Songkhla travel guide

What is Songkhla like?

Songkhla is a quiet old town and a beach next to the south's big city: the party is in Hat Yai, and Songkhla is for a sunset at Samila Beach, a walk through the old town and the weekend night market.

This Songkhla travel guide is how I'd plan it for a group: base in Hat Yai for the big evenings, and take the car to Songkhla for an afternoon and a long dinner. Hat Yai has its own guide.

Is there nightlife in Songkhla?

Songkhla nightlife is quiet on purpose: a market, a seafood dinner and a drink by the water. The real night is in Hat Yai, 25 kilometres inland and 30 to 40 minutes by car.

• Hat Yai nightlife: the big southern city night.
• Trang nightlife: beer gardens and dim sum.
• Hat Yai to Koh Lipe: the route to the islands.

Ask Tanner to hold the Hat Yai table for when you get back.

When is the Songkhla night market?

The Songkhla night market, the Tae Raek walking street, fills Chana Road by the old city wall on Friday and Saturday evenings. It's listed from 5pm to 10pm, with the stalls setting up from about 4pm.

Tanner's take: Time the Songkhla trip for a Friday or Saturday. Walk it while the stalls are still setting up and you get the pick of the food before the crowd.

• Songkhla Tae Raek street fair, Chana Road, Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 10pm

Ask Tanner to land you there on a Friday.

What is Samila Beach famous for?

Samila Beach is home to the town's symbol, the Golden Mermaid, Ngueak Thong, sitting on a rock at Laem Samila, the Tourism Authority of Thailand says (checked November 2026). The story behind it is a local legend of fishermen who saw a mermaid on the shore.

Samila is the beach to know: come late in the afternoon for the light, the mermaid photo and seafood nearby.

For the view over the town and the sea, Khao Tang Kuan is the hill above the beach, about 105 metres above sea level, open daily from 8:30am to 6pm with a ฿30 fee, TAT says (checked November 2026). Take the funicular or the 305 steps to the old chedi at the top.

Tanner's take: Mermaid photo at 5pm, the funicular up Khao Tang Kuan for the last light, then seafood. Late afternoon is when the light is best on both.

• Samila Beach, the Golden Mermaid at Laem Samila

Ask Tanner to have the car at the mermaid by 5pm.

What is in Songkhla old town?

Songkhla old town runs along Nakhon Nok and Nakhon Nai roads: narrow lanes of Hokkien-style shophouses, some with their build dates painted in Thai, and murals of food carts and fishermen.

Songkhla was once the Sultanate of Singora, a mix of Thai, Malay and Hokkien cultures, and you see all three on one short walk.

The old town is the main reason to come to Songkhla rather than stay in Hat Yai. The city sits on Songkhla Lake, about 1,040 square kilometres and the largest natural body of water in Thailand, says the Thai government's official travel portal (checked November 2026).

Tanner's take: Walk the old town in the late afternoon, when the shophouses are in shade, then the night market on Chana Road if it's a Friday or Saturday.

• Nakhon Nok and Nakhon Nai roads, the old town shophouses and murals

Ask Tanner for a lakeside table after the walk.

What should you eat in Songkhla?

Songkhla's food is seafood and street food: lakeside seafood restaurants, grilled squid and the night-market stalls on Chana Road.

The best evening for street food is the Friday or Saturday market on Chana Road. For a sit-down dinner, take a long table at one of the seafood restaurants on Songkhla Lake, and bring cash from Hat Yai for the whole group.

Tanner's take: Grilled seafood by the lake for dinner, then the night market for dessert.

• Songkhla Lake, seafood restaurants
• Chana Road, weekend street food

Ask Tanner to book the lake table for the group.

How do you get to Songkhla?

Songkhla is about 25 kilometres from Hat Yai, 30 to 40 minutes by car or songthaew. The city has no airport, so Hat Yai International is the gateway: about 1 hour 30 minutes from Bangkok's Don Mueang, with AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, Nok Air and Thai Airways on the route.

For a group, our luxury van for up to 4 runs from ฿6,500 for 10 hours, with the party van for up to 10. The driver waits while you eat and brings everyone back to Hat Yai.

Plan it with Tanner, and the car's waiting in Hat Yai.

Is the deep south safe?

Yes, for the places a group goes. The UK Foreign Office (updated 12 October 2026, checked November 2026) advises against all but essential travel to Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, to four districts in southern Songkhla province, Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi, and on the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line. Songkhla city and Hat Yai aren't on that list, and that's where we plan every day and evening.

Ask Tanner how he plans the far south for your group.

When is the best time to visit Songkhla?

February to April is the best time for Songkhla, the dry months on the Gulf coast. The wet season runs October to January: the Thai Meteorological Department recorded heavy to very heavy rain in Songkhla in November 2025 (checked November 2026).

Friday or Saturday is the best evening, for the night market. Check the Buddhist holy days before you pick dates: ordinary bars and restaurants stop selling alcohol on those days, while licensed entertainment venues and hotels are exempt, so we plan the evenings around them.

Ask Tanner which weekend fits your dates.

A Songkhla day from Hat Yai

Leave Hat Yai at 3pm and walk the old town while the light is soft. At 5pm, the Golden Mermaid on Samila Beach, then the funicular up Khao Tang Kuan for the view.

Grilled seafood by the lake for dinner, the Chana Road night market if it's a Friday or Saturday, and the car back to Hat Yai for the late part.

Tanner's call: do it on the Saturday, then finish in Hat Yai. Ask Tanner to have the car wait while you eat.

Songkhla in short

• What it is: a quiet old town and beach on the Gulf, about 25 km from Hat Yai, beside Songkhla Lake, Thailand's largest natural body of water.

• Of the Songkhla beaches, Samila is the one to know, for the Golden Mermaid and the sunset. Best months: February to April.
• The Songkhla night market on Chana Road runs Friday and Saturday, 5pm to 10pm.
• The old town is Nakhon Nok and Nakhon Nai roads; Khao Tang Kuan is the 105 m hill above the beach.
• There's no airport: fly into Hat Yai, about 1 hour 30 minutes from Bangkok, then 30 to 40 minutes by road.
• Bring cash from Hat Yai for the market stalls.

Checked November 2026.

After Songkhla

After Songkhla, the group heads back to Hat Yai for the night, or on to the Andaman islands.

• Hat Yai nightlife: the big night in the south.
• Southern Andaman travel guide: Koh Lipe, Koh Yao and the quiet islands.
• Where to go in Thailand: every region at a glance.

Ask Tanner to link the islands to your trip.