Things to do in Songkhla
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Songkhla
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The driest window and the time to come, with calmer Gulf seas and clear lake light; Songkran falls 13 to 15 April.
Hot with building rain, afternoon downpours and a quieter, cheaper city; keep plans flexible and start early.
The heavy rain season, peaking in November, with flooding risk, rough seas and grey lake days; museums and food still work.
What's on
- Songkran 13 to 15 April
Thai New Year water festival, locally festive at the hot end of the driest window.
- Tang Kuan Chedi Festival October
Cloth procession and alms giving at the Tang Kuan chedi, the city's big temple occasion, in the rain season.
- Loy Krathong November full moon
Floats on the lake and at Samila, a beautiful local evening when the peak rain allows it.
Best things to do in Songkhla
Hub Ho Hin
A red 1914 rice mill on Nakhon Nok Road, now a heritage centre that explains the old town and its lake trade.
Ban Nakhon Nai
A Sino-European merchant house museum on Nakhon Nai Road, with antiques, tiled floors and a calm garden.
Street Art Songkhla
Murals on old town walls along Nang Ngam and side lanes, showing opera singers, food shops and daily life.
Songkhla National Museum
The essential context stop, an 1878 governor mansion holding lower south archaeology, ceramics and folk arts.
Wat Matchimawat
Songkhla's great central temple, Thai and Chinese in detail, with murals of the old port at Hua Khao Daeng.
Samila Beach
The city's pine shaded beach by the mermaid, a local promenade and picnic shore rather than a resort beach.
Golden Mermaid Statue
The bronze mermaid combing her hair on the rocks at Samila, Songkhla's symbol and most photographed point.
Songkhla Tae Raek Walking Street
The Friday and Saturday evening street on Chana Road, with local food, crafts and elder performances.
Where to stay in Songkhla
Old Town
first trip, lanes, food and dawn on the lake
Sleep on Nang Ngam or Nakhon Nai inside the heritage lanes, with breakfast shops and the lake at the end of the road.
Samila Beach
sea view and pool
Face the Gulf and the mermaid shore, with a short ride south into the old town for lanes and museums.
City Centre
logistics and value
Modern and budget hotels near the city wall and museum area, practical for drivers and early market starts.
Phawong
full service resort base with a car
South of the centre on the Tinsulanonda side, home to the city's five star hotel, a drive from the old town.
Think twice about
- Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi districts, southern Songkhla
These southern districts face regular attacks near the Malaysia border. Songkhla city is not in this list.
Best restaurants in Songkhla
Sirada Restaurant Koh Yo
The Koh Yo seafood splurge, lake sea bass and big shared dishes at the island's best known dining room.
Mahadsajan Ko Yo Seafood
A proven Koh Yo seafood room for sea bass, prawns and southern dishes, the island lunch most drivers know.
Sujinda Seafood
The Samila side seafood dinner, fresh Gulf catch by the consulate road, priced by weight so agree first.
Blue Smile Cafe
The old town rooftop cafe on Nakhon Nok, vegetarian friendly, with pizza, Thai plates and lake views at night.
The Secret Garden Pasta Bar
A garden cafe on Raman Road for pasta, cakes and coffee, the old town's gentle non Thai lunch.
Kiat Fang Restaurant
The stew rice institution on Nang Ngam, khao stu and jumbo steamed buns from early morning to early afternoon.
Best coffee in Songkhla
Cafe Der See Nakornnok
A lake side cafe on Nakhon Nok Road for coffee and a slow afternoon looking over Songkhla Lake.
Outdoor things to do in Songkhla
Tang Kuan Hill
The hill between lake and sea, reached by lift or naga stairs, for the one panorama that explains Songkhla.
Songkhla Lake Car Ferry
The seven minute car and foot ferry across the lake mouth to Singhanakhon, cheap, frequent and a joyride.
Songkhla Lake
A longtail charter past stilt villages and fish farms on Thailand's largest natural lake, toward Koh Yo.
Folklore Museum The Institute for Southern Thai Studies
Thirty plus rooms of southern Thai life on a Koh Yo hill, with the best bridge and lake viewpoint on the island.
Wat Laem Pho
The Koh Yo temple by the bridge foot, known for its large golden reclining Buddha and lake views.
Chalatat Beach
The long, quiet local beach south of Samila, for walks and seafood shacks rather than swimming parties.
Best hotels in Songkhla
Laguna Grand Hotel & Spa Songkhla
Songkhla's first five star hotel, a large modern resort hotel south of the centre with spa and pool.
BP Samila Beach Hotel & Resort
The big older beach hotel facing Samila, with a pool and sea view rooms, dated but in the best beach position.
Baan Nai Nakhon
A late 19th century house on Nang Ngam Road turned small boutique hotel, the first choice sleep in the old town.
The Singora Hotel
A modern mid range hotel in the centre, a practical base with a pool within reach of the old town and museum.
The Roo Classic Hometel
A small old town hometel on Nakhon Nai Road, full of art and memorabilia, a short walk from the museum.
Queen Hotel
A simple, central older hotel by the old city wall, cheap, known to drivers and fine for a market early start.
Is Songkhla expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | THB 1,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | THB 2,000 a person |
| Splurge | THB 5,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Baan Nai Nakhon: a few days ahead
- The Roo Classic Hometel: a few days ahead
- Sirada Restaurant Koh Yo: a few days ahead
- Book old town boutique rooms ahead for weekends, because Baan Nai Nakhon and the Roo have only a few rooms each.
- Keep a Friday or Saturday night for Tae Raek Walking Street and a Sunday morning for the railway station market, and confirm both locally.
- Book or arrive early for a Koh Yo seafood lunch on weekends and holidays.
Is Songkhla safe?
- Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi in southern Songkhla face regular attacks near the Malaysia border; Songkhla city is not in that area.
- Do not use the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line as a Malaysia exit without checking the current position first.
- Swim only where locals swim in calm conditions, stay out in monsoon surf, and accept a lake boat cancellation in bad weather.
Songkhla travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Treating Songkhla as a Hat Yai day trip and missing the old town at dawn and the lake at dusk.
- Arriving at the National Museum on a Monday or Tuesday, when it is closed, or at Kiat Fang after 2pm, when breakfast is over.
- Expecting a resort swimming beach at Samila or Chalatat, and carrying loose food among the Tang Kuan macaques.
Getting around Songkhla: public transport and more
- Walk the old town, museum area and Samila; the peninsula city is small and flat.
- Fly to Hat Yai, then van, bus, songthaew or Grab about 30 km to Songkhla city in 45 minutes to an hour.
- Cross to Koh Yo by the Tinsulanonda Bridge by car, Grab or songthaew, and ride the lake ferry as a foot passenger for Singhanakhon.
- Trains serve Hat Yai, not Songkhla city; the old Songkhla station is a heritage landmark, not a working station.
Who Songkhla suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Songkhla your trip
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