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Insiders’ guide to the royal playground of Hua Hin, on the Thai Riviera
The Thai royal family ‘discovered’ it in the early 20th century, but what does the resort destination have to offer today’s travellers?
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Hua Hin is a three-and-a-half-hour train journey from Bangkok. Hugging the coast 200km from the Thai capital, the royal resort town is the northernmost district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
“We’re located between the mountains and the sea, and enjoy good air quality most of the time,” says Patrick Jacobs, a 69-year-old retired hairdresser, citing one of the reasons he chose Hua Hin as a place to settle. “It’s small, but also international. Coming from Belgium, I speak four [European] languages. I use all of them here.”
Significant among Hua Hin’s cosmopolitan community are retirees seduced by the tropical sunshine and sedate pace of life. Catering to their needs, the town boasts two air-conditioned malls – Blúport and Market Village – nine golf courses and a plethora of dining options ranging from seafood restaurants to pizzerias.
But for Jacobs, it’s the mountain temples and hidden coves that have kept him busy over the past 16 years.
“When I moved to Hua Hin, I began taking photography seriously,” says Jacobs, author of Hua Hin: A Coastal Canvas in Pictures (2023).
Photo ops
The best place from which to shoot the sun rising above the Gulf of Thailand is Khao Takiap, or Chopstick Mountain, says Jacobs, referring to the rocky outcropping to the south of Hua Hin that provides a spectacular view over the 22km strip of sand known as the Thai Riviera.
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