Last updated on January 25th, 2023 at 07:48 am

Hua Hin is Thailand’s original beach resort as it’s aristocratic roots date back to 1911 when the railroad arrived from Bangkok and some in the royal family built vacation homes here. By the mid-1920s it was a full-fledged resort town for the Bangkok-based nobility with a golf course and a seaside hotel.

Today, Hua Hin is no palm-fringed castaway island. Instead, it’s a mix of city and sea with lively markets, golf courses, water sports, varied cuisine and good accommodations. The beach has white powder sand and the water is relatively clean and clear, although we did observe jelly fish warnings.

Just down the coast at Takiab Bay, you can visit a hilltop Buddhist temple with a spectacular view.  In addition, the Pala-U waterfall, which is located in Kaeng Krachan National Park, is also a great butterfly watching spot.

Vegetarian and Vegan Cafes

The core of Hua Hin is a collection of restaurants, cafes and shops mixed in with sleazy bars, ramshackle guesthouses and massage parlors. The narrow streets are fun to wander and discover new places to browse or eat.

I was amazed to find an actual vegan restaurant which was decent – Hua Hin Vegan Cafe and Wine. Our favorite cafe was The Social Salad. Although not fully vegan or even vegetarian it offers many tasty organic vegan options with a percentage of the profits going to local community projects including tree planting.

Another great option, although is the Ruean Thong Vegetarian Food Restaurant.  Although not fully vegan, they do have a lot of delicious vegan options.  This is a great place to find the vegan version of  traditional and popular Thai food.  The prices here are very reasonable as well.

If you enjoy a nice vegan version of some of the more complicated Thai food options then, Universal Vegan may just hit the spot.  Because this restaurant serves strict Buddhist vegan fare, no garlic or onions are used. Buddhist monks make and serve the food here. Prices were very reasonable here as well.  

Accommodations

The best part of our stay in Hua Hin was our free suite with 2 balconies overlooking the beach. Truly lovely resort with many pools, good food and great accommodations overall.

Since Rob has been travel hacking for years we were able to transfer some of our Marriott Bonvoy hotel points to an airline.  With this transfer we were given a week free stay at a Marriott hotel category 1 through 4.

With that, we were able to cash in our free week at the Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa.

Marriott points always come in handy and the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus Credit Card offers 75K points and an additional 3 free nights stay (through the link above,upon doing a minimum amount of spending). 

In addition we received a number of other upgrades, another free night, etc.,  Having the Bonvoy Titanium status has been very helpful to us in our travels.

There are other accommodations in this city, including many luxury brands, good mid range hotels and nice hostels to choose from.  Here are some of our favorites:

High End – Hyatt Regency Hua Hin

Mid Range –dusitD2

Low Range – The Moon Hostel

 

Wrap Up

Overall Hua Hin was an average resort town with average beaches. If it wasn’t for our amazing and free accommodations I am sure we would have been underwhelmed. Thailand’s south has much better resort towns – Koh Tao and Koh Samui are perfect examples.

Have you been to Hua Hin or to other parts of Southern Thailand?  What was your favorite?  We would love to hear from you!