Songkhla

South Thailand is not heavily visited these days. Songkhla is one of those sleepy little harbor towns that deserve a bit more attention it gets. The town is situated 30 km north east of Hat Yai.

Songkhla The town has a few excellent hotel accommodations available. As a town with tourist attractions you are also at the right place. There are a few beaches in town, a nice cable car B30 and a decent museum (unfortunately since December 1 2008, the entrance ticket has been raised to a hefty B250.

Songkhla has a boulevard with some stalls and a small park along the seaside. Here you find the locals enjoying their afternoons when the heat of the day is decreasing. Songkhla National Museum

Near the boulevard you find some smaller fishing boats. And part of the seaside is used for growing seawater plants. Next door to the boulevard is the central market located. It's the usual hustle bustle of vegetables, fish, meat and other things people need in daily life.

Just outside the town, on the road to Naratihwat, you will find the Songkhla Zoo.

Just before entering the town center, there's the junction to the beaches of Songkhla. Here you find the famous Songkhla mermaid:

Songkhla fishing village

Of course it is here where the larger fishing boats wait for sailing out. In the heat of the day you can see the fishermen preparing their nets for the next day.

Songkhla mermaid

Getting there

Songkhla is easy assesible from Hat Yai by a wide open and surpringly calm road. From Songkhla you can cycle out south and follow directions to Narathiwat, 100km, which is another sleepy town with a good feel. Yala is nearby, 45km, and although Yala is forgettable, it might be a good point to start your journey south to Betong which is a scenic road and on which you can visit the Bang Lang Dam (the resorts at the dam are all closed, so you have to cycle all the way to Betong in one piece.

Fishermen in Songkhla Going north leads to Nakhon Si Thammarat on a road that mostly follows the coastline and which is also mostly flat. If Phatalung is your destination (from Songkhla), you have to go to Hat Yai and follow Road #4 north. This road is typical for Thailand, short, and sometimes reasonable steep but short climbs.

If Trang is on the list to visit (for going to Krabi), then I would still astay a night in Phatalung unless you started in Hat Yai. In that case cycle to Ban Mae Khiri and follow the smaller and scenic road along the hills. There are several waterfalls to visit before coming back on Road #4 and the last 40 km or so to Trang (with a climb before Trang to do too).

Back to the top of Songkhla

Back to Cycling in South Thailand

Hotels in Hat Yai and Songkhla

For a sleepy little town like Songkhla, there is surpringly good accommodation available.

See our hotels in Hat Yai and Songkhla page

The road to Betong

South Thailand is much underrated. This has of course everything to do with the troubles of Islamic extremism in south Thailand. It's sad that the majority of the people here have to suffer from a few ideologists (idiots, if you ask me).

The road from Hat Yai to Yala and Betong is worth a visit, especially on bicycle. It's a much nicer road to enter Malaysia then traveling to Padang Besar.

Here is more about the road from Hat Yai to Yala and Betong

Surat Thani to Satun

It's a nice road, quite easy to cycle, and with Krabi and Phuket on the way you have two major tourist destinations available, but there is a lot more to see:

Surat Thani to Satun

Home