Although the emphasis is on a tranquil time away from the bustle of the city, both Cha-am and Hua Hin are well established with full facilities. There are hotels in all categories, restaurants suited to all tastes and sufficient sporting and entertainment to please all preferences. At the same time, nothing detracts from the peace of a splendid natural setting.
Adding convenience to the charms of the sunrise coast is ease of access. Just 25 kilometers apart, Cha-am and Hua Hin lie a three-hour drive southwest of Bangkok. A daily airconditioned coach service departs Bangkok at 9.00 am and reaches Cha-am at midday and Hua Hin at around 12.30 pm. alternatively, it is a short hop by plane to Hua Hin airport, or a leisurely 4 ½ hour journey by any one of several daily trains from Bangkok’s Hualampong station.
Large and more luxuriously developed, Hua Hin is similarly renowned for a magnificent beach which, separated at one end from a fishing village by a rocky headland, curves gently for some three kilometers to its southern point where Buddhist temples cling to the cliffs. Beyond lies another, more secluded beach, Hat Khao Tao.
A vogue was thus created and Hua Hin became the resort for the elite of Bangkok society, a status enhanced by the completion of an 18-hole golf course. Today, the present Royal Family continues to spend part of the year at Hua Hin, while the resort has also gained wide popularity with overseas visitors.
In the last few years a number of hotels have opened in Hua Hin, offering deluxe accommodation and full facilities for watersports and other recreational activities. There is also a grand old 1920s hotel which has been restored to its original splendour to recall the genteel ambience of a bygone era- perfect for those who love a sense of nostalgia. To suit other preferences and budgets, smaller hotels and bungalows are also available.
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