Hua Hin
What to see in the city
The main attractions in Hua Hin city center are the exciting Night Market and the Morning Market, the lovely city beach, the harbor area, the Royal Train Station, and the “party street” – Soi Bintabath.
The city center of Hua Hin is very easy to see and overview. The streets are stretched out going east/west and north/south and it’s within a 4-block area – and you should be able to see the attractions within 3-4 hours.
There is a big difference if you are here in daylight or when the sun has gone down. In the morning hours, the city is buzzing with locals buying food at the intense morning market. In the daytime it’s quieter when the locals are working and the tourists are heading to the lovely city beach.
The city center totally changes in the evening, and you wouldn’t recognize Hua Hin – especially if you are around the Night market area. It’s a big open-air market, full of shops and some very good restaurants.
Later on, most people head down to Soi Bintabath or Soi 80 or Soi 94 (Soi meaning Street in Thai), to get a beer or a drink. There is a really nice atmosphere and it’s soberer than other bigger tourist cities in Thailand, and the crowd is a good mix of Thais and tourists.
Below you will find a map of Hua Hin – where I’ve marked the main attractions. You can click on them and see some pictures and short information.
Further below is a list of the attractions and sights in Hua Hin City.
Map of attractions in
Hua Hin city
Lists of attractions in
Hua Hin city
1. Hua Hin Clock Tower
The Clock Tower is what the locals say, is the center of Hua Hin and it’s also the main meeting point in Hua Hin.
The Clock Tower itself isn’t really an attraction, and the only reason why I mention it is because most of the hotels that offer shuttle service to the town will let their guests off at this point.
When you know this location, then you are off to a good start and if you were to get lost, you can always ask the locals for directions to the Clock Tower, and then you can find your way again. I will also reference to the Clock Tower in the descriptions below since it’s easy to walk from here to the different attractions.
It is located on Petchkasem Road, which is the main road passing straight through Hua Hin. You will pass the Clock Tower many times when you walk around Hua Hin and from here you can easily walk to all the attractions.
Hua Hin Clock Tower
2. Chatchai Morning Market
The Chatchai Morning Market is colorful and you will be bombarded with sounds and smells. The market is full of Thais shopping and it’s a very local and interesting experience, and it’s a place you must go visit while you are staying in Hua Hin.
The Morning Market opens up already at 5 AM and it’s an excellent view into the Thais world, and how they come to buy their food.
You will find everything from fresh meat, special fruits, and exotic fish, to Thai kitchenware, local clothes, and much more. All the food is really fresh, but it’s not presented or sold as you will see in the Western part of the world.
An interesting thought when you walk around here… There is a big chance that the food you will eat later on during the day originates from here.
Chatchai Morning Markets main entrance
Seafood sold at the Chatchai Morning Market
Opening hours:
5 AM to 4 PM
How to get there:
The main entrance is located at Petchkasem Road. If you walk from the Clock Tower, you have to walk north for about 800 feet (250 meters) and then cross the Phetchkasem Road, and enter the main entrance. There are many other entrances and you might walk out from a different entrance.
Recommendations:
I recommend you come as early as possible since it’s very lively in the early morning hours, and all the seafood is freshly being layed out on the sales tables.
There is also another reason that I recommend you to go there as early as possible – since the smell won’t get better, the later you come here when the heat starts to pick up.
3. Hua Hin Night Market
The Night Market in Hua Hin Center is a superb experience and is a must-see visit while you are in Hua Hin. It’s hectic and vibrant, full of light and great shopping possibilities and there are also very good local restaurants here.
The Night Market is stretched out over 2 streets and it’s about 1.000 feet (about 300 meters) in length.
Here you can go on a shopping spree and you will for sure be able to test your bargaining skills since there aren’t any fixed prices. The variety of items is excellent and some of the things that are sold here are T-shirts, caps, toys, watches, perfume, bags, shoes, sunglasses, and so much more.
Many of the things sold here are brand names, but the prices are unusually low and there is a reason for that… Most of the things sold on the Night Market are fake or a copy. The funny thing is, that if you ask the salespersons if it’s fake, they will say “No – it’s a genuine copy”.
Hua Hin Night Market
Opening hours:
The Night Market is open from 6 pm to 11 pm. The two streets the market is located at, actually start closing at around 4 o’clock. Then the traffic is blocked and they start to set up all the stalls and shops. It’s very popular among tourists and there are a lot of people here.
How to get there:
If you walk north from the Clock Tower, on Petchkasem Road, for about 350 feet (about 100 meters), then you will see the entrance, on the opposite side.
Recommendations:
I actually have a lot of recommendations about Hua Hin Night Market, such as what to see, what not to miss, where to eat, and how to get the best prices when you are shopping. So click below on the link and you will also find a very useful map that will guide you straight to what I recommend.
Hua Hin Night Market
For a list of "What you must see at the Night Market" - including a map
4. Hua Hin "Old Town"
The Old Town of Hua Hin is very nice to stroll through and it’s very local. Most tourists don’t walk around here which is a shame since it’s a good opportunity to experience how the locals live in the town.
The Old Town is a unique possibility to get an idea about how the town used to be before Hua Hin became a tourist attraction. Hua Hin used to be a small fishing village with the center of town being this lovely part of town.
Here you can see laundry hanging outside, canals with small bridges, and locals relaxing outside their houses.
Old town in Hua Hin
Opening hours:
There aren’t any opening hours here, since it’s the local’s houses. But I recommend walking around here in the morning hours when the locals are starting the day.
How to get there:
From Petchkasem Road, you can walk east on Hua Hin Soi 55, Chomsin Road. When you head down this road, there will be a small street on your left side, where you can walk into the Old Town. This small street is called Soi Samo Riang. When you enter the area you will see small canals and local Thai houses. It’s a very idyllic experience and most of the people you meet will say hello to you with smiles.
5. Jao Mae Tub Tim Shrine
The Jao Mae Tub Tim Shrine is a small and beautifully located Chinese Shrine, with some magical viewpoints. It consists of three small but very colorful and decorated rooms. The shrine is dedicated to Chao Mae Tubtim, a female fertility spirit and it’s said that if you worship her at the shrine, you will be bestowed with good blessings.
Other Chinese gods are depictured here, such as Mazu, the goddess of the sea, which protects fishermen and sailors.
The shrine itself is very small and isn’t that big of an attraction by itself, but it offers some very beautiful views of the coastline. If you look to the left you can see a small bay with old and colorful beached fishing boats – and you can also see the Fish restaurants on stilts.
If you look to the right and walk for about 100 feet (30 meters) you will see the point from where Hua Hin Beach starts. The beach is beautiful here with clear water and stones plotted out on the sand.
Jae Mae Tub Tim shrine in Hua Hin
View from the Jae Mae Tub Tim shrine in Hua Hin
Opening hours:
There aren’t any opening hours here. You can come and just look around – everybody is welcome here.
How to get there:
The easiest way to get here is to walk down to the harbor area in Hua Hin, where all the restaurants on the stilts are located. If you are facing towards the ocean and the restaurants, then turn right and it will lead you to a small and narrow road – and you will end up at a small parking area. From here you can see the previously mentioned small and beautiful bay, with the colorful boats up on the beach.
Jae Mae Tub Tim shrine in Hua Hin
View from the Jae Mae Tub Tim shrine in Hua Hin
Recommendations:
It’s highly recommended to visit early in the morning hours. It’s calm and there aren’t that many people here and you might be lucky – and get to view one of the magical sunrises here. During the morning hours, it’s also very quiet and you will almost have it all by yourself.
I can also recommend that you try and time your visit here when it’s low tide. Then you will be able to walk north on the beach and you can walk to the restaurants on the stilts. Here you can get some great photos.
Another recommendation is to go for a walk on the beach after you have visited the shrine. Walk south from the shrine and you will walk along a small path, with benches where you can enjoy the view. From there you can walk down some stairs and then you have access to one of the most beautiful stretches of the beach in Hua Hin city.
6. Hua Hin Beach
As the town’s main beach, Hua Hin Beach stretches for approximately 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) along the coastline. With its soft white sands, it provides a picturesque setting for sunbathing, swimming, and long leisurely walks. The beach is in certain areas dotted with numerous deck chairs and umbrellas for rent, allowing you to relax comfortably.
The beach is shallow and perfect to get a cooling dip in, and you can have beautiful walks along the beach. There aren’t many restaurants, so you would have to know where to go to eat or where to get a refreshing drink.
Hua Hin Beach
Access to Hua Hin Beach:
There are numerous ways to access Hua Hin Beach. Many hotels are located on the beach and all the small roads leading to the hotels, lead to the beach.
Most people choose to go to the beach from the road – Soi 61. This road leads from the center of town and you pass numerous small stalls that sell souvenirs, drinks, food, and beach clothing. It’s perfect if you need something before going to the beach.
This area of Hua Hin Beach is also where you will find most tourists. There are sunbeds, and umbrellas for rent and these places also prepare excellent Thai food. So you can spend the whole day just relaxing and having fun.
Recommendations:
I highly recommend you access the beach from a small road called Soi 67. This is the place I always go to and where most foreigners living in Hua Hin would head to. The beach is perfect here since it’s shallow and with no stones in the water – and best of all there aren’t that many tourists here.
There is a restaurant on the beach which is hard to find in Hua Hin. The restaurant is called Chansawang and they serve great Thai food – don’t expect gourmet food but it’s perfect for lunch. They also rent out sun beds and sun umbrellas – which are also hard to find in Hua Hin. You will have to pay 100 baht for one sunbed – and then you will also get a sun umbrella and a small table. The staff takes orders and will serve you drinks and food you can eat at the sunbed and the small table.
Restaurant Chansawang on Hua Hin Beach
Restaurant Chansawang on Hua Hin Beach
It’s quite easy to get to Soi 67. If you come by car or motorbike, there is a parking area here (be aware you park on sand). You can also take a tuk-tuk or a motorbike taxi to here – they would all know this beach area.
You can also head to the Shopping center called Market Village and then walk for 5 minutes to the beach.
Opening hours:
8.30 AM to 10 PM
Be aware that on Hua Hin Beach everything is closed on Wednesdays. That means you can’t rent sunbeds and umbrellas, and all restaurants are closed. The beach also needs one day in the week to relax, so that’s why they have decided to close everything.
7. Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin
This 5-star hotel is one of the best hotels in Hua Hin. The location is right in the center of town and it’s facing one of the best beach stretches on Hua Hin Beach. The pool area and the rooms are excellent, and the restaurants are exceptional – but it’s unfortunately also a hotel most people can’t afford to stay at.
The reason why I mention this hotel on the list of attractions to see in Hua Hin is simply because of the hotel’s lovely garden. They have cut bushes and trees into all kinds of exotic animals. So you will be able to see elephants, dinosaurs, giraffes, rabbits, butterflies, birds and much more.
I will recommend you to have a short walk into the garden and see all these shaped trees and bushes – which is an attraction that most people doesn’t know anything about exist.
The garden at Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin
The garden at Centara Grand Beach Resort
& Villas Hua Hin
The garden at Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin
The garden at Centara Grand Beach Resort
& Villas Hua Hin
Opening hours:
Since it’s a hotel there aren’t any opening hours here – but the best time to be there is in the morning hours or during the day. The pictures you take will be much better when it’s in daylight.
How to get there:
The hotel has a main entrance but walking to the garden from there is a bit more complicated. Instead, you should enter from the hotel’s side entrance, located on Soi 61. That’s the small street most people use to access Hua Hin Beach. There are many small stalls and vendors on this street, and just after the last of these stalls, you will find the entrance on your right side. You can see what the entrance looks like below.
Side entrance to Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin
7. Hua Hin Old Train Station
The Hua Hin Old Train Station is what you would most often see, when you see pictures or postcards from Hua Hin. It’s a lovely and photogenic old building and it’s a place you have to visit during your stay in Hua Hin.
You can get a classic picture here, standing next to a nice Hua Hin city sign and the train station building right behind you. Tour buses stop here for the tourists to take exactly that picture.
The train station consists of the main building and the smaller royal waiting hall. The main building is where you can buy train tickets and a waiting hall with benches. The royal building is the beautiful old wooden building that you see on the pictures from Hua Hin. It’s only used by the royal family, but since the old king died in 2018 it hasn’t really been used since then. He live most of the time in the royal palace in Hua Hin and sometimes used the building when they were waiting to go to Bangkok by train.
