Ramayana Water Park is Thailands newest and biggest world class water park. It is located 20 minutes south of Pattaya or about a 2 hour drive from Bangkok. After seeing all the awesome pictures and advertising, our kids were begging for us to take them. We were extremely lucky to have been hosted by Ramayana Water Park and we all had an absolute blast.

We found a driver and he picked us up from our hotel early so that we could be there as the gates opened at 10.00am. When we drove down the hill and first laid eyes on the park, we were all so excited, it looked huge with slides everywhere….. I knew this was going to be a great day.

Aqua Play and Aqua Splash

This was the first area we explored once inside the gates. It is a uniquely designed kids zone incorporating a huge play fortress with tonnes of slides, water guns, sprinklers and a massive big tip bucket. All the kids enjoyed this area although our little guy did have to be encouraged to race around the fortress at the start. He especially loved the aqua splash area that had fountains, sprinklers and small jets. This area is a bit more gentle than the fortress and was perfect for him. He could have played here for hours.

Boomerango, Serpentine and Spiral

While we were playing with the little boys at the fortress, our big kids had well and truly run off to explore the rest of the park. I caught up with them at some of the big slides and they were having a ball. The average height for most of the big slides was 122cm so this was no problem for our 2 big kids. They loved pairing up on these slides as you ride them on big inflatable rafts made for 2. Their favorite was definitely the Boomerango where you get launched up an almost vertical wall before sliding back down into the landing zone. And yes…. when I tried it, I was definitely freaked out that we would shoot over the top of the wall!!!!

Aquaconda Python Family

A definite adrenaline rush on these slides as they intersect and race and weave all over the place.  These slides are the longest in this part of the world measuring over 230 meters long. Riding on a tube and racing each other to the end was a favorite activity for this family.

Mat Racer and Freefall

Being a mad competitive bunch we had a great time taking turns and racing each other on the Mat Racer. 4 different sliders could go at once which usually consisted of the 3 big kids and 1 parent with the loser always getting laughed at and mocked as we ran back up the stairs for another turn!!! The ultimate challenge for the day was the free fall slides, one straight down and the other with a loop in the middle. Only 2 of our bravest took up the challenge and tried these out. Dad of course was up for it accompanied by our oldest son who is 7. Climbing all the way up the stairs then getting shut into a capsule only to have the floor drop beneath you is definitely something I will leave for the daredevils of this family… anyway someone needs to be in charge of the camera!!! Watching my big guy in the capsule with the door getting closed was quite scary. I knew his little heart would be pounding!!! Then whooosh, the floor drops and his little body falls almost vertical before the force of the water slows him and he stops in the landing shute. The biggest smile, high fives to all the staff and a very proud little guy runs over to Mum to say that was the best thing in the world!!! Time for take 2 and 3 and 4….5….6!!!! Not to be outdone by his son, Dad jumps in the line for the Aqualoop freefall. Similar thing but a large loop in the middle. This slide is fully enclosed and has a cute little viewing window so you can watch your loved one shoot past like a racing bullet. I knew for a fact that another little guy wanted to try this but he was just a bit too short…. next time buddy!!!

 

Wave Pool

We all really enjoyed the wave pool. Its a unique double wave pool with gentle, rocking waves at one end and larger stormy waves at the other. The whole front of it is an artificial beach stretching over 160 meters long so you can chose a spot and splash in the shallows or battle waves in the deeper area. We spend a lot of time in the wave pools chilling on tubes and listening to great music, diving under waves and body surfing back to the shallows.

Lazy River

This was a favorite activity that we could all enjoy together. There was a slide where you could gently splash into the river or there was plenty of entry and exit points along the banks. This was by far the best lazy river that I have ever been in being over 6oo meters long with rapids, gentle waves, geysers and waterfalls along the way. It was fun to sit back in our tubes and splash each other or just relax as the river pulls you along. It takes about 20 mins to complete a whole lap.

 

Activity Pool

Bigger than an Olympic size pool, the gorgeous infinity activity pool was the perfect place for the kids to practice their bombs, swimming and diving. There is also net set up for waterpolo and volleyball with plenty of balls provided. We spent a lot of time jumping in and practicing our handstands and waterpolo shots.

Pool Bar

A beautiful large relaxing pool with a swim up bar. When I first spotted this, I told the kids that I would definitely be in their by the afternoon enjoying a cold beer but unfortunately I ran out of time for this. I was just too busy running around watching the kids enjoy everything else. My spot at the bar will be waiting for me next time we visit!!!

Food and Drink

Being the cheap travelers that we are, I loaded up on cheap food and snacks from the supermarket to take with us. Having not read the rules at all I had no idea that you weren’t allowed to bring any food into the park and this quickly got taken off us when we entered. We were given a card so we could collect it again on our way out. I was worried that we would be spending a huge chunk of our daily budget on food  during the day but was pleasantly surprised when we discovered there was an all day buffet on offer at a very reasonable price. We quickly went with this option as it meant the kids could eat as much as they wanted all day and wouldn’t be nagging us for food all day. We paid about $30 NZ for the 6 of us to have access to this buffet which included a huge selection of both western and Thai food. Let me tell you that this was a huge hit with our family and I’m sure that we all ate our own body weight worth of food that day. The kids completely pigged out on all the western food and I think our big girl just about ate a whole pig she had that much roast pork!!! There was plenty of other food options scattered throughout the park and it was all reasonably priced. Most things were only a tiny bit more expensive than we would pay out on the street. Nice to see a tourist attraction that hasn’t hugely inflated all the food prices.

Our Overall Impression

Ramayana has really built a world class facility that can totally match the big players anywhere in the world. Being so new, everything is in top notch order. The surrounds and pools are immaculate. The park has a multi million dollar water system which allows the pool water to be certified as drinkable. It is crystal clear and is beautiful to swim in.  We visited on a Monday so avoided all the weekend crowds which meant that we hardly ever had to wait in lines and could enjoy each attraction time after time. The cleanliness and awesome presentation really impressed us. Even at the end of they day, the changing rooms and toilets were spotless and clean. Nothing has been forgotten about at Ramayana with gorgeous cabanas, lockers and towels all available to hire. Ramayana Water park provide a large amount of lifeguards positioned all over the park and very friendly and helpful English speaking staff.

We all had a fantastic day at Ramayana Water Park and we would totally recommend a trip if you are visiting Thailand. Final words go to our daredevil 7 year old son who later that night declared that it was the best day of his life!!!