Is Hua Hin a safe peaceful place to visit?

[Boulderman]

Is Hua Hin a safe destination for visitors planning to stay for an extended period? The city boasts a low crime rate, and many travelers report feeling secure during their time there. So is all this true? Any informational help would be most appreciated. Thank you in advanced!🙂

[Harrisfan]

Everywhere is safe.

[hotsun]

5 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Everywhere is safe.

Except the road

[KhunLA]

Use of that uncommon common sense makes every place safe.   

 

UP2U to actually use it 

 

Visited HH well over 100 times, for a week, long weekend, a night, or just a munch & some shopping, and never felt unsafe.  That's everywhere in Thailand.

[UWEB]

Safety is not an issue beside Traffic, but Air Pollution is a problem since month.

[KhunLA]

3 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Except the road

Road is safe if you look a couple times before crossing 🙄

 

Back to use of that common sense.

[hotsun]

4 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Road is safe if you look a couple times before crossing 🙄

 

Back to use of that common sense.

Safe if youre driving a familiar route maybe, and even then you just never know. And dont even get me started on the highways

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, hotsun said:

Safe if youre driving a familiar route maybe, and even then you just never know. And dont even get me started on the highways

25 yrs and nobody caused an accident with our vehicles.  Only been hit once, recently, and that was my fault.

 

It's called defensive driving.   UP2U to exercise it or roll the dice.  I find the highways to be the safest, since divided and less cross traffic.  YMMV

[frank83628]

I have never felt unsafe anywhere in Thailand in over 20yrs.

But hua hin is very safe and relaxed. 

[cjinchiangrai]

Totally safe but also a bit isolated and quiet.

 

For a long stay, I would look at Bang Saen in the north gulf or Phuket in the south for better beaches.

[Cameroni]

1 minute ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Totally safe but also a bit isolated and quiet.

 

 

I could not agree more, Hua Hin was "yawn" central. Very disjointed as well. I prefer a real city.

[cjinchiangrai]

2 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

I could not agree more, Hua Hin was "yawn" central. Very disjointed as well. I prefer a real city.

What people do not get about Hua Hin is that, much like Koh Chang, it is a weekend resort for Thai people from Bangkok. It is nice but Monday through Friday it is pretty quiet. It is also all Thai so if you need English service or low heat food, it may not be the best choice. They built Koh Samui to service westerners.

[Harrisfan]

3 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What people do not get about Hua Hin is that, much like Koh Chang, it is a weekend resort for Thai people from Bangkok. It is nice but Monday through Friday it is pretty quiet. It is also all Thai so if you need English service or low heat food, it may not be the best choice. They built Koh Samui to service westerners.

Quiet is good. Most beaches empty

[Patong2021]

The  ongoing. sidewalk  changeovers is a danger.  The streetlights have been out between Market Village  down to the DUsit B2 for the past few days. I have passed 2 serious collisions at night over the past 3 days.  Air quality is poor. Police don't have any care for traffic management.

 

Despite all that quality of life is good. Socio demographics are solid and it is an upper income  educated town. The presence of the universities, hospitals, provincial offices, and military NCO and Officer training schools makes a big difference . The local Thais are skewed towards healthy, wealthy and young. It's an active place.  Sex tourists  will be disappointed. There is one gay bar in town that caters to 70+ year old ugly  closeted white males. The entertainment district isn't particularly busy and the elderly hookers don't look like they do a big business. Lots of married farang/Thai couples and their kids.

[Patong2021]

10 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What people do not get about Hua Hin is that, much like Koh Chang, it is a weekend resort for Thai people from Bangkok. It is nice but Monday through Friday it is pretty quiet. It is also all Thai so if you need English service or low heat food, it may not be the best choice. They built Koh Samui to service westerners.

Low heat food? I have been complaining about the lack of spice in my meals for years. Night market fish restaurants cater to farang blandness. Most of the restaurants in the central core. offer meals bland enough to satisfy westerners.

[Jonathan Swift]

As is usual for this publication, you will hear a peanut gallery of commenters with lists of criticisms that make you wonder why they're even here in the first place, but in my 9 years of going there for 1 week holidays I've found it to be a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful place. As to English speakers, it likely depends where you are. I haven't had any problems. Same with spicy food. you can ask for what you want, or look at the food and spot the red chili bits floating around. 

[robz]

3 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Everywhere is safe.

 

As far as Narathiwat.

[Robert_Smith]

Used to be, but recently there have been reports of violent crimes happening between locals and foreigners alike. I can recall a story about one nutcase farang going around beating people up for no reason, also another about a young thai teen being shot over a girl...

 

Keep your wits about you, and also stay away from Soi Bintabaht.

 

It's just not worth the hassle.

 

bob.

[KhunLA]

As long as you are not there for a swim in the surf 'beach' holiday.  It can be nice ... or not.   Timing is everything, and would avoid weekends if you can.

 

Since Op is interested in an extended stay, then will be exposed to all the pluses & cons.   For me, the cons out weight the pluses.   Though TBH, haven't spent much time there, as lost it's appeal to us a long time ago, after being a regular stop 10+ years running.

 

Many love HH, many tolerated it, many hate it.   I'm in between tolerate & hate.  Latter is the overdevelopment & congestion.   Restaurants started catering to foreign palate, and the few good Thai restaurants we used to visit, closed up shop long ago.   As rents skyrocketed, and their Thai base customers wouldn't pay the prices they had to charge to stay in business.  

 

When we do pop in for a bit of shopping, we usually eat at the food court in the malls.  And can find something decent.   It's convenient since we self drive, and back to the negative of congestion, there literally is no parking in that town, so we don't venture to the side sois any more.

 

The photo of the horses waiting for customers brings back memories.  Nothing like stepping of the side soi, into the sand, and getting the intense smell of horse piss .... Welcome to Hua Hin Beach

 

With that, the southern end of the beach area, is much better, and we stay down at Nong Kae area, (Ibis down to the Buddha), on that very rare occasion if overnighting.

[Chalky0w]

7 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What people do not get about Hua Hin is that, much like Koh Chang, it is a weekend resort for Thai people from Bangkok. It is nice but Monday through Friday it is pretty quiet. It is also all Thai so if you need English service or low heat food, it may not be the best choice. They built Koh Samui to service westerners.

Think this must be a joke. Saying Hua Hin is all Thai is like saying Benidorm is all Spanish! 😁 
 

Hua Hin is safe enough. Quieter than Pattaya or Phuket so less obnoxious drunks looking for fights but still a tourist town with the associated scams if you’re not careful.

[richard_smith237]

I like it there...  Its a nice beach break from BKK within a close drive.... 

 

Hotels a decent, plenty of decent restaurants... 

 

Nowhere to part !! - that part is true...  especially staying at one of the resorts on the strip between HH and Cha-am...    then getting into town in the evenings is a headache...   Basically park somewhere further away and flag a TukTuk... 

 

 

Beach is decent enough outside of 'jelly fish' seasons...   Seafood restaurants are decent.

 

Character of locals is excellent when compared to places like Phuket and Patong (and much of Phuket)... 

 

Expats there seem decent...   it doesn't attract the same 'chavy crowd' as other major towns (mentioned above)...  But its not exactly a 'party night out either'... 

 

Its a trip with good friends, and / or family, beers, food and not late nights.... 

 

 

It kind of does what it says on the tin without any real surprises.

 

----------

 

As per Bob's post - HH did it the news a couple of times fairly recently for the wrong reasons... 

A Westnener (German) randomly attacked another foreigner...  and another time a father and son were randomly attacked by a group of Thai's in a night market...     

 

Both very rare examples - its a fairly chilled place and I think nothing of being in the night market there with my Wife and Son at 9-10pm etc...   when on holiday there.

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

8 hours ago, Cameroni said:

8 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Totally safe but also a bit isolated and quiet.

 

I could not agree more, Hua Hin was "yawn" central. Very disjointed as well. I prefer a real city.

 

Indeed....   If one is looking to get acosted by Ladyboys, into a confrontation with a bouncer, or a fight with a tatted up Westerner then the chances of that happening in Hua Hin are significantly less than other 'real cities' such as Pattaya and Patong...    

 

Hua Hin is kind of like a tiny-Bangkok with more older expats....  a for more normal conventional vibe with less going on, it has its 'areas' but they too are a lot smaller with a lot less going on... 

[Cameroni]

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

 

Indeed....   If one is looking to get acosted by Ladyboys, into a confrontation with a bouncer, or a fight with a tatted up Westerner then the chances of that happening in Hua Hin are significantly less than other 'real cities' such as Pattaya and Patong...    

 

Hua Hin is kind of like a tiny-Bangkok with more older expats....  a for more normal conventional vibe with less going on, it has its 'areas' but they too are a lot smaller with a lot less going on... 

 

It's funny you should say that because Hua Hin was the only place in Thailand I was ever accosted by a prostitute on that small strip. But all good natured, no harm done.

 

What I don't like about Hua Hin is how disjointed it is, and it's just too small, not much on offer by comparison to Chiang Mai and BKK. it just seems too limited.

[NorthernRyland]

8 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What people do not get about Hua Hin is that, much like Koh Chang, it is a weekend resort for Thai people from Bangkok

I went there last year for the first time and I saw this too. It was hectic and the beaches filled up with families and single people playing music and making lots of noise etc... Not very peaceful, which is what I wanted. I actually had to abandon a hotel I reserved because it was next to a bike bar. They probably all ride down in packs from Bangkok every weekend.

[jvs]

8 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

As is usual for this publication, you will hear a peanut gallery of commenters with lists of criticisms that make you wonder why they're even here in the first place, but in my 9 years of going there for 1 week holidays I've found it to be a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful place. As to English speakers, it likely depends where you are. I haven't had any problems. Same with spicy food. you can ask for what you want, or look at the food and spot the red chili bits floating around. 

I have not had a Binta burger for at least 15 years.They were not bad at all.

 

[JimmyJoe]

13 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

I went there last year for the first time and I saw this too. It was hectic and the beaches filled up with families and single people playing music and making lots of noise etc... Not very peaceful, which is what I wanted. I actually had to abandon a hotel I reserved because it was next to a bike bar. They probably all ride down in packs from Bangkok every weekend.

 

Hua Hin beach is 5km long.  About 4.5km of it are peaceful and quiet.  The only area that is usually busy on weekends is up north near the town.  Most expats live further south in condos along the beach near the malls or cicada market.  This area is always quiet and mostly European expats and snow birds at the beach.  

[Boulderman]

22 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Totally safe but also a bit isolated and quiet.

 

For a long stay, I would look at Bang Saen in the north gulf or Phuket in the south for better beaches.

Great information! Thank you!

[frank83628]

21 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

As is usual for this publication, you will hear a peanut gallery of commenters with lists of criticisms that make you wonder why they're even here in the first place, but in my 9 years of going there for 1 week holidays I've found it to be a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful place. As to English speakers, it likely depends where you are. I haven't had any problems. Same with spicy food. you can ask for what you want, or look at the food and spot the red chili bits floating around. 

The binta burgers were awesome if you wanted a break from Thai food.

'under a million sold'

[Boulderman]

14 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I like it there...  Its a nice beach break from BKK within a close drive.... 

 

Hotels a decent, plenty of decent restaurants... 

 

Nowhere to part !! - that part is true...  especially staying at one of the resorts on the strip between HH and Cha-am...    then getting into town in the evenings is a headache...   Basically park somewhere further away and flag a TukTuk... 

 

 

Beach is decent enough outside of 'jelly fish' seasons...   Seafood restaurants are decent.

 

Character of locals is excellent when compared to places like Phuket and Patong (and much of Phuket)... 

 

Expats there seem decent...   it doesn't attract the same 'chavy crowd' as other major towns (mentioned above)...  But its not exactly a 'party night out either'... 

 

Its a trip with good friends, and / or family, beers, food and not late nights.... 

 

 

It kind of does what it says on the tin without any real surprises.

 

----------

 

As per Bob's post - HH did it the news a couple of times fairly recently for the wrong reasons... 

A Westnener (German) randomly attacked another foreigner...  and another time a father and son were randomly attacked by a group of Thai's in a night market...     

 

Both very rare examples - its a fairly chilled place and I think nothing of being in the night market there with my Wife and Son at 9-10pm etc...   when on holiday there.

 

 

 

All great information! Thank you so much!

 

 

[Boulderman]

21 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

As is usual for this publication, you will hear a peanut gallery of commenters with lists of criticisms that make you wonder why they're even here in the first place, but in my 9 years of going there for 1 week holidays I've found it to be a wonderful, peaceful, beautiful place. As to English speakers, it likely depends where you are. I haven't had any problems. Same with spicy food. you can ask for what you want, or look at the food and spot the red chili bits floating around. 

Great pics! Thank you for sharing!