Uncategorized

Hua Hin & Bangkok 2016 : Transportation Guide

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the beginning, please click here.

Transport between Bangkok to Hua Hin and around Hua Hin is an important consideration, so i decided to put up a separate post for it, just like i did for my recent travelogues for Korea and Macau.

Transport from Bangkok to Hua Hin

Bangkok is the most likely entrance point for most people, so we’ll start from there. There are two ways to get to Hua Hin (HH), taxi or van.

If by taxi, you can call a private taxi or limousine via the internet or a travel agent. It costs about THB1600 one way, and they can pick you up anywhere in Bangkok, whether at the airport or your hotel.

The cheaper alternative is by van from Victory Monument (VM). VM is a huge roundabout in the centre of Bangkok. Around it in the side streets and traffic islands you can board vans to travel to areas around Bangkok. To get from Don Mueang Airport to VM, at the arrival hall, find exit 6 and turn right. You will see this bus stand:

IMG_20160704_131158

Wait for the orange bus A2 which comes every 30 minutes or so (depending on traffic). It costs an el cheapo THB30 per person (pay to the conductor on board) and VM is the 7th and final stop. You can’t miss the huge roundabout when you reach it. It should take just an hour in normal traffic. When you disembark from the bus, turn left, cross the road using the elevated pedestrian crossing, and you will arrive in a large traffic island surrounded by stalls. The HH van counters are at the centre of the island.

IMG_20160704_145547

Alternatively, you can A1 bus (comes every 5 minutes) which stops at Mo Chit BTS, where you can ride the SkyTrain to Victory Monument BTS. However, this costs more and takes a longer time. If you are arriving via BTS, exit the BTS and walk on the elevated walkway towards the huge circle. When you reach the circle, take a left and descend the first staircase you see and will arrive at island.

If you are lost, just ask around for “Hua Hin van”, and they’ll point you in the right way.

There are actually many companies plying this route, so there are a few places to buy tickets, so my description may differ from others. Once the van fills the 10 passengers, off they’ll go. The trip should take just under 3 hours. Sit back, take a nap or read a book. Before you know it, you’ll reach Hua Hin.

Arriving in Hua Hin

In HH, you will most likely arrive near Hotel Royal Pavilion off Petchkasem Road. I’ve also noticed some other companies stop further up on Petchkasem road nearer to the night market. From there, depending on where you hotel, get to Petchkasem road to board a taxi or tuk-tuk. Our hotel was less than 2km away so we actually walked.

Getting around Hua Hin

HH is a rather small town, and easy to navigate with a tourist map. Most attractions are easily accessible using tuk-tuk. If your negotiation skills are halfway decent, any trip should cost THB100 (THB150 for slightly further destinations). For some of the tourist destinations outside HH, like the floating market, Swiss Sheep Farm, etc., its best hire a taxi for the entire day (9am to 5pm). There are lots of touts around the night market holding signs promoting all the destinations and taxi services. You can try soi 55 between the night market and Jek Be Ak Restaurant. Our taxi was THB2,000 (THB500 per pax) but we haggled down to THB1,300 for one day. In retrospect, it was a very good deal and we were very happy with our driver and car.

Next – we’ll start with the travelogue proper.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *