Hua Hin Coastal Run
A 387 km loop
Open this ride in the planner →
Why this ride
Built for flow, views and useful stops rather than navigation busywork. Out of Bangkok and back again: 387 km, roughly 7 h 02 in the saddle. It goes by way of Phetchaburi and Hua Hin.
Roadbook
- Bangkok
start
Bangkok is a city you meet with all your senses at once: the smell of charcoal grills and jasmine garlands, the sound of tuk-tuks and boat engines on the river, the heat that reaches you before you step out of the hotel lobby. About five million people live in the city proper and many more in the sprawl around it, and the Chao Phraya river is the thread that still holds the old centre together. The Grand Palace, Wat Pho with its huge reclining Buddha, and the temples of the old quarter sit along its eastern bank, and ferries cross the water for a few baht.
For a rider, Bangkok is the thing to leave early. Traffic is dense, the expressways have tolls, and the junctions are a thicket of motorbikes, so you will want to start at dawn, when the streets are quiet and the air is cooler. Follow the signs for Highway 1 north, or take the expressway and then peel off toward the old capital of Ayutthaya, about eighty kilometres away. Lane discipline is looser than in Europe, and overtaking happens on both sides, but traffic moves in a kind of rhythm you can learn to read.
Weather has a strong hand. The hot season peaks in April and May, with temperatures near forty, and the rains from June to October can drop a month's worth of water in an afternoon. November to February is cooler and drier and by far the best time to ride, though air pollution can be bad in the cool season. Always carry a rain jacket and drink plenty of water.
Bangkok has everything a motorcyclist might need: fuel on every major road, bike shops, 24-hour convenience stores and food at every hour. Start with breakfast at a street stall, perhaps a bowl of rice porridge with pork and a fried egg, and coffee with condensed milk. If you plan to ride a Thai-registered bike, keep your licence, passport copy and helmet with you, as police checks are common. Return in the evening and the river looks different, with the temples lit up and ferries gliding past.
- Phetchaburi
fuel
Phetchaburi is one of Thailand's old royal cities, and its skyline is defined by a hill. Phra Nakhon Khiri, known locally as Khao Wang, rises just west of the town centre, its summit crowned by a nineteenth-century palace built for King Mongkut, Rama IV, a mix of Thai, Chinese and European styles, with white chedis and a small observatory where the king, a keen astronomer, studied the stars. A cable car runs up the hill, and the monkeys that live on its slopes are notorious for grabbing anything shiny or edible, so keep your belongings close.
The town itself is pleasantly unhurried, with old wooden shophouses, temples and a river running through the centre. Wat Mahathat Worawihan, with its five tall white prangs, stands out even in a province full of temples. A few kilometres north, the cave temple of Khao Luang is filled with Buddha images, and on sunny mornings shafts of light fall through openings in the roof, creating a magical atmosphere.
Phetchaburi is famous throughout Thailand for its desserts, many of them made with palm sugar from the sugar palms that grow in the surrounding fields. Khanom mo kaeng, a baked custard made with coconut milk, eggs and palm sugar, is the local speciality, and roadside stalls sell it everywhere. It is worth stopping to try.
As a fuel stop, Phetchaburi is ideal. The town has plenty of fuel stations along Phetkasem Road, Highway 4, the main route south from Bangkok towards Hua Hin and the peninsula, as well as restaurants and convenience stores. The highway is wide and fast, but it carries heavy traffic, including trucks and buses, and motorcycles are expected to keep left. Leave the highway for the smaller roads west of town, towards the forested hills of Kaeng Krachan, and the landscape becomes greener and more varied, with palm groves, rice paddies and limestone hills. The best time to ride is the cool season, from November to February.
- Hua Hin
food
Thai royalty fell for the beach at Hua Hin long before anyone else, in the early twentieth century, when the new southern railway made it easy to reach from Bangkok. King Prajadhipok built a summer palace here in the 1920s and named it Klai Kangwon, which means Far from Worries. Thai kings have spent long periods here ever since, and the town has kept a slightly more refined, less frantic air than many other resorts.
The railway station is a symbol of the town: a small, ornate wooden building painted red and cream, with a royal waiting room that looks like a pavilion from a fairy tale. The beach stretches for kilometres south of the centre, with horses for hire and rows of seafood restaurants on stilts over the water. At the southern end, Khao Takiab, a rocky headland with a temple and a resident troop of monkeys, has fine views back along the coast.
Food is one of Hua Hin's great pleasures. The night market in the town centre is packed with stalls selling grilled seafood, noodles, fruit and desserts, and the seafood restaurants along the waterfront serve fresh crab, prawns and fish at reasonable prices. There are also plenty of cafés and international restaurants catering to the large community of foreign residents.
For riders, Hua Hin is a natural lunch stop and a good base for exploring further south. About an hour's ride away, Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park has limestone hills rising from marshes and mangroves, and the Phraya Nakhon cave, where a royal pavilion stands in a vast chamber lit by sunlight through a collapsed roof. The ride along the coast is pleasant, though Highway 4 is busy, so it is worth seeking out the smaller coastal roads. Fuel and services are easy to find. The cool season, from November to February, is the best time to visit, although even then the midday sun is strong, so start early.
- Bangkok finish