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Hua Hin

Hua Hin is on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand, in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. Hua Hin Municipality puts it about 195km from Bangkok, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand gives the drive as two and a half hours. The Tourism Authority describes it as a quiet fishing village that became a favourite royal holiday destination in the 1920s. King Rama VII completed the Klai Kangwon summer palace here in 1929, and the Tourism Authority says it is still an official royal residence.

The railway runs through the town on the State Railway of Thailand’s Southern Line. Since 19 January 2023, long-distance, rapid and express trains have left Bangkok from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal rather than Hua Lamphong, according to the Tourism Authority, while ordinary trains stayed at Hua Lamphong. In Hua Hin itself, trains moved to a new station building south of the old one in December 2023, and the old wooden station is kept as a heritage building, which we list under things to do. For getting about, our Grab and Bolt guide sets out what each app says it covers: Grab lists Hua Hin, and Bolt’s city list does not.

The coast runs roughly north to south. Cha-am, at the top, is a separate town in Phetchaburi province, and several big resorts on the strip south of it carry the Hua Hin name. Then come Hua Hin North, the town itself, the hill at Khao Takiab at the end of the main beach, the village of Khao Tao, and the Pran Buri coast around Pak Nam Pran. Hua Hin Municipality runs from the Cha-am boundary to Khao Tao, so Cha-am and Pranburi are outside it, and some of our picks have addresses in other districts.

We cover six areas, from Cha-am in the north to Pranburi in the south.