- Thailand Destination Guide - CBS Travel Asia

HUA HIN
GETTING THERE
You can easily get from
Bangkok to Hua Hin by taxi,
air-conditioned bus or train. The
road trip will take around three
hours, or four hours if you prefer
the comfort of a train. Renting
a car and driving yourself is also
relatively easy. You can also
arrive here by ferry/overnight
sleeper train from Koh Samui.
PLACES TO VISIT
58
Hutsadin Elephant Foundation
See and connect with these
amazing creatures.
Hua Hin Railway Station
A beautiful historic building in the
town.
Huay Mongkol Temple
One of the town’s most fascinating
religious sites.
Suan Son Pradipat Beach
This is often said to be one of the
best of the many beaches at and
around Hua Hin.
Pala-U waterfall
A scenic spot deep in the forests
protected within a National Park.
Other places to visit: Khao Takiap
Beach, Chopsticks Hill, Klai Kang
Won Palace, Wat Khao Krailas, Cave
Dao
GOOD TO KNOW
The best time to visit Hua Hin
is between November and
February. It is a smaller resort
than many other Thai options
and is easily traversed by foot
or by bicycle if you wish. In spite
of its smaller size, you will still
find a raft of tourist facilities and
can rest assured that medical
facilities are also top-notch.
Discover the serene life of Hua Hin and fall in love with a less busy
beach and town
Hua Hin is a fashionable seaside resort just a
few hours from Bangkok. Though this tourist
resort town has excellent infrastructure
and feels as though it has always catered
to the needs of visiting tourists, its modern
international touristic roots do in fact only
stretch back as far as the 1980s, when Sofitel
renovated the town’s grand dame hotel and
foreign visitors began to arrive.
Though this is Thailand’s oldest beach resort.
Before that, Thai nobility were the ones
who came to enjoy the tranquil delights of
this simple area with its little age-old fishing
villages. After King Rama VI built his palace
here in the 1920s, many other Thai nobles
followed suit and a refined sea-side escape
for the rich and privileged was formed. Since
the 1980s, of course many more people have
been able to enjoy this place, but it still could
be argued to have retained a certain air of
refinement that you will not necessarily find
in other Thai resorts.
It is very easy to reach Hua Hin from
Bangkok, which is why so many of the city’s
middle and upper classes choose to come
here for weekend breaks and longer holidays.
There is a lot of money swirling about in Hua
Hin but this merely means that the tourist
infrastructure is top notch and you can
rest assured that you will find high quality
restaurants, entertainments and handicrafts
on offer. Nonetheless, this is still a very
affordable destination and you may well find
some great bargains here, amid the luxury
and refinement. Hua Hin is not a place to get
away from it all, but it is a great cosmopolitan
resort town with a lively feel, plenty to do
and access to some lovely stretches of sandy
coastline. While mass tourism has inevitably
made something of a dent here, Hua Hin still
have oodles of idiosyncratic charm.
If you are looking for something a little more
tranquil, a holiday that will really take you
away from it all, then Hua Hin could still be a
great choice. Close to Hua Hin you can enjoy
tranquil delights in blissfully unspoiled natural
settings, from the rainforests and waterfalls of
Kaeng Krachen National Park, inland a little, to
the coastal area of dramatic limestone peaks
a little to the south of the town, Khao Sam Roi
Yot National Park.
There are also a number of events in Hua Hin
throughout the year, including a Jazz Festival in
August that is well-respected, or the elephant
polo tournament that is held here in September.
If you are in search of a more active holiday,
there are a range of options, from cycling and
hiking to kiteboarding or water sports.
THAILAND DESTINATION GUIDE - CBS TRAVEL ASIA