It's always fun to change the location to unwind for several days. I'd be happy to have such a break in Hua Hin.
It's known for being a "family friendly" destination in contrast to Pattaya which is a very hard party place lol. That's what they say at least, we've never been to Pattaya
Sharing what I know. Both cities are a sort of "Bangkok" (from the point of quality of infrastructure) by the sea and loved by many foreigners who want to long-stay without leaving the comfort zone. Like, guys with kids or elderly people usually don't go to long-stay in a remote island with no hospitals.
Pattaya in general is less laid-back and more foreigners-oriented (but livelier).
The beach in central Pattaya, from my point of view, isn't a place for swimming (overcrowded, not appealing). However, Pattaya has an easy-to-access Ko Lan island you can visit daily by ferry. The island has amazing beaches much-much better than Pattaya or Hua Hin city beaches. (You can rent a place directly in Ko Lan island either but accommodation is more expensive.)
If you need a new place by Bangkok for the next time, consider visiting Prachuap Khiri Khan or Koh Samet.
Koh Samet is a touristy island with amazing beaches.
Prachuap Khiri Khan City (4-5 hours by bus from Bangkok, 2 hours or so from Hua Hin) is much less touristy (like, a real Thai place), much cozier, cheaper than Hua Hin and Pattaya. And they have aaadorable wild langurs coming from a seaside woody mountain to get some food from people. The most gentle, fairy-tale-like creatures (unlike wicked macaques). They also have a mountain in the city center with hundreds of macaques living there and walking on the surrounding streets. Prachuap has the same shallow okay beach (rent a bicycle/motorbike to reach it) as in Hua Hin but more picturesque (Ao Manao beach).
Ko Kood is where I want to go next time, but the trip will take more time from Bangkok... Looks like it's an island with a lot of jungles and great beaches. My type of island.
Dang I forgot to reply to this!
Your comparison is spot on. It does give a retirement vibe haha.
Oh we also looked at Ko Lan when we were considering going to Pattaya and yeah I wanna go there at some point too. They look really nice, reminds me of Monkey beach when we toured Phi Phi islands. It was my favorite beach lol.
Thanks for the suggestions! I really want to try and explore those things you mentioned cos we've always just been in Bangkok but that type of trip requires so much energy and maybe planning to get to the nice areas in one day. These type of trips I need to mentally prepare for haha
😀 You didn't have to, I just wanted to share some wisdom after a coffee overdose, lol. I hope you'll visit some of these places when you feel ready. 🙂