Na Jomtien is the quiet southern end of the Pattaya bay, about twenty minutes below Jomtien beach, and Amara Watersports has been sitting on this stretch of sand since 1978. The shop opens straight onto the beach, the boards live on a rack under the roof a few steps from the water, and the whole price list fits on one page.
What can you take off the rack for an hour?#
A stand-up paddleboard and a paddle is the simplest thing here, and the rental carries the showers, the changing rooms and the rigging area behind the shop with it. If the wind arrives, the same counter rents beginner windsurf gear and a Hobie Wave catamaran by the hour, and windsurf lessons start at an hour and go up to a five-hour course.
When is the water flattest?#
Early. This is a wind beach — that is why the kite and wing schools cluster along the same soi — so the breeze usually fills in during the afternoon and paddling turns into work. Take the board in the morning and keep parallel to the shore rather than heading out, and the bay stays glassy long enough for a first hour on a board to be pleasant.
Is ฿300 per person or per board?#
Per board. Nothing on the club's price list is charged by head, so two of you sharing an hour means one board, one hour, one payment. An instructor is priced separately at ฿500 an hour, though guests write in review after review that staff came out with them anyway when the water turned rough, without having sold a lesson.
What is worth checking before you book?#
- Getting there. Soi Na Jomtien 14, about twenty minutes south of Jomtien by taxi or Grab; a transfer, food and drinks are all outside the rental.
- Leaving kit here. Storage is ฿9,500 a year or ฿1,000 a month for a windsurf set and ฿4,500 a year or ฿500 a month for an extra rig or board, with 24-hour CCTV.
- Language. English is the working language on the beach, and a Russian-speaking guest names coach Robert as explaining everything clearly.
- Who runs it. Amara represented Thailand at the 1980 Games and won a Windsurfer world title in Israel; the club has been on this beach since 1978.
- The board size, which you pick at the counter before you pay for your hours.
Important
฿300 is the rate for the board and the hour, not for a person, and it is the hour you choose that decides how the session feels. Book the morning: by mid-afternoon this beach belongs to the wind, and a first paddle in it stops being fun.