fire.
- Breath Circus act
Fire breathing
A fine mist of fuel sprayed from the mouth over a flame makes a plume of fire. It is dangerous however it is done, so professionals train as apprentices and work with a safety assistant, a fire blanket and an extinguisher.
- Mouth Fakir to sideshow
Fire eating
Putting a flaming object into the mouth and putting it out. It was part of Hindu, sadhu and fakir performances as a sign of spiritual attainment, and became a standard sideshow act in the late 1880s.
- Blade Samoa
The fire knife
Siva afi, the Samoan fire-knife dance, grew out of ailao, a warrior's display of twirling and catching a war club. Fire knives, blades wrapped with wicks, are the traditional Polynesian fire implement and have been in use since the 1940s.
- Finale House billing
The fire pump
The restaurant bills its fire-pump act as the tallest in Thailand. That is its own claim, not a measured record; enjoy the height of the flame and leave the statistic to the house.
Package and house rules
Couple seat or sofa
Two ways to sit on the sand, each priced as a package rather than per head.
Bamboo couple seat
A giant bamboo seat for one or two, on the beachfront facing the show. One package price covers the seat and its set dinner.
Bamboo sofa for a group
A hand-crafted sofa of local bamboo for four to six people. The calendar shows the sofa packages on your date.
What your package covers, and the house rules
The booking in plain terms, so nothing surprises you on the sand.
- Seats
- A giant bamboo couple seat for up to two, or a hand-crafted bamboo sofa for four to six, on the beachfront.
- How the price works
- Per seat or sofa package, not per person. The calendar shows each package's total.
- Dinner
- A set menu tied to the package. It cannot be changed or exchanged; extra orders are paid at the restaurant.
- Where you sit
- First come, first served. Arrive early for a table nearest the sand.
- The show
- About 20 to 30 minutes of fire on the beach, depending on the wind.
- Weather
- Open air, with roofed seating. The show continues in light rain.
- Photos
- Professional digital fire photos with the performers are part of the evening; ask what your package covers, since extra frames may be sold.
- Who it doesn't suit
- Not suitable for people with heart problems. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
- Language
- Hosts speak English and Thai.
- Booking problems
- Contact GetYourGuide, where you booked, rather than the restaurant.
Weighing two Pattaya evenings
Dinner and fire on the sand, or a sunset cruise
Sand, spires and flame
Pattaya's north shore, the sanctuary and the flame
The coast around the show, the wooden sanctuary on the skyline, and fire performers at work on beaches and stages.
The fire dinner, then the days
Fire on the sand, a sunset sail, an island day, elephants
The beach fire dinner comes first. After it, the sunset island cruise it is usually weighed against, a full catamaran day to the same islands and a morning or afternoon with rescued elephants.
- Check dates and packages ↗
Beach fire show with dinner, Krating Lai
A bamboo couple seat or a sofa for four to six on the sand, a set dinner package, the sunset, then about 20 to 30 minutes of fire. Priced per seat package; seating goes by arrival.
- Check dates and packages ↗
Three-island cruise with sunset and buffet lunch
About seven and a half hours by catamaran with a van from Pattaya: Koh Phai, snorkelling off Koh Rin, Monkey Island and the sunset at sea, with a Thai buffet lunch.
- Check dates and packages ↗
Three-island catamaran day with buffet lunch
The same operator's full-day run to Koh Phai, Koh Rin and Monkey Island on a large catamaran: snorkelling, paddleboards and fishing, with a Thai buffet on board.
- Check dates and packages ↗
Living Green elephant sanctuary visit
A morning or afternoon programme in the hills of Chonburi with optional transport from Pattaya: feed the elephants, walk with them and watch them bathe. No riding.
More Pattaya days and nights to book
Getting to the beach
Reaching Krating Lai, and what to know on the night
The place
The show is run by DAM, a beachfront restaurant on Krating Lai Beach in Pattaya. Open the meeting-point pin on your booking in Google Maps and save it before you set off.
The turning
From the main road, look for the yellow sign with the restaurant's name, then follow the map into the side street that leads to the beach.
By baht bus
Local trips in Pattaya run mostly on songthaews, converted pick-ups with a bench down each side of the load bed, nicknamed baht buses. Show the driver your map pin before climbing aboard.
By taxi
Simplest for a group sharing a sofa. Show the pin rather than spelling the beach's name, and ask to be dropped at the yellow sign.
When to arrive
Early evening, while it is still light: you get the sunset and the first choice of tables nearest the sand.
Rain and season
Pattaya's rainy months run from May to November. The seating is roofed and the show continues in light rain.
Plan the evening
Six guides to a fire night on Krating Lai
- Start here
Pattaya beach fire show: worth it?
What the Krating Lai beach fire show and dinner involves, how long the fire lasts, seat and sofa packages, set menus, first-come seats, who it doesn't suit. Read before you go → - Compare
Fire show dinner or sunset cruise?
Dinner and fire on the sand or a three-island cruise that ends at sunset: time, transport, food, what you do and who each Pattaya evening suits. Read before you go → - The acts
Fire show acts, explained
Torches, poi, the fire staff, fire breathing, fire eating and the fire knife: what each act is and where it comes from, before you watch on the sand. Read before you go → - Find the beach
Getting to Krating Lai Beach
How to reach the beach fire show on Krating Lai Beach: the meeting-point map, the yellow sign at the turning, baht buses, taxis and when to set off. Read before you go → - Packages
Couple seat or sofa: which to book
How the fire show's seat packages work: a bamboo couple seat for two, sofas for four to six, set menus, extras paid at the restaurant and first-come places. Read before you go → - The view
Sanctuary of Truth across the bay
The carved wooden sanctuary seen from the fire show's tables: who built it, why it is unfinished, what its halls show, and the port lights beside it at night. Read before you go →
FAQ
Questions people ask before a fire night
Is the Pattaya beach fire show worth it?
It is, provided a relaxed dinner at the water's edge that closes with fire on the sand is what you are after. Go knowing the fire show is short, about 20 to 30 minutes, and the food is a set package. If you want a long stage production or a free choice from a menu, pick something else.
How long is the fire show?
About 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the wind. The evening as a whole runs longer, because the sunset and dinner come first. The booking page and voucher list the start time for each date.
Is the price per person?
No. You pay per seat package: a giant bamboo couple seat for up to two, or a sofa package for a group of four to six. The calendar shows each package's total in your currency before you pay.
Can I choose what I eat?
No. Menus booked through GetYourGuide are fixed packages and cannot be changed or exchanged on the night. Anything extra is ordered and paid for at the restaurant. If someone in your party has dietary needs, check the package description and message ahead through the booking.
Can I reserve a front-row table?
No. Beachfront tables go to whoever turns up first, so come early, ideally in daylight, for one nearest the sand. Early arrival also gives you the sunset.
What happens if it rains?
The seating is under a roof and the show continues in light rain. Pattaya's rainy months run from May to November. The wind, not light rain, is what sets the show's length.
Are photos included?
Professional digital fire photos with the performers are part of the evening. Ask at the restaurant which shots your package covers, since extra frames may be sold.
Is it suitable for children and for wheelchair users?
No age limit is set for the booking, and families come. Seats sit close enough to feel the heat of the fire, so keep small children seated. The venue is wheelchair accessible. The evening is not suitable for anyone with heart problems.
How do I get to Krating Lai Beach?
By songthaew, the baht bus, or by taxi. Use the meeting-point map on your booking, and at the turning from the main road look for the yellow sign with the restaurant's name, then follow the map into the side street.
Is this the restaurant's website?
No. Pattaya Fire Show Guide is written independently; it isn't the beach restaurant's site or the fire troupe's, and is not affiliated with either. Bookings made from this guide go through GetYourGuide, which handles payment, changes and cancellations. For a booking problem, contact GetYourGuide.