Driving from Chiang Mai to Hua Hin

[CecilM]

I find Tak province beautiful, though not quite ½ way.

Of course, you could drive CM-HH in one day (we don't do stopovers BKK-CM anymore) and rather add more day(s) to your stay in HH. 

[Mike Lister]

7 hours ago, blazes said:

 

I am not sure that driving does indeed "keep costs down".  Staying at hotel overnight?  Various meals on way down? Possible death at any moment? Either from Thai driving or from sheer boredom.

 

Surely this fare is not over the top?:

Air Asia CNX-HHQ is $76 US.

https://www.airasia.com/flights/from-chiang-mai-cnx-to-hua-hin-hhq

As said earlier, we make the trip to Bangkok and on to either Pattaya or Hua Hin regularly. We usual make Pattaya in 10 hours and Hua Hin in about 11 hours so no overnight stop. Diesel costs about THB 1,700 one way, give or take but that's transportation for three people plus we have use of the vehicle when we get there hence no car rental costs. Mostly though, for us, it's the flexibility and convenience aspect that's attractive. We can set our own schedules and change our minds at will and goodness knows my wife does that frequently! 🙂 We're both seasoned experienced drivers in Thailand so the risk for us is perhaps lower than for some others, we know what goes on and how to anticipate most of it.

[petermik]

4 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

 plus the Bangkok to Hua Hin leg is a real nightmare.

I take a monthly trip from here in Pattaya down to Trang using this route....I always leave Pattaya at 4 am on a Sunday morning and find the traffic on Rama 2 to be fine (around 5.30/6.00 am) I hit the turn off for Hua Hin at around 7.30/8.00 am....return trip on a Thursday I hit Rama 2 at around 12.30 pm and apart from one occasion after an accident (not me) never any problems traffic flowing OK.

[Rotweiler]

We drove that route 3 weeks ago.  The Highway 4 routing to bypass downtown Bangkok works fine and is quite fast.  Just avoid Highway 35 (Rama 2) at all costs!  We had to go through Bangkok on the way back to visit friends.  35 was a disaster - took 4 hours from the Highway 4/35 interchange to the Kanchanaphisek turnoff - about 45km.

[KhunLA]

Not a big fan of that drive, and think I would stop on outskirts of Krung Thep.  Maybe overnight at Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, or Samut Songkhram, as I would avoid hwy #35, and take #4 instead.

 

Then after a nice brekkie, next day, drive the last 3 or 4 hrs and arrive at HH around noon/check in time.

[skorts]

7 hours ago, blazes said:

OP: why not eliminate all the stress of driving that distance (and the road between Bkk and HH is a nightmare) by just taking the direct Air Asia flight from CNX to HH?  Then hire a car while you are there or just use Grab, all very cheap.

 

And the air route may put years ON your life rather than the opposite you risk when you spend too much time on ANY Thai road.

I have been regularly flying that route with Air Asia and it is fantastic! Can highly recommend. If only going for a week or so I fly and hire a car but this time will be there 4 to 6 weeks so hiring a car becomes an expensive option. Also no fixed travel dates so booking flights at short notice is expensive too. With our own car we can just decide to head off when we want.  The road between Bangkok and Hua Hin is much better than it used to be. We drove from Pak Nam Pran to Bangkok and back last November and it took just over 3 hours each way. I remember when it regularly took up to 5 hours.  

[skorts]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. There is some really excellent suggestions/feedback which will make our trip planning and journey that much easier. Really appreciate everyone’s input. Thank you!

[Dolf]

12 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Train option?

If you take Special Express No. 10 that leaves Chiang Mai at 6:00pm in the evening of day one, and then catch Special Express No. 43 in Bangkok at 8:10am on the morning of day two, you will arrive in Hua Hin at 12:05pm. This is 18 hours after you have left Chiang Mai.

https://www.thaitrainguide.com/routes/chiang-mai-to-hua-hin/

Rent a car in HH or taxi around.

Only 18 hours of mostly boredom. Just fly. Flights are 1000 to 1600 baht.

[Dolf]

8 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Not a big fan of that drive, and think I would stop on outskirts of Krung Thep.  Maybe overnight at Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, or Samut Songkhram, as I would avoid hwy #35, and take #4 instead.

 

Then after a nice brekkie, next day, drive the last 3 or 4 hrs and arrive at HH around noon/check in time.

What's your no 1 and 2 drives in Thailand?

[Brick Top]

I do this trip regularly from CM to Phuket  , i always stop one night  at Nakon Sawan on route either way , then again i stop in Hua Hin and again in Chumphon. 

So basically i am stoping after 6 or 7 hours driving.

 

In your case you could stop in Nakon Sawan or Petchabun depending on which route you chose .

 

[sammieuk1]

Done it 10+ times in the last 3 years no stop over 11-12 hrs straight and forget the speed cameras 🤔 

[daveAustin]

On 3/3/2024 at 3:44 PM, BritManToo said:

The direct bus isn't too bad, why drive yourself?

Not one of your best posts, old bean, along with the chaps saying to just fly. Stroll on. 

 

On topic; have gone up and down a dozen or more times, albeit a few years back now, but always did the Chainat/Suphanburi bypass. Possibly too busy now as well, so the wider of the 'Kok' you can get, the better methinks. Time of day is crucial. There are always places to stop and at a good price. Had some of my best times in this fair land when driving across country. 😉 

[Dolf]

9 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Had some of my best times in this fair land when driving across country. 😉

I would agree, however you need more than 1 day to visit places. If I'm covering 1000km I want 5 days.

[Dolf]

Kanchanaburi is 9.5 hours. They have a skywalk there now. 

[happysoul]

Hello,

 

Don't know if you have left yet or not. Anyway, I give you some info. I drive this route regularly and got to this :

 

- Best route it to go though Suphan Buri (as shown in a previous post). You avoid Ayutthaya and BKK suburbs that have heavy traffic (mostly the Nonthaburi area that can be a real nightmare). Here is the place to quit Highway 4 - turn right. Keep following Chai Nat and then stay on the 340 until Suphan Buri. In Suphan Buri, the first option is to do a u-turn here and follow the 321 in direction of Nakhon Pathom but this will bring you in Suphan Buri town and can be busy. Best is to keep going for a few kms and take the frontage road just after the rd 33 bridge. Be carefull not to miss it as that's the only one. Keep on the frontage road for a while. Then turn left after the overpass bridge, easy to miss it, follow the 357 sign direction of Nakhom Pathom. After some kms, turn left on the 321. Stay on the 321 until Nakhom Pathom and turn right onto the highway 4 in direction of Ratchaburi. In Ratchaburi, just stay on the 4, no need to take the bypass as there are bridges in the city to avoid the red lights (I don't think there is much of a difference). After Ratchaburi keep on the same road until Petchaburi and keep going. At one point, the 4 will divide in 2. One goes to Cha Am (Rd 4), the other stays on the mountain side (Rd 37). Depending where you go in Hua Hin, you are faster staying on the mountain side and get out at the Pala-U road (Rd 3218).

 

That's the road I end up doing all the time when google maps doesn't mess my itinerary. Be carefull as it re-routes by itself and I ended up on gravel roads in the middle of rice fields. I now just follow the road numbers and check on the map to know where I am.

 

Average journey is 12h. You can save one hour by driving at 140/160 but to my opinion the gain is not enough to support the stress behind the wheel and the increased fuel consumption. I stay around 100/120 depending on traffic and make it in about 12h without being stressed out.

 

Have a safe trip !

 

Edit : spelling

Edited March 9 by happysoul

[skorts]

On 3/9/2024 at 3:33 PM, happysoul said:

Hello,

 

Don't know if you have left yet or not. Anyway, I give you some info. I drive this route regularly and got to this :

 

- Best route it to go though Suphan Buri (as shown in a previous post). You avoid Ayutthaya and BKK suburbs that have heavy traffic (mostly the Nonthaburi area that can be a real nightmare). Here is the place to quit Highway 4 - turn right. Keep following Chai Nat and then stay on the 340 until Suphan Buri. In Suphan Buri, the first option is to do a u-turn here and follow the 321 in direction of Nakhon Pathom but this will bring you in Suphan Buri town and can be busy. Best is to keep going for a few kms and take the frontage road just after the rd 33 bridge. Be carefull not to miss it as that's the only one. Keep on the frontage road for a while. Then turn left after the overpass bridge, easy to miss it, follow the 357 sign direction of Nakhom Pathom. After some kms, turn left on the 321. Stay on the 321 until Nakhom Pathom and turn right onto the highway 4 in direction of Ratchaburi. In Ratchaburi, just stay on the 4, no need to take the bypass as there are bridges in the city to avoid the red lights (I don't think there is much of a difference). After Ratchaburi keep on the same road until Petchaburi and keep going. At one point, the 4 will divide in 2. One goes to Cha Am (Rd 4), the other stays on the mountain side (Rd 37). Depending where you go in Hua Hin, you are faster staying on the mountain side and get out at the Pala-U road (Rd 3218).

 

That's the road I end up doing all the time when google maps doesn't mess my itinerary. Be carefull as it re-routes by itself and I ended up on gravel roads in the middle of rice fields. I now just follow the road numbers and check on the map to know where I am.

 

Average journey is 12h. You can save one hour by driving at 140/160 but to my opinion the gain is not enough to support the stress behind the wheel and the increased fuel consumption. I stay around 100/120 depending on traffic and make it in about 12h without being stressed out.

 

Have a safe trip !

 

Edit : spelling

Fantastic! Thank you so much for your detailed response. Not left yet so will go through your suggestions. Really appreciate you sharing your experience. Thank you. 

[blazes]

On 3/9/2024 at 12:33 AM, happysoul said:

Hello,

 

Don't know if you have left yet or not. Anyway, I give you some info. I drive this route regularly and got to this :

 

- Best route it to go though Suphan Buri (as shown in a previous post). You avoid Ayutthaya and BKK suburbs that have heavy traffic (mostly the Nonthaburi area that can be a real nightmare). Here is the place to quit Highway 4 - turn right. Keep following Chai Nat and then stay on the 340 until Suphan Buri. In Suphan Buri, the first option is to do a u-turn here and follow the 321 in direction of Nakhon Pathom but this will bring you in Suphan Buri town and can be busy. Best is to keep going for a few kms and take the frontage road just after the rd 33 bridge. Be carefull not to miss it as that's the only one. Keep on the frontage road for a while. Then turn left after the overpass bridge, easy to miss it, follow the 357 sign direction of Nakhom Pathom. After some kms, turn left on the 321. Stay on the 321 until Nakhom Pathom and turn right onto the highway 4 in direction of Ratchaburi. In Ratchaburi, just stay on the 4, no need to take the bypass as there are bridges in the city to avoid the red lights (I don't think there is much of a difference). After Ratchaburi keep on the same road until Petchaburi and keep going. At one point, the 4 will divide in 2. One goes to Cha Am (Rd 4), the other stays on the mountain side (Rd 37). Depending where you go in Hua Hin, you are faster staying on the mountain side and get out at the Pala-U road (Rd 3218).

 

That's the road I end up doing all the time when google maps doesn't mess my itinerary. Be carefull as it re-routes by itself and I ended up on gravel roads in the middle of rice fields. I now just follow the road numbers and check on the map to know where I am.

 

Average journey is 12h. You can save one hour by driving at 140/160 but to my opinion the gain is not enough to support the stress behind the wheel and the increased fuel consumption. I stay around 100/120 depending on traffic and make it in about 12h without being stressed out.

 

Have a safe trip !

 

Edit : spelling

 

Just reading all that exhausted me totally!

[Dcheech]

On 3/9/2024 at 3:33 PM, happysoul said:

 

- Best route it to go though Suphan Buri (as shown in a previous post). You avoid Ayutthaya and BKK suburbs that have heavy traffic (mostly the Nonthaburi area that can be a real nightmare). Here is the place to quit Highway 4 - turn right. Keep following Chai Nat and then stay on the 340 until Suphan Buri. In Suphan Buri, the first option is to do a u-turn here and follow the 321 in direction of Nakhon Pathom but this will bring you in Suphan Buri town and can be busy. Best is to keep going for a few kms and take the frontage road just after the rd 33 bridge. Be carefull not to miss it as that's the only one. Keep on the frontage road for a while. Then turn left after the overpass bridge, easy to miss it, follow the 357 sign direction of Nakhom Pathom. After some kms, turn left on the 321. Stay on the 321 until Nakhom Pathom and turn right onto the highway 4 in direction of Ratchaburi. In Ratchaburi, just stay on the 4, no need to take the bypass as there are bridges in the city to avoid the red lights (I don't think there is much of a difference). After Ratchaburi keep on the same road until Petchaburi and keep going. At one point, the 4 will divide in 2. One goes to Cha Am (Rd 4), the other stays on the mountain side (Rd 37). Depending where you go in Hua Hin, you are faster staying on the mountain side and get out at the Pala-U road (Rd 3218).

 Nice  C&P and printed a hard copy, heading south this week.

 

We break the trip. Seem to end up in Singburi, Chaisaeng Palace. Nothing to shout about but it works. They do have a nice breakfast and on the road early. 

This old guy comes out at dusk.  

Edited March 24 by Dcheech

[wimpy]

3 hours ago, Dcheech said:

 Nice  C&P and printed a hard copy, heading south this week.

 

 

Wonder what a C&P is.

[Mavideol]

On 3/4/2024 at 8:29 PM, Brick Top said:

I do this trip regularly from CM to Phuket  , i always stop one night  at Nakon Sawan on route either way , then again i stop in Hua Hin and again in Chumphon. 

So basically i am stoping after 6 or 7 hours driving.

 

In your case you could stop in Nakon Sawan or Petchabun depending on which route you chose .

 

I am preparing for a trip as you did end of April, are there any or many speed cameras, if so are they easy to detect, any feed back would be appreciated

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

On 3/24/2024 at 7:57 AM, wimpy said:

Wonder what a C&P is.

Copy and paste.  I've gotten pretty good at deciphering acronyms people make up on the fly.

[Brick Top]

14 hours ago, Mavideol said:

I am preparing for a trip as you did end of April, are there any or many speed cameras, if so are they easy to detect, any feed back would be appreciated

Yes a lot , i got two tickets in Chumphon and one in Lampang

[Mavideol]

9 hours ago, Brick Top said:

Yes a lot , i got two tickets in Chumphon and one in Lampang

thanks, at the entry or exiting the town(s), are they easy to detect or well hided

[Mavideol]

On 3/4/2024 at 8:52 PM, sammieuk1 said:

Done it 10+ times in the last 3 years no stop over 11-12 hrs straight and forget the speed cameras 🤔 

how do you do that, any special hints  555

[sammieuk1]

48 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

how do you do that, any special hints  555

Put your foot down on the straight bits and focus like a laser thats is technical as it gets 🤔 

[Dcheech]

On 3/24/2024 at 7:57 PM, wimpy said:

Wonder what a C&P is.

 

Old computer term for cut, actually copying text, then paste it in a new document. I do that with good info then save the doc in a folder. In this case my Thai travel folder. I did print out a hard copy before we left

 

Not that it helped, somewhere after Suphanburi, Miss T wanted to visit a couple temples. There we were out in Ban Nock Thailand on bad rural roads dodging trucks carrying rice havesters. Just another road trip! GARF.