Sam Roi Yot is truly one of the most iconic seaside mountains in Thailand. The Thai name, "Sam Roi Yot" can be translated as "300 peaks" and the moment you see it with your own eyes, you know right away why the Thais named it that way. Sam Roi Yot mountain is surrounded by wetlands and lotus ponds and with almost no obstruction around, you will find plenty of amazing viewpoints to see this iconic mountain from afar.

One of the best viewpoints just off the side of the road heading towards the northern side of Sam Roi Yot National Park is this Sam Roi Yot viewpoint where you will be able to get an unobstructed view of the huge lake around Sam Roi Yot National Park, and the mountain itself looming behind in its full glory. At night, if you time your day carefully during the new moon phase and the sky is clear, you should be rewarded with the view of the Milky Way hovering above Sam Roi Yot Mountain.

As you continue down the road towards Sam Roi Yot Park from the north, you will arrive in a small town called Sam Roi Yot. There, you will find Sam Roi Yot Beach which is a very quiet and secluded white sand beach you can relax in. Sam Roi Yot town has only a handful of small resorts but the beach is long and wide and there are several mountains and islands you can easily explore with a kayak.

There is also plenty of shade here for you to cool down after a swim and you will find only a handful of tourists here. If you are looking for a secluded but amazing beach to spend a nice beach vacation in, you can't go wrong with Sam Roi Yot Beach, or even better, you can spend the night at one of the handful of resorts here and have the whole beach to yourself. They are cheap and located right by the beach.

You can also go camping right by the beach at Sam Phraya Beach, a beautiful white sand beach located in a secluded area within Sam Roi Yot National Park. The campsite is under a shaded area right by the beach and you will have access to the usual facilities like toilets and showers that you can come to expect from Thai national parks. They also have a restaurant there which is pretty good and cheap.

The beach itself is really nice and wide with some soft sand areas closer to the water and it is very quiet and remote. If you are looking for a quiet place to camp by the beach, Sam Phraya Beach is a great place to be. To camp there, you are going to have to pay the Sam Roi Yot National Park entrance fee which is 200 THB for adult foreigners, 100 THB for children, 40 THB for Thais, and 20 THB for children. You can rent a tent and all the other gear if you need which should cost no more than 300 THB. Make sure you prepare mosquito repellent for the night as well if you plan to camp.

Khao Kalok Beach is probably the best beach on this list. The beach is located within the Thao Ko Sa Forest Park in the Pranburi district which is a little closer to Hua Hin than Sam Roi Yot. Khao Kalok Beach has some of the softest and most fined white sands in the area. The sand is soft to the touch making it a great place to lie around on the beach and get some of those tropical tans everyone sought out for.

The beach got its name from a small mountain right by it called Khao Kalok or Skull Mountain which resembled a skull. In the evening, the mountain acts as a shaded area and you can rent a beach chair and have a front-row seat to the amazing ocean view of the Gulf of Thailand. There are several resorts around the area so you can even move here for the night if you want to spend some more time here. You will also have no trouble finding food at Khao Kalok as well as many street foods and fruit vendors often congregate around the area in the evening.

Not too far from Khao Kalok Beach and Hua Hin, you will find a very nice walking trail inside Pran Buri Forest Park, a forest park established to preserve the nearby mangrove forests and educate the locals about their importance as the first-line defense against Tsunamis and storms. The forest park has built a really nice wooden trail that hovers above the Mangrove forest allowing you to get up close to these beautiful trees without disrupting the hundreds of species the mangrove forest is sheltering.

The walking trail goes in a loop and it is 1 km long with most areas under the shade. Right around 2/3 of the trail, you will find a viewing tower where you can go up and see just how expansive the mangrove forest really is. Pran Buri Forest Park's opening hours are between 6 AM to 6 PM and there is no entrance fee for the mangrove forest walking trail. It is a nice quiet walk and a nice place to hide from the mid-day heat of Thailand.

Sam Roi Yot Lotus Pond is a vast and beautiful lotus pond located on the foothill of Sam Roi Yot Mountain. Here, you will find a nice walking path that goes above the lotus pond with several salas (rest stops) for you to enjoy. It is extremely photogenic and really nice for a stroll especially in the morning and evening just before sunset. If you want to see the pond filled with blooming lotus flowers, you will have to visit between December and February.

You can also hire a boat to go around the lotus pond for around 500 THB per boat if you want to get up close to these stunning flowers. Sam Roi Yot lotus pond opens from 8 AM to 6 PM every day. Since the lotus pond is part of Sam Roi Yot National Park, if you haven't bought the ticket before, you will have to pay 200 THB to enter the pond.

Not too far from Sam Phraya Beach, you will find Khao Daeng Viewpoint, a stunning trail that you can hike up to the top of Khao Daeng Mountain and you will be rewarded with an aerial view of the beautiful Sam Roi Yot's coastline in its entirety. The hike itself is moderate that takes around 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete. The trail is clearly marked but it is full of rocks and boulders so you are going to need to wear proper shoes for the hike.

Once you are about to arrive at the top, you will come out into an opening and you will be able to enjoy a 360° panoramic view of the coastline as well as Sam Roi Yot mountain behind. This is where you will be able to really appreciate just how secluded and beautiful Sam Roi Yot's coastline really is. The hike is located within Sam Roi Yot National Park and you will have to pay for the entrance fee if you have not done it yet. It's 200 THB for adult foreigners, 100 THB for children, 40 THB for adult Thai, and 20 THB for children.

One of the most magical sights you can see in Sam Roi Yot, if not the whole of Thailand, is when the light shines through a cavern illuminating a royal throne inside Phraya Nakhon Cave. It is a large cavern located deep in the mountain inside Sam Roi Yot National Park and you will have to take a boat and hike through a forest to get to the cavern.

Once inside you will find an elaborately designed royal throne surrounded by overgrown trees right under the cave's skylight. If you want to see the throne illuminated by a ray of sunlight through the skylight, you will need to be at the cave around 9 - 10 AM. The sun should align perfectly above the ceiling which should shine right perfectly where the throne is. Since the cave is part of Sam Roi Yot National Park, you are going to have to pay the entrance fee of 200 THB (40 THB for Thais) if you haven't done so yet. Phraya Nakhon Cave opens between 8 AM and 4 PM every day.

Now let's head back to Hua Hin and see what this seaside city has to offer. If you are back in Hua Hin in the evening and are looking for street food to indulge yourself in, be sure to drop by Hua Hin Night Market. It has become a so-called traveling tradition for Hua Hin visitors to enjoy the sea and other outdoor activities by day and roam the Hua Hin night market by night. The market happens every single day between 5 PM and 1 AM.

The walking street of the Market is closed entirely to traffic and becomes a focal point for vending stalls, particularly consumer goods and souvenirs. Therefore, when taking a stroll through the Night Market and shopping for some small gifts, visitors can enjoy the tantalizing aroma of grilled seafood. The Hua Hin Night Market is located where Decha Nuchit Road and the well-known Phetchkasem Road cross. Even though the food sold here can be found elsewhere, the distinguished flavors are second to none. Shoppers will definitely enjoy eating and shopping all night.

If you are looking for a tourist attraction to visit near Hua Hin town, Rajabhakti Park is a massive park just off the side of the highway, dedicated to preserving the legacy of the 7 most important kings of Thailand. At Rajabhakti Park, you can take an electric cart or borrow a bike to ride and check out the 7 kings monument where you will find 7 13.5 meters high bronze statues depicting the 7 most revered kings of Thailand, all perfectly lined up in front of a mountain.

You can also learn a little more about these 7 kings and why they are so revered even today. One was the founding father of the current kingdom, one freed the slaves, and one fought back against the Burmese and claimed Thailand its sovereignty back, etc. Rajabhakti Park opens from 8 AM to 5 PM and there is no entrance fee to enter for both Thais and foreigners. You don't even have to pay to borrow a bike to ride around the park. Just ask for one and the entrance and you are all set.