Things to do and see in Hua Hin with girlfriend and daughter

[wolf81]

I will be going for a holiday to Hua Hin in January with girlfriend and our 2.5-year old daughter. We'll be staying for a week and we'll be renting a car (if possible), but otherwise taxis will be fine as well for getting around the area. We'll be staying at the Cantera hotel.

 

I'd like to know what are the best things to do and to see in Hua Hin with our small family. And also what are nice places to eat. Fine with both Thai and Western food. We'd also be interested to know of clean beaches in the area.

 

One thing I think my girlfriend will like, is the statues of the kings, so that'll be one place to visit. My girlfriend likes gardens and our daughter likes swimming, so suggestions in those areas would be welcome as well.

 

Personally I'm also trying to figure out if Hua Hin could be a nice place to live, so perhaps in the future might be looking to buy a condo there near the beach. Are there any nice sea-view condos of good quality (well maintained, strong structure, etc…) that might be worth checking out?

Edited December 14, 2019 by wolf81

[Col S]

Hua Hin is a lovely place to live.

There are 2 water parks, 1 in town and 1 at Black mountain. Black mountain is less expensive but might be better for a 2.5 yo.

No shortage of great restaurants! 3 of my best are: Coco51 on the beach on soi 51 (Thai and European) is a bit pricey but great, L’Occitan on Soi 70 (Thai and European) is less expensive but also great and Uncle Bills Mekong on Soi 94 (Thai, Mexican and Vietnamese) is really good value!

The Army beach is really good and clean and not far from the statues of the Kings.

I know of a great car rental lady, Sassi 0865143307.

Have a great holiday!

[NCC1701A]

21 hours ago, wolf81 said:

I will be going for a holiday to Hua Hin in January with girlfriend and our 2.5-year old daughter.

the water park next to the new Holiday Inn. And make sure you go to the sky bar on the 25 floor at 5pm for sunset.

https://goo.gl/maps/hMnTWzE1pUH9ZSj99

 

there is a play area for kids on the top floor of Bluport mall. Great to escape the heat for a few hours. 

plus stuff kids like to eat.

https://goo.gl/maps/n48cRyhaPwhMgkh76

 

The golden Buddha on the beach at the base of monkey mountain.

https://goo.gl/maps/QadXBjkRtK1P4vKB8

 

And the monkeys on top of the mountain as well.

https://goo.gl/maps/Z1vD9QyU7zXALSKu9

 

Le Mer restaurant for a fantastic view with lots of outdoor seating so you can have some space for your child.

https://goo.gl/maps/NYUXShT54YdA4h2a6

 

The Tamarind Night Market. very trendy now. good food and not overpriced.

https://goo.gl/maps/A31RKZPoVhk9re8d6

 

drive to this beach for a little adventure. the beach club which you do not have to go to will sell you a pass for the day or just sit on the beach and the Thais will bring you a snack. very relaxing here.

https://goo.gl/maps/TvueAAHTs8Nuv1mH8

 

this beach is amazing here and about 35 minutes south of town.

https://goo.gl/maps/TvueAAHTs8Nuv1mH8 

 

the Wat is very photogenic and next to the above location.

https://goo.gl/maps/hQkq9wLqLfwjCSNj9

 

Carlo ristorante italiano. casual dress up nice. Carlo owns it and is there all the time.

https://goo.gl/maps/DsGmQdrKiXG7ThFj8

 

the other restaurants suggested above are very good also.

 

[marin]

If you GF is interested in the Thai Kings we enjoyed this place very much.. A teak palace right on the sea in Cha am.

 

https://www.renown-travel.com/palaces/maruekhathaiyawan.html

[emptypockets]

Waterpark is good, then watch ponies poo on the beach. For an adult's only evening....watch paint dry.

[Hanuman2547]

The beach at the Army base is called Suan Son.  I used to stay there all the time back in the 90's,  It's usually not very crowded and there is a small Thai restaurant there as well.  

[wolf81]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. And ye @emptypockets, I'm sure it's not the best place for adult entertainment, but that's fine for our small family right now.

[wolf81]

A want to add an update to our stay in Hua Hin.

 

We stayed only 6 days sadly, due too me having to travel to Australia for work, but we did enjoy our stay in Hua Hin. I really feel Hua Hin could be a good place to live for us in the future. Sadly for the coming 5 years I feel we will likely stay in Chiang May so my girlfriend can stay close to her elderly mother and I have some time to increase my savings. Hua Hin certainly seems like a lot nicer place than Pattaya for a small family, due to a variety of reasons. Of course it's not as seedy, the beaches seem relatively clean and there's still plenty of choices for entertainment (waterparks, cinemas, beaches, etc…). There also seems to be a lot less traffic, also compared to Chiang May, Bangkok and Pattaya, perhaps maybe in the evening when it gets quite busy on the roads. I also like that Hua Hin seems to be a relatively small city still.

 

We stayed in the Hua Hin Centara Grand Beach Resort hotel, we used one of their villas. Very nice, much recommended. Every day I swam a bit with out daughter in our own small swimming pool. Right now our daughter is crying, she doesn't want to go home.

 

So what did we do in the past few days:

- Went to the safari, was ok-ish, though a bit small. I do feel sorry for the tigers though, they didn't seem happy and the walkable areas seemed quite small.

- Went to the statues of kings, which is something that was very important for my GF. Nice wind there, probably due to the flat terrain.

- Went to the military beach opposite the statues of the kings, one of the high points to our holiday for me, due to me enjoying playing on the beach and in the sea with my daughter.

- Went to a temple of some important Thai monk. Mongkol or Mongkut or something like that. Was also nice.

- We went to the monkey mountain temple, was quite ok. I am sure the view on top can be quite nice, but for us the weather was a bit "misty" I guess, so not a very clear view. 

- Went shopping at Bluport shopping mall. Played a bit with my daughter in the play area at the top floor. Again my daughter didn't want to leave, enjoyed playing. there too much, even though she had to pee. Eventually she peed a bit inside and I dragged her kicking and screaming to the toilet ????

- We went to the old palace of King number 6 (IIRC), was very nice to see. Sadly the top rooms were closed, only accessible on some days of the week. Still was nice to see how the old kings used to live and quite beautiful area.

- We played a bit on the beach in from of the hotel and made a photo on a pony. Also fun.

 

I might have missed something.

 

All in all was a very nice time and I think we'll be back here in the future.

 

 

[pinkbird07]

I'm very glad , when I heard you like this place.I'm thai people and live in petchburi province near Hua Hin.I recomend you it's very nice place.