Khao Kalok

Some 40km south of Hua Hin is the peaceful bay of Khao Kalok. To reach this beach, you need to follow the main highway south to Pranburi, turn left to Pak Nam Pran and take the second major turn on the right. Follow this road for around 10km and take another right at the T-junction and follow the signs. A taxi should know the way and it'll take you approximately 40 mins to get there. The return price for a taxi should be in the region of 500-600 baht.

Once you arrive, you'll find numerous restaurants set on the beach road overlooking the beach itself. Pick the one that takes your fancy and relax for a few hours getting cooled by sea breezes over some delicious food and drinks. You will find prices here considerably less expensive than Hua Hin and the locals are friendly and always happy to see new faces.

Again, Khao Kalok can get busy at weekends, so bear this in mind. During the week, you can almost have the place to yourselves. Khao Kalok means "skull mountain" in English and the bay is long and wide. There is an interestingly formed cave on the south side with a hole through its middle. Swimming is reasonble at high tide and quad bikes are available for hire to explore the beach further. Alternatively, of course, you can just relax in the restaurant or on the beach. Khao Kalok makes for a good away-day from Hua Hin.

Khao Takiab

This fast developing town is situated only some 7 kms from Hua Hin and is quickly becoming a fully self-contained holiday destination with amenities ranging from accommodation, beaches, activities, restaurants and bars.It would not have been that many years ago that the town was little visited, but now it can support package tours and independent travellers for any length of time. Things have changed and the town is certainly worth a visit for a day, or even longer.Meaning literally "chopstick hill" Khao Takiab is dominated by a 272 m high headland that juts out into the sea. It is clearly visible at the southern end of Hua Hin beach. If you approach the hill this way, you are rewarded with the sight of a 20m tall Lord Buddha statue and there are other religious figures, both Thai and Chinese, at the summit, together with a statue of King Rama V. The hill is also know as "Monkey Mountain" due to large numbers of monkeys (macaques) that are resident there. Whilst not really fierce, care should be taken when they are around as they have a habit of grabbing and making off with anything that takes their fancy, especially handbags and cameras. It is probably better not to feed them as the larger males can sometimes become aggressive if the bananas have run out.
There are two good beaches either side of "chopstick hill" and both are less busy than Hua Hin's, offering quiet places to relax and enjoy good food from the many nearby beach restaurants. Note: the area can get busy at weekends and public holidays with visiting Thais and important Buddhist holidays are generally marked by hundreds of devotees flocking to the temples to give offerings to the monks and thereby making merit.

Accommodation is springing up all over town and you can now find a full range, from 5 star resorts and spas to mid range hotels and guesthouses. (See Khao Takiab accommodation for further options).

railway station

Hua Hin train station
Hua Hin's popularity began to increase in the 1920's as the railway line from Bangkok was constructed and King Rama VI built Klai Kangwon Palace as a summer retreat.Hua Hin's station is one of the oldest in Thailand and its main feature is The Royal Waiting Room that used to welcome King and his court when they were visiting the town.Originally, it was situated at Sanamchan Palace in Nakom Pathom and was known as Plub Pla Sanamchan. Eventually, the room was tranported to Hua Hin.It is designed in the same style as Maruekkhathayawan Palace and is an attraction not to be missed if you are staying in Hua Hin.

The train station is located at the top (west end) of Damnoern Kasem Road.