Things To Do in Hat Yai & the Best Day Trips from Hat Yai

Hat Yai & Songkhla, Thailand · A local guide from Peter & Wasita

Hat Yai is the biggest city in southern Thailand and, for most international visitors, the front door to the region. Flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok land at Hat Yai International Airport (HDY), trains and buses roll in from Malaysia, and within an hour of arriving you're eating something excellent. What surprises people is how much there is to do just outside the city — and how few visitors get around to it.

We're Peter and Wasita, and we live on the shore of Songkhla Lake about half an hour from central Hat Yai. We get asked the same question constantly by guests: "We've got a day or two here — what should we actually do?" This is our honest answer, covering the best things to do in Hat Yai itself and then the day trips that, in our view, are what make a trip here memorable.

Things To Do in Hat Yai City

Hat Yai is a commercial city rather than a resort town, and it's honest about that. It's built for eating, shopping and moving on — which makes it a brilliant base and a slightly thin destination in its own right. Here's what genuinely earns your time.

1. Hat Yai Municipal Park and the cable car

The city's green heart, spread over a hillside on the southern edge of town. A cable car runs up to the ridge, where you'll find an enormous standing golden Buddha, a white Guanyin statue in a Chinese-style pavilion, and long views back over the rooftops. It's the closest Hat Yai comes to a classic sightseeing highlight, and it's best in the cooler hours of early morning or late afternoon.

2. Wat Hat Yai Nai and its reclining Buddha

Just west of the centre, this temple houses one of the largest reclining Buddha images in Thailand — big enough that you can walk inside the base. It's a quick, striking, genuinely local stop rather than a half-day affair, and easy to combine with the park.

3. Kim Yong Market by day

Kim Yong Market is the city's best-known covered market and a good crash course in southern Thai and Thai-Chinese food culture — dried fruit, cashews, spices, sweets, snacks and the sort of things Malaysian visitors cram into their suitcases. Come hungry and buy small amounts of many things.

4. The night markets after dark

Hat Yai comes alive at night. The streets around Kim Yong and the city's night markets and night bazaars fill with grilled seafood, noodles, roti, fresh juice and cheap clothing stalls. This is the thing most visitors remember about Hat Yai, and it costs nothing to wander.

5. Khlong Hae Floating Market

A short drive from the centre, Khlong Hae Floating Market is a canalside food market where vendors sell from boats — a genuinely fun evening out for food, especially with children. It runs on weekend evenings, so check the days before you go.

6. The malls, if it's raining

Hat Yai's shopping centres are a big part of why regional visitors come. If the afternoon heat or a downpour catches you out, an hour in air conditioning is no defeat. But if you've got clear weather and a free day, we'd point you out of town.

The Best Day Trips from Hat Yai

This is where Hat Yai really pays off: almost everything worth seeing in the province is within an hour's drive. These are the trips we recommend to our own guests, in the order we'd rank them.

1. Songkhla Old Town — the classic day trip

Songkhla is about 30 kilometres from Hat Yai, roughly a 30 to 40 minute drive, and it's a completely different city: a quiet coastal town squeezed between the sea and Thailand's largest natural lake. The Old Town around Nang Ngam and Nakhon Nai roads is lined with restored Sino-Portuguese shophouses, murals, small cafés and temples. It's flat, walkable and endlessly photogenic. Climb Khao Tang Kuan, the hill above the town with its golden chedi, and you can see the sea on one side and the lake on the other.

2. Samila Beach and the Golden Mermaid

On Songkhla's seaward side, Samila Beach is a long, breezy stretch of sand shaded by pines, with the famous bronze Golden Mermaid statue at one end and views out to the small islands locals call Cat and Mouse. It's a swimming-optional, walking-and-seafood sort of beach — exactly right in the late afternoon.

3. Koh Yo Island — the calmest half-day near Hat Yai

Koh Yo (also written Ko Yo) is an island sitting in the middle of Songkhla Lake, joined to the mainland by the Tinsulanonda Bridge — so you can drive the whole way, no ferry needed. It's known for three things: hand-woven Koh Yo cotton, which you can watch being made on traditional looms; the excellent folklore museum on the hillside, with sweeping views over the lake; and seafood restaurants built out over the water on stilts. You can circle the island in an afternoon by car or scooter, and it is remarkably quiet given how close it is to a city of hundreds of thousands.

Koh Yo is also where we're based, and where our boat leaves from. If you're planning a Hat Yai to Koh Yo trip, put the lake itself on the list — see below.

4. Songkhla Lake — Thailand's largest natural lake

Songkhla Lake is the big one: the largest natural lake in Thailand, a vast, shallow, brackish sheet of water fringed by fishing villages, bamboo fish stakes and low green hills. Most visitors only ever see it as a shimmer from the bridge, which is a shame, because from the water it's a completely different place. Mirror-flat at dawn, gold at dusk, herons and egrets in the shallows, long-tail boats heading out with the light.

There are no jet skis and no rows of sunloungers here. It's a working lake, and its appeal is quietness — which is exactly why we think a boat trip on Songkhla Lake is the single best thing to do near Hat Yai.

5. Ton Nga Chang Waterfall

If you'd rather head inland, Ton Nga Chang Waterfall sits in a wildlife sanctuary in the hills roughly 25 to 30 kilometres west of Hat Yai. Its name means "elephant tusks" — the water splits in two as it falls. It's a jungle walk with pools to cool off in, best after rain and less impressive at the end of the dry season.

The Kueaphet Solar Boat Experience on Songkhla Lake

Our boat runs on solar power and an electric motor, and that one detail changes the whole day. There's no engine roar, no diesel fumes and no oily wake — just a near-silent glide. You can talk in a normal voice, you can hear the birds, and the wildlife doesn't scatter before you arrive. Peter, a German engineer, designed and built it himself.

Every trip is private — up to four guests, never shared with another group — and you choose the shape of it:

• Sightseeing cruise around Koh Yo, past stilt-house fishing villages and bamboo fish traps.
• Fishing — a slow, quiet session on the lake, gear and local knowledge included.
• Sunset trip — a golden-hour drift with a cold drink, which is the one we'd book ourselves.
• Photography — still water, mirror reflections and soft light at either end of the day.

On board there's comfortable seating, shade, a table, cool boxes and safety equipment. If you'd like, we can add a German barbecue, coffee, beers or our fresh homemade orange juice. Custom per-person and per-hour rates are available for different group sizes and durations — just ask.

Booking is simple: send an enquiry through the form on our Solar Boat page or message Peter on WhatsApp with your date and group size. He'll confirm your time and route. Please allow at least 24 hours so we can prepare the boat.

How To Get from Hat Yai to Songkhla and Koh Yo

Everything above is on one straightforward route east out of Hat Yai. Central Hat Yai to Songkhla town is about 30 kilometres, or roughly 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. From Hat Yai International Airport (HDY) allow a little under an hour. Koh Yo is reached over the Tinsulanonda Bridge on the same road — again, no ferry.

• Songthaew or minibus: shared vehicles run frequently between central Hat Yai and Songkhla. The cheapest option, and easy if you're not in a hurry.
• Taxi or ride-hailing app: the simplest door-to-door choice, and sensible if you're two or more people splitting the fare.
• Hire car or scooter: best if you want to combine Songkhla, Samila Beach and Koh Yo in one loop at your own pace.
• Private transfer: our travel office can arrange transport, transfers and car or bike hire for you.

If you'd rather not go back and forth in one day, we also have rooms by the lake near Koh Yo — handy if you want the sunset without a late drive back to the city.

A Suggested Day Trip Itinerary from Hat Yai

Here's how we'd spend one really good day. Shift it earlier or later depending on whether you want lunch on the lake or sunset on the water.

Prefer a half-day? Drive out mid-afternoon, do a 2-hour boat trip over sunset, eat seafood on Koh Yo, and you're back in Hat Yai by mid-evening. It's the least effort for the most memorable few hours.

Want more detail on the Songkhla side of things? Read our companion guide to things to do in Songkhla, Koh Yo and around the lake.

Hat Yai Day Trips: Frequently Asked Questions