Bangkok has its attractions, but if you're a frequent visitor to Thailand and have had your fill of the capital's shopping and traffic, chances are you'll be arriving at Don Muang airport with but one desire: to get to the coast as fast as possible. There's good news if your chosen resort is Hua Hin. After a three-year hiatus, commercial flights have resumed between Bangkok and the seaside sanctuary most favored by Thailand's royal family. With the train taking more than four hours—and the tiresome 200-km road trip lasting almost as long, depending on traffic conditions—the new, thrice-daily airborne hop, at just 45 minutes, will have you on the beach quicker than you can say, "Make mine a Singha." The single-propeller Cessna service—seating up to 12 passengers at a time—has been launched by Siam General Aviation (
sga.aero) in conjunction with several Hua Hin hotels, but you don't have to be a guest at a participating property to use it. At around $135, a return ticket is also surprisingly reasonable—costing about the same as a two-way fare in a chartered taxi, but infinitely better than staring at endless miles of traffic jams.
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