Is it safe to go to Songkhla for a short beach holiday?

[ghworker2010]

https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Songkhla/@7.1130718,99.4606744,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x304cd5dcaf092441:0x259b3778ec1d8e12!8m2!3d7.1772008!4d100.612793

 

If so, can you name some nice beaches to visit and a good hotel - mid to high range

thanks

[dddave]

Safety predictions always boil down to the odds of being in the wrong place at the wrong time:

Songkhla would probably have slightly poorer odds than resorts to the north.

[impulse]

Spent last weekend down there.  I love the place.  And I’m a chicken.  

 

Other than the trip to and from the airports, your biggest danger in Songkhla will be teeny boppers on their scooters.  Dodge them and you'll be fine.

 

Beautiful weekend if you like laid back.  Not so great if you're looking for action or nightlife. Or more accurately, I’m not the guy to ask.  Drop in to the Buzz Stop if you want local advice like that (and a good meal).

 

Samila Beach is probably nicest, but the beach in town is great, too.  And there are miles and miles of deserted beach north of the port.  I'm not even aware of any hotels in the high price range...

 

BP Samila Hotel is right on the beach.  Last weekend, it was full.  I haven't stayed there in a while, but the last time was 3-4 years ago and it was obviously a great hotel that had fallen into disrepair.  I'm hoping the fact that it was full is a good sign.

 

Haad Keaw is a nice resort on the beach north of town, but it's all by itself without much else to do.  It's also Muslim focused, which works fine with me because I don't drink or chase women.

 

There's a foreign (German, I think) owned resort several dozen miles north of town that I can't quite name right now.  Never been there, but I have every intention...  Looks great on Hotels.com or Bookings.com.  Which is your best bet for finding a hotel.  Singora, Sun City, Pavillion Beach Rajamangala, all okay but none is great- just a place to sleep.  Take a pass on the Pavillion in town and most of the smaller guest houses. 

 

Some photos from Saturday.  You missed the local volleyball tournament.

Edited August 28, 2016 by impulse

[tifino]

yes, except for the inherent potential dangers of being on the roads in that and neighbouring southern provinces, the drive from Hatyai is fairly simple, comprising wide roads with rice paddys on the side. 

 

With Hatyai the shopping mecca of southern LOS, and travelling via there for the airport, you might even think of dedicating a percentage of an extended visit, to Hatyai itself. e found the Nort eastern part of 'hatyai' a bit unsettling and on the outer of where I would dally around too much.

For any aussie expat, Songkla has a bit of a Noosa feeling about it, and a relaxing sort of town overall.

 

Pity Songkla hasn't a ferry service from the North, but the demand wouldn't be high enough, due to the southern turmoil scaring people away...

 

 

At least the water is cleaner than that of the Pattaya side of the Bay

[impulse]

46 minutes ago, tifino said:

Pity Songkla hasn't a ferry service from the North, but the demand wouldn't be high enough, due to the southern turmoil scaring people away...

 

I wish they'd open up the airstrip in Songkhla town for commuter planes and do away with the worst part of the trip from BKK- the roads to and from the airports.  Which are not much different than roads all over the country.  Okay if your driver is sane,  White knuckle if he's a kamikaze.

[tifino]

26 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I wish they'd open up the airstrip in Songkhla town for commuter planes and do away with the worst part of the trip from BKK- the roads to and from the airports.  Which are not much different than roads all over the country.  Okay if your driver is sane,  White knuckle if he's a kamikaze.

 

much the same problem what happened with the Gothenburg Airport in Sweden - wasted on Helicopters only now

[impulse]

1 hour ago, tifino said:

 

much the same problem what happened with the Gothenburg Airport in Sweden - wasted on Helicopters only now

 

As it is, Songkhla is oh-so-close to being a reasonable 2 day weekend beach getaway from BKK.  If they could land me right on the beach at the Songkhla airstrip instead of losing a couple of hours each way dealing with HDY, I'd go there instead of driving down to Jomtien on weekends.  And there's half a dozen decent hotels- some on the beach road- within a km or two of the airstrip.

 

Instead, I just stretch occasional business trips to Songkhla to include a weekend.  And that's not nearly often enough.

Edited August 28, 2016 by impulse

[DoctorG]

One of my most favourite places in Thailand. Good for bicycle riding around town/beach too.

[Bredbury Blue]

Spent 3 years visiting every fortnight. Like Songkhla, nice town and I always felt safe there. Not great hotels and restaurants but good enough for a short break.

Stayed at quite a few hotels and reckon these are the 3 best.

1. Singora - Centrally located, reasonably comfortable, close to Buzz Stop Irish pub, bars and restaurants.

1. Songkhla Mermaid Hotel - Opened just a few years back. On the beach front. Nice place but lacks a pool if you're on holiday not business.

3. BP Samila - Must have been very grand but now a bit run down. Nice location on the beach. Rooms etc ok but old. Swimming pool but not so great.

[Bredbury Blue]

^If you're visiting with kids then I'd probably stay at one of those beach places but if visiting with no kids I'd stay at Singora. In +30 visits I stayed mainly at Singora. Be aware that hotels in songkhla book up early, seriously - it's all the offshore workers.

[williet98248]

Plenty of good advice here.  My only comment is that I really liked Songkhla.  Laid back, clean and nice beaches.  Your only worry is the traffic as anywhere in Thailand.

[phuketrichard]

Ya all forgot the great choice of seafood and live thai music down the road from the Bp hotel  :-)

[callaway]

Great place and safe as most other areas in Thailand, obviously not talking about the insurgent areas IE Nathariwat. Probably the best hotel, and still cheap, is Rajamangala Mermaid Hotel. Definitely do not stay at the Rajamangala Pavillion. Stayed at the Mermaid a few times and great location across the road from the beach and some nice eating spots along the road. A great seafood restaurant is on the corner next the the mermaid statue about 1 to 2 kilometres from the hotel. I have tried to book online at sites that say they have the Raj Mermaid but access and they do not. Best to locate the phone number and have your lady ring and book. Get the big rooms as they face the beach and have a huge balcony. Also the bedroom is huge and has separate lounge room. Is only about 3000 a night.  

[PaoloR]

Limited choice of up-scale hotels in Songkhla as not many rich tourists visit.

BP Samila is a little run down but is ok and the location is great - until the weekend!

At weekends the road along the beach is crowded with parked vehicles showing off their booming stereo systems and light shows; since they all park next to each other and compete on volume until the noise is unbearable, it is no fun being anywhere near. Make sure you do not have a room overlooking beach road if you want to sleep!

Hotel is very quiet mid-week but is usually full at week-ends with Malaysian visitors. I have got a better price by phoning and booking direct than using the usual on-line booking companies.

 

Many interesting places to visit in the area if you have transport, if you just want to sit on the beach and eat sea food then BP Simila is a good choice.

 

Personally I feel safer there than most places in Thailand and the people are very friendly.

[Roota]

Commercial flights just aren't going to happen into Songkhla Naval Air Station any time soon. For a start, it's only VFR. And Hatyai Airport is just too close.

 

While Songkhla is certainly safe, there is a fair amount of petty crime like bag-snatching. Hatyai is actually safer in that respect, as the Chinese godfathers who run the place don't look kindly on that kind of nonsense, and the punks know it. 

[weegee]

Yes it does seem to be a lot better....clean beaches at last...

And you can come and have a beer with weegee, at his place, while you are there....lol

[Pepper1959]

Have a house in Songkhla, never a single problem, except those caused by my ex. Love the city.

[Bredbury Blue]

The Rajamangala Pavilion Beach Resort is next to the Songkhla Mermaid Hotel. Think they may have a link up but not sure. The latter is new and better.

The cars with the boom boxes - lots of them side by side - are there weekdays last I visited. They are about 5 minutes walk along the beach road from BP.

There used to be an excellent pub on the beachroad a few minutes north of Songkhla Mermaid Hotel callef Dr Cool or something similar. Live thai music, food, beergirls, etc - our company always used it to take visiting guests. I don't know if it's still open.

[impulse]

39 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

There used to be an excellent pub on the beachroad a few minutes north of Songkhla Mermaid Hotel callef Dr Cool or something similar. Live thai music, food, beergirls, etc - our company always used it to take visiting guests. I don't know if it's still open.

 

Dr Cool Burned down a few months ago.  Maybe longer.

Edited August 29, 2016 by impulse

[Bredbury Blue]

Dr Cool, that was it...sad end. More reason to go Buzz Stop ;-)

[Henryford]

Is it safe to go to a bomb making factory for a holiday - ask those killed in Tunisia.

[Stocky]

23 hours ago, dddave said:

Songkhla would probably have slightly poorer odds than resorts to the north.

 

I'd disagree, precisely because Songkhla is where it is there's a far greater awareness of the security issues than in 'resorts to the north'.

[impulse]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

Is it safe to go to a bomb making factory for a holiday - ask those killed in Tunisia.

 

More tourists are killed every day on the roads in Thailand than have ever been killed by terrorists in the entire recent history of Songkhla town.

 

It was one of the landing ports for the Japanese in WWII, so I can't say never...

[Stocky]

Indeed. Beyond the April 2005 bomb that went off outside the Green World Hotel in Songkhla, which hurt no one, has there actually been a bombing in Songkhla town?

[ghworker2010]

Thats what Im concerned about... if there have been any bombs going off lately there

[Stocky]

14 hours ago, ghworker2010 said:

Thats what Im concerned about... if there have been any bombs going off lately there

 

There haven't been any bombs in Songkhla Town since 2005, that was the last and only bombing in the town. The reports you see in the press about bombs in Songkhla refer to the province and take place a long way from Songkhla Town.

[ghworker2010]

Ive just found out from the misus that she wants to stay in hat yai. Is this city safe? Has there been many bombings? How long does it take to get from the airport to the centre. What about the beaches nearby?

[Bredbury Blue]

Is Hat Yai safe? In the 3yr project I worked on (finished) 18 months ago), head office would not permit any staff to stay in HY due to safety concerns,  all had to stay in Songkhla. They were proved right with the HY 2012 hotel bombing while there were no troubles in Songkhla during that period.

 

[ghworker2010]

7 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Is Hat Yai safe? In the 3yr project I worked on (finished) 18 months ago), head office would not permit any staff to stay in HY due to safety concerns,  all had to stay in Songkhla. They were proved right with the HY 2012 hotel bombing while there were no troubles in Songkhla during that period.

 

Thanks for the info. 

 

How long does it take to drive from songkhla to hat yai one way? how far is the airport to songkhla?

 

[Stocky]

Distance from Songkhla to Hat Yai is about 30km and depending on traffic it takes around 25-45 minutes. Hat Yai airport to Hat Yai is about 15-20 minutes. Nearest beach is at Songkhla or a little south to Chana. Hat Yai has certainly seen more incidents than Songkhla; we've lived here for twelve years but have never felt especially worried. In total there have been five attacks on Hat Yai city.

 

• 2014 May 6th : Three improvised explosive devices exploded roughly seven minutes apart wounding eight people. One near police flats, one by a 7-11, one near the railway station.
• 2012 March 31st : Car bomb explosion in the basement Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel damaged that building and an adjacent McDonald's in Hat Yai, killing four and leaving 416 wounded, mainly from smoke inhalation.
• 2007 May 27th : Seven explosions that injured 13 people. Most of the bombs were hidden in garbage bins and detonated nearly at the same time starting 9.00 pm. But one bomb was hurled into JB Hat Yai Hotel and another exploded in front of Hat Yai Garden Hotel.
• 2006 September 16th : The attack consisted of six bombs which were detonated at around 9:30 pm in the Ocean Department Store, in front of the Brown Sugar Pub, a car parking building, Big C shopping mall, the Lee Garden Hotel and Diana Department Store. The bombs were planted on motorcycles and were triggered by mobile phone. Four people were killed and 82 were injured.
• 2005 April 3rd : Three explosions took place between 8:00 to 8:30 pm. A bomb planted in a garbage bin exploded in front of a Carrefour department store in Hat Yai, injuring five and causing minor damage to the building. Shortly after that, a bomb inside a bag exploded at the departure hall of Hat Yai International Airport, killing two and injuring 47. Lastly, a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded in front of Green World Hotel in Songkhla without causing any injuries or deaths nor damage to the building.

 

It's a matter of weighing up the risks, personally I'd rank driving daily between Songkhla and Hat Yai as being far more hazardous than the chance of being caught up in a bomb attack.

 

.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Stocky