Beaches in Thailand: Where to Go & How to Plan Your Beach Trip

Beaches in Thailand at a Glance

Short on time? These are the beaches most trips are built around, and what each one is actually good for:

• Railay & Phra Nang (Krabi): limestone-framed coves reachable only by longtail boat, with the clearest water and world-class rock climbing.

• Phi Phi & Maya Bay (Krabi): the famous day-trip islands for snorkelling and scenery, reached by boat from Phuket or Krabi.

• Phuket beaches (Patong, Karon, Kata, Nai Harn): the easiest base, one beach for nightlife and the next one quiet, all on a single coast road.

• Koh Samui, Koh Tao & Koh Phangan (Gulf): resort beaches, the cheapest place in Asia to learn to dive, and the Full Moon Party island.

• Koh Lipe & the Trang islands (far south): the "Maldives of Thailand" and Koh Kradan for travellers who want fewer crowds.

• Pattaya, Jomtien & Koh Samet (near Bangkok): the closest sand to the capital, doable as a weekend without a domestic flight.

Thailand Beaches: Quick Comparison

Match a beach to what you want to do, then base yourself on the right coast for the month you are travelling. Best-time and access details are confirmed in the coast sections below.

Best Andaman-Coast Beaches (West: Phuket, Krabi & the Islands)

The Andaman side is the Thailand you have seen on postcards: sheer limestone karsts rising out of jade water, longtail boats, and the country's best snorkelling. It runs dry and calm from November to April, and Phuket airport (HKT) or Krabi airport (KBV) put you within an hour of most of these beaches. Read the full Krabi travel guide and Phuket travel guide for islands, stays and day trips.

Railay & Phra Nang Beach (Krabi)

Railay is a peninsula cut off from the mainland by limestone cliffs, so you reach it only by longtail boat, about 15 minutes from Ao Nang or Krabi town. Railay West is the swimming-and-sunset beach; Railay East is a mangrove shore that doubles as the base for some of the best rock climbing in the world, with hundreds of bolted routes on the cliffs. Walk five minutes through the headland and you hit Phra Nang Beach, framed by karsts and home to the Princess Cave shrine (Tham Phra Nang). The water off Phra Nang is about as clear as Thailand gets, which is why it lands on nearly every "clearest water" list. See the Railay Beach guide and Ao Nang Beach guide for boats and stays.

Phi Phi Islands & Maya Bay (Krabi)

The Phi Phi islands sit between Phuket and Krabi, roughly a 45-minute speedboat or 90-minute to 2-hour ferry from either. Koh Phi Phi Don is the inhabited island with Loh Dalum and Long Beach; uninhabited Koh Phi Phi Leh holds Maya Bay, the cove made famous by the film The Beach. Maya Bay reopened in January 2022 after a long closure to let the reef recover, and it now runs under strict rules: a national-park fee, no swimming in the bay itself, no boats anchoring inside, and an annual closure through the low season (check dates before you book, as they shift each year). For the current status, see is Maya Bay open? and the Maya Bay guide.

Phuket's Beaches (Patong, Karon, Kata, Nai Harn, Paradise)

Phuket packs a dozen west-coast beaches onto one road, so you can pick your pace beach by beach. Patong is the loud one, backed by Bangla Road and the island's nightlife. A few minutes south, Karon Beach is a 3 km sweep that trades the crowds for space, and Kata is the family and beginner-surf beach next along. At the quiet southern tip, Nai Harn stays low-rise and calm because a monastery and a lagoon kept the developers out, and the small cove of Paradise Beach near Patong charges a small entry fee for a quieter swim. Base yourself here and you can day-trip to Phi Phi, the Similans and James Bond Island. For a full run-down, see beach hopping in Phuket.

Similan Islands (Phang Nga)

The Similans are a nine-island national park north-west of Phuket, and they are the reason divers fly to this coast: powder-white sand, granite boulders and reefs with visibility that regularly tops 20 metres. The catch is the calendar. The park is open only from 15 October to 15 May and closes for the monsoon (16 May to 14 October) so the reefs can recover, so this is strictly a dry-season trip. Most people visit on a day tour or a liveaboard by speedboat from Khao Lak, about 90 minutes away. Kayaking and snorkelling run alongside the diving.

Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta & the Trang Islands (Far South)

Down near the Malaysian border, the crowds thin out. Koh Lipe gets called the "Maldives of Thailand" for the water off Sunrise and Pattaya beaches, and you reach it by ferry from Pak Bara or straight from Langkawi in Malaysia. Koh Lanta is the laid-back family island, a string of long west-facing beaches (Long Beach / Phra Ae, Kantiang Bay) you can drive between. The Trang islands (Koh Kradan, Koh Ngai, Koh Muk) are the emerging pick: Koh Kradan was voted the world's best beach in 2023, and Koh Muk hides the Emerald Cave, a sea tunnel you swim through into a hidden lagoon. See our Koh Lipe beaches guide to plan the trip south.

Best Gulf & East-Coast Beaches (Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Chang & Bangkok's Beaches)

The Gulf coast is the answer when the Andaman side is under monsoon. Its islands stay driest from roughly January to September and see their heaviest rain from October to December, which is the opposite of the west. The east coast beaches near Bangkok (Pattaya, Koh Samet, Koh Chang) are the closest sand to the capital and need no domestic flight at all.

Koh Samui (Chaweng & Lamai)

Koh Samui is the Gulf's resort island and the easiest to reach, with direct flights into its own airport (USM) or a ferry from Surat Thani. Chaweng is the long, lively main beach with the hotels, bars and watersports; Lamai next door is quieter and cheaper, and the north-coast bays (Bophut, Maenam) suit families who want calm water. Samui makes a natural base for island-hopping to Tao and Phangan. See the Koh Samui beaches guide.

Koh Tao & Koh Phangan

Tiny Koh Tao is the cheapest place in Asia to get PADI-certified, and even non-divers come for the snorkelling off Sairee Beach and the coral at Shark Bay and Tanote Bay. Neighbouring Koh Phangan is best known for the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin, but its north end is the opposite scene: Bottle Beach (Haad Khuat), reachable only by longtail boat or a jungle walk, is one of the quietest romantic beaches in the Gulf. Both islands are reached by ferry from Koh Samui or the mainland at Chumphon. See the Koh Tao beaches guide.

Koh Chang & Koh Samet (East Coast)

Out east near the Cambodian border, Koh Chang is Thailand's second-largest island and still mostly jungle. White Sand Beach (Haad Sai Khao) is the main strip with sunset bars, while Lonely Beach is the backpacker-and-party end and Klong Prao suits families. It follows the Andaman calendar (best November to April, wet May to October). Closer to Bangkok, Koh Samet sits in a rain shadow and stays drier year-round than anywhere else on this list, which is why Bangkokians treat Sai Kaew Beach as a weekend escape, about three to four hours from the city by road and a short ferry from Ban Phe.

Pattaya & Jomtien (Closest to Bangkok)

If you have a spare weekend and no time to fly, Pattaya is two hours down the road from Bangkok. Pattaya Beach itself is the busy city front; Jomtien Beach, a few kilometres south, is the wider, calmer 6 km stretch with the parasailing, jet-skis and banana boats. For clear water you hop 45 minutes offshore to Coral Island (Koh Larn), the day-trip beach for snorkelling and watersports. See the best beaches in Pattaya and beaches near Bangkok for the full weekend-trip options.

Andaman vs Gulf: When to Go

The single most useful thing to know about Thailand's beaches is that the two coasts flip. The Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi, Similan, Koh Lipe) is at its best from November to April, when the sea is calm and clear and every boat runs. The Gulf coast (Samui, Tao, Phangan) is driest from roughly January to September and takes its heaviest rain from October to December. So if you are travelling in, say, October or November, lean Gulf; from December to April either coast is good and the Andaman side is superb.

How to Reach Thailand's Beaches

Almost every beach trip starts in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi BKK or Don Mueang DMK), then a short domestic hop or drive to the coast. The gateway you choose depends on the coast:

• Andaman coast: fly to Phuket (HKT) for Phuket beaches, the Similans and Phi Phi, or to Krabi (KBV) for Railay, Ao Nang and the islands. Both are about 90 minutes from Bangkok, and Phi Phi/Maya Bay run as boat day trips from either.

• Gulf coast: fly straight to Koh Samui (USM), or fly to Surat Thani (URT), which is cheaper, then take the ferry to Samui, Koh Tao or Koh Phangan.

• Far south: for Koh Lipe, reach Hat Yai or drive to Pak Bara pier for the ferry, or come across from Langkawi in Malaysia in season.

• East coast & Bangkok beaches: Pattaya and Jomtien are a 2-hour drive, Koh Samet 3 to 4 hours plus a short ferry from Ban Phe, and Koh Chang is reached from Trat (bus, or fly into TDX) plus a car ferry.

Indian nationals need a visa for Thailand; check the current visa-on-arrival or e-visa rules before you travel. For a beach itinerary that stitches the flights, ferries and transfers together, see Thailand beach tour packages.

Plan Your Thailand Beach Trip

A first Thailand beach trip usually works best on one coast rather than both, because the two are a full travel day apart. A classic seven-night plan pairs three or four nights in Krabi or Phuket for the Andaman islands with a few nights on Koh Samui or Koh Phangan for the Gulf, or keeps it simple with one island and a couple of day trips. If you would rather have the stays, ferries, transfers and activities arranged end to end, TravelTriangle's Thailand tour packages, beach tour packages and Thailand honeymoon packages bundle the beach islands into customisable trips through verified local agents, backed by 40 Lac+ travellers since 2011.

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Ready to plan? Browse the full Thailand travel guide for islands, cities and itineraries, read the complete best beaches in Thailand roundup for a ranked list, or go straight to bookable Thailand beach tour packages.