With over 2500km (1500 miles) of shoreline and 1430 islands, Thailand has numerous seashores to supply.
Anticipate the whole lot, from otherworldly craggy limestone formations that seem like precariously balanced on the turquoise sea to colourful coral reefs whose inhabitants are finest noticed with snorkels and fins. Alongside a lot of these sands, seashore shacks and avenue distributors promote aromatic regional grilled skewers and noodle dishes.
These beguiling seashores proceed to draw all kinds of seashore lovers, from backpack-toting cash-strapped college students and households on vacation to these craving a buzzy scene or salt air pampering. November to March might be the perfect time to go to Thailand to take pleasure in probably the most these spots have to supply.
Assist slim down your alternative with our information to the highest seashores in Thailand.
1. Klong Dao, Ko Lanta
Among the many string of 52 small uninhabited islands that make up Ko Lanta in Krabi Province, Ko Lanta Yai is the biggest and most developed. Stretching for 3.5km (2 miles) on the northwest coast is a large, crescent-shaped seashore with powdery sand, minimal rocks and shallow water that’s a protected, sun-drenched playground for youngsters. Close by, Two Scoops Gelato and Dessert doles out ice cream in ever-changing flavors. Simply search for its surprising pink facade.
2. Hat Tham Phra Nang, Krabi
In a rustic embarrassingly ample with unimaginable waterfront spots, Hat Tham Phra Nang stays the benchmark. This Krabi Province seashore ticks all of the bins: golden powdery sand, heat azure waters and dramatic karst formations that rise out of the ocean.
Thrill-seekers can scale the tree-covered karst cliffs on the western finish that rewards summiteers with a view of Ko Kai (known as “Rooster Island”), Ko Pada and the opposite craggy neighboring islands jutting straight out of the Andaman Sea. Afterward, gasoline up with ice-cold coconut water and shrimp pad thai from one of many longboat eating places docked right here.
3. Chaweng, Ko Samui
For those who’re seeking to guide someplace aside from Phuket, contemplate Ko Samui within the Gulf of Thailand. This island competes with Phuket as Thailand’s hottest tropical vacation spot. On its east coast, the pink, pillowy sands, boutiques, seashore bars, eating places and pulsating nightlife on Chaweng Seaside give Phuket’s fashionable Patong Seaside a run for its baht.
Snag a lounger within the solar or couch on the shady patio and sip a Fowl of Paradise cocktail – Aperol, rum, pineapple juice and lime – on the stylish Elephant Seaside Membership. Later, dine on stir-fried garlic pepper crab at boutique Thai spot Khaw Glong earlier than catching the late present at Paris Follies Cabaret – it’s racier than the matinee.
4. Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan
A 3-hour drive from Bangkok, Hua Hin has the excellence of being Thailand’s oldest seashore resort. Developed within the Nineteen Twenties as an escape for the elite, it turned much more fashionable when King Rama VII constructed his summer season palace, Klai Kangwon (Removed from Worries), right here too. With a famend evening bazaar and seafood aplenty, eating places like Chao Lay supply a implausible array of freshly-caught meals.
Native Tip: Hua Hin stays modern right now and is an efficient price range various to the southern islands.
5. Sichon, Nakhon Si Thammarat
For a comparatively undiscovered stretch of sand largely untouched by vacationers, head to Sichon within the far southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, an eight-hour bus experience from Bangkok (or a one-hour flight). Guests listed here are doubtless solely to come across native fishers and their brightly-colored boats – and in case you are fortunate, one of many area’s lovable 60 pink dolphins, believed to be a subspecies of Chinese language white dolphins, who name the waters house.
Planning Tip: Make sure you strive the native specialty dish whenever you’re right here. Khanom krok are completely addictive coconut griddle desserts flecked with chopped scallions. Save room too for freshly-caught eels, native steamed clams or pad phet-style mackerel from the seashore’s tiny eating places and bustling avenue meals distributors.
6. Ko Similan, Phang Nga
The Similan islands are presumably the perfect locations to go in Thailand for water actions. Among the many 9 islands within the archipelago within the Andaman Sea, Island #8 is the biggest and hottest. With common water depths of 25m (82ft), it affords a number of the world’s finest dive websites and snorkeling expeditions. In Ko Similan’s small bay on the island’s western facet, you’ll discover coral reefs, large sea followers, barrel sponges, colourful marine life galore, swim-throughs, cliffs and stone piles.
Planning Tip: Want to remain on dry land? There are mountain climbing trails with pretty views out to sea, good for the Landlubbers.
7. Hat Bang Sak, Phang-Nga
Whereas the islands that stud the bay get all the eye in Phang-Nga province – together with the over-visited “James Bond Island” (it appeared within the 1974 flick The Man With the Golden Gun) – the mainland has its fair proportion of neglected sun-soaked stunners.
Hat Bang Sak’s lengthy, large strip of sand is adjoining to a grove of mature pine timber; away from the water’s edge are mangrove swamps and rubber-tree plantations. Close by, Be Friend Restaurant provides to the world’s romance with string lights, bamboo tables and chairs within the sand and island-inspired dishes like prawn desserts and squid with lemon sauce.
8. Nui Seaside, Ko Phi Phi
In a merciless accident, Maya Bay – the cove on the uninhabited island of Ko Phi Phi Leh, which was made well-known by its look within the 2000 movie The Seaside with Leonardo DiCaprio – follows the identical thematic fall from grace because the fictional atoll: too many individuals discovered about it. Not solely did the movie firm irreparably harm the once-pristine shoreline, however mass tourism compelled the Thai authorities to shut it in 2018. After a clean-up program and a while for the pure setting to recuperate, it reopened in 2022 with restrictions on customer numbers and strict sustainability objectives.
The secluded cove of Nui Seaside on Ko Phi Phi Don, with a bar, restaurant and spa, has the infrastructure to welcome vacationers. Accessible by 4WD (costs differ), the bay is tucked away 3km (2 miles) by the jungle and a coconut grove, after the Kata-Karon viewpoint.
9. Haad Rin Nai, Ko Pha-Ngan
Situated within the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Surat Thani, Samui competes with Phuket because the nation’s hottest tropical vacation spot. As Samui turned overdeveloped and overcrowded, neighboring island Ko Pha-Ngan – and its mixture of sandy coves and inside forest – has attracted backpackers with its laid-back vibe.
For probably the most immersive expertise, time your go to to the lunar calendar: its raucous, uninhibited month-to-month Full Moon Events at what’s identified domestically as Sundown Seaside are legendary. Attracting upwards of 30,000 physique paint-clad, largely Gen Z-aged attendees sweating it out to stay music, swigging from chilly drinks served in buckets and watching avenue performers sort out a flaming limbo stick.
Native Tip: Cannot make it for the Full Moon? Don’t be concerned, the world’s nightlife additionally pulses the opposite 28 nights of the month.
10. Mai Khao, Phuket
If you fly into Phuket, the island’s finest seashore is at Sirinat Nationwide Park, only a 20-minute stroll away from the airport. At 10km lengthy (6 miles), Mai Khao is the island’s longest seashore; paddle a kayak, stroll by the pine forest, swim out to the cluster of plate coral and sea anemones, or seize your cellphone and movie the jumbo jets scream overhead as they method the runway.
