Thailand
More than beaches: a capital, old kingdoms, northern hills and two coasts, in the mix that suits you.
Thailand is often sold as a beach, and its beaches deserve the attention. But it is a country about the size of France, and the coast is only part of it. There is Bangkok, one of the great cities of Asia; the ruined capitals of old Siam; the hills, temples and markets of the north; and then two quite different coasts, each with its own islands and its own season.
Most people enjoy it most when they combine two or three of these: a few days of city, something of the country’s culture or landscape, and then the sea. Which city, which landscape and which coast depends on the time of year and on what you like, and that is where good advice helps.
Auria Travel is an independent UK travel agency, and we arrange holidays to Thailand of every shape: a beach holiday or a city and beach package from a tour operator, an escorted tour, or a tailor-made journey through several parts of the country, sometimes with Singapore or Vietnam added.
How Auria can help you choose your Thailand
Start by telling us what you want the holiday to feel like. Two weeks on one beach? A week of temples, markets and street food before you see the sea? A honeymoon, or three generations travelling together? Our travel professionals will suggest the combination that fits, and the coast that suits your dates.
For many customers the right answer already exists. Tour operators have a wide choice of Thai beach holidays, city and beach combinations and escorted tours, with flights, transfers and hotels together, and where one fits we will find it and book it. A good package is often the simplest way to do Thailand, and nothing is lost by it.
If you want something more your own, we can put the journey together: the flights, the hotels in each place and the travel between them, whether that is a domestic flight, a private car or a boat to an island.
Where it helps, we work with trusted local experts in Thailand for the parts that join a trip up: someone to meet you at the airport, a guide for a day among Bangkok’s temples and canals, a driver in the north, the transfer and ferry that get you from a city to an island without a wasted day. They provide those services; we choose them and fit them to your plans. A week at a beach hotel needs none of it beyond a transfer, and that comes with the package.
Ways to see Thailand
- Beach holidays
- A week or two by the sea, on the mainland or an island. The largest part of what is sold, and done very well.
- City and beach
- Three or four nights in Bangkok, then the coast. The classic first visit.
- Escorted tours
- A planned route through the centre and the north with a tour manager and guides, usually ending with a few days on a beach.
- Multi-centre journeys
- Your own combination of city, culture, countryside and coast, at your own pace.
- Family holidays
- Warm seas, hotels that welcome children and food that most of them take to. Resorts with family rooms and clubs are found on both coasts.
- Luxury
- Riverside hotels in Bangkok, small resorts in the northern hills and villas with pools on the islands.
- All-inclusive
- Less common here than in some places, because eating out is inexpensive and part of the pleasure. Some resorts offer it, and it can suit families.
- Wellness
- Spas and retreats are a Thai speciality, from a massage on the beach to a week at a dedicated retreat.
Ready-made or tailor-made Thailand
Thailand does not need to be complicated, and for a beach holiday it should not be. Where tailor-made earns its place is in the combination: getting the order, the pace and the coast right when a trip has several parts.
A few combinations, as inspiration and nothing more fixed than that.
Bangkok and an island
The city for a few nights, then a flight of about an hour to the coast. Simple, and often available as a package.
Bangkok, Chiang Mai and a beach
The city, then the north for temples, markets and hill scenery, then the sea. The fullest picture of the country in two weeks.
City, culture and coast
Bangkok, the old capital at Ayutthaya as a day or a night on the way, then south to the sea.
Two islands
A livelier one and a quiet one, on the same coast, linked by boat.
Thailand and Singapore
A few nights in Singapore on the way out or home, for a different kind of city.
Thailand and Vietnam
Bangkok and a Thai beach with Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and something of Vietnam, a short flight apart. A fuller trip, and one that needs time.
Places and experiences
City, culture, landscape and coast: the parts most holidays here are built from.
Bangkok
A vast, energetic city on the Chao Phraya river: the Grand Palace and the riverside temples, canals, markets, rooftop bars and food worth travelling for at every level. Three nights is a good beginning.
Chiang Mai and the north
Thailand’s second city is small, walkable and ringed by hills: an old walled centre full of temples, night markets, cooking schools and craft villages, with mountain scenery and rice fields beyond. Cooler than the south, and slower.
Ayutthaya and Sukhothai
The ruined capitals of earlier Thai kingdoms, both World Heritage Sites: brick temples, towers and seated Buddhas among lawns and trees. Ayutthaya is an easy day from Bangkok; Sukhothai is quieter and further north.
The Andaman coast
The west coast: Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak and islands such as Koh Lanta and the Phi Phi group, with limestone cliffs rising from the sea. Phuket has the widest choice of hotels and its own airport; the smaller islands are quieter.
The Gulf islands
On the other side of the peninsula: Koh Samui, with its airport and its range of hotels, and its smaller neighbours Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, known for diving. Their weather follows a different calendar from the west coast.
Food and markets
Street stalls, night markets, floating markets and cooking classes. Eating is the national pastime, and a food tour with a local guide on your first evening is a good way to begin.
- National parks
- Rainforest, lakes and limestone country away from the beaches, such as Khao Sok in the south, where you can stay in a floating bungalow on the lake.
- Elephants
- Elephant experiences need particular care. A “sanctuary” name on its own is not proof of good welfare. We favour experiences centred on observing elephants, without riding, bathing or performances, in line with current travel-industry welfare guidance.
When to go
Thailand has no single season, because its two coasts take their rain at different times. That is useful: whenever you travel, some part of the country is likely to be in its better months. What follows is a guide. Rain in the tropics often comes as a heavy shower and then clears, and no month is certain to be dry.
- Bangkok, the centre and the north
- Coolest and driest from about November to February, which is the most popular time. Hot from March to May, and wetter from about May to October, when the countryside is at its greenest and there are fewer visitors.
- The Andaman coast
- Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak are generally at their driest and calmest from about November to April. From about May to October there is more rain and rougher seas, and some boats to the smaller islands stop running.
- The Gulf islands
- Koh Samui and its neighbours are usually at their most settled from about January to August, and take their heaviest rain later in the year, around October to December.
- Festivals
- Songkran, the Thai New Year in mid-April, and Loy Krathong in November are lively times to be there, and busy ones.
- Which coast, when
- Tell us when you can travel, and we will suggest the coast to match.
Planning your trip
What tends to shape a Thai holiday.
- How long
- Ten nights to two weeks suits a city and a beach, or a short tour and a beach. Adding the north comfortably takes two weeks or a little more. A guide, not a rule.
- Getting around
- Domestic flights of an hour or so link Bangkok with Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui, and save a great deal of time. Sleeper trains and private cars are alternatives where the journey is part of the appeal.
- Getting to the islands
- Phuket and Koh Samui have airports. Smaller islands are reached by ferry or speedboat, which adds a few hours and needs its timings lined up with your flights.
- Which coast
- Decide by the time of year first, and by the kind of place second. We will tell you plainly if your dates point to one coast over the other.
- Flights
- Direct flights from the UK to Bangkok take around eleven to twelve hours, and there are many routes with one change. Flying into Bangkok and home from the coast can save a day.
- The climate
- It is hot and humid for much of the year. Plan sightseeing for the morning, and allow an easy day after the flight.
- Booking ahead
- Christmas, New Year and the February half-term are the busiest and dearest weeks on the beaches, and the good small hotels fill early.
Related holiday types
Thinking about Thailand?
Tell us what you want from Thailand: the beach alone, or city, culture and coast. Tell us when you can travel, how long you have and who is going. If a package will do it well we will say so and book it, and if your trip needs putting together we will do that instead.
