Southern Thailand is mostly famous for its pristine turquoise colored water and white sand beaches rimmed by palm trees. A lazy stay in beachside bungalow along with magnificent sunrises and sunsets over the beach – what else you want! You can also party over the beach and enjoy beachside delicacies.
Chumphon is the province which connects to the islands of Gulf of Thailand by ferries. The beautiful islands of the Gulf coast come under the governance of Surat Thani province. For example, Koh Tao (famous for its diving sites), Koh Nang Yuan (my second-favorite), Koh Samui (very touristy, not my favorite), and Koh Pha Ngan (popular for its crazy full moon parties). Surat Thani also has one of the most beautiful national parks – Khao Sok.
There are other provinces having less touristy beaches, like Nakhon Si Thammarat. It is the cultural capital of the south because of its grand temples. Phatthalung is another province, which is not so popular yet has beautiful bird park. There is Songkhla province, mostly popular for Hat Yai – transport hub in the south, connecting land transfers to Malaysia.
On the other side, there is Andaman Sea and the lovely beach provinces by the sea. For example, there are Ranong and Phang Nga – extremely popular for Surin and Similan islands and Khao Lak national park. There is Phuket – the most popular and touristy province of the south, also the gateway to the most famous Phi Phi islands and Maya Bay. Not to forget about Krabi – another popular and beautiful beach province, with beautiful snorkeling sites.
There are less touristy beaches on this side too, like Trang and Satun. According to me, they have the best beaches of the country. Koh Lipe is in Satun, and is my most favorite beach in Thailand. Remember, I have mentioned Koh Nang Yuan as the second favorite.
Other provinces toward the south-east, like Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat are still having some safety concern. So it is not really popular among tourists. As I have not experienced them by myself, I would not really recommend visiting those provinces at this point of time.
If you are planning for a much-organized, tastefully-curated, stress-free yet exciting vacation, consider booking your holidays at Travel Love Repeat. It is going to be a treat for sure! However, if you want to do it on your own, hope my YouTube vlogs on Travel With Shreya, Instagram reels and blogs here are helpful!
First-Time Thailand in 9 Days – Day 7 Organized tours are better when you want to explore multiple islands in a day. I had booked a tour that would take us to open caves at Phang-Nga National Park and few other beautiful islands of both Phang-Nga and Krabi. We were picked up by an aircon […]
Phang-Nga and Krabi Speedboat Tour from Phuket Read More »
First-Time Thailand in 9 Days – day 6 Do not miss the sunrise whenever you are close to the beach of any island – it looks so alluring! Today it is all about exploring Samui island and then travel to Phuket, which would be a long journey. So we need enough energy to enjoy Phuket nightlife.
Koh Samui Sightseeing and Phuket Nightlife Read More »
First-Time Thailand in 9 Days – Day 5 Quite a night and a late wake-up. The day began with a delicious brunch – a veggie wrap and a veggie dipper that had carrot and cucumber sticks served with hummus and pesto dips – at the beachside restaurant of Goodtime Beach Hostel. We had to catch the Lomprayah ferry from Koh Tao
Unwind Yourself in Koh Samui Read More »
First-Time Thailand in 9 Days – Day 4 One of the best sites for scuba diving and snorkeling not only in Thailand but also in South-East Asia is Koh Tao, that makes up the Gulf of Thailand along with other islands like Koh Nang Yuan, Koh Phangan, and Koh Samui. These islands are clustered in south-eastern
Scuba-Diving and Snorkeling in Koh Tao Read More »