We are planning a trip to the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat towards the end of October. Any suggestions and/or recommendations from people who have been there would be appreciated, such as hotels, restaurants and things to do and see. We would like to go to the beach while in the area. Is there a beach close to the city? I can only find information on beaches near Khanom. Any idea what the weather might be like at that time of year and whether or not the ocean is generally calm enough to swim safely at that time of year? Thanks.

Hi

NST is a relatively quiet place with few western style restaurants. There are two or three big hotels which seem to be comfortable enough, but you should just do a Google search to see the facilities that they offer. The nearest beaches are at Tha Sala and Sichon. Both are really nice and are serviced by nearby facilities. Weather should be good for the most part and the sea should be good for a dip!

If you let me know what you would like to do I will be able to make some suggestions.

You might want to look at this thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633709-what-to-do-where-to-stay-in-nakhon-si-thammarat

Khanom has wonderful beaches, but a 45-60 Minutes drive from NST. Wat Mahatat is exceptional interesting, one of the most important temples in South Thailand, there are very nice unspoilt waterfalls and fantastic, scenic mountains not to far away. Weatherwise however not so good, the North Eastern Monsoon starts end of October.....

Do not stay at the Nakorn Garden Inn..

Comes up on Tripadvisor with some good reviews but it's not good....

You got more answers than I did regarding info on NST !

Hi

NST is a relatively quiet place with few western style restaurants. There are two or three big hotels which seem to be comfortable enough, but you should just do a Google search to see the facilities that they offer. The nearest beaches are at Tha Sala and Sichon. Both are really nice and are serviced by nearby facilities. Weather should be good for the most part and the sea should be good for a dip!

If you let me know what you would like to do I will be able to make some suggestions.

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of the Thai Hotel as it seemed to be centrally located, have the best reviews and was a reasonable price. We are not terribly interested in western style restaurants but any recommendations on Thai restaurants especially seafood would be great. How does one get to Tha Sala or Sichon and are there any guest houses there? Mostly we like to just walk around the town, stop at anything that looks interesting,visit markets and enough a drink at a bar in the evening.

Hi

NST is a relatively quiet place with few western style restaurants. There are two or three big hotels which seem to be comfortable enough, but you should just do a Google search to see the facilities that they offer. The nearest beaches are at Tha Sala and Sichon. Both are really nice and are serviced by nearby facilities. Weather should be good for the most part and the sea should be good for a dip!

If you let me know what you would like to do I will be able to make some suggestions.

Thanks for the reply. We are not particularly interested in western style restaurants but any recommendations on Thai restaurants especially seafood would be appreciated. We were thinking of the Thai Hotel as it seemed to be centrally located, had good reviews and was a reasonable price. Another one that caught my eye was the Chawlada but there were no reviews. How does one get to Tha Sala and Sichon and are there any guest houses there? Mostly we like to walk around town stopping at whatever looks interesting, visiting markets, eating and then a drink or two at a friendly bar in the evening.

You might want to look at this thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633709-what-to-do-where-to-stay-in-nakhon-si-thammarat

Thanks. Looks like an interesting place to visit.

Khanom has wonderful beaches, but a 45-60 Minutes drive from NST. Wat Mahatat is exceptional interesting, one of the most important temples in South Thailand, there are very nice unspoilt waterfalls and fantastic, scenic mountains not to far away. Weatherwise however not so good, the North Eastern Monsoon starts end of October.....

Thanks for the reply. We were hoping for a beach much closer. Might have to rethink this because of the weather. Not much point in going if it is raining all the time.

Do not stay at the Nakorn Garden Inn..

Comes up on Tripadvisor with some good reviews but it's not good....

You got more answers than I did regarding info on NST !

Thanks. i will take your advice.

You may consider a trip to the beaches of Laem Tha Lum Phuk, about 65km

https://maps.google.de/maps?saddr=Nakhon+Si+Thammarat,+Thailand&daddr=%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9C%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%82+4231%2FRoute+4231&hl=de&ie=UTF8&ll=8.530096,100.020905&spn=0.556819,0.617294&sll=8.47441,100.114975&sspn=0.15111,0.220757&geocode=FT6jgAAd8lD1BSmLVqaiFQFTMDHyAl-8QwjjNA%3BFXG4gQAdyWz4BQ&mra=ls&t=m&z=11

Almost no tourists, the beach is more than 3km long, not so much facilities, swallow water.

Opposite of this peninsula is a uniqe little pier, good for relaxing:

https://maps.google.de/maps?saddr=Nakhon+Si+Thammarat,+Thailand&daddr=Route+4102&hl=de&ll=8.500896,100.076866&spn=0.069608,0.077162&sll=8.504036,100.067253&sspn=0.069607,0.077162&geocode=FT6jgAAd8lD1BSmLVqaiFQFTMDHyAl-8QwjjNA%3BFTRXgQAd-dD2BQ&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&t=m&z=14

If you like to swim in a waterfall (more a lot of pools in the flow of the river) I recommend this place in the Khao Lung mountains

https://maps.google.de/maps?saddr=Nakhon+Si+Thammarat,+Thailand&daddr=Route+4102&hl=de&ll=8.500896,100.076866&spn=0.069608,0.077162&sll=8.504036,100.067253&sspn=0.069607,0.077162&geocode=FT6jgAAd8lD1BSmLVqaiFQFTMDHyAl-8QwjjNA%3BFTRXgQAd-dD2BQ&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&t=m&z=14

You are avoiding the crazy entry fees in the National Parks. Of course, if there was (or is) too much rain it is to dangerous.

I cannot remember a taxi service. You can find the usual bike-taxis at the local market close to the railway station, but for long distance?

I was happy to get a scooter from my SIL .

What about a short visit to the provincial museum (some displays with English text) in the Thalad park?

https://maps.google.de/maps?q=8+27+50+n,+99+46+22+e&hl=de&ll=8.452018,99.950894&spn=0.004351,0.004823&sll=8.500896,100.076866&sspn=0.069608,0.077162&t=h&z=18

Not far away there is a small city zoo with a lot of animals almost in touch. But my last visit was February 2011 and with the big flood then everything was inundated. So not sure about the situation now.

I am not interested in seafood. May be my wife or her sister can give some advice.

If yes I add another reply.

I stayed at the "Twin Lotus Hotel" four years ago and was very impressed

October will be quite rainy. The biggest hotel in town is Twin Lotus which is located just opposite to the only Tesco Lotus. Phra Ma Ha Tat temple with the enormous pagoda containing teeth of the Buddha is a must. Khanom seems to be the only decent beach where you can enjoy watching pink dolphin if you have some luck.