Hua Hin is Thailand's oldest beach resort, and the one with the most character. About 200 kilometres south of Bangkok on the Gulf of Thailand coast, it has been a royal retreat since the 1920s, when King Vajiravudh had the Railway Hotel built and the royal family began arriving by train for their summer holidays. Klai Kangwon Palace ("Far from Worries") became the favoured residence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and the town has always had a more dignified, settled feel than the flashier beach destinations to the south.
The town itself is genuinely pleasant — the railway station is one of the most beautiful in Southeast Asia, a wooden Victorian-Thai hybrid in royal yellow, and the night market on Dechanuchit Road is the best place to eat in the region. Hua Hin Beach runs for several kilometres; further south the beach quiets down around Khao Takiab hill, where a golden Buddha watches over the bay from above a colony of monkeys.
Golf is the other major draw. Hua Hin has accumulated more golf courses per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Thailand, and the courses use the dramatic limestone hill scenery to good effect. The sea breeze keeps the climate bearable even in the hot season. The rainy season (May to October) brings occasional downpours but rarely all-day rain.