[Travel/ Food Guide] Itinerary to Hatyai & Songkhla, Thailand (合艾，泰国) 2025

Just a short three-hour drive from Penang, Hatyai has long been a favorite getaway for Malaysians. The city’s food scene continues to evolve— beyond the familiar Thai staples, you’ll now find a growing number of international eateries and a lively café culture. On this trip, we explored both Hatyai and neighbouring Songkhla, tasting our way through local favourites while checking out a few newer spots. In this post, I’m sharing some of the places we enjoyed for food as well as the hotels we stayed in—simply to document and hopefully help anyone planning a visit. 

1) The Second Hatyai

Address: 200, 13 Nipatuthit 2 Rd, Tambon Hat Yai, Amphoe Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand

Business Hours: 11 am to 10 pm. Opens Daily.

The Second Hatyai Facebook Page

[Travel/ Food Guide] Itinerary to Hatyai, Thailand (合艾，泰国) 2022

Ever since Thailand uplifted the foreigner entry requirements  (no vaccination cert required) in Oct 2022, many Malaysian tourists are resuming their pilgrimage visits to Hatyai, the southern town of Songkhla. With only 60km away from the Malaysia-Thai border, it is a popular destination for a short getaway. Clearing customs and immigration is as easy as before, just present a valid Passport and relevant forms (if driving). There are many changes to Hatyai- with some places closed down for good but there are also quite a lot of new places sprung up. We too did the routine, ritual shopping at Kim Yong Market and Central Festival Mall but apart from that, we had ventured further to explore new places that we haven't been before. 

Read our previous blog entries to Hatyai here: Year 2017 and Year 2019. 

1) Cheevit Cheeva Hatyai

Halal

Service Charge: No

Government Tax: No

Address: 43/22, Rajyindee Soi 6/1 Road, Tambon Hatyai, Amphoe Hatyai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand.

Business Hours: 10 am to 10 pm. Opens Daily.

Contact Number: +66 83 168 8889

Cheevit Cheeva Hatyai Facebook Page

[Travel/ Food Guide] Itinerary to Hatyai, Thailand (合艾，泰国) 2019

Despite the dip in currency, Thailand remains as one of the popular travel destinations for Malaysians. The Southern-most city of Thailand- Hatyai... is just a mere 2.5 hour-drive away from Penang and is still a preferred destination for a short getaway. My previous entry for Hatyai was in 2017; many new places have popped up since then... we could also see that they have embraced the cafe-culture well enough, with plenty of exciting and Instagrammable places waiting to be explored. This post seeks to give you a glimpse on some of the highlights during our trip.

This Post is brought to you by Tourism Authority of Thailand.

[Travel/ Food Guide] Itinerary to Hatyai, Thailand (合艾，泰国) 2017

When the travel bugs bite, it is a time to plan for a trip but it gets tough and grueling to the wallet especially when there is a dip in Malaysian Ringgit. Naturally, visiting neighboring countries becomes a popular choice. We continued our previous food adventure to Hatyai, Thailand (read our 2016 entry here) but the short trip was not sufficient to cover a lot of places.

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New Updates:

• Tuk Tuk Drivers around Hatyai have the tendency to over-charge passengers/ tourists; we fell into the trap for a couple of times without negotiating with them. The rate within town should be THB 20 per ride but they tend to charge THB 30 per ride. Do take note on this.
• Food costs have increased recently, probably due to the dip in Malaysian currency; many things in Hatyai are no longer that attractive (in terms of pricing).

1) Bankampu Hatyai Fresh Seafood 

Pork Free

Service Charge: No

Government Tax: No

Address: 22/4-5, Lamaysongkoa Road, Hatyai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand.

Business Hours: 11 am to 10 pm. Opens Daily.

Contact Number: +66 087-109 8777
Bankampu Facebook Page

Going The Extra Mile Peugeot- A Driving Experience Like None Other

We had a short road trip to Hatyai, Thailand recently and CS Euro (Peugeot Dealer for Northern Region) is one of the main sponsors for the trip. They have sponsored us a couple of models- Peugeot 308 THP and 508 to test drive and it was a smooth-sailing trip for us.

About Peugeot:
Peugeot, the best-selling French marque in Malaysia; is distributed by Nasim Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary by the Naza Group of companies. The brand has more than 200 years of history (since the year 1810) and is highly committed to be affordable than Asian-made without compromising on safety and performance. Wonder how the cars performed? Read the article below: 

Many Thanks to CS Euro Auto for co-organizing the road trip. 

[Travel/ Food Guide] Itinerary to Hatyai, Thailand (合艾，泰国) 2016

Read the latest Travel/ Food Guide to Hatyai 2017 at: here

Hatyai, one of the most southern cities of Thailand, is an hour drive from the Malaysia-Thailand border and it takes approximately 2 hours to drive to the Danok Checkpoint, northern Kedah from Penang. It makes a great short getaway for families especially for those living in northern Malaysia and that includes Penangites. However, there are a few things that one should take note before departure (stay tuned for our Peugeot car review coming up soon):

1. No Visa is required for Malaysians but make sure you have a valid passport (for at least 30 days).
2. Danok Checkpoint opens from 6 am to 12 am, daily.
3. Go as early as possible especially on peak hours (public holidays, we queued under the hot sun for 2 hours just to clear the immigration). Sandwich RM 2 in between the passport as "admin fees" to the officer (at Thailand).
4. If you are driving, make sure you have the grant ready and to fill in a white form (available for collection at the checkpoint). Park your car first of course.
5. Follow the queue of the general public to get your passport validated, proceed to the queue and get your grant as well as form endorsed. Note: you need to queue twice.
6. Slowly drive through the checkpoint and allow the officer to see your endorsed white form. You should wind down all your windows and prepare all validated passports just in case they wish to check.

This travel guide is brought to you by CS Euro (Peugeot Northern Region Dealer) and PTS Travel & Tours; in collaboration with Kerson Media.