Patong has four night markets, and all four are open every night of the week. If you have typed "Best night markets in Patong?" into a phone after dinner, the answer depends less on the day than on where you are standing and how far you want to walk. All four are a walk from Jungceylon in Patong, in four different directions, and each one is better at something different.

Which night markets are in Patong?

There are four, and they are spread across the town in a line you can walk.

• Banzaan Fresh Market (Sai Kor Road) The closest one, directly behind the mall. Fresh produce, fish and meat on the lower level, cooked food above it.
• Bangla Night Market (the inland end of Soi Bangla) A covered bazaar of clothing and copy-brand stalls with an open-air food court behind it, and the last of the four to close.
• OTOP Night Market (Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Road) A covered bazaar opposite Hard Rock Cafe, with souvenir stalls at the front and a food street behind them.
• Malin Plaza (Prachanukhro Road) The one at the southern end of Patong, under a high open-sided roof, with seafood and street food, and clothing and bag stalls around the edge.

How do you walk to each market from Jungceylon?

The mall's two entrances are named Sai 2 and Sai 3, and a taxi or motorbike driver will understand those names faster than a description of the building.

Banzaan is behind the mall on Sai Kor Road, and it is the only one of the four you can reach without crossing a main road. Bangla Night Market is at the inland end of Soi Bangla, the end away from the beach. It is a short walk from the mall, and you will be beside the bar strip on the way back. OTOP is in the other direction along Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Road, opposite Hard Rock Cafe. Malin Plaza is the far one, south down Prachanukhro Road at the quiet end of town, and it is the only one of the four distant enough to take a taxi to in the rain.

Which night market is best for seafood?

Banzaan. You buy the fish, prawns or crab by weight from the sellers on the lower level, then carry it upstairs to the cooked food area. The kitchen there charges a separate fee to grill, steam or fry it for you. Ask what that fee is before you hand over the bag, because it is charged per dish and it is not posted.

Prices are marked or asked in Thai, and this is a working market, so haggling over a kilo of prawns is not the custom the way it is at a souvenir stall. The produce side of Banzaan is also an early morning place, best not long after sunrise. Go in the evening for the cooked food and come back after sunrise if you want to see the market itself.

Which night market is best for souvenirs?

OTOP, by a distance. It is covered, so a sudden rain does not end the evening, and the stalls are the familiar Patong mix of beachwear, elephant trousers, phone cases, fridge magnets, football shirts and bags. The food street at the back opens later in the day than the shopping side.

Bangla Night Market sells a similar mix with more copy-brand clothing and shoes. It is located at the inland end of Bangla Road, so it is livelier and later than the other three, and quieter earlier in the evening.

Which night market is open the latest?

Bangla Night Market, and it is open well after the mall and the other three markets have closed. Malin Plaza and OTOP both continue into the late evening. Banzaan's cooked food area is the one that empties first, so it is the one to do early if you are visiting more than one at night.

What should you do at the mall before you go?

The markets are cash places, and almost everything that makes cash easy closes earlier than the markets do.

Change your money first. The Bank Zone in the basement of The Jungle Zone is open 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, which is well before the markets fill up. Lion Currency Exchange is the later option, with counters on the ground floor of The Botanica Zone and the ground floor of The Garden Zone. Both are open 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM and take the last transaction at 9:30 PM. Please be aware of any exchange fee that may occur at the counter. Avoid getting cash from an ATM if you can. Thai banks charge a flat fee of around 220 baht on every foreign-card withdrawal, on top of whatever your own bank adds, and that fee is the same on a small withdrawal as a large one.

Leave the shopping bags. MeSpace Locker has lockers in the basement of The Jungle Zone and on the ground floor of The Bay Zone, which is easier than carrying an afternoon's shopping around a food market.

Eat first, or do not. If someone in the group wants air conditioning and a chair, there are two Thai kitchens inside the mall. Thai Food Factory is on the ground floor of The Garden Zone and Food Bazaar is in the basement of The Jungle Zone. For something sweet before the walk, Abidin roti & ice cream rolls on the ground floor of The Garden Zone makes the same roti the market stalls sell.

Buy the things you will keep here. Market quality varies enormously, and nothing can be returned, so buy the things you would not mind replacing at the stalls. Naraya on the ground floor of The Jungle Zone sells Thai-made fabric bags, and Phutawan on the ground floor of The Botanica Zone sells Thai soaps and balms, both with a receipt.

Stock up late. Jungceylon is open daily from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and Big C on the ground floor of The Botanica Zone is open from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM, which is earlier and later than the mall around it. Water, sunscreen and snacks are cheaper there than at a stall. There is also a 7-Eleven in the basement of The Jungle Zone, and Boots in the same basement for stomach remedies and plasters.

What should you know about prices at the markets?

Patong has two completely different pricing cultures within a few streets of each other, and using the wrong one is how visitors overpay.

At a souvenir or clothing stall, the first price is an opening position. Expect to settle well below it, and walking away is a normal part of the conversation rather than an insult. Many stalls take cards now, but a discount is easier to get when you are holding notes.

At Banzaan, and at the cooked food stalls generally, the price is the price. Food sellers are not expecting a negotiation, and trying one is the quickest way to be treated as a tourist.

Both kinds of stalls are cash-first after dark, so get enough change at the mall for the whole evening before you set off.