15 Places To Visit In Hatyai Thailand
15 Places To Visit In Hatyai Thailand
Hatyai is the biggest city in Southern Thailand. For decades, many Malaysians staying at the Northern states of Peninsula Malaysia will visit Hatyai during weekends and holidays as they have border passes and do not require Passport to enter Southern Thailand. Every year, there are over 2 million Malaysians crossing over to the Land of Smiles via borders in Southern Thailand.
We have written many stories about Hatyai in the past few years. Stories like Seven Reasons Why Malaysians Love Hatyai, 10 Reasons Why You Should Visit Central Festival Hatyai, Top 12 Places of Interest in Hatyai and the most recent story is Top 5 Places for Dim Sum in Hatyai Thailand.
Top 12 Places of Interest in Hatyai is one of our top stories in our blog of all time. It is currently the Top 2 Story of all time with over 500,000 views. We wrote the story in 2015 and within two years, there are many changes in Hatyai.
Last month, we went to revisit Hatyai to reproduce a new list, 15 Places To Visit In Hatyai Thailand. We have included a few more places and updated a few places that have closed down.
What is not in this list is the Namtok Ton Nga Chang (Elephant Tusk Falls), Ice Dorm (Closed Down), Hatyai ASEAN Night Market (Closed and Rebranded) and Hatyai Park Lantern Festival (Closed Down).
This is going to be a long post so we created a few pages so it will be easier to read, just click next page to roll over to the other page.
You read our post, we update and make it better for you. This is our blog and we try to do the best for our readers.
The 15 Places To Visit In Hatyai Thailand with no particular order is:
1.Hatyai Cable Car
This is place you get to see the view of the entire Hatyai city. Located on top of the Hatyai Hill, you can take the Hatyai Cable Car. This is not something new and it has been around for a couple of years.
The cable car is packed during weekend with tourists and it is not busy during weekday. On this hill, there are also two other places to visit which is Phra Phutthamongkol Maharaj (Golden Buddha) and Phra Phothisat Kuan Im Nakhon (White Goddess of Mercy).
Per ride is 200 Baht per adult. You can park your car in the parking lots nearby or hire a tuk tuk for the entire ride.
Hat Yai Cable Car Opening Hours:
Open daily 09:00-20:00.
GPS: 7.04029, 100.51137
2.Phra Phutthamongkol Maharaj Golden Buddha Hatyai
Phra Phutthamongkol Maharaj is the Golden Buddha on Hatyai Hill. This is a huge golden buddha statue and you can probably spot it from far if you have good eyes.
The golden buddha is located on top of Hatyai Hill and beside the Hatyai Cable Car. Since its opening there are many travelers who come here to pray and take pictures. It has become an attraction of Hatyai.
The best way to come here is by driving or by hiring a tuk tuk.
Read more: https://www.placesandfoods.com/2015/04/phra-phutthamongkol-maharaj-golden-buddha-hatyai.html
3.Phra Phothisat Kuan Im Nakhon Quan Yin Temple
Phra Phothisat Kuan Im Nakhon or also known as the Quan Yin Temple is also located on Hatyai Hill. When you leave Hatyai Cable Car and going down to the main road, you will pass by the temple. You can see the huge Goddess of Mercy statue and there is also parking spaces for you to park your car.
There are many Buddhists from Malaysia and Singapore praying here and contribute to this temple.
You can spot the Golden Buddha located at the background of the Goddess of Mercy. You can also see the breathtaking view of Hatyai city from here.
Phra Phothisat Kuan Im Nakhon Address, Location and GPS Coordinate:
GPS: 7.04750, 100.508802
4.Pruksa Park
If you saw a picture of a ‘castle’ in Hatyai circulating on Facebook lately, this is the place. It is called Pruksa Park, located in Prachayindee Road. It is only 10-15 min drive from the city center.
It is a new attraction, opened since last year. You can park at the back of the castle and there is a beautiful garden and restaurant called Wine Village.
It is a small attraction, there is a petting farm area where you can buy carrots and feed the animals. The kids love it here.
There is also a beautiful carousel. There are many people here to take pictures and there is no entrance fees yet. Since this is not a huge area, you probably take around 15 to 20 minutes for photo snapping and petting the animals here. This is something new you can explore in Hatyai
Pruksa Park Address:
Prachayindee Rd, Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand
+66 81 805 1516
5.Magic Eye 3D Museum
Magic Eye 3D Musuem is one of the latest places of interest and attractions in Hatyai. The museum is built in this recent years and it has been a hit among the locals and the tourists.
It is not a museum but a 3D museum. More like an art museum where you can take pictures and start having fun. Don’t go alone to this museum, try to visit with your friends and trust me you won’t be disappointed.
It is a fun place to visit with your friends or family especially kids. It is located at the same road with Central Festival Mall and it is just beside the Greenway Night Market.
Magic Eye 3d Museum Address, Contact, Map and GPS:
1408 Kanjavanich Road, Hatyai
Songhkla THAILAND 90110
Read more: https://www.placesandfoods.com/2014/03/magic-eye-3d-museum-hatyai-review.html
6.Central Festival Mall
Central Festival Mall is not just the latest shopping mall in Hatyai but also the largest. It is located on the same road of Magic Eye 3D Museum, ASEAN Night Bazaar and Greenway night market. It is also located directly opposite Makro Hypermarket.
The mall has 250,000 square meter with 250 retail shops, a frontage width of 185 metres and investment over 6000 million baht. It is the largest shopping mall in Southern Thailand so far and they are huge.
We usually will drop by this mall for shopping and food. The food section is level 4 and level 5 and there are many choices of restaurants you can find here.
There are plenty of good food especially you are looking for local Thai restaurants, Japanese restaurants, cafe as well as buffet restaurants. You will be spoil with choices.
Read more at 10 Reasons Why You Should Visit Central Festival Hatyai
Central Festival Mall Address and GPS Coordinate:
Kanchanavanich Road, Hatyai District
Songkhla, Thailand
Website: http://www.centralfestival.co.th/hatyai/en
GPS: 6.99172, 100.48493
Read more: https://www.placesandfoods.com/2014/03/central-festival-mall-hatyai.html
7.King Bhumipol Temple (Stainless Steel Temple)
King Bhumipol Temple or better known as the ‘Stainless Steel Temple’ is a Buddhist Temple located on top of the hill. It is not the Hatyai Hill but at Kho Hong. We included the Google Map link so you can find your way there.
It is quite far out from the city so can either drive up or hire a tuk tuk to send you and wait for you there. Tuk tuk drivers will quote you a price for driving you up and down. Driving from the city will take at least 20 minutes one way.
King Bhumipol Temple is one of the coolest temple I visited in Thailand. I have been to many parts of Thailand. I visited many Buddhist temples in all the provinces in Southern Thailand and some part of central, North and East Thailand. Chiang Rai have the White and Blue Temple which is quite interesting. There are also many unique temples throughout Thailand but not fully stainless steel like this temple.
This is how it looks like during day but at night, colourful will light up the temple. You can go there in late afternoon and wait until evening.
King Bhumipol Temple (Stainless Steel Temple) Address:
Kho Hong, Hat Yai District, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
8.ASEAN Night Bazaar
This was called Hatyai Weekend Market before they rebuilt everything and called it ASEAN Night Bazaar. It is rebuilt, more organised now with part of the night market turned to a food center.
What we like is how they restructure the whole night market. It is covered now and it is more organized than before.
There are plenty of things to shop here. From fashion products to accessories, most of the customers here are locals than tourists.
The prices of the things here are competitive, cheaper than the prices in the town. This is no longer a weekend night bazaar as it opens daily from 4pm to 10.30 pm. The upper level of this bazaar is food stalls that you can try too.
ASEAN Night Bazaar Address:
Chotevittayakul 5, Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand
9.Greenway Night Market
Greenway Night Market is one of the newest night markets in Hatyai. They are located near ASEAN Night Bazaar. There are two sections, one section is the Greenway Night Market and the other section is the Greenway Food Station.
You can find products for like fashion clothings for women, men, children wear and also accessories, handicrafts, cosmetics and others.
The products here are more premium than the ones in ASEAN Night Bazaar in our opinion.
The Greenway Food station claimed to be the largest food venue or food court in town. The offers over 1,000 items in the menu from local Thai food to International dishes.
What we like about this place is it is spacious and clean. You can consider visiting this place for food. Don’t visit this place late as they closed at 10pm.
Night market open Wed-Sun 5.00-10.00 pm, Food Market opens daily from 4 – 9 pm
10.Khlong Hae Floating Market
This is the one and only floating market in Hatyai. It is called Khlong Hae Floating Market. It is located around 20 mins of driving from the city center.
They open from Friday to Sunday, 3pm to 9pm. You get lots of boats selling food here. There are also a small shopping bazaar.
Most of the food here is HALAL and this is a Muslim friendly places of interest. You can find many Muslim travelers here and most of the sellers are Thai Muslim. It is different than the other floating markets in Thailand.
Read more: https://www.placesandfoods.com/2017/12/khlong-hae-floating-market-hatyai-review.html
Hatyai Khlong Hae Floating Market Address and GPS:
Khlong Hae Khutao Road,
Khlong Hae, Hatyai,
Thailand
Tel: 074 580888
GPS: 7.04648 ,100.47450
11 Hatyai Plaza Trade Centre (Pasar)
This is a very old place and I am sure many Malaysians been here before. We called it ‘Pasar’ and this is the place the tuk tuk will bring you. The actual name is called Hatyai Plaza Trade Centre. Please don’t confuse this with Kim Yong Market as it is two different markets.
What you can get here are those kitchen items, fashion clothing for men, women and children, electronics, food and snacks. We usually get our snacks and food like cashew nuts here. It all depends on your preferences as Kim Yong Market offers more food choices.
This is a very old building, it has been around for decades. There are many shops within the complex, the walkway is narrow similar to Chatuchak.
Opens daily from 8 am to 5pm and remember to inform the tuk tuk driver ‘pasar’ and not Kim Yong Market. This is a few minutes drive from city center.
Hatyai Plaza Trade Centre (Pasar) Address:
Montri 2 Rd, Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand
12.Lee Gardens Plaza Shopping Mall and Weekend Night Market
Lee Gardens Plaza Shopping Mall has become a landmark of tourists in Hatyai. Many travelers will take Lee Garden as the center of the city. The Lee Gardens Plaza is the place where most tourists shop, dine and hang out at night in Hatyai.
There is the glutton street happening every evening outside of Lee Gardens. You can find many good local food as well as HALAL Malaysian food here. You can see the tables are filled with locals and tourists every evening. Expect long queues at popular food stalls too.
On weekends, there is a small night market here at Lee Gardens. There are handful of stalls but maybe you can find something you like.
The cinema in Lee Gardens Plaza has closed down, the food court is shifted to Lower Ground. Swenson Ice Cream has closed down and replaced by Korean Sulbing. There are a few new restaurants opened and replaced the old ones.
Lee Gardens Plaza Shopping Mall Address:
29 Prachathipat Rd, ตำบล หาดใหญ่ อำเภอ เมืองสงขลา Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand
13.Kim Yong Market
Kim Yong Market is a local market near Lee Gardens Plaza Shopping. It will take less than 5 minutes to reach here with tuk tuk from Lee Gardens Plaza.
The morning market starts from 6 am and you can get many fresh local produce here such as fish, prawns, vegetables and snacks. If you plan to drive to Hatyai, you can buy the seafood and put it in the cold box with ice. Our parents always do that and that is the advantages of driving to Hatyai. The prices of the seafood here is cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur.
For those who are looking for local Thai snacks and food, this is the place you can shop too. There are many food stalls selling local Thai snacks and cashew nuts too. We simply love Thai cashew nuts so we kept on mentioning it. It is not that cheap but the quality is good. Make sure you get the fresh ones rather than the packed ones.
Opening hours 6 am until 6pm daily.
Kim Yong Market Address:
ตลาดกิมหยง หาดใหญ่ Songkhla 90110, Thailand
14.Mahapanya Vidayalai Buddhist School (Wat Thaawon)
Mahapanya Vidayalai Buddhist School or also known as Wat Thaawon is one of the undiscovered places in Hatyai. You probably spotted the huge Golden statue of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha near Tesco Shopping Mall and Prince of Songkhla university and hospital.
They are undergoing renovation right now and please use the Google Map below as you can’t access to the big statue from Wat Thaawon. You need to enter at the Mahapanya Vidayalai Buddhist School.
There is also a section of many golden statues of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha at the side of the entrance. You can come here for praying and taking photos. This is something new we discovered.
Mahapanya Vidayalai Buddhist School (Wat Thaawon) Address:
635/1 Thamnoonvithi Road Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Chang Wat Songkhla 90110, Thailand
Tel:+66 74 243 558
15.Wat Hatyai Nai
If you are in the Hatyai city, why not drop by at one of the largest reclining Buddha in the world? You can check out Wat Hat Yai Nai which is located at Phetchakasem Road, near Khlong U Taphao Bridge.
You can find many locals and tourists visiting the temple as places of interest and for praying also. Wat Hat Tai Nai is located in the city and you can either drive here or take a tuk tuk. It is cheaper to take a tuk tuk than hailing a Grab ride if the distance is short.
Wat Hat Yai Nai Address and GPS Coordinate:
Wat Hat Yai Nai on Phetchakasem Road, near Khlong U
Taphao Bridge, Amphoe Hat Yai, Songkhla
Tel: 0 7423 1055, 0 7423 8518, 0 7424 3747
GPS: 7.003599, 100.454798
Going to Hatyai from Malaysia. There are three options either by flight, train or you drive. We usually took the flight from KL to Hatyai and you can choose from either Malindo Air or Air Asia. We never tried the train before but we heard its often fully booked from Malaysia. For driving, we explained the procedures in entering Southern Thailand at Sadao Custom Immigration Procedure for Driving to Thailand.
