Hat Yai is back in business, and now is the time to visit

Hat Yai – the buzzing southern city recently hit by record-breaking floods – is back on its feet. And thanks to a new wave of young creatives determined to rebuild and reimagine it from the ground up, it’s quickly becoming one of Thailand’s most intriguing comeback stories.

Thailand kicked off 2026 with record-breaking tourist numbers in the first two weeks of 2026, with Malaysians making the second largest source market for visitors after the Chinese, many crossing the southern border in search of a weekend escape. And instead of flying north to Phuket or Bangkok, more are pulling up in Hat Yai.

So, on a recent trip organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, I headed south to see what’s new – and arrived just in time for Chinese New Year, a festival that runs surprisingly deep here.

Dazzled by orange, red and electric-blue fireworks, I arrived straight into the action – firecrackers popping at my feet and a huge dancing dragon, powered by 20-odd impossibly nimble teenagers.

The show is on a main thoroughfare in downtown Hat Yai, where a lot of links to China can be found, with gorgeous shrines and temples dotted at regular intervals.

For context: on November 22, the city and surrounding area – including the UNESCO listed, historic city Songkhla – received the highest rainfall it’s ever seen in 300 years of recorded history, driven by La Nina conditions and increasingly volatile climate patterns. But as dragon dancers swirl through the streets and fireworks paint the sky red, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was all a distant memory. The mood is hopeful and the only thing flowing now is anticipation for the festivities ahead.

At the lively performances I run into content creator Emily Srichala (@emilysrichala.blog), who is also visiting for the Chinese New Year celebrations. It’s a stark contrast to when she was last here. In the week following the devastating flooding that hit the Songkhla province in November 2025, she visited downtown Hat Yai helping to distribute emergency packs with medical supplies, clothes, food and water to those stranded, using her platform to raise 12 million baht – an extraordinary sum in Hat Yai’s hour of need.

Hat Yai bounces back after the flood

‘The last time I was here was so sad,’ Emily tells me. ‘I’m grateful to come back and see the city starting to find its feet again. When Thai people come together they can get through anything – it’s so inspiring to see.’ She’s bang on. 

I go for a wander the next day and find streets of cool cafes, cheap vintage shops and busy markets open and ready for business. In the city centre, it’s hard to believe that a few months ago these lanes, which run parallel to the Toei River, were two metres underwater.

I’m instantly drawn to the grainy, paint-stripped door of Dedicate, a florist that once doubled as a vinyl listening cafe. ‘We’re back to being just a florist for now,’ owner Sangsit Sataecho tells me as I poke my head in, ‘the cafe will be open again by next month.’ He smiles with a face of positivity and resilience that I’ve already come to recognise as a Hat Yai trait. 

I ask him about the vinyl, as the sign on the cafe window piqued my interest, but his face falls slightly; ‘I lost over 1000 records in the flood’ he says, ‘but good coffee will be back soon.’

Stories like this aren’t uncommon. His street, Pracharom Alley, is also home to vintage clothing spot Guy, packed floor to ceiling with denim, band tees and pre-loved clothing and a very sleek minimalist cafe, Benny Haus. Both venues were unfazed by the flood and eager to revive the area. 

Guesthouse Hoshi Hotel Hatyai is also here, a neat little corner where Japanese style tatami mattresses are just the start of the cool design in situ. 

Considering this is the largest city in Southern Thailand, it still feels quiet, but there’s a murmuring of new life emerging from beneath the surface.

Hat Yai’s delivering old and new

Food is what guides most tourists in Thailand, and I’m no exception. Luckily, Hat Yai’s food scene is notoriously delicious and totally unique. 

Foodie Emily tells me it’s her favourite thing to do in the city. ‘Oh I love Hat Yai for the food,’ she enthuses, ‘and that’s how I connect with Thai people; speaking to the vendors and hearing their stories.’ 

Without waiting, we detoured to the city’s famous dim sum spot, Cook Chai Dim Sum, where the moreish little bamboo crates of treats just keep coming and come at as little as B25 a plate. 

And while very popular (there’s often a queue), it sits as just one of almost two dozen brilliant dim sum diners that are worthy of a taste test. Needless to say, Hat Yai’s food scene is as diverse as the local community, which is made up mostly of Malayan, Chinese and Thai origins. The city’s vendors are famous for their herbal pork soup bak kut teh, salted eggs, extremely garlic heavy Hat Yai fried chicken, unfathomably good roti and of course – dim sum for breakfast.

Shopping in Hat Yai City is also a draw, with markets full of batik fabrics and aisle after aisle of nuts and dried fruit – a nod to the city’s roots as a southern trading hub and offshoot of the historic Silk Road. Come hungry, bring cash and clear some suitcase space.

After dining and shopping, taking the cable car to Taw Maha Phrom, Hat Yai’s hilltop temple, is a thrill. It’s particularly busy, as people are praying to the four-headed Brahma. It’s a particularly auspicious time (the lunar new year) and devotees hang four garlands, one on each of the deities’ heads, as firecrackers explode in the temple's furnace for extra financial luck.

Hat Yai serves a mean cosmopolitan

After saying prayers and hoping for gold, I finish my busy day at Hat Yai’s pioneering cocktail bar, Sin Tonic, who, as the longest serving purveyors in town, have a lengthy signature menu that would delight even the most discerning Bangkokian. 

I have a chat with owner Khun Joey over a Chalong Bay treat, rattling off compliments about how much I love the chic vibe of exposed concrete and moody lighting. He smiles, ‘we haven’t quite finished refurbishing after the flood, but we’re happy to reopen.’ The place looks fab to us. It’s been a long deep-clean process but you’d never know now, packed with punters chowing down on plates of food and downing cocktails every day of the week.

And just like that, the trip comes to an end. Preparing to depart, I find myself  already plotting my next visit to Hat Yai. With natural wonders like the waterfalls and hotsprings just a short drive away, and Hat Yai being the major transport hub of Southern Thailand (you can get minibus services from here to the Satun islands like Koh Lipe, or even as far as Koh Phangan) it’s a brilliant stop to add to any Thai travel plan. And given everything that’s happened, the city will be very glad to see you.