Hui Hin & Cha-Am Thai Area Guide

Hua Hin has become a western tourist destination while Cha-Am remains fairly squarely a domestic Thai resort and the differences between the two are therefore considerable. Not least the fact that authentic Thai food can still be enjoyed and cheaply so in Cha-Am, served on the beach if you like. While Hua Hin 28Km away is more expensive and less authentic. Although neither Hua Hin or Cha-Am’s beaches are anything to rave about in comparison with many Thai areas, they do have quite a few things going for them over destinations such as Pattaya for example. First there is no go-go bar scene where foreign men come to rent Thai girls or lady-boys for the night thank goodness; so Hua Hin does make a good family holiday destination. Second, Hua Hin does have an airport with regular services to and from Bangkok, as long as you do not mind small aircraft.

Transport to the area is otherwise by train or road and foreigners should note the high accident rate of coaches doing the Bangkok-Hua Hin run due to overworked drivers being put on tight schedules with the inevitable consequence they sometimes fall asleep at the wheel at high speeds. These coaches also have a reputation for robbery, generally where foreign passengers fall asleep and locals riffle their luggage; Thais have even been known to give foreigners doped food and drinks to facilitate this. The railway service (see schedule here) can be quite fast (slightly over 3 hours using the express service) and provides some outstanding views along the way.

Hua Hin used to be a fresh fish restaurant paradise but has slowly lost out to haute cuisine and fast food, although several authentic Thai restaurants do exist. At least one nightly market and plenty of bars does make Hua Hin more lively than Cha-Am but the later has a very good (authentic and reasonably priced) market on Wednesdays and Saturdays; excellent value for Thai food and non-touristy items. Families and beach goers may want to take note that Hua Hin has had some beach quality issues in the past around the center with what is politely called “run-off” from some of the smaller hotels there; this is / was not a problem further out where the big resorts, etc. are.

Smaller bespoke western tourist areas nearby include Takiap Beach (also a fishing village) or if you go another 265Km down the coast / railroad you come to sleepy Chumphon with excellent diving and boat connections to Koh Tao, from where boat services then go on to Koh Phangan and Samui.

We donate all of our direct reservation earnings from the hotels and villas in Hua Hin and Cha-Am on our site to a charity in the most deprived area of Thailand, which helps keep poor even homeless children off the streets and out of child labour and the sex industry. When you book with and then stay and pay a hotel directly via our site you are basically making a donation to a very worthy cause at the same time, thank you (see our charity page).

If you would like to correct anything you believe is wrong or out-of-date here or provide extra text that could help others get the best out of Cha-Am and Hua Hin, please feel free to contact us. If you would like more tourism information on any aspect of travel to / holidays in Hua Hin and the surrounding area, please visit our associated Thailand Travel Forum.

If you have a favorite hotel in either Hua Hin or Cha-Am which does not have a direct reservations facility with us, please feel free to either contact us with a name and email address for that hotel or ask them to visit our site and register. The more hotels around Hua Hun that join Travel Ethos, the more we can help needy children in Thailand.