Best Islands and Beaches in Thailand

1. Phi Phi Islands. The Phi Phi Islands are the postcard: sheer limestone around turquoise bays. Ko Phi Phi Don, the inhabited island, is car-free, with a busy village between Ao Ton Sai and Ao Lo Dalam, bars until late and a 30-minute climb to the viewpoint. Uninhabited Ko Phi Phi Le holds Maya Bay and Pileh Lagoon. Ferries run from Rassada pier in Phuket and Klong Jilad pier in Krabi, about 1.5 to 2 hours and 400 to 800 baht (US$12 to US$24); a 20 baht island fee is collected at the pier. Stay two nights and take an early longtail to Phi Phi Le before the Phuket day boats arrive. Rooms run from basic fan rooms to mid-range resorts, and are expensive for what you get.

2. Railay. Railay is a peninsula cut off by cliffs, so you arrive by longtail from Ao Nang (about 15 minutes, roughly 100 to 150 baht one way, more after dark). Railay West is the swimming beach, Phra Nang has the cave shrine and the classic karst views, and Ton Sai next door is the base for Thailand’s best rock climbing. Railay East is mangrove and mudflat, not for swimming. Mid-range to luxury; backpackers sleep in Ton Sai.

3. Ko Lanta. Ko Lanta is the easy-going family choice: long west-coast beaches from Klong Dao and Phra Ae in the north to Khlong Nin and Kantiang Bay in the south, with the Mu Ko Lanta National Park at the tip. Minivans from Krabi airport take 2 to 2.5 hours (around 350 to 500 baht) including a short car ferry; in high season boats also link Lanta with Phi Phi and Ao Nang. Every level of stay from bungalows to pool villas. For something quieter still, Ko Jum between Krabi and Lanta has a handful of beach resorts and almost no traffic.

4. Phuket’s best beaches. Phuket is not one beach but a string of west-coast bays with an international airport behind them. Skip crowded Patong for Kata and Karon (lively, good for families), Kamala and Bang Thao (resorts), Nai Harn (the best swimming in the south) or Nai Yang and Mai Khao near the airport, which are long, quiet and part of a national park. Every price level exists. From May to October the west coast gets heavy surf and frequent drownings, so swim only between flags.

5. Similan Islands. The Similan Islands have granite boulders, white sand and Thailand’s best diving, about 60 km off the coast. Speedboat day trips leave from Thap Lamu pier near Khao Lak (1 to 1.5 hours each way, usually 2,500 to 4,500 baht with lunch), and dive liveaboards run three to five nights from Khao Lak and Phuket. The park caps daily visitors and closes from mid-May to mid-October; the Surin Islands further north follow the same calendar. Book ahead in December and January.

6. Khao Lak. Khao Lak, 1 to 1.5 hours north of Phuket airport, is a strip of long, uncrowded beaches backed by forest and the Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park. It suits couples and families who want calm sand and the Similans on the doorstep. Mostly mid-range and upscale resorts.

7. Ko Phayam. Ko Phayam, off Ranong near the Myanmar border, has no cars, a few hundred bungalows and two long beaches, Ao Yai and Ao Khao Kwai. Boats from Ranong pier take 45 minutes by speedboat or about 2 hours by slow boat. Simple bungalows and a few boutique places; many close from May to October.

8. Ko Samui. Ko Samui is the comfortable option: an airport, big resorts, good restaurants and beaches for every mood. Chaweng is the long, busy main beach with nightlife; Lamai is a little calmer; Mae Nam and Bang Rak in the north are quieter and closer to the piers. Bangkok Airways flies from Bangkok in about an hour, often 3,000 to 7,000 baht one way; cheaper is a flight or train to Surat Thani and a 1.5-hour car ferry from Donsak. Day trips run to the Ang Thong Marine Park, 42 islands with a viewpoint over an inland lagoon. Mid-range to luxury.

9. Ko Pha-ngan. Half an hour by boat from Samui, Ko Pha-ngan is known for the monthly Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach, but most of the island is yoga retreats, jungle and quiet north-coast bays. Avoid party week unless you are going for the party: rooms sell out and prices double. Boats land at Thong Sala, with onward boats to Ko Tao in about an hour. Bungalows to mid-range resorts.

10. Ko Tao. Ko Tao is one of the cheapest places in the world to learn to dive: a PADI Open Water course is usually around 10,000 to 13,000 baht (US$300 to US$390) over three or four days, often with a discounted room. Snorkel off Shark Bay and Aow Leuk, and take a longtail to Ko Nang Yuan, three islets joined by a sandbar (a landing fee applies and plastic bottles are banned). Catamarans from Chumphon take about 2 hours; combined bus-and-boat tickets from Bangkok run overnight. Our Thailand diving guide covers sites and schools. Mostly budget to mid-range.

11. Ko Lipe. Ko Lipe, inside the Tarutao National Park near the Malaysian border, is small enough to walk across in 20 minutes, with Sunrise and Sunset beaches, Pattaya Beach where the boats land and reefs a few strokes offshore. Speedboats from Pak Bara pier in Satun take about 1.5 hours (roughly 600 to 800 baht), and in high season boats run from Langkawi in Malaysia, with immigration on the island, and from Ko Lanta via the Trang islands. Day trips go to Ko Tarutao and the islands of Adang and Rawi. Boats shrink to a skeleton service from about May to October. Budget to mid-range, and pricier than its size suggests in peak season.

12. Ko Ngai and the Trang islands. Ko Ngai is a single strip of soft sand with clear water and half a dozen resorts, 30 to 45 minutes by boat from Pak Meng on the Trang coast, inside the Hat Chao Mai National Park area. From Ko Ngai, longtail tours take in the Emerald Cave on Ko Mook, where you swim through a dark tunnel to a hidden beach, and the beach at Ko Kradan. Mid-range resorts, quiet evenings, best for couples.

13. Ko Chang. Ko Chang, Thailand’s third-largest island, has jungle-covered mountains, waterfalls and a west coast of beaches: White Sand Beach (the main strip), Klong Prao and Kai Bae for families, Lonely Beach for backpackers and the stilted fishing village at Bang Bao. Buses from Bangkok reach Trat in 5 to 6 hours, or Bangkok Airways flies to Trat; car ferries cross in 30 to 45 minutes for under 100 baht a foot passenger. Snorkel trips visit the Mu Ko Chang National Park islands such as Ko Wai. All price levels.

14. Ko Kut and Ko Mak. Ko Kut is the quiet, upmarket end of the Trat archipelago: clear bays, mangrove rivers and the Khlong Chao waterfall, with few bars. Its flat neighbour Ko Mak is best explored by bicycle, with sandbars out to Ko Kham. Speedboats from Laem Sok pier near Trat take about 45 minutes to Ko Mak and 1 to 1.5 hours to Ko Kut (roughly 500 to 700 baht), mostly from November to May. Mid-range on Ko Mak, mid-range to luxury on Ko Kut.

15. Ko Samet. Ko Samet is the nearest real island beach to Bangkok: 3 to 3.5 hours by road to Ban Phe pier in Rayong, then 30 to 45 minutes by ferry. The sand is fine and white, Sai Kaew and Ao Wong Deuan are the busy beaches and Ao Phrao faces the sunset. The island is a national park with a 200 baht (US$6) entry fee. It rains less than most of Thailand, but fills with Bangkok crowds at weekends and on holidays. For a day trip from Pattaya, Ko Lan is 30 to 45 minutes by ferry.

The rule is two monsoons on two coasts. The Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi, Lanta, Lipe, the Similans) is at its best from roughly November to April, with calm seas and clear water; from May to October the southwest monsoon brings rain, rough seas and reduced boat services, and some islands all but shut. The Gulf islands of Samui, Pha-ngan and Tao have their dry spell later, roughly January to August, and are wettest from October to December, when November in particular can mean days of rain and cancelled boats. The east coast around Ko Chang follows the Andaman pattern, best from November to April and very wet from June to September. Ko Samet sits in a drier pocket and is fine most of the year. The best time to visit Thailand guide has month-by-month weather.

Ferries and catamarans are the safest way between islands; small speedboats are faster but bounce hard in a swell and have the worst accident record. In July 2018 a tour boat capsized in a storm off Phuket and 47 passengers died. Choose established operators, check there are life jackets for everyone on board and wear one on speedboats, and do not push an operator to sail when the Marine Department has posted a weather warning. In monsoon months, allow a spare day before an international flight. Joint bus-and-boat tickets are covered in our getting around Thailand guide.

Longtails are the island taxis. Agree the price per boat or per person before you board, sit low and towards the middle, and keep bags off the bow: the garlands tied to the prow are offerings to the boat’s guardian spirit, so do not sit on or step over it. Expect wet feet, as many beaches have no pier and you wade ashore.

On the beaches, rip currents are the main danger, above all on Phuket’s west coast and on exposed Andaman beaches from May to October. A red flag means no swimming; a red and yellow flag marks the patrolled zone. If a current pulls you out, do not fight it: swim parallel to the shore until you are free, then come in. Lifeguards are few outside the main Phuket beaches. On the Gulf, box jellyfish are a rare but serious risk, and some beaches keep vinegar stations for stings.

Many islands lie inside national parks that charge foreigners an entry fee, usually paid on the boat or at a ranger station: as of 2026 typically 200 baht for Ko Samet and Tarutao (Ko Lipe), around 300 baht for Ang Thong, 400 baht (US$12) for Phi Phi Le and Maya Bay, and 500 baht (US$15) for the Similans and Surin. Tour prices often exclude the fee, and the Department of National Parks reviews fees from time to time, so check before you go. Keep the ticket: it usually covers the day.

Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Le was closed from 2018 to 2022 to let the reef and beach recover, and reopened with strict limits. Boats no longer land on the beach; they tie up at a pontoon in the bay behind it, and you walk in on a boardwalk. Swimming in the bay is not allowed, visits are limited to short time slots with a cap on numbers, and the bay closes for a recovery period each year, in recent years around August and September. Check the current dates before you book a Phi Phi Le tour.

Beach rules are enforced more than they used to be. Sunscreens containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben are banned in marine national parks, with fines of up to 100,000 baht, so bring a reef-safe brand. Smoking is banned on many popular beaches, including in Phuket and Krabi, with heavy fines. Do not touch or stand on coral, feed fish, or take shells, sand or coral home. For the reefs and marine life themselves, see our Thailand wildlife and national parks guide.