The beach in Hua Hin is more a "city" beach and it lacks the palm fringed tropical feel of Phuket beaches. It is not as bad a Pattaya and the water is still swimmable but if you want to stand in waste deep water and count the hairs on your toes, you will be dissapointed. Having said that, the sand is still nice and the beachfont gets better the further south you go. The town is very charming and friendly and there is plenty of cheap massage opportunities as wll as some up-market spa's.

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