Destination · Upper Gulf
Hua Hin
- Getting there
- 3 hrs from BangkokBy road or rail; no useful airport
- Best months
- Nov–AprThe driest coast in Thailand
- Temperature
- 25–34°CWarm, and less humid than the south
- Nights to allow
- 3 to 4A weekend does it justice
- Money
- Cards widelyCash for the night market and songthaews
The Thai royal family have summered here since the 1920s, and the town still carries that: orderly, low-rise, a little formal, and by some distance the driest beach resort in the country. It is where Bangkok goes for the weekend rather than where the world goes on holiday.
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.
Peak season
January
The cool season, which here means pleasant rather than cold. The best month of the year to be walking a city.
- Typical rain
- 10 mm
- Conditions
- Cool, dry
- Crowds
- Busy
Peak season
February
Dry, clear and comfortable. Book ahead; this is when everyone comes.
- Typical rain
- 20 mm
- Conditions
- Cool, dry
- Crowds
- Busy
Warming
March
The heat begins in earnest and the air gets hazier. Still dry, still very doable if you plan around the middle of the day.
- Typical rain
- 35 mm
- Conditions
- Hot, dry
- Crowds
- Moderate
Hottest
April
The hottest month of the year, regularly touching 40°C. Songkran falls mid-month and much of the country stops for it.
- Typical rain
- 55 mm
- Conditions
- Very hot
- Crowds
- Moderate
Rain begins
May
The monsoon arrives. Rain tends to come as a heavy late-afternoon burst that clears, rather than an all-day grey.
- Typical rain
- 110 mm
- Conditions
- Hot, humid
- Crowds
- Moderate
Wet season
June
Warm, humid and green, with rain most days but rarely all day. Rates drop and the crowds thin.
- Typical rain
- 75 mm
- Conditions
- Humid
- Crowds
- Moderate
Wet season
July
Similar to June and slightly wetter. Good value, and the temples are far more comfortable than in April.
- Typical rain
- 85 mm
- Conditions
- Humid
- Crowds
- Busy
Wet season
August
Wetter again, with longer spells of rain. Perfectly workable for a city trip; less so for anything outdoors all day.
- Typical rain
- 90 mm
- Conditions
- Humid
- Crowds
- Busy
Wettest
September
The wettest month. Street flooding after heavy rain is normal and clears quickly, but it will interrupt a day.
- Typical rain
- 170 mm
- Conditions
- Wet
- Crowds
- Quiet
Wet
October
Still wet through the first half, then easing markedly. The last week can already feel like the cool season.
- Typical rain
- 180 mm
- Conditions
- Easing
- Crowds
- Quiet
Peak season
November
The rain stops, the humidity drops and the country is at its most comfortable. The best month to come, and priced accordingly.
- Typical rain
- 60 mm
- Conditions
- Cool, dry
- Crowds
- Moderate
Peak season
December
Cool, dry and busy, with rates at their highest over Christmas and new year.
- Typical rain
- 15 mm
- Conditions
- Cool, dry
- Crowds
- Busy
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
Three hours south of Bangkok, and the driest beach town in Thailand. One night is the station, the market and a morning on the sand.
Day 1
Down from Bangkok, and the station
The royal waiting room at Hua Hin station is the prettiest piece of railway architecture in the country. The night market for dinner after it.
Day 2
The beach, then north
The morning on the sand, Khao Takiab and its monkeys at the southern end, and back to the city in the afternoon.
Hua Hin is where Bangkok goes for the weekend, and Friday and Sunday traffic on Rama II is genuinely bad. We move you midweek wherever the dates allow it.
2 nights · 3 days
Quick Getaways
Two nights adds the national park, which is the one thing here that people travel for rather than drive to.
Day 1
Down from Bangkok
The station, the night market, and an early night before the park.
Day 2
Khao Sam Roi Yot
The Phraya Nakhon cave: a boat, a steep climb, and a royal pavilion standing in a shaft of light that arrives around ten in the morning.
Day 3
Slowly, then north
Golf, the Cicada market if it is a weekend, or the Monsoon Valley vineyard. Back to Bangkok in the evening.
The Phraya Nakhon light is a morning event. Miss the hour and you have made the boat trip and the climb for a dark cave.
4 nights · 5 days
Destination Deep Dive
Hua Hin rewards a slow pace and punishes a schedule. Four nights is three days of doing what you feel like and one of driving south.
Day 1
Down from Bangkok
Arrive, and do nothing with the rest of it.
Day 2
Khao Sam Roi Yot, early
Phraya Nakhon for the light, and the marshland birdlife on the way out.
Day 3
Pranburi, or golf
The mangrove forest boardwalk and the quiet beaches south of town, or a round on one of the courses that made Hua Hin’s reputation.
Day 4
Vineyard and market
Monsoon Valley in the morning, the Cicada market in the evening, and the town in between.
Day 5
A last morning, then north
The beach until checkout, and three hours back to the city.
This is the shape for people who want a beach and not an itinerary. If you want things to do every day, Krabi or Phuket will give you more.
What you came for
Three things worth the day.
Khao Sam Roi Yot
An hour south: limestone peaks straight out of a marsh, and Phraya Nakhon — a collapsed cave with a royal pavilion inside, lit by a shaft of sun at mid-morning.
- Time
- Full day
- Best at
- 09:30–10:30
- Fee
- ฿200 / ฿100
The night market and Hua Hin station
A serious seafood market in the middle of town, and one of the prettiest railway stations in Asia five minutes away.
- Time
- An evening
- Where
- Dechanuchit Rd
- Cost
- Under ฿500
Golf
Six championship courses within half an hour, including the oldest in Thailand. This is the main reason a great many people come.
- Time
- Half day
- Courses
- 6 within 30 min
- Green fee
- From ฿1,500
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 Hua Hin
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 ThailandWorth knowing
What we would tell you on the phone.
The sand is not the Andaman
This is a brown-sand town beach, pleasant rather than spectacular. Come for the town and the golf, not for turquoise water.
Jellyfish in the warm months
Box jellyfish have been recorded on this coast. The netted swimming areas exist for a reason.
It is a driving town
The good things are spread over thirty kilometres. Budget for a car or a lot of songthaew fares.
Weekends are Bangkok’s
Friday and Saturday rates can be double midweek, and the traffic in from the capital is heavy.
Pairs well with
Where most people go next.
Bangkok
Three hours, and the reason the town exists in its current form.
Khao Sam Roi Yot
An hour south and worth a full day.
Cha-am
Twenty-five minutes north, cheaper and more Thai.
Hua Hin, built around you.
Tell us who is travelling and when. We will build the rest around the season.