Hua Hin Center

Hua Hin's town centre is the heart of Thailand's oldest established beach resort, a place that has attracted Thai royals and Bangkok elite since the 1920s when the railway first reached the coast. The town has a distinct character absent from newer beach resorts — you feel genuine Thai commercial and community life running parallel to the tourism infrastructure. The main beach stretches nearly 5 km from the fishing pier in the north down to the hill at Khao Takiab, backed by a mix of hotels, seafood restaurants, and the occasional fishing boat still pulled up on the sand.

The Hua Hin Night Market and the weekend Cicada Night Market are two of the best night-market experiences on the Gulf coast. The former is a working local market that doubles as a tourist attraction; the latter is an upscale arts-and-craft market popular with Bangkok weekenders and the expat community. The famous Hua Hin Railway Station — built in 1911 in a royal Thai-Victorian style — is worth a visit in itself, as is the adjacent Baan Sillapin Artists Village.

Hua Hin center is also the base for day trips: the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park cave temples are 60 km south, the Monsoon Valley vineyard is 15 km inland, and the Phraya Nakhon Cave — reached by a dramatic climb to a jungle sala lit by a shaft of natural light — is one of the most photographed spots in the region. The town's golf courses (Black Mountain, Banyan, Majestic Creek) have made Hua Hin Thailand's unchallenged golf capital, and multiple championship courses lie within 30 minutes of the centre.