Hua Hin: information for tourists

A small cycle of only three articles in which I collected, in my opinion, the most demanded information about three wonderful cities in Thailand. I hope it will be useful for you, regardless of whether you come here for a month's vacation or for a few years:

Hua Hin: information for tourists
Pattaya: information for tourists
Bangkok: information for tourists

Perhaps I missed some important subjects or I gave incomplete information on some issue – therefore all additions and constructive criticism are welcome.

In each of these places I lived for at least six months, and in Pattaya I lived for more than three years. It is clear that some information could lose relevance since then, so amendments in the comments are also welcome.

What is Hua Hin

Hua Hin is a small town in Thailand, located on the seashore and popular among tourists, the distance from Bangkok to Hua Hin is about the same as from Bangkok to Pattaya.

Since the whole city stretches along the beach, it is great for relaxing on the sea.

The city is quite small (about 100 thousand inhabitants), but it has a developed infrastructure for tourists. Hua Hin can compete with Pattaya when choosing a place for a family holiday.

Where is Hua Hin located

HuaHin is located in southern Thailand:

How to get to Hua Hin

Direct buses from Suvambhumi Airport as well as from the Eastern Bus Terminal Bangkok Ekkamai, which is located very close to BTS Ekkamai station in Bangkok, run to Hua Hin. In Hua Hin can be reached by direct bus from Pattaya, or by ferry from Pattaya.

Rental of property

As you can see on this map, the entire Hua Hin town stretches along the sea line:

The area highlighted by the green frame is actually the center of the city, it concentrates the largest shopping malls, tourist shops, bars, hotels and guest houses. In this place, rental housing is a bit more expensive.

The red-highlighted area is the Khao Takiab district — its peculiarity is that public transport goes there — a tuk-tuk. This makes the area also convenient for tourists – you can get to the center for 10 baht and it will take 10-20 minutes of time.

You can rent a room in a hotel, a guest house or an apartment through the relevant sites, or already being in the city itself: there are a lot of ads for renting rooms and houses.

In the area of Khao Takiab, renting an air-conditioned room in an apartment within 200 meters from the sea will cost from 5,000 thousand baht per month. At the very line of the sea rooms and houses will be more expensive.

You can save a lot if you rent an apartment a little far from the sea. But this option is only suitable if you have your own transport (motorcycle or car). Otherwise, you will be uncomfortable.

Shops

There are shops of such popular retail chains as:

7-eleven
Family mart
CJ
Tesco Lotus Express

The city has two especially large shopping malls:

Market Village
Blue port

The Market Village has a large Tesco Lotus, Food Park, restaurants of Thai, Japanese, Chinese and European cuisines, clothing of various brands, electronics, banks, a cinema, gaming machines, beauty salons and much more.

Blue Port also has a large selection of a wide variety of stores.

In my subjective feeling, Blue Port is more focused on richer visitors. I like Market Village a little more, although I also regularly visit Blue Port.

It is very easy to get to these stores – they are both located on the main street, and at both these stores there is a tuk-tuk stop (there is only one tuk-tuk route).

These shops are on the map:

Another rather large grocery store and a large electronics store – Tops supermarket (go to the map) – a good selection of products, including European ones. Try somewhere to get the loyalty card “The 1 Card” - only with it purchases will be really profitable in this store, since most promotions (discounts, “buy one free one”) apply only to holders of these cards.

G Supermarket – I would call this store “for local people”. In it, many products are cheaper than in other stores.

Hua Hin public transportation

HuaHin has only one Tuk Tuk route. They are green here and walk at intervals of about 10 minutes. In high season, cars can be crowded.

The cost of the trip – 10 baht. After 19 o’clock the price of a tuk tuk is 15 baht.

Easyly you can find a taxi only next to major shopping centers.

Immigration office

The are 2 immigration offices in Hua Hin, one of them is located in the Blue Port, but it performs only some functions: for example, the extension of a family visa.

For most other questions, you need to go to the Immigration office located here (go to the map):

To get there, you need to turn on Soi 88 street and start driving along the following route:

Hua Hin Student Visa

There are several schools in Hua Hin where you can study for a student visa. Details in the article ‘The most comprehensive information about an educational (ED) visa in Thailand’.

Currency exchange

In contrast, for example, from Pattaya, where exchange offices in the city are found everywhere, there are not many of them in HuaHin. You can use the SuperRich currency exchange (good conversion rates), or any of the exchangers in large shopping centers. For example, in Market Village there are several exchangers on the same floor where the offices of banks are located.

Night life. Where are the bars in Hua Hin

The city has frankly weak (compared to Pattaya) nightlife. Nevertheless, there are several bars with girls, they are localized in the area.

But do not expect much – then not to be upset.

Bus station in Hua Hin

The Hua Hin bus station is located slightly away from the city center, in the opposite direction from Khao Takiab. To get there, from the main street, turn onto Soi 51.

Minivan Station on the map.

The last bus to Bangkok leaves at 18 o'clock!

What to see in Hua Hin

If you prefer a museum vacation with viewing a large number of places of interest, then Hua Hin is not exactly what you need.

Here you can walk along the beach – it is very long and not restricted by anything. On the beach you can find deck chairs with umbrellas and restaurants. Also the usual entertainment are here: a ride on a banana, kiteboarding, riding a horse.

You can visit for free:

The mountain and temple of Khao Takiab (there is a big statue of Buddha and monkeys)
Huge statues of kings

There is a water park and some other attractions.

If you have your own transport, then on a weekend evening I recommend to visit the neighboring town Khao Tao – on the banks of the pond you will find a small Thai fair, restaurants and a very relaxing atmosphere.

If you like draft beer (Khao Tao also has draft beer, by the way), then I highly recommend Tamarind Market – live music, draft beer, a huge number of restaurants and open-air food trays. Tamarind Market is open only on weekends, it is located on the main road at the beginning of the Khao Takiab district.

Next to Tamarind Market there are several seafood restaurants, including a seafood buffet.

Gym in Hua Hin

Two gymnasiums come across my eyes: one at the turn of Street 88 is on the right (behind Top Markets), it is called Atletic Fitness Hua Hin

And another in Khao Takiab – The Tank Fitnes:

Sports nutrition and protein in Hua Hin

Finding a sports nutrition store in Hua Hin turned out to be not so easy – I didn’t see it in large shopping centers of specialty stores, and very small containers are sold in pharmacies, which are too expensive.

Accidentally I saw a store with protein in the Soi 94 street area. This store is clearly visible from the main road.

On Google maps, I could not find it (to give the exact location) – apparently, it opened recently.

Conclusion

I hope, my experience will help you find the right places faster and more efficiently spend time.

If you want to add or ask something, write in the comments!