A go-go bar is an enclosed, air-conditioned bar with a stage. Dancers perform in rotation, usually numbered so they can be identified, and circulate between sets to sit with customers. Two charges define the format and neither is the drink you ordered: the lady drink and the bar fine.
Get those two straight and the rest of the evening is simple. Miss them and the bill will surprise you.
Lady drinks and bar fines
- A lady drink is a drink bought for a dancer or member of staff at a marked-up price, with part of the margin going to her. It is how she earns from sitting with you, and buying one is the accepted way to invite company.
- A bar fine is paid to the bar, not to the dancer, to release her from the remainder of her shift. It compensates the venue for the lost stage time.
- The bar fine and any arrangement with the dancer herself are entirely separate transactions, agreed separately. Conflating them is the single most common mistake.
- Cover charges vary β some venues waive entry if you buy a drink, others do not.
- Ask the price of a lady drink and the bar fine before you commit to either. Both are standard, posted questions and no one is offended by them.
The districts
Three cities carry almost all of it. In Bangkok, Nana Plaza is a multi-floor complex and the busiest single site; Soi Cowboy is a single street with a more local feel; Patpong is the oldest and the most tourist-facing, and now as much night market as bar strip. Pattaya's Walking Street is the largest concentration in the country. Phuket's scene centres on Bangla Road in Patong.
Go-go bars we list in Thailand
Suzy Wong's
Phuket Β· Thailand
Suzy Wong's is the best-known go-go bar on Soi Sea Dragon, the side lane off Bangla Road in Patong. It operates as a large 'super go-go' β closer to a...
Sapphire Club
Pattaya Β· Thailand
Sapphire Club is one of the best-regarded go-go bars in Pattaya, on Soi 15 just off Walking Street. Established in 2009, it has become a fixture of th...
The law
The legal position is not what the industry's visibility implies. Thailand's Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act B.E. 2539 (1996) prohibits prostitution, defined as an act done to gratify another's sexual desire in exchange for money or other benefit. The Act reaches venue owners, procurers and customers, not only sellers, and it also prohibits advertising and the running of brothels. Penalties for offering services are small; the ones that matter to a visitor are not β sexual relations with a person under 18 carries imprisonment of up to two years, and under 15 up to six years.
What is licensed is the venue as an entertainment place, not what may be arranged inside it. Enforcement is inconsistent and the districts operate openly, but "widely tolerated" and "legal" are different words and this is a case where the difference is the whole point. Our legal status hub has the country detail.
The quieter, open-fronted alternative β no stage, no cover, no performance β is covered in our guide to Thai beer bars, which is the better first stop for most visitors.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bar fine?
A fee paid to the bar so a dancer can leave before her shift ends β it compensates the venue, not the dancer. Rates differ by venue and city β ask at the bar. Whatever you agree with the dancer is a separate matter from the fine.
What is a lady drink?
A drink bought for a dancer or member of staff at a marked-up price, part of which she keeps. It is the mechanism by which staff earn from your company, and buying one is how you invite someone to sit with you.
Are go-go bars legal in Thailand?
The bar is licensed as an entertainment venue. Prostitution itself is prohibited under the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, which reaches customers as well as operators and procurers. The industry is visible and widely tolerated, but that is not the same as lawful, and the offences involving anyone under 18 are serious.
What is the difference between a go-go bar and a beer bar?
A stage. Go-go bars are enclosed and air-conditioned with dancers performing and often a cover charge; beer bars are open-fronted, have no performance and no entry fee. The bar fine system exists in both.
Which district should I start in?
Bangkok's Soi Cowboy is a single walkable street and easier to read than a multi-floor complex. Nana Plaza is busier but denser. In Pattaya everything is off Walking Street; in Phuket, Bangla Road in Patong.