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

Beaches in Thailand at a glance

Thailand beaches: a quick comparison

Best Andaman-coast beaches (west)

The west coast is the Thailand of postcards: limestone karsts rising out of jade water, longtail boats, and the islands most people picture. Go between November and April.

Krabi: Railay and Phra Nang. Railay is a peninsula with no road, reached only by a 15-minute longtail from Ao Nang. Its cliffs make it Thailand's rock-climbing hub, and a short cliff path leads to Phra Nang, the powder-sand beach that lands on world's-best lists. This is the pick for couples and for scenery.

Koh Phi Phi and Maya Bay. The Phi Phi islands are a boat ride from Krabi or Phuket. The famous Maya Bay (from The Beach) reopened in 2022 under rules that protect it: boats dock behind the island, swimming in the bay is restricted, and a national-park fee applies. The north of Phi Phi Don, around Laem Tong, stays quiet while the south buzzes.

Phuket. Thailand's largest island packs in the most variety and the easiest access. Patong is the loud, central hub for nightlife and water sports; Karon and Kata are longer, calmer stretches; Nai Harn and Kata Noi in the south are the quiet, swimmable choices. One island, a beach for every mood.

Similan Islands. Off Phang Nga, the Similans are a national park famous for diving and snorkelling in glass-clear water. They are day-trip or liveaboard territory and open only in the dry season, so check dates before you plan around them.

The far south: Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta and the Trang islands. Koh Lanta is the Andaman coast at half speed, all sunset bars and long, easy beaches. Further down, tiny Koh Lipe sits in a marine park with some of the clearest snorkelling in the country and runs a slightly later season, staying good into mid-May.

Best Gulf and east-coast beaches

When the Andaman coast turns wet in the mid-year, the Gulf is your answer. These beaches are best from roughly January into September.

Koh Samui (Chaweng and Lamai). Samui is the developed, comfortable choice: full-service resorts, an airport of its own, and two main beaches in busy Chaweng and mellower Lamai. Good for families and for anyone who wants the beach without roughing it.

Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. Koh Tao is one of the cheapest, most popular places in the world to learn to dive. Neighbouring Koh Phangan is best known for its full-moon party, but its northern bays like Thong Nai Pan and remote Bottle Beach are as quiet as Thailand gets.

Koh Chang and Koh Samet (east coast). Closer to the Cambodian border, Koh Chang is a large, jungled island with quiet beaches, while little Koh Samet is the easy weekend escape for people coming from Bangkok.

Pattaya and Jomtien (closest to Bangkok). Pattaya is the nearest beach city to the capital, a couple of hours by road, with Jomtien as its calmer, family-friendlier stretch. Handy for a short add-on rather than a destination in itself.

Andaman vs Gulf: when to go

The rule of thumb is simple. Travelling November to April, choose the Andaman coast and you cannot really go wrong. Travelling May to September, cross to the Gulf, where the rain holds off until later in the year. The two coasts are on opposite sides of the country, so switching between them mid-trip costs a full travel day. Pick one coast per week and you will spend your time on the sand rather than in transit.

How to reach Thailand's beaches

For the Andaman coast, fly into Phuket (HKT) or Krabi (KBV), then reach the islands by ferry or speedboat. For the Gulf, fly into Koh Samui (USM), or fly to Surat Thani and take the ferry across to Samui, Phangan or Tao. Bangkok connects to both by short domestic flights. The small islands (Railay, Koh Lipe, the remote bays) are boat-only, so build a little ferry time into each leg and carry cash, since ATMs are scarce out there.

Plan your Thailand beach trip

Start with your dates, settle on one coast, then choose a base rather than chasing individual beaches: Krabi or Phuket for the Andaman side, Samui for the Gulf. Cluster the beaches that sit close together, keep the boat-only spots as day trips, and leave a travel day if you genuinely want to see both coasts. Across the 40 lakh+ trips planned through TravelTriangle, most Thailand beach itineraries pair one Andaman base with a Phi Phi or island day (? VERIFY exact figure with data team). When the ferries and transfers start to look like work, a Thailand beach tour package bundles the stays, boats and airport pickups into one customisable plan.