The 5 Most Worthwhile GoGo Bars in Bangkok’s Nana Plaza！

There are so many GoGo Bars in Nana Plaza that trying to hit them all one by one would cost a tourist a lot of money. A lot of brothers just want a short list of places that won’t leave them stepping on landmines, and hope I can recommend a few. So I’ll rank the five places in Nana Plaza that are hardest to miss, based on three criteria: stage design & production, the girls’ looks, and the overall fun atmosphere inside. I’ll also explain how to play at each place and roughly how much it costs, so first-timers can understand easily.

One note on the looks rating: since I’m Asian, my aesthetic leans more toward Asian standards. Considering I also have quite a few Western, Middle Eastern and other international followers, just take the scores as a basic reference. Enough talk — let’s get into the real content.

5th Place: Rainbow 4 & Rainbow 5

These two sister shops are located on the corner of the 2nd floor of Nana Plaza. They’re especially popular with Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists — not because the atmosphere is particularly good, but because the girls better match Asian aesthetics (relatively speaking).

To be honest, maybe because I’ve been to too many clubs and nightclubs, my standards have gone up. Even at Rainbow 4 and 5, it’s hard to find many girls that really stand out now. Still, within the GoGo Bar scene in Bangkok, these two remain among the top for looks. Roughly speaking, out of 10 girls you might pick 2 decent ones. In comparison, at clubs or nightclubs you can usually pick 6–7 out of 10.

The two shops share girls, so someone who works at Rainbow 4 today might be moved to Rainbow 5 tomorrow. Rainbow 4 has a long stage in the middle. When you walk in, try to sit facing the entrance or on the right side of the entrance — those seats have better views. The bar area and the seats near the toilets have restricted sightlines. When it’s crowded, the staff will try to guide you toward the bar or toilet-side seats. Avoid those if possible; if you end up there, look for a chance to move to the middle later.

Beer is around 220 THB, lady drinks are 440 THB, bar fine is 1,000 THB, and LT is around 8,000 THB. In my opinion this price doesn’t offer great value. These two places are also known for being “motorcycle” shops (girls leave early). The 5-hour LT was basically invented by Rainbow 4. If you take a girl out at 10 p.m., she’ll usually want to leave by 3 a.m. Before the pandemic, girls at Rainbow 4 would stay with you until 7 a.m. the next morning. Even when you take a girl downstairs, conversation is usually limited to the classic three questions: name, where she’s from, how long she’s been working. After that it often becomes awkward silence. Most of them also don’t ride or grind on you like girls in other shops.

Overall rating: Stage design 3 stars, Girls’ looks 4.5 stars, Atmosphere 1 star.

4th Place: Billboard

Located on the 3rd floor of Nana Plaza, Billboard is the sister shop of Butterfly across the way, but Billboard is always more crowded. This is a classic Western-oriented venue and is very popular with Western customers. The atmosphere is lively, the DJ likes to play EDM and electronic music, and the space is huge — one shop basically takes up the size of three normal shops on the 2nd floor.

There are two performance areas: a rotating stage and a bathtub stage. The bathtub area is on the right when you enter and is a bit more hardcore — the girls there are completely naked. Looks-wise (by Asian standards) they are usually weaker. You can sit here for a long time with just one beer. Unlike other bars, they won’t keep pushing you to choose a girl or order another drink if you sit for a while. Interaction after you take a girl down is also pretty good — they’ll do a lot of stuff right at your seat.

Unlike other places, when you take a girl down they default to two lady drinks. Bar fine is divided into two types: ST 700 THB, LT 1,000 THB. There are also closed-circuit TVs showing sports like rugby.

Overall rating: Stage design 4 stars, Girls’ looks 2 stars, Atmosphere 3 stars.

3rd Place: Spanky’s

This 2nd-floor shop leaves a deep impression on a lot of people because there are always a few girls at the entrance whipping foam sticks to pull customers in. We usually just call it the “whip bar.” The space is smaller than most other GoGo Bars. Because the atmosphere is so good, it often gets packed, making it feel even smaller. But that doesn’t stop people from coming.

They put on a show roughly every 15 minutes — candle shows, bondage shows, dance shows, etc. Next to the bar there’s a small shower area where girls wash themselves and dance topless. Beer is the normal 220 THB. People often ring the bell and buy drinks for the whole stage. The girls’ looks don’t match Asian aesthetics very well. It’s a good place when you’re bored or want to bring friends for the experience. I’ve seen groups of female tourists go crazy here — buying big buckets of ping-pong balls and throwing them all over the stage, while the girls below use tips to grab the girls on stage. Some guys even bring their own girlfriends here.

Because the place is small and always packed, every half hour a handsome European guy will come over and ask if you want to buy another drink. If you don’t, they’ll need the seat for other customers.

Overall rating: Stage design 2 stars, Girls’ looks 2 stars, Atmosphere 5 stars.

2nd Place: Wonderland

If we’re talking about the most unique type of place in Thailand, it has to be the all-ladyboy shops. And if I had to pick one that best represents this category, it’s Wonderland. Almost every face looks like a Korean girl-group member — the moment you walk in, all you feel is heart-fluttering. I’ve always wondered how these guys manage to get plastic surgery this good, and why the girls next door at Rainbow 4 don’t just go get work done too.

Unlike regular girl shops, the lighting in all-ladyboy shops is extremely bright — basically telling customers “this is 360-degree flawlessness” and “looks are justice.” The moment you sit down, you get the full attention of the entire stage. Everyone stares at you hoping you’ll choose them. If you don’t have strong mental resilience, the pressure can be intense.

LT usually ends up around 12,000 THB. Yes, you read that right — ladyboys now charge more than real girls. Some of the more difficult ones will say “If you don’t take me out, give me 1,000 THB; if you take me, then no need.” Basically they’re trying to squeeze you. Just ignore them and settle the bill.

Every time I mention this shop, some newbies come to argue that “these are real girls” or “I checked their ID.” Let me be clear: this is an all-ladyboy shop. If you can’t accept that, just don’t make noise about it and don’t come argue in my comment section. In my view, taking a fully transitioned ladyboy isn’t embarrassing. What’s embarrassing is calling one and then desperately trying to convince everyone that the shop isn’t a ladyboy shop. Those people are just pathetic.

The stage isn’t big. The mama-san is quite interesting — much better than the one at Straps — and will also ask you to buy her a drink (around 440 THB). If you’re willing to spend, hanging out with these ladyboys can actually be quite fun. But if you don’t spend, they can switch faces instantly. Their personalities are pretty weird overall — sometimes you have no idea which sentence set them off. Most ladyboys are like this; it doesn’t have much to do with whether they work in these places. Some just have more fragile self-esteem.

The location of this shop is very calculated. A lot of tourists come because of online reviews wanting to go to Rainbow 4 and Rainbow 5, and Wonderland sits right in front of them. Once people compare the looks, the ladyboys are way prettier than the real girls, so many end up walking in without realizing it. That’s partly why the shop became so popular.

Overall rating: Stage design 3 stars, Looks 5 stars, Atmosphere 2 stars.

1st Place: Obsession

The reason I put this shop here is because it has a unique resource that other places don’t: kathoey (ladyboys who still have male genitals). Normally, without full transition it’s harder to fully absorb female hormones, yet the looks here are still maintained at a high level. As the saying goes, real men should fight with real weapons.

The stage isn’t big. Because these kathoey wear makeup and some take hormones, their lower parts are very small. Even in bikinis it’s hard to notice. Some tourists who don’t know better think they are fully transitioned, but they’re not. The kathoey here are among the best in Bangkok, which is why I’m giving it a relatively high score — not because this is the most fun shop, but because high-looks kathoey shops are rare even across all of Thailand.

Overall rating: Stage design 3 stars, Looks 4.5 stars, Atmosphere 3 stars.

Of course, besides these five, Nana Plaza still has many other fun and distinctive shops that I won’t list one by one here. If you want more detailed content about Nana Plaza and other places worth visiting, please check my membership guides.

An Overview of Every Go-Go Bar in Nana Plaza

A venue-by-venue account of Nana Plaza's go-go bars, with observations on changing ownership, atmosphere and how time-sensitive nightlife information can be.