Which Route From Bangkok To Hua Hin (driving)?

[trader1]

where do I get onto the main route to Hua Hin, (beginning journey from Sukumvit 1)?

[justwilliam]

I made this same journey (from Bumrungrad Hospital) every month for three years. The following is my suggestion.

1. From Soi 1, drive through Bumrungrad to Soi 3, and turn right onto Soi 3 (it is one-way).

2. Proceed the 500 yards or so to the traffic lights at the junction with Sukhumvit, and turn right at the lights.

Make sure you enter Sukhumvit with the central reservation on your LEFT (it is a six-lane road with a central reservation. Five of the six lanes are in-bound to Bangkok, and the far right lane is outbound. You need to be in the 4th or 5th lane from the left, inbound.

3. Go straight on Sukhumvit for 700 yards or so to the first set of traffic lights, passing under the expressway (do NOT turn onto the expressway here). Turn right at the traffic lights onto Witthayu, which is one-way.

4. At the traffic lights at the end of Witthayu (about 1000 yards, tee junction), get into the far right lane and turn right onto Phetchaburi (which is two-way).

5. Stay in the right-most outbound lane on Phetchaburi and turn right again in 100 yards at the traffic lights underneath the expressway.

This is the entrance to the expressway in the southerly direction.

6. Once you are on the expressway, follow signs for Dao Khanong. You will cross the river on the Rama IX bridge, and then follow signs for Samut Sakhon.

This is Highway 35. Stay on this road through Samut Sakhon and Samut Songkhram, and follow signs for Phetchaburi. After the left turn at Pak Tho, you will be on Highway 4. Pass through Khao Yoi, Phetchaburi, and Tha Yang.

7. About 18km after Tha Yang, turn left following signposts to Cha-am. Pass straight through the traffic lights at Cha-am, and keep straight on, and you will enter Hua Hin 20 minutes later.

[trader1]

wooh, excellent!

Just the details I need to get onto highway 35 without any wrong turns!

[SHDWFX]

Great reply Justwilliam! I also found that very informative. Actually though you would do me a very great favor if you would write another response. But in the reverse direction -- Hua Hin to Bangkok. Assume that the destination was Sukhumvit. I can get to the bridge but I am utterly confused about how to navigate the expressways in the city. Any reply would be much appreciated!

[justwilliam]

This is somewhat trickier, but I shall do my best to respond.

There are no exits directly onto Sukhumvit from the northbound expressway, so you have to exit the expressway system on either Phetchaburi and then make your way south to Sukhumvit, or on Rama IV and then make your way north.

I recommend you decide where on Sukhumvit you are going, and on which side of Sukhumvit your destination lies, before you decide how to get there. This is because opportunities to make U-turns on Sukhumvit are few and far between, and the traffic is often very slow for considerable distances.

I'll offer two suggestions; one is the route I use to go to Bumrungrad on Soi 3, and the other to go to Emporium on Soi 24. Needless to say there are other options, but other people will have to help you there.

Soi 3, from Phetchaburi

After you cross the Rama IX bridge, keep to the right-most two lanes and follow signs to Bang Na and Din Daeng. The road will bear to the right, and then climb onto an elevated section. After you pass the Central Eyesore department store on your left, you should move into the right-most lane.

At approximately 5 km from the Rama IX bridge, you will approach an expressway junction where the road splits three ways. The left two lanes peel off towards Bang Na, and immediately after that there is an exit ramp on the RIGHT that is signposted Din Daeng. You must take this exit towards Din Daeng.

You will find yourself on a long, winding connecting ramp that will eventually lead you to the northbound lanes of the expressway. Merge into the expressway traffic, but stay in one of the left lanes.

In about 2-3 km take the exit on the left, signposted Phetchaburi.

Almost immediately after you have joined the exit ramp, you will encounter a fork. I can't remember the inscription on the direction you need, but you DO NOT want to go to Pratunam. Go the other way.

About 200 yards further on there is another fork. This time it doesn't matter which one you take since they both go the same way, but I suggest you take the left fork, it's not as narrow as the right fork.

The ramp will descend and make a sharp turn completely back upon itself under the expressway you just exited. You will be able to marvel at the astonishing engineering of the Bangkok expressway ramps. Follow the ramp to the end, and turn left onto Phetchaburi (outbound from Bangkok).

(You are going to be turning right again in about 500 yards, so you need to merge into the traffic on Phetchaburi, and cross the 4 or 5 lanes of traffic as quickly as you can to get into the right hand lane outbound).

At the first set of traffic lights (500 yards), you need to turn right, onto Sukhumvit Soi 3. Be advised that this is no ordinary junction. In addition to the usual cross-roads layout where the traffic lights are located, about 30 yards before the actual cross-roads there is a slip road on the right that leads into Soi 3, and this is where almost everybody makes their right turn. The advantage of this is that you don't have to wait for the lights to turn green to make your right turn.

To use the slip road you need to be in the right-most lane, and since on this stretch of Phetchaburi they change the direction of certain lanes during the rush hours, you need to watch the other traffic to determine which exactly is the right-most lane. There is usually some competition to get into this lane, so you may have to be assertive.

If all else fails, you can still turn right at the traffic lights in the usual manner (but that's less fun).

Once you are on Soi 3, which is one-way, you can proceed the 900 yards or so to Sukhumvit, and then turn left or right as you wish.

Soi 24, from Rama IV

After you cross the Rama IX bridge, keep to the right-most two lanes and follow signs to Bang Na and Din Daeng. The road will bear to the right, and then climb onto an elevated section. After you pass the Central Eyesore department store on your left, you should move into the right-most lane.

At approximately 5 km from the Rama IX bridge, you will approach an expressway junction where the road splits three ways. The left two lanes peel off towards Bang Na, and immediately after that there is an exit ramp on the right that is signposted Din Daeng.

The lane that you are occupying goes straight on, and you should go this way, following (hard to see) signposts to Rama IV.

Descend the long ramp (keeping to the left) and turn left at the end onto Rama IV (inbound). Stay in the second lane from the left on Rama IV (the left-most lane is reserved for buses, and you may find yourself making a contribution if caught there).

After 800 yards you will see the Thai-Belgian Bridge in front of you. Keep to the left, and do not enter the bridge. There are two lanes of traffic passing to the left of the bridge, and you need to be in the right hand of these two lanes. Look for the U-turn sign, and make a U-turn back onto Rama IV, in the outbound direction. Keep going outbound on Rama IV until you pass under the expressway you recently exited.

Now you have a choice of northbound routes to Sukhumvit. The first opportunity is Ratchada Phisek, which is about 700 yards past that expressway you just came under. Turn left at the lights, and this will take you to Sukhumvit at the junction with Asoke.

The second opportunity is Sukhumvit Soi 24. To get there, go straight on Rama IV under the flyover at Ratchada Phisek. In about 400 yards or so, Rama IV veers to the left, and 200 yards later back to the right. Immediately past the peak of this right veer(?), you must turn left off of Rama IV. The road you need is signposted Sukhumvit Soi 24 and Soi 22, and is easy to miss.

In 100 yards after you have turned left, you must turn right onto Soi 24 (otherwise you will end up on Soi 22, not a disaster unless you are headed for Emporium). Stay on Soi 24 for one km, and then you will encounter Sukhumvit, where you can turn left or right. If you are brave enough to challenge the Emporium rabbit-warren of a car park, it's on the left about 50 yards before you get to Sukhumvit.

Bon voyage.

[SHDWFX]

Thanks again, Justwilliam. I am going to print these out and keep them for reference. I think I better keep working on my teleportation rematerializer ideas. I may get that working before I care to take my chances driving the overland route.

[justwilliam]

SHDWFX,

I spent a couple of years in and around Milan circa 1970. Compared to that, driving in Bangkok is like a leisurely stroll in the park.

And when you have finished your teleport machine, please let me know -- I'd like to see my kids more often!

Bill

[taxexile]

careful at this sign , it has sent more than a few drivers the wrong way !

[justwilliam]

Taxexile is quite correct. The first time I drove from Bangkok to Phetchaburi, back in around 1996, I went the wrong way when confronted with this very signpost.

It is located on the elevated section of the expressway, one km or so after you have descended from the Rama IX bridge, in the outbound direction. As I mentioned before, after you have crossed the bridge you should be following signs for Samut Sakhon, which means you should be taking the right fork at this junction, in order to turn left on to Highway 35.

[Sinclair]

Hi everyone,

Assuming you stay in Sukhumvit, but rather in the area of Thonglo or Ekamai, you may find this useful:

http://www.onlychaam.com/docs/route/route_chaam-bangkok.html

http://www.onlychaam.com/docs/route/route_bangkok-chaam.html

It shows the route from Bangkok to Cha-am and back, with short instructions and pictures of many roadsigns.

[SHDWFX]

Thanks also Sinclair. Those are very informative and useful links. With the pictures showing the turns even I could probably do it. I'm still not giving up working on my teleporter though. Cheers.