Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park
Phetchaburi
This national historical park sits regally atop Khao Wang (Palace Hill), surveying the city with subdued opulence. Rama IV built the palace and dozens of…
Must-see attractions in Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Phetchaburi
Thailand’s largest national park is surprisingly close to civilisation but shelters an intense tangle of wilderness that sees relatively few tourists. It…
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Who doesn't want to see herds of wild elephants roaming through the forest or enjoying an evening bath? At Kuiburi National Park's hôoay léuk unit, up…
Hua Hin
Vastly better than the city-centre Hua Hin Night Market, this popular place 3.5km to the south is a fun mix of food, shopping and performing arts. It's…
Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand Rescue Centre & Elephant Refuge
Hua Hin
This centre, 45km northwest of Hua Hin, cares for over 700 animals, including bears, tigers, gibbons, macaques, loris and birds. There's also an…
Phetchaburi
Centrally located, gleaming white Wat Mahathat is one impressive temple. The showpiece is a 42m-tall five-tiered Ayuthaya-style prang (corn-cob shaped…
Hua Hin
Colloquially called the big-headed monk, this statue of the revered Luang Phor Thad is a beloved Buddhist pilgrimage site. The southern Thai monk is said…
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Towering limestone outcrops form a rocky, jigsaw-puzzle landscape at Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park (Three Hundred Mountain Peaks), located about 30km…
Hua Hin
Standing 14m high and weighing in at 30 tonnes each, the beautiful bronze statues of Thailand's most revered kings tower over this park with an impressive…
Hua Hin
Pa La-U Waterfall is located in Kaeng Krachan National Park, but far away from the main park area, about 62km from Hua Hin. Unlike the rest of the park,…
Hua Hin
Local painter Tawee Kasangam established this artist collective in a shady grove 4km west of town. The galleries and studio spaces showcase the works of…
Hua Hin
Hua Hin Beach is a pleasant, but not stunning, stretch of fine white powder lapped by calm grey-green waves. Remarkably shallow, it's made for strolling…
Hua Hin
With a breezy seaside location 12km north of Hua Hin, this summer palace – Phra Ratchaniwet Mrigadayavan – was built in 1924 during the reign of Rama VI…
Hua Hin
Probably the most beautiful train station in Thailand, this red-and-white icon was built in 1926 to replace the original station. It has a Victorian…
Phetchaburi
About 4km north of town is Khao Luang Cave, a dramatic stalactite-stuffed cavern that's one of Thailand’s most impressive cave shrines, and a favourite of…
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Just north of the Pranburi River is an extensive natural mangrove forest. A 1km-long boardwalk with interpretive signs, some in English, lets you explore…
Phetchaburi
This expansive temple, founded in the late Ayuthaya era, holds quite a bit of history. Foremost are the faded murals inside the beautiful bòht (ordination…
Hua Hin
About 7km south of Hua Hin, monumental Chopstick Mountain guards the southern end of Hua Hin beach. A steep road curves to the top of the 77m-tall…
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Ban Krut beach is now a full-on tourist destination with a string of resorts, restaurants and inner-tube rental shops – there's even a 7-Eleven – sitting…
Prachuap Khiri Khan
The town’s crowning feature is Ao Prachuap (Prachuap Bay), a gracefully curving bay outlined by an oceanfront promenade and punctuated by dramatic…
Prachuap Khiri Khan
At the northern end of town, Khao Chong Krajok (Mirror Gap Hill, so named for the natural hole that seemingly reflects the sky) provides a cascading view…
Phetchaburi
Construction of this elegant summer palace, an incredible art-nouveau creation, began in 1910 at the behest of Rama V (who died just after the project was…
Phetchaburi
This hillside monastery, 2km west of town, sprawls through several large caverns converted into simple Buddha shrines and meditation rooms. There are some…
Hua Hin
In the hills west of the city, a winding drive up Flintstone Hill takes you to several viewpoints of Hua Hin and the gulf. Viewpoint #4, across from the…
Prachuap Khiri Khan
Marking the southern end of Ao Prachuap Bay, this soaring limestone mountain features prominently in photos of the city. At its rocky summit are a Buddha…
Hua Hin
This Chinese temple is built on the city's namesake 'Stone Head'. It's a pleasant place to get a view of the seaside.
Prachuap Khiri Khan
Leaving Ao Prachuap behind, turn north for 2.5km, passing the fishing village of Ban Ao Noi, where some of the larger boats dock and unload, to this large…
Sirinart Rajini Mangrove Ecosystem Learning Center
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Along the south shore of the Pranburi River, right on the edge of Pak Nam Pran town, is this large, successful mangrove restoration project. Begun in 1994…
Prachuap Khiri Khan
On weekends, locals head to Ao Manao, an island-dotted bay ringed by a curving beach within Wing 5 Thai Air Force base – the only beach where locals go…
Hua Hin
The next headland after Khao Takiab is Khao Tao (Turtle Mountain). It protects an idyllic little cove where Hat Sai Noi beach drops off quickly into the…
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Bang Saphan Yai is a sit-on-the-beach-all-day kind of place that still clings to that famous beach cliché: Thailand 30 years ago before pool villas and…
Phra Mahathat Chedi Phakdi Praka
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Topping Khao Thong Chai, the headland north of Ban Krut Beach, this beautiful and unusually wide, 50m-tall stupa was completed in 2005. The main room has…
Hua Hin
A small resort and a couple of restaurants operate here. Weekends bring the expected crowds, but it's fairly quiet on weekdays.
Phetchaburi
A 13th-century remnant of the time when the Angkor (Khmer) kingdom stretched from present-day Cambodia all the way to the Malay peninsula, this shrine was…
Chumphon
It's not one of Thailand's biggest or best national museums, but the prehistoric pottery, axes and jewellery found in Chumphon Province will appeal to…
Hua Hin & the Upper Gulf
Out on the edge of town, an easy bike ride from the beach, this park is known not for its beauty, but rather its white-handed gibbons. The gibbons usually…
Prachuap Khiri Khan
This seldom-visited park is at the northern end of Ao Prachuap Bay. Exploration is limited to the 300m nature trail with a viewpoint of the city at the…
Wat Phra Phuttaya Saiyat (Wat Phra Non)
Phetchaburi
The main attraction at this temple, also known as Wat Phra Non (the Reclining Buddha Temple), is 43m long. It's almost as big as the famous Wat Pho in…
Phetchaburi
This temple west of the city centre has a century-old hŏr đrai (sacred manuscript library) on stilts in a pond to protect the contents against termites…
Chumphon
Chumphon's main fresh market spreads far and wide under a giant roof. It's the main source of meat, fruit and veggies for most of the city's restaurants…
