When looking for things to do in Hua hin, Hua Hin viewpoint or Hin lek fai viewpoint is one attraction that comes up on the first page of your google search. As the name suggests, this place gives you a birds eye view of the entire city of hua hin. This site comes under one of King Bhumibol’s (Rama IX) Royal Development Projects and is project number 987.
No entrance fees for this one, it’s completely free. All you need to pay for, is the taxi ride which might cost around 200 baht. Prices may vary depending on your negotiation skills. You will have to pay extra for making the taxi wait as you try and hike to the 5 available viewpoints. An inexpensive option, that is if you are alone or a duo with a driver’s license would be to rent a scooter for a 100-150 baht for 24 hours. Another option would be to walk, this takes you around 50 minutes from the city center. Keep in mind that you have to walk an elevation of about 160 metres. I wouldn’t suggest this option if you are here for a few days and want to make the most of your time and energy. Locals and even a few foreigners do jog up the hill as exercise.
As you enter this attraction you will see a small cafe and a large parking lot where you will find a map to the view points. The map shows that there are 6 viewpoints, however I was only able to find five. Viewpoints 4 and 5 are the most accessible, beautiful, safe and visible. You will get to these two without any trouble.
Viewpoint 4 is straight after the main entrance, where you will see another little entrance, you won’t miss this one, as it has the largest deck or viewing platform amongst the viewpoints
Viewpoint 5 has two viewpoints, one has railings and two levels/ decks and the other is a smaller one which doesn’t have railings and decks, but big boulders. It however seemed safer than viewpoints 2 and 3.
Viewpoint 2 is to the right, right after the main entrance, at the top of the parking lot. Viewpoint 2 isn’t the best but it does have a 360 degree view of the city and the hills. I only found out there were viewpoints other than 4, 5 and 6 here after more than 5 visits here. The signboard for viewpoint 2 was behind a tree after the entrance, so I never noticed it.
Viewpoint 3 is on the same side as viewpoint 2 but at the end of the parking lot. There was no signboard for viewpoint 3, and the road was not very clean either. I did have to cross a few fallen tree branches trying to get to the end of this one.
Do be careful if you go to any other viewpoints except 4 and 5. This is because viewpoints 4 and 5 have railings for safety and also the best view. The other viewpoints have less people and more monkeys. We were able to catch a good hearted thai man feeding the monkeys at view point 2 and trust me there were a lot of monkeys. The monkeys do like to snatch away your food sometimes, keep that in mind. Don’t get frightened if this happens to you, just let them take it and there shouldn’t be any further problems. A monkey snatched my thai ice tea once but sadly had no idea how to use a straw.
In conclusion, viewpoint 4 to 6 are the cleanest and where you will find the most people and viewpoints 4 & 5 are the safest as they have metal platforms and railings. All in all, this is a great place if you want to get away from the city, enjoy some fresh air and nature along with dazzling views of the city, the hills and the sea level horizon.
