Destination · Deep south

Hat Yai

Airport
Hat Yai (HDY)Plus rail and road from Malaysia
Best months
Feb–AprTwo monsoons; Nov–Dec is the wettest
Temperature
24–34°CHot and humid year round
Nights to allow
2A stopover rather than a stay
Money
Cards widelyRinggit accepted in much of the city

The commercial capital of the deep south and the biggest city below Bangkok, forty minutes from the Malaysian border. Hat Yai is a shopping and eating city rather than a sightseeing one, and its food — Thai, Chinese and Malay at once — is genuinely distinctive.

Decide second

When to come, month by month.

Thailand does not have one season. Bar height is that month’s typical rainfall here, the symbol above it is the weather to expect, and the figures below it how busy it gets.

Pick a month to read it in full.

Good

January

The wet season is ending. Drier week by week and pleasantly quiet.

Typical rain
60 mm
Conditions
Drying
Crowds
Moderate

Peak season

February

One of the driest months and the most comfortable time to be here.

Typical rain
25 mm
Conditions
Dry
Crowds
Moderate

Peak season

March

Dry and hot. Good conditions throughout.

Typical rain
55 mm
Conditions
Dry, hot
Crowds
Moderate

Hot

April

The hottest month, with Songkran mid-month and the first storms towards the end.

Typical rain
95 mm
Conditions
Very hot
Crowds
Moderate

Showers

May

The south-west monsoon brings afternoon showers, though nothing like the Andaman coast gets.

Typical rain
180 mm
Conditions
Humid
Crowds
Moderate

Showers

June

Warm and humid with regular afternoon rain that usually clears by evening.

Typical rain
130 mm
Conditions
Humid
Crowds
Moderate

Showers

July

Much the same as June. Perfectly workable.

Typical rain
140 mm
Conditions
Humid
Crowds
Moderate

Showers

August

Wetter, with longer spells, but still a functioning month.

Typical rain
160 mm
Conditions
Humid
Crowds
Moderate

Wet

September

Rain building as the second monsoon approaches.

Typical rain
200 mm
Conditions
Wet
Crowds
Moderate

Very wet

October

The north-east monsoon arrives and the rain becomes serious.

Typical rain
300 mm
Conditions
Wet
Crowds
Quiet

Wettest

November

The wettest month, and the one with a real history of flooding. We would move your dates.

Typical rain
450 mm
Conditions
Flood risk
Crowds
Quiet

Very wet

December

Still wet, easing towards the end of the month.

Typical rain
350 mm
Conditions
Wet
Crowds
Moderate

Decide third

How long, and what shape.

Three shapes we actually sell. The nights are real and so is the pace — each one is a starting point we rebuild around who is travelling, not a fixed menu.

1 night · 2 days

Touch & Go

Hat Yai is an eating and shopping city rather than a sightseeing one, and one night is genuinely enough for the city itself.

Best for
A night on the way to or from Malaysia
Base
Central Hat Yai
Sightseeing
Songkhla

  1. Day 1

    Land, and eat

    HDY is fifteen minutes out. Kim Yong market in the afternoon, and dinner that is Thai, Chinese and Malay at the same table. The fried chicken is famous for a reason.

  2. Day 2

    Songkhla, then out

    Half an hour east to the other coast: Samila Beach, the bronze mermaid, and an old town of Sino-Portuguese shophouses that Hat Yai does not have.

The reasons to stay longer here are all outside the city. If you want more than a night, we would build it in Songkhla rather than in Hat Yai.

2 nights · 3 days

Quick Getaways

Two nights gives Songkhla the day it deserves and adds the lake, which is the part of the deep south nobody photographs.

Best for
The south’s other coast
Base
Hat Yai or Songkhla
Day trips
Two

  1. Day 1

    Arrive, Kim Yong market

    The market, then dinner. Ask for what the next table is having.

  2. Day 2

    Songkhla

    Samila Beach in the morning, the old town in the afternoon, and the museum in the old governor’s residence between them.

  3. Day 3

    Ko Yo and the lake

    Across the causeway for the folklore museum above the water and the cotton weaving the island is known for, then HDY.

There are provinces in the deep south we do not send travellers to. Songkhla is not one of them, and we will be straight with you about exactly where that line sits.

4 nights · 5 days

Destination Deep Dive

A food and culture trip along the Malay border, with two coasts, a lake and no beach resort anywhere in it.

Best for
Food, markets and the border
Base
Hat Yai, then Songkhla
Beaches
Samila only

  1. Day 1

    Arrive, Kim Yong market

    The city on its own terms, which mostly means eating.

  2. Day 2

    Songkhla old town

    Move across for two nights. Samila, the shophouse streets, and dinner on the waterfront.

  3. Day 3

    Ko Yo and the lake

    The folklore museum, the weaving village, and the lake by boat in the late afternoon.

  4. Day 4

    Waterfalls, or the Betong road

    Ton Nga Chang’s seven tiers, or south towards the tea and the morning mist — border country with a complicated history and a very good breakfast.

  5. Day 5

    Hat Yai, then out

    The Chinese temple on the hill above the city, a last market, and HDY.

Four nights here is food, markets and old towns rather than a beach holiday. If the Andaman is what you want, Trang is two hours west and we would build it there instead.

What you came for

Three things worth the day.

  • Hat Yai food

    Fried chicken, dim sum and Chinese-Muslim cooking that exists nowhere else in Thailand. The night markets are the main event and the reason to stop.

    Time
    An evening
    Where
    Kim Yong, Greenway
    Cost
    Under ฿300

  • Songkhla and Samila Beach

    Forty minutes east: an old town of pastel shophouses, a proper beach, and a far more attractive place to spend a day than Hat Yai itself.

    Time
    Half day
    Where
    40 min east
    Cost
    Free

  • Ko Yo and the lake

    An island in Thailand’s largest lake, reached by bridge, known for hand-weaving and a good folklore museum.

    Time
    Half day
    Where
    Songkhla lake
    Museum
    ฿150

For Indians

Entry requirements

Route
Visa exemption
Maximum stay
30 days
Fee
None

When this starts India was moved to this 30-day exemption by the Thai Cabinet on 16 July 2026. It commences 15 days after the Ministry of Interior announcements are published in Thailand’s Royal Gazette. We confirm in writing which rule applies to your travel dates before you fly, and we will not let you travel on the wrong one.

Every traveller must also file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within 72 hours of arrival. It is free, and airlines check it at the gate — without it you will not be allowed to board.

Applies to Indian passport holders. Last reviewed 12 August 2026. Entry rules change; we confirm the current position at the time of booking.

Packages through Hat Yai

Nothing published through here yet, which usually means the trips we run to this part of Thailand are built to order. Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we will price one.

Plan my Thailand

Worth knowing

What we would tell you on the phone.

  • Check the advisories

    The three provinces immediately south and east of Hat Yai — Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat — carry standing travel advisories from most governments. Hat Yai itself is not among them, but read the current position before you travel.

  • November and December flood

    This is the wettest corner of the country and serious flooding is not unusual. We would move dates rather than risk it.

  • It is a stopover city

    Two nights is generous. Most people come to eat, shop and move on to Songkhla or the border.

  • Malay is widely spoken

    And ringgit widely accepted. The city is oriented south as much as north.

Pairs well with

Where most people go next.

  • Songkhla

    Forty minutes, and much the prettier of the two.

  • Trang

    Two and a half hours north-west to the Andaman islands.

  • Penang

    Four hours by road across the border, if your visa allows.

Hat Yai, built around you.

Tell us who is travelling and when. We will build the rest around the season.

Plan my Thailand