Hua Hin & Cha-am are located in the western Thailand. They are far away from Bangkok approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes driving time or 200 kilometers. The distance between the two cities is about 25 kilometers. Along the way from the two cities locate a number of tourist attractions. Thanks to the coastal locations, Hua Hin & Cha-am have gained popularity among foreign tourists. Let’s go deep insight into Hua Hin & Cha-am.
In the past, Hua Hin was a small fishing village until the development of the southern railways network in 1911 which connect the capital "Bangkok" to Hua Hin. Hua Hin become a destination for the royal family member, nobles and wealthy Bangkok residence who start to built holiday home. In 1921, State Railway of Thailand began to build the "Railway Hotel" which is one of the luxurious European style resort hotel in that time.
In the present day, Hua Hin is popular holiday destination for both domestic and international traveler. There are a lot of attractions which suitable for all kind of interest. Here are the list of some recommended places.
1. Suan Son Pradiphat
We starting with the beach first! Many of you may think we will recommend Hua Hin beach right? Well...you're wrong, the beach we want you to visit is Suan Son Prdiphat. It's a public beach located south of Hua Hin town. The beach is less crowded, clean and naturally preserve well as it's part of Royal Thai Army's property. "Suan Son" in Thai is mean "Pine garden" which represent the beautiful pines along the coast. There are less activities to do in the beach compare to Hua Hin beach which makes it a good destination for those who want peaceful relaxation or want to spend a night camping on the beach. Shops and restaurants are the army's welfare and inexpensive. For those who want to visit from Bangkok, we suggest you to go by southern line train that stop at Suan Son Pradiphat station. (120 THB roundtrip ticket). So, the 1 day trip to this lovely peaceful beach is possible.
Pin Point - Relax on the beach under the shadow of the pines
Know Before You Go - The beach is less crowded and less activities to do. Good for peaceful relaxation.
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2. Vana Nava Water Jungle
After visiting the beach, you may like to chill out in the water in the hot sunny day again. This is why Vana Nava Water Jungle is number 2 on our list. It's the first jungle theme water park in Asia with variety of water slide and attractions fit together in a small place which you can walk easily to each ride. Everyone from kids to grown up adults can enjoy playing and relaxing on this water park all day long. The highlights are "Abyss" a giant cone shape slides which will swing 4 people into a huge funnel at high speed, "Boomerango" Longest water slide in Thailand and "VR Slide" the first combination of VR technology and waters slide in Asia.
Pin Point - Various world class water slides, Flow rider and VR slide.
Know Before You Go - Some attractions are close during COVID-19 pandemic. Open Daily 11:00 – 16:00 hrs. (Friday-Sunday close at 18:00 hrs.)
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3. Tree Top Adventure Park
It's time for more adventure in the jungle at Tree Top Adventure Park Hua Hin. The outdoor ropeway course, featuring many obstacle platforms to help stretching your body and pump your adrenaline. Some of the challenge you will face are zipline, quick jump the zig-zag swing bridge, the flying skate board and more. It's another family-friendly activity as kids age over 6 years old can play with their parent under the close supervise by staff.
Pin Point - Outdoor activities 20 platforms
Know Before You Go - Open daily 9:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 hrs. Advance booking is required.
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4. Hua Hin Safari & Adventure Park
Visit the only zoo in Hua Hin at Hua Hin Safari & Adventure Park. Here you will meet wild animals such as giraffe, zebra, tiger, lion, elephant and more. The highlight is taking photo with rare tiger like white tiger and liger. The zoo is very clean and animals are in a healthy condition, you will never smell anything like the other zoo. Also, there is ATV for kids to enjoy riding on the adventurous off road track.
Pin Point - Photo with tiger cub and other large animals such as giraffe - Animal show - ATV riding.
Know Before You Go - Open Daily 8:00 – 17:00 hrs.
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5. Cha Am ATV Park
Cha-Am ATV Park will pump your excitement to the limit with 3 activities which are ATV ride, archery, and paint ball. This place is feature a large ATV off road tracks that can be separate into 3 tracks. First is track "A", a short track for all beginner to learn how to drive and control the vehicle. Next is track "B" which are longer, more challenge and more fun. The last is track "C", you will need all skills you learn from Track A and B on this track as it's designed to simulate cross country driving that including pond, mud and hill. If these tracks isn't enough for you, there is 1 hour off road trip which will brings you to the real outside world through the local village and plantation. The archery is another activity kids love to do to improve their focus and shooting skill. Paint ball is also fun but with the large group, more people more excitement.
Pin Point - ATV - Archery - Paintball
Know Before You Go - Comfort clothes and ready to get dirty - Open Friday-Monday 9:00 – 17:30 hrs.
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6. Hua Hin Night Market
Lat but not least, it's ladies favorite at Hua Hin Night Market. Open since 1997, this walking street packed with variety of street food and local souvenirs has served the tourist from around the world for a decade. If you are looking for cheap, delicious Pad Thai or sea food or Mango sticky rice or anything you can imagine, this the the place for you. Located in the center of Hua Hin town, it's easily access by local transportation.
Pin Point - Shopping for street foods and souvenir.
Know Before You Go - Open daily 17:00 – 22:00 hrs. - No parking space available
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How was the 8 attractions we listed for you? We hope some of these will be on your bucket list for your next trip to Hua Hin. However, there are a lot of places we haven't mention that are waiting for you to explore. You will find all taste of traveling in one place; food, nature, adventure, family, culture.
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How to get to and travel around Hua Hin & Cha-am
Located in the west of Thailand, it is very simple to go travelling to Hua Hin & Cha-am. There are a few transportation options to get from Bangkok to Hua Hin & Cha-am. The first one is taking a Bangkok to Hua Hin or Cha-am bus at Bangkok Southern Bus Station. The second method is to use your own car. The third one is to take a train at Bangkok station or Thonburi station. All southern route trains stop at Hua Hin station but only some ordinary trains stop at Cha-am station. The last way is air transport.
In order to travel to any attractions around Hua Hin, you can take a pick-up, local public transportation. In addition to the local pick-up, more comfortable way is to take a taxi. For Cha-am, we suggest you take a taxi to travel around.
Recommendation for Hua Hin & Cha-am Attractions
A wide variety of tourist destinations in Hua Hin & Cha-am is grouped into 5 types: mini zoo & farm, lifestyle mall, market, water park, and nature attraction.
Let’s get started with mini zoo & farm. Camel Republic, brand-new theme park, houses mini zoo, amusement park, and 4D theatre. This allows you to have a camel ride, having fun with several attractions. Another recommended spot is Swiss Sheep Farm. If you are the one who loves a bunch of fluffy, bulky sheep being all around, don’t miss Swiss Sheep Farm. Let’s go feed them yourself in this European-style farm!
After the mini zoo & farm, now let’s keep cool at lifestyle malls. There are two interesting lifestyle malls in Hua Hin & Cha-am. The first one is The Venezia Hua Hin, Thailand’s mini Venice. This chic mall allows you to go shopping for goods and foods and experience a Gondola ride! After that, let’s take a visit to Santorini Park Cha-am, Thailand’s mini Santorini. Enjoy taking thousands of graceful pictures around this white-blue mall. Furthermore, this lifestyle mall serves some fun many attractions such as Ferris Wheel, Merry Go Round and 7D Dark Ride.
In Hua Hin locate several markets with different styles. Let’s begin a day with a visit to Plearnwan, vintage style market. Bring back childhood memories with childhood foods, stuffs, and wooden architecture of Plearnwan. Beside food & beverage and souvenir shops, experience the atmosphere of Thai’s temple fair and Thai style outdoor cinema. Or you can do some food & drink and souvenir shopping at Hua Hin Sam Phan Nam Floating Market as well. In the evening time, there are 2 main night markets to visit. First, Cicada Market houses various pieces of artwork to appreciate as well as several handmade and secondhand shops. The other one is Hua Hin Night Market, one of Hua Hin’s outstanding landmarks. Delectable, fresh seafood is here for you!
Hua Hin also contains a few family-friendly water parks. The first one is Vana Nava Hua Hin, jungle-themed water park with thrilling water slides and attractions. The other is Black Mountain Water Park, which features 9 different slides, 7 different pools, and a wakeboard park.
Apart from these man-made attractions, there are beautiful nature destinations located in Hua Hin & Cha-am. One of Hua Hin’s most popular spots is Hua Hin beach allowing you to get relaxed in refreshing beach atmosphere. Plus, let’s take a horse ride along the beach! In Cha-am also situates a beautiful beach, called Cha-am beach, which has soft white sand by the peaceful sea.
There are a lot more fascinating attractions in Hua Hin & Cha-am areas, such as Mrigadayavan Palace, Huahin Hills Vine yard, Wat Huay Mongkol, Pa La-U Waterfall, and Hua Hin Railway Station.
Updated: 13 March 2021
