It is not clear whether Cha-am is a city or village. Most people would agree that it was a fishing village, in Petchaburi, and it has become a small touristic city for Thais and foreigners. What attracts people to Cha-am? Here is a list of reasons:
- Cha-am Beach and Boulevard (see video)
- The summer palace of King Rama VI.
- Khao Nangpanthurat Park
- The Wednesday evening market near the train station
- The fresh market with exotic fruit
- Euro Asia Lagoon with swimming pools
- The Cha-am pier and the harbor
- Santorini Waterpark, ideal for families with children
- Cha-am Outlet: fashion and brands clothes
- The Cha-am Forrest park
Cha-am is located on a coast with miles of beaches and lush nature. The wide beaches stretch along the 8 km long boulevard. In recent years, a lot has been built and therefore it now offers a nice mix of Thai customs and facilities and with lots of vibrancy. The many different restaurants, shops, markets, coffee corners, pubs, swimming pools and beaches make Cha-am a pleasant resort town.
Location
The town of Cha-am is located 180 km south of Bangkok and 25 km north of Huahin. It is a popular resort among the Thai population itself and so the Thais themselves like to have a picnic on the beach. Cha-am is smaller and therefore has fewer Western tourists than Huahin.
shopping Cha-am
In the village not far from the intersection with traffic lights you will find a great Supermarket, called OKAY. Here you can buy all kinds of Western goodies such as bread, yogurt, cheese and salami. This supermarket also has a small library available, ideal for holiday reads!
On the main road, Petchakasem Rd, you can go shopping in a Big-C supermarket with croissants and musch more. Besides these two options we recommend longstayers to visit the local fresh market and the bakery Love Baguette!
The Beach and boulevard of the town
The beaches extend over the entire length of the town and beyond. On Cha-am’s beach is a boulevard with sea-side Thai sun loungers and parasols to relax and eat and drink. Such a beach chair hire costs 40 Baht per chair for the whole day (anno 2018). On the other side of the boulevard road are the apartments and restaurants. On the beaches you will find all kinds of small shellfish and crabs, completely, harmless by the way. At low tide, low water level, you can walk well over the beaches and enjoy the sea breeze.
The Cha-am Nightmarket
The weekly Wednesday night market is a real Thai market at the train station square. The products on the market are cheap and various. You can buy a lot of different foods, from fried insects to German bratwurst. The market is also a great meeting place for the foreigners, who like to sit and drink a beer while the wives go shopping. It has a playground for kids with air castle and other activities. So ‘cosiness’ in Cha-am every Wednesday evening from five o’clock on wards.
Temples in and around the area
Thailand is a Buddhist country and during holiday it is nice to get to know a little bit of culture. Visiting a temple is free and can be done by anyone. We recommend you to visit one these temples.
Wat Neran Chararam (Thai: : วัดเนรัญชราราม)
This temple is near the small harbor, north of Cha-am boulevard. You can look around here and see the Buddha who hides his face in his hands.
Wat Nong Chaeng (meaning Temple)
In south Cha-am, in a quiet area. Typical Thai temple. Near Belle Pizza Cha-am. It isn’t special or famous.
Wat Cha-am
This temple also offers the possibility to go upstairs with a staircase to then worship the Buddha statues for good luck. There is also a small playground and you can feed the fish at the playground. You can buy the fish food at the temple.
Wat Huay Mongkol
The Wat Huay Mongkol temple complex located some 15 kilometers west of Hua Hin is famous for its enormous statue of one of Thailand’s most famous monks, named Luang Phor Thuad. It is about 40 km far Cha-am city. The Giant Luang Phor Thuad statue is about 12 meters tall and 10 meters wide, is set on a large mound. You can also see massive wooden elephants near the statue and it has a small park to walk around.
Transportation in Cha-am city
In this a small seaside resort transport is also important because it can get too hot for walking. On foot is of course always an option, but if you are a long stayer renting a bicycle or automatic scooter is a good option. You can also take motorbike taxi. These drivers can recognize the ‘blue’ or ‘orange’ shirt / vests. See here an illustration of moped taxi service in action. Please do you hold on tight!
You can rent a bike or moped anywhere on the beach. If you want to rent a good bike, then you can read: overwintering-in-thailand.nl/fiets-huren-in-thailand
Our bikes have six gears, lights and a lock! Book bicycles with us and we will make sure that they are ready as soon as you arrive.
3 best cha-am holiday apartments
Fortunately, this village hasn’t got many apartment complexes yet. However, we make it also possible to book apartments for your holiday. We recommend 3 apartment complexes.
- Lumpini Apartments
This is a beautiful new and modern apartment complex right at the beach. Ideal for 2 people or families. With all the facilities of a holiday resort such as: reception, playground, swimming pools, fitness and sauna. Watch our Dutch video too. - Cattareya Studios
Are you a longstayer by yourself? Book one of these studios for a low price. Ideal for 1 person. We have a few large apartments as well. The location is great - Baan Thew Lom apartments
Small modern apartments for two people. It has a beautiful long swimming pool near the beach, in south Cha-am.
5 best Cha-am Hotels and Resorts recommended
In the city you can find many resorts and hotels to choose from. So what the right resort or hotel for you? We have selected the 5 best resort and hotel in Cha-am to stay.
- The oldest and most famous hotel is Methalavai Hotel. This is guaranteed quality with delicious breakfast buffet every day. The hotel price is per night.
- A pleasant boutique Hotel is Runganan de Challet Cha-am
A friendly family hotel near the sea that has existed for more than 30 years. Nice for short stays and also with special discount for long stays. - The Sabaya Jungle Resort is a good resort with studios by the pool. Friendly staff, with Dutch management and a very pleasant atmosphere.
- De La Mer Chaam Hotel is a new hotel with spacious modern hotel rooms with Smart Television. A bit further from the beach.
- Arlek Resort is located outside the center but has good quality bungalows with its own kitchen facility. The resort has 2 swimming pools and has a long-stay discount for overwintering.
3 best Holiday Houses or Villas for rent in Cha-am
The beach town is growing and and so is the choice of good houses and villas. Houses and villas can only be rented for a long period. So a rental period is for 1 month to 1 year. The residential parks we recommends are these below.
- Sport Village: 2 story city houses with a shared swimming pool and bar
- Tropicana Villa park: detached villas with a shared swimming pool
- Villas with swimming pool. Spacious and luxurious!
Laundry service
Laundry, having clothes washed is inevitable for long stayers. So it is useful to know what possibilities there are in Cha-am Thailand. Click here for the laundry list of possibilities.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on registered long-term weather and climate data and can be seen as an average for Thailand. Locally, for Cha-am Thailand, deviations are of course possible, certainly in the area of precipitation. Climate information for specific regions or places is given on the separate climate pages of Thai places.
Pizzeria in this village
This village has a nice choice of restaurants. We have listed 3 nice restaurants for you, here. So you know where to eat!