Thailand’s 10 Best Beaches

Patong Beach, Phuket
Combine powdery white sands and balmy waters with an electrifying nightlife and dozens of hotels and resorts and you end up with the country’s most favourite beach. Patong beach is also the largest in Phuket. The only drawback is that the beach is too lively. But after all, isn’t that what you were seeking in the first place.

Kata Beach, Phuket
Ideal for some soul searching, this serene palm fringed beach is a quiet shelter of peace and a world apart from the exuberant Patong beach. Intense waves during monsoons make it a great surfing spot.

Railey Beach, Krabi
Flanked by looming limestone cliffs and accessible only by boats, this beach is like a deserted Island. The place is perfect for snorkelling, swimming, and rock climbing.

Lamai Beach, Samui
Raucous beach celebrations during the night, excellent swimming during the day, and a post card perfect scenery. No epithet would do justice to this jewel. With most Thailand flights landing at Samui, this beach is easily reachable.

Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi Ley
Arguably, Thailand’s ideal scenery is to be found in this tiny beach. Flanked by immense limestone cliffs in a small bay, this is a daytime beach accessible by boat. There is no overnight accommodation here.

Hua Hin Beach, Hua Hin
Easily accessible from Bangkok, Hua Hin beach is a hot draw with its immense flat tracts of sand and spectacular sunrises. Swimming here might not be a very good intent as the beach slopes into the Gulf of Siam.

Haad Rin, Ko Pha Ngan
This one is probably the king of all night partying beach venues. Though each night is celebration night at the beach, celebratory fervour reaches crescendo once each month, when the beach bursts into an all out bout of getting drunk and gyrating to pulsating music. A gentle sloping coastline and soft golden sands makes Haad Rin the right place to laze around in the sunshine.

Sairee Beach, Ko Tao
Sairee beach rules the hearts of Ko Tao denizens with its amusing one mile strip of white sands offering a spellbinding view of the small glittering islands dotting the distant horizon. From its early reputation as an exclusive diving base, the beach is slowly evolving into a hot tourist draw as numerous pocket friendly intake joints and hotels have cropped up.

Ko Mun Nork
A typically desert island kind of experience overwhelms one at this delightfully isolated beach. With just one resort and accessibility restricted to ferry service has made sure that the beach stays virginal and fortified from huge crowds.

White Sand Beach, Ko Chang
True to its name, dazzling white sands topped with nodding coconut and palm trees set against smoothly sloping hills have endowed this beach with a surreal kind of beauty. It is a true haven for those on a shoestring budget.

The abundance of beach fun choices makes holidays in Thailand a rather special affair.