Songkhla's camping is not on the beach but beside clear streams and waterfalls in the hills around Hat Yai. Of the nine grounds listed here, six have swimming and four are near a waterfall; several are regular weekend escapes for people from Hat Yai.
Most private camps charge ฿150 per person per night and the national parks ฿30–80. Every ground has toilets, nearly eight in ten have electricity and two thirds rent gear, but only about half have showers.
Counted across the 9 campsites shown on this page, ordered by how many list each one.
The commonest kind is a camp on a shallow, clear stream — around Wang Chao Khun and Khlong Hin, for example — where children can play, there are tubes to float on and you park close to the water. At Ton Pliu waterfall there are pitches along the stream in a valley, both bring-your-own and ready-made tents. In Hat Yai district itself is a fruit-orchard camp by the waterfall at Wang Pha. For proper forest there is Khao Nam Khang National Park, where you pitch on wooden platforms above the stream, and San Kala Khiri National Park in Saba Yoi, a wide lawn for stargazing and birdwatching. On Songkhla Lake there is one small, breezy waterside ground.
February to April is the dry stretch: clear skies and shallow, clear streams that suit children, though late in the dry season some run low. May to September brings periodic rain and good waterfalls. October to December is the heavy-rain season on the South's east coast, when streams rise fast — avoid streamside camps then. At weekends the camps near Hat Yai fill up, so book ahead.
The ground at many streamside camps is loose sand or sand and stones: bring long, strong pegs. Some camps offer a power point but you bring the extension lead, and high-draw appliances such as electric hobs or air conditioners are not allowed. Fewer than half provide drinking water, and none of the grounds we list reports accepting pets. At Khao Nam Khang National Park the campsite is across the stream from the office — walk over the suspension bridge or drive round to the other bank.
฿150 per person per night at most private camps and ฿30–80 per person in the national parks; ready-made tents by the waterfall start at about ฿900 a night.
Not far. Several streamside camps are regular haunts for Hat Yai people, and Khao Nam Khang National Park is under 80 km from the city.
Yes — several camps are on shallow, clear streams with tubes to play on. Keep a close eye on children, and avoid the heavy-rain months when the water rises fast.
