Hat Yai
Introduction
Hat Yai is a city in southern Thailand, sitting close to the Malaysian border. That position makes it a natural stop for travellers moving between the two countries, and it is one of the larger municipalities in Thailand.
Beyond that, the city is best understood as an urban base for the surrounding district of Amphoe Hat Yai, which extends well past the municipal boundaries. Come here expecting a southern Thai city shaped by its cross-border setting rather than a resort town.
Before you go
Hat Yai grew from a small village into southern Thailand's biggest city after its railway station opened in the 1920s, turning it into a rail junction between southern Thailand and Malaysia. It sits about 60 km from the Malaysian border, and its road, rail and air links have made it a hub for business, education, transport, tourism and shopping. The city has long been a mix of Thai, Chinese and Malay communities, with five Overseas Chinese Associations — Teochew, Hokkien, Hainanese, Cantonese and Hakka — and a Chinese-influenced old quarter around the railway station. Expect a Buddhist majority alongside a significant Muslim minority and smaller Christian, Hindu and Sikh communities, with Thai wats, Chinese shrines and temples, mosques, churches and a gurudwara. Southern Thai is the everyday dialect, Central Thai is used in offices and schools, many older Thai-Chinese speak Teochew, many ethnic Malays speak Pattani Malay, and English is mostly found among tourism workers and educated young people.
Plan around two seasons: a dry stretch from January to April, hottest early in the year, and a wet season from May to December, when major flooding occasionally hits in November or December. Security checks such as bag searches and metal detectors are common in gathering places, and you can check water levels during the monsoon and air quality online before you travel. Maps and brochures are available from the Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Hat Yai, and there is a separate Tourist Assistance Centre at the corner of Odean Shopping Mall. Save the emergency numbers: 1669 for medical emergencies, 191 for police, 1155 for tourist police, and 199 for the fire station.
Getting there
Hat Yai is served by an international airport, with the terminal located off Phetkasem Road via Highway 4135. On arrival you can pick up a taxi at the airport entrance, use the airport limousine service, or take a blue songthaew from the far end of the parking lot into town. A pink minivan also runs to the city, with its ticket counter on the right near the taxi counters and the stop just past the exit; allow roughly an hour and a quarter to reach the main bus station, so plan ahead if you are connecting onward. The airport has restaurants, ATMs, currency exchange, left luggage, post service, VAT refund, and car rental from Avis, Budget, and Master Car Rental (Sixt). A Siam Commercial Bank booth sits on the first floor near the arrival hall, and the limo/minibus staff will exchange ringgits or US dollars, though at a poor rate. Domestic routes link Hat Yai with Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Udon Thani, while international flights connect to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. By rail, Hat Yai Junction Railway Station sits near Robinson Department Store and is a main stop on the southern line linking Bangkok to Butterworth and Kuala Lumpur. Five trains a day run from Bangkok, with Express and slower Rapid services passing through Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Hua Hin, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Phatthalung. Buy tickets at the station, since agents and online sellers add surcharges. From Malaysia, frequent and comfortable trains run to Butterworth, and a shuttle connects Hat Yai with Padang Besar to meet Malaysian ETS trains; tickets for the shuttle go on sale an hour before departure and cannot be reserved. Note that Malaysian time is one hour ahead of Thai time, and there is no ATM or official currency exchange at Padang Besar station, so change enough money before you travel. If the shuttle does not suit your schedule, a local bus from the clock tower in central Hat Yai or a minivan from the bus terminal will get you to the border. By road, many Malaysians and Singaporeans drive in; Thailand drives on the left, and from immigration at Dannok you take Route 4 straight to Hat Yai. Parking in business areas such as Niphat Uthit Road is charged during office hours, so keep small change ready, and note that petrol is pricier than in Malaysia, though large stations double as rest stops with minimarts, coffee shops, and food courts. Long-distance buses and minivans arrive at the main bus station near CentralFestival Hatyai, which handles buses to Bangkok and beyond plus minivans to Songkhla, Padang Besar, Betong, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, while the minivan station in the Hat Yai Nai area serves Satun, Phatthalung, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Phuket. Buy only from ticket counters and ignore touts, including tuk-tuk drivers at the bus station, or you will pay more for a later departure.Getting around
Hat Yai's tourist centre sits close to the train station and is compact, covering parts of the city's oldest roads: Nipat-u-thit 1, 2 and 3 Road, known locally as Sai Nueng, Sai Song and Sai Saam (Road One, Road Two, Road Three). You can walk around this core, but reaching most attractions will require some form of transport. Be prepared for traffic: Hat Yai has become Thailand's most congested city, and a 10 km journey can take around 24 minutes on average.
Tuk-tuks and motorbike taxis are abundant and can be found from any hotel, but fares are negotiable and often overpriced, so haggle before you set off; ask your reception to write your destination in Thai for the driver. Metered taxis ("taxi meter") suit you if you want air conditioning without the haggling, and Phromsut Transport is best reserved in advance. Songthaews — modified light trucks with benches in the covered tray — run fixed, colour-coded routes with fares written on the vehicle in Thai, and you can flag one down anywhere along the route by pressing the buzzer. The blue songthaew links the airport with Tesco Lotus 2, the minivan station at Talat Kaset, Kim Yong Market, the clock tower, the fountain roundabout, Big C Extra, Kho Hong T-junction, Tesco Lotus 1, Green Way Market, the ASEAN Trade Market and the bus station. The red or maroon number 33 runs between the bus station and Koh Me via Diana, Kim Yong Market, the clock tower, Big C Extra and Hatyai Park — check the number, as similarly coloured songthaews serve other routes. A white songthaew connects Hat Yai Nai, Hatyai Park and Kuan Lang via Kim Yong Market, the clock tower and Big C Extra. For your own wheels, car rental desks at the airport include Avis, Budget and Master Car Rental, while motorbikes and scooters can be rented from guesthouses and some repair shops, usually with your passport as a deposit.
Where to stay
Hat Yai has an abundance of accommodation, and travel agents around town can nearly always get you a better rate than booking directly with a hotel. Demand is driven mainly by weekend trade from Malaysia and Singapore, so you can find a room very easily mid-week, while hotels in the centre of town tend to book up for weekends and Malaysian and Singaporean public holidays. In budget hotels you may be asked if you want company; a shake of the head is all that is needed, and it is no reason to be put off the hotel.
- Budget: options include the Hatyai Genting Hotel on Samchai Rd, about 1.5 km east of the city centre, described as airy and better than most hotels at its price, with clean rooms, free Wi-Fi, TV, big fridge, air-con and hot water, plus cheap massages and a gym downstairs; the Indra Hotel on Thammanun Withi Rd near the market and transport agents, where you are strongly advised to see the room before booking; the Laem Thong Hotel on Thammanun Withi Rd, a block from the railway station, with fan rooms; and Louise Guesthouse near the train station and Robinson shopping mall, with big rooms and European toilets, though staff friendliness fluctuates and bedbugs and old, sagging mattresses have been reported.
- Mid-range: the Diamond Plaza Hotel and Golden Crown Plaza Hotel on Nipatuthit 3 Rd, the latter with very nice, comfortable standard rooms; the Grand Pink Hotel next to Lee Gardens Plaza Mall, clean and inviting with huge bathtubs and masseuses on the premises; the Hi-Season Hotel on Ratyindee Rd; King's Hotel on Nithakuthit 1 Rd in the heart of commercial Hat Yai, a block from the railway station, with English cable TV, hot shower, free Wi-Fi and a much-needed fire escape; Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel above the plaza of the same name; the New Season Hotel on Prachathipat Rd, a deluxe option with non-smoking floors, city and mountain views, in-room internet, safety deposit boxes and minibars, plus an on-site Thai massage and a coffee shop; Siam City Hotel on Nipatuthit 2 Rd with decent city views but a dated feel and no English TV channels; Tune Hotel on Nipatuthit 2 Rd, where air-con, towels, toiletries, cable TV and Wi-Fi cost extra; V.L. Hatyai Hotel on Niphatuthit 1 Rd; and Winstar Hotel on Sripuwanart Rd next to Diana Complex Shopping Center, decorated in Chinese modern style with a beer park, restaurant, coffee shop and Thai massage.
- Splurge: the Asian Hotel on Nipatuthit 3 Rd, one of the older bigger hotels with basic facilities; BP Grand Suite Hotel on Sanaehanusorn Rd; Centara Hotel Hat Yai on Sanehanusorn Rd next to the Central Department Store and opposite Lee Gardens Plaza; and the President Hotel on Phetkasem Rd, with pretty large rooms, air-con, free Wi-Fi, TV and OK room service.
Food & drink
Hat Yai's food scene is smaller than Bangkok's but broad, and its ethnic mix shapes what you'll eat: Thai, Chinese and Malay (Muslim) cooking all have a firm footing, and because the city has a large resident Muslim population, halal food is easy to find. Most restaurants serve Thai, Chinese or Western fusion dishes, and international chains such as KFC, McDonald's, Sizzler, Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, Mister Donut, Swensen's, Dairy Queen and Starbucks have branches in town, mostly inside shopping malls alongside local chains like MK Restaurant, S&P, Chester's Grill, The Pizza Company, Fuji Restaurant, Shabushi and Oishi Ramen. Many malls also have food courts. Ethnic Chinese visitors from Malaysia and Singapore make up much of the tourist trade, so plenty of places cater to them — look for the restaurant opposite Lee Gardens that spit-roasts suckling pigs daily, and the large open-air seafood restaurants, where the seafood is good. Vegetarians are served too, by small restaurants offering tofu and soy meat substitutes.
Street food is everywhere, and some hawkers stay open very late. For a concentration of night hawkers, head to Suphasarnrangsan Rd around Wat Cheu Chang near Kim Yong Market, to Tanrattanakorn Rd at Talad Mai, or to Thung Sao 1 Rd; there are also small roadside places along Nipha Phakdi alley behind the Florida hotel. The city's signature dish is its simple local fried chicken, eaten with sticky rice and sweet chili sauce and sold by vendors across town — elsewhere in Thailand it's simply called Hat Yai fried chicken. For dim sum, Chok Dee Tae Tiam near the Daiichi Hotel is among the best known and fills up fast, so arrive early; Khor Nang Tae Tiam near Tune Hotel is another local favourite. Halal options include Bang Farang Restaurant, a small cosy spot within walking distance of the bus station, ASEAN Market and Green Way market, serving genuine spicy Thai food, fresh fruit juices and coffee; Decha Fried Chicken, which also does seafood, Thai and Isaan dishes; Cha-Chak Forseen, with grilled chicken and salmon steak, beef skewers, murtabak, roti and teh tarik; and Hamid Restaurant on Prachathipat Rd. Namaste Hatyai serves Indian-Thai cooking — biryani, murtabak, roti, chapati and lassi, with no pork or beef. Japanese restaurants cluster on the 4th floor of CentralFestival, and you'll also find Marichan and a Korean barbecue buffet. Thai and Chinese choices range from the panoramic buffet at the top of Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel to cheap, busy spots like 192 Rat Na, known for fried rice, and Nai Roo, a small Thai-Chinese restaurant where the fried popiah, tom yam omelette and fish dishes go quickly at meal times. Bon Khao in Hat Yai Park pairs Thai food with a view over the city, while Thong Poon is one of the few Vietnamese restaurants in town. For Western food, try Dé Van Cuisine for Italian or Gäp's Garten for German food and beer.
Thamanoonvithee Road is the main nightlife district. Be aware that Hat Yai has a reputation for prostitution, mostly aimed at visitors crossing from Malaysia, and the industry keeps a low profile — there are no Bangkok-style go go bars. Venues include Bee Club, with live music, pool upstairs and decent food; Co Art, a cafe-style hangout with a live band most days covering well-known songs; Deep Wonder, a street-side and downstairs bar with live music; and Living Room on Thamannoonvithee Rd, a fairly quiet place that is no longer a nightclub.
What to see and do
Hat Yai Park is the city's main recreational space, set a short drive from the centre and covering a large, hilly area. You'll find flowering plants, a pavilion in the middle of a pond, an aviary and food stalls, with a statue of King Rama V near the aviary, a Brahman shrine at the hilltop and a jade Guanyin statue at the southern foothill near the Boy Scout camp. The distances between attractions are considerable and the roads can be steep and winding, so plan on a full day and plenty of stamina if you intend to walk. The Art and Culture Center sits near the pond, and the Lantern Festival is held beside it. A cable car connects Phra Buddha Mongkol Maharaj with Thao Maha Phrom, with a tram service running to the Hat Yai Ice Dome, and a deep-sky observatory stands near Phra Buddha Mongkol Maharaj. Elsewhere in the city, Wat Hat Yai Nai houses a large reclining Buddha, the Sino-Portuguese townhouses on Nipatuthit 1 Rd have been repainted in vivid colours, and the Stainless Steel Pagoda on Kho Hong Hill is a distinctive structure built to mark King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 60th year on the throne. The Songkhla Central Mosque lies just off the road towards Songkhla.
For food, head to Khlong Hae Floating Market, the first of its kind in southern Thailand, which sells mainly local dishes. Further afield, Khao Nam Khang National Park has two waterfalls and a large man-made tunnel once inhabited by Communist insurgents, while Ton Nga Chang Waterfall, in a wildlife sanctuary, has seven levels and is at its most striking at the third. Birdwatchers can hire a boat at Khu Khut Waterfowl Park or visit Thale Noi Waterfowl Reserve, best in the early morning. The city's calendar is busy: Chinese New Year is celebrated widely, the Midnight Songkran brings water fights and concerts, and the Vegetarian Festival, Loi Krathong and Tham Bun Duean Sip all fall during the year. For entertainment, there are multiplexes and an IMAX theatre, and Thai massage is widely available.
When to go
Hat Yai has a simple two-season year, so your timing mostly comes down to how you feel about heat and rain. The dry season falls early in the year and is also the hottest stretch, bringing strong heat and little rain. If you want straightforward conditions for being out and about in the city, this is the easier window.
The wet season then dominates a long stretch of the year, with rain the main feature. Major flooding occasionally occurs in November or December, and travel late in the season can be disrupted by high water, so plan around that risk if your trip falls at the tail end of the year.
Three days in Hat Yai
Day one: Start in Hat Yai itself, the commercial heart of Amphoe Hat Yai in southern Thailand, where Thai, Chinese and Malaysian influences meet. Expect a mix of communities — Southern Thai and Central Thai, Malays and Pattani Malay, plus Teochew, Hokkien, Hainanese, Cantonese and Hakka speakers whose roots run through the Overseas Chinese Associations. Places of worship reflect that mix: Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Sikh. Thai and Malay are the everyday languages, with English useful in tourist areas. Plan around the weather rather than against it: November and December bring heavy rain, while January, April and May are warmer and busier.
- Eat your way through Thai, Chinese and Malay cooking, and look for Malaysian favourites on the same tables.
- Use the Tourism Authority and Tourist Assistance Centre for orientation and Security advice.
- Pick up Maps before you set out; Hat Yai is easy to navigate once you know the main streets.
Day two: Go beyond the city centre and let Hat Yai be your base for the wider south. Come back into town for the evening, when the food stalls and shophouses are at their liveliest. That rhythm — day trips out, nights in the city — suits Hat Yai well.
Day three: Slow down and take in the cultural layers you may have rushed past. It is worth seeking out the Chinese association halls and the neighbourhood temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras that sit within a short distance of one another. If your visit falls in January, April, May, November or December, build in slack for weather and crowds. Before you leave, confirm onward travel to Malaysia and the rest of Thailand, and keep the Tourist Assistance Centre details handy.