Hua Hin
Hua Hin was the first famous beach resort town in Thailand. It has a population of 85,000, and is one of 8 districts of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province. In 1921 the director of the state railway, Prince Purachatra, built the Railway Hotel close to the beach. King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) liked the location so much that he built Wang Klai Kang Won Palace there. It is now the de-facto full-time residence of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His Royal Highness Prince Krom Phra Naresworarit built a group of palaces at Ban Lam Hin called Sukaves gave the name of the beach next to the palace Hua Hin.
Getting to Hua Hin
SGA Airlines operates shuttle flights between Suvarnabhumi Airport and Hua Hin using Cessna 208B Caravan. Flying time is 30 minutes and there are 4 return flights daily. This however is a rather expensive way to get there as it costs 3400 baht one way, and their booking website doesn’t work if you use Firefox, Linux, a Mac, etc.
The cost of taking a Taxi is around 2,000 baht from Suvarnabhumi. Travel time averages 2½ hours.
Aircon buses depart Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal every 30 minutes between 5:00am and 10:00pm. Buses depart Hua Hin for Bangkok every 30-40 minutes between 3:00am and 9:00pm. Travel time: 3 hours.
There are several trains daily between Bangkok and Hua Hin Most leaving in late afternoon and almost always crowded. The journey takes more than 4 hours.
There is also a minibus service that links Hua Hin with downtown Bangkok, convenient for the Victory Monument Skytrain station. Cost is 160 baht. The minibus in our opinion is the way to go.
Things to do in Hua Hin
To be honest, Hua Hin is not really a place to go and do stuff, it’s an awesome place to go and do nothing. Nothing includes sitting in a restaurant made of beach umbrellas drinking cold beer or fresh fruit smoothies, eating prawns and watching the world go by. The nightlife in Hua Hin is active but not as ostentatious as across the gulf in Pattaya. If you think of Pattaya as a singles destination, Hua Hin is excellent for couples.
Around the city and it’s outskirts are several temples, stunning beaches, horseback riding, the elephant village is at Wat Eitisukato outside Hua Hin where you take an elephant trek that includes wading through a lake on the elephant’s back.
Hua Hin Jazz Festival
Since 2002 Hua Hin has hosted a jazz festival. Each year this event, normally held over the first weekend in June, has grown into probably the biggest and most important jazz event in Thailand.
In 2006 the festival was moved to two beach stages and though high tides were a problem at first, the event ran smoothly.