Songkhla Travel Guide: Samila Beach, Old Town and the Lake

Songkhla is the old port city on the Gulf of Thailand that most visitors to southern Thailand skip in favour of Hat Yai, 30 minutes inland. That is a pity. Songkhla has a long beach with a bronze mermaid, a hill with a royal-era chedi and a view of the lake, an old town of Chinese and Sino-Portuguese shophouses that residents have been repainting and reopening as cafes, and the largest natural lake in Thailand behind it. It is a quiet place, best on a slow day trip from Hat Yai or as a one or two night stay on its own.

Everything here was checked on 16 October 2026 against the sources listed above. Where sources disagree, or we could not verify opening hours or entrance fees, we say so. Hotels are in our where to stay in Songkhla guide, or in Thai, ที่พักสงขลา.

What Songkhla is, and how it differs from Hat Yai

Wikipedia says Songkhla (also called Singgora or Singora) is a city of about 61,758 people in 2020, the capital of Songkhla Province, 968 km south of Bangkok, and part of the Greater Hat Yai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area with Hat Yai. It sits at the opening of Songkhla Lake to the Gulf of Thailand, so it is both a fishing town and a harbour. Hat Yai is the bigger commercial city and has the airport, so many trips use Hat Yai as the arrival point and Songkhla as the quiet half. Our Hat Yai guide covers Hat Yai, its food and its markets, and we do not repeat it here.

Wikipedia gives the meaning of the name as the Thai form of Singgora, 'the city of lions', for a lion-shaped mountain near the city. Wikivoyage adds that the name came from two lion-shaped islands at the mouth of the lake, now called Ko Nu (Rat Island) and Ko Maeo (Cat Island). Thai Wikipedia lists road distances from Songkhla town to the districts: 32 km to Hat Yai district, 21 km to Singhanakhon and 50 km to Sathing Phra.

Getting to Songkhla

The 12Go page for Bangkok to Songkhla was titled 'Bangkok to Songkhla by bus, train, van, flight, taxi' when we opened it in a real browser on 16 October 2026. It listed Ahlin Tour, Nok Air, Piya, Siam Lane Tour, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, Thai Railway and TravelBusAsia among the operators. It showed only 3 departures a day, from 6:15 AM to 8:10 PM, and a distance of 875 km. We do not quote fares. Those figures are what the page showed and may change.

That is few direct departures, and the usual airport for Songkhla is Hat Yai International (Laguna Grand's site measures its Songkhla hotel from it), so Hat Yai is the usual hub. Compare the Hat Yai route as well and then take a bus or minivan on to Songkhla. Some links on this site may earn us a commission; that does not change the times or fares you see.

Where the sources disagree

Treat the 12Go distance as the page's own routing and check on the day.

Samila Beach and the Golden Mermaid

Samila Beach (Laem Samila) is the beach people mean when they say Songkhla. Wikipedia calls it the most popular beach in the province and says the famous mermaid statue is here. Wikivoyage describes a peninsula with a white sandy beach, shady pine groves and benches under casuarina trees. Thai Wikipedia says it is about 3 km from the municipal fresh market, with food shops, and that a Hat Yai to Songkhla bus and songthaews serve it.

Ko Nu and Ko Maeo lie just offshore. Wikipedia and Wikivoyage both repeat a folk tale in which a cat, a mouse and a dog stole a crystal from a merchant's ship and tried to swim ashore: the cat and mouse drowned and became the two islands, the dog reached the beach and became the hill Khao Tang Kuan, and the crystal became the white sand. Wikivoyage adds that cat and rat sculptures stand east of the mermaid.

Next to Samila, Wikivoyage describes Son On Beach, a shaded peninsula with a statue of Prince Chumphon at the tip, which it calls the best spot to see Ko Nu and the lake. About 3 km south is Khao Seng (Kao Seng), a beach dotted with large boulders where Thai Wikipedia tells the legend of Nai Raeng's head. We could not verify swimming conditions, so ask locally.

Khao Tang Kuan: the hill with the view

Khao Tang Kuan is the hill at the north end of the beach. Thai Wikipedia says it is in Bo Yang subdistrict, is 80 metres high, has macaques living on it, and gives a view over the city, the lake and Samila Beach. On top, it says, stand a lighthouse marking the lake mouth and a chedi in Dvaravati style built in the Nakhon Si Thammarat period; every October there is a ceremony to wrap the chedi in cloth. Wikivoyage lists a cable lift and a climb of 305 steps and gives hours and a fare for the lift. Those are community-written and may be out of date, so check on the day.

The old town

Songkhla Old Town is where Songkhla differs most from Hat Yai. Wikivoyage says residents have led a community effort since 2009 to reinvigorate it. The streets to look for are Nang Ngam, Nakhon Nai and Nakhon Nok roads, which have Chinese and Sino-Portuguese shophouses. On Nang Ngam Road is the Songkhla city pillar shrine, a Chinese-style building that Wikivoyage calls a revered symbol of the city. Wikivoyage also lists Songkhla National Museum on Chana Road, in a mansion built for Net Na Songkhla in the 19th century, and the Phathammarong Museum nearby.

Wikivoyage lists a free tram tour of the city that leaves from the city wall, but it is a community listing and we could not confirm the timetable. We could not verify opening hours or entrance fees for the museums either, because the hours in the sources differ by page. Ask at the tourist information centre by the museum.

Songkhla Lake, Ko Yo and Tinsulanonda Bridge

Wikipedia calls Songkhla Lake the largest natural lake in Thailand, 1,040 square km, and says it is really a lagoon complex divided into three parts. The southern part opens to the Gulf of Thailand by a 380 m strait at Songkhla, and the water there is brackish. Thai Wikipedia gives the length from the mouth as about 80 km and the widest part as 20 to 25 km. Wikivoyage says longtail boats for lake tours leave from the port behind the post office or near the fresh market.

Ko Yo is the island in the lake, reached by Tinsulanonda Bridge. Wikipedia says it is about 20 km from Mueang Songkhla district office by land and 6 km by water, and is famous for Ko Yo woven cloth. Wikivoyage lists the Institute for Southern Thai Studies museum on Ko Yo, with exhibits over more than 30 rooms, and a viewpoint over the lake and the fish farms. It says Tinsulanonda Bridge is the longest concrete bridge in Thailand and opened in 1986, in two sections of 1,140 m and 1,800 m. Laguna Grand's own site calls the heritage city, Laem Samila and Ko Yo the highlights of Songkhla.

A day plan

If you have one day from Hat Yai, start at the old town in the morning when the streets are cool, walk to the city pillar shrine and the museum, take a songthaew to Samila Beach for lunch, climb or ride up Khao Tang Kuan in the afternoon, and end with the sunset on Samila. If you have a second day, cross to Ko Yo and Songkhla Lake. None of our sources gives a tested itinerary, so this order is our own suggestion.

North of the city: Sathing Phra

Sathing Phra is 50 km from Songkhla town on Thai Wikipedia's figures and lies on the long spit that separates the lake from the Gulf. Wikipedia says archaeological digs between the lake and the sea show that in the 10th to 14th century this was a major urbanised area and a centre of maritime trade, and that the ruins of the port city of Satingpra are a few kilometres north of Songkhla. Ao Thai Resort, in our stay guide, sits on the Gulf side at Bo Dan and offers tours to Hat Yai, Songkhla and boat tours on Songkhla Lake, but you will need your own transport.

Safety note for southern Songkhla

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of the south near the Thailand-Malaysia border, including the districts of Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi in southern Songkhla Province, and on the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line. We checked that page on 16 October 2026. Songkhla city, Samila Beach, the old town, Ko Yo and Sathing Phra are not on that list, but check your own government's current advice before you plan. Wikipedia notes that separatist violence since 2003 has affected neighbouring Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces.

The seasons

Wikipedia says Songkhla has a tropical monsoon climate with temperatures very warm to hot all year. It says there is a short dry season in February and March, and that the rest of the year is wet, with the heaviest rain from October to December. Check the forecast for your dates; the beach is best on a dry afternoon.

Where to stay

Our stay guide checks five hotels against their own websites in three areas: the city and Samila coast (Pavilion Hotel Songkhla, BP Samila Beach Hotel & Resort and The Bed Vacation), Phawong on the lake (Laguna Grand Hotel & Spa) and Sathing Phra (Ao Thai Resort). Several well-known Songkhla hotels have no usable official site, so the list is short but checked. Open where to stay in Songkhla for the area table and the hotel cards. For a bigger choice of hotels and a busier city, use the Hat Yai stay guide.

Nearby destinations

• Hat Yai: the big city and airport, 30 minutes away
• Nakhon Si Thammarat: the next province north
• Trang: the Andaman side to the west
• Koh Lipe: the island in the far south of Thailand
• Thailand overview

FAQ

Prices, schedules and entry rules change. Figures here are approximate as of 2026; always confirm on the official or operator page before you book. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.