Holidays to Thailand
Though perhaps most famous for its pristine beaches – stereotypically idyllic, with turquoise waters, gently rustling palms and brilliant blue skies – holidays in Thailand are about a whole lot more than just sun, sea and sand. Treat each of our Thailand holiday itineraries as a starting point: tell us what you love to do and how you want to spend your Thai baht, and we’ll design a trip that’s tailored to you.
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"Thailand is so often classed as tacky: full moon parties, tourist-focused floating markets and the infamous Khao San Road. But your Thailand adventure can so easily avoid all that. Thailand is a country with great cultural depth, is a genuine wonder for nature lovers and its street food is world class.
"Thailand is the original tropical paradise – beautiful beaches with seas as clear as glass and sand so white it threatens to burn your retinas. It has jungles three times as old as the Amazon, lakes with limestone caves and jagged karsts, and mountains threaded with hiking trails through paddy fields, forests, minority villages and hot springs.
"It has ancient ruins, in which you can trace the birth of Thai culture, co-existing with modern, laid-back towns populated with rooftop bars, art galleries and hipster coffee shops. Thailand is a place where classic culture and contemporary life collide at 100 miles an hour in a chaotic explosion of life."
Planning your holiday to Thailand
Best time to visit Thailand
The dry season is considered by many as the best time for a Thailand holiday – from November to early May. But we don't think that's the only time to visit Thailand. Each season has its pros, cons and surprises.
However, the only time we would discourage travel is to northern Thailand during burning season (March/April). This is when farmers burn crops in a traditional agricultural method known as “slash and burn”, which can lead to poor air quality. It’s also a particularly humid time of year.
If you're after lush greenery and smaller crowds, the wet season (late May to October) could be your ideal time to go. Thailand's beaches are often quieter this time, too, if you aren't bother by the odd afternoon downpour (it can be rather refreshing).
Find more details on the best time to visit Thailand.
Reasons to go to Thailand
Thai food
Even without any of its other draws, we’d probably still come to Thailand just to get a bowl of fragrant green curry, or to browse the steaming, sizzling food market stalls of Bangkok. And though you might think you’re familiar with Thai cuisine – think again. Sure, there’s old friends like pad thai and Massaman curry, but there’s also sesame dumplings, stir-fried crab, bread rolls filled with chocolate, mung bean candy and oyster pancakes. The list is (almost) endless, and it’s all gloriously, incomparably delicious.
Thailand's beaches
Thailand is perhaps most famous for its paradise beaches – and with the fame come the crowds, so it's worth knowing where, and when, to go.
Phuket, Ko Chang, Krabi and Ko Samui can get overcrowded, but are family holiday favourites for a reason. They've got genuinely beautiful beaches, plenty of hotels to choose from and they're easy to access from Thailand's mainland.
Some less frequtented options (for now), include Khao Lak, Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai.
Khao Lak is within easy reach of Phuket airport, just an hour's drive away, and connects brilliantly with Khao Sok National Park.
Ko Yao Yai and Ko Yao Noi have a calm, Muslim focused culture – you won't find beach parties here.
How Thailand's history led to tourism
Thailand may look and feel like its neighbours in a lot of ways, but it has always charted its own course – evading colonisation, while its neighbours have been dominated by Dutch, Portuguese, French and British powers.
Back in the 13th century, the Kingdom of Sukhothai was known for its genius for adapting outside influences to domestic purposes. Culturally omnivorous, it sucked in art and knowledge from all corners of the world, fusing insights from Persia, Japan and France with local Khmer, Mon and Malay traditions to synthesize something entirely new. The resulting Sukhothai style is considered the birth of Thai culture, and has remained the bedrock of traditional art and architecture in Thailand ever since.
When squeezed between colonial powers in the 19th century, the French in the East and British in the West, Thailand resisted colonisation – the only country in Southeast Asia to do so successfully. Later, while Myanmar was languishing under a repressive military regime and Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were suffering through the Second Indochina War, Thailand super-charged its economy by hosting American troops – then seamlessly transformed itself from a wartime R&R destination into Southeast Asia’s first international tourism hub.
Combining Thailand with Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos
You could easily spend a month or more in Thailand – and some of our customers do. But, if you've got the time to make your long-haul flight stretch further, and you want to explore beyond the Thai borders, we recommend heading onto Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam.
There are so many ways to make a combination trip work – whether you cruise between Laos and Thailand via the Mekong River, like travel expert, Tyler did with his family, or you pick our Thailand and Laos Explorer itinerary to act as your trip template – Thailand needn't be the only stop on your Southeast Asian adventure.
Frequently asked questions
Is Thailand a good destination for a family holiday?
Yes! Thailand is a great country to visit with kids in tow, as are many other Southeast Asian countries. Speak to us to book the rooms, transport and experiences that will make your family holiday a dream.
Is Thailand easy to travel around?
For many people, Thailand is their introduction to Southeast Asia. Thailand first began welcoming tourists back in the 1970s, long before its neighbours, and while this mean it’s by no means untouched (in fact, it’s one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world) it does means that this is one of the most well-connected, well-developed, and all-round delightful places to travel in the whole of Asia.
Getting around is a breeze, accommodation is outstanding at all budgets, and the national cuisine is unbeatable, from beach shack curry on Ko Pha-Ngan to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chiang Mai. Expect a warm welcome and good humour everywhere you go in the Land of Smiles - Thailand's friendliness is baked into its culture.
Is Thailand too touristy?
Thai people are long accustomed to foreign tourists, which means that many people understand English, Westerner-friendly food is readily available, and every town has a proliferation of guides and operators ready to sell you cultural experiences, historical tours and outdoor adventures. It does also mean that you’ll have to contend with some pushy touts, tourist tat, and occasional crowds – but that’s the price you pay for beauty, ease and comfort.
Thailand’s tourist industry grew at breakneck speed, before the world really knew about the perils of unregulated mass tourism, and that legacy lingers. Everyone has heard about the overdeveloped and overcrowded beaches, unethical elephant camps and tiger-petting experiences, the drug-fuelled full moon parties, the infamous ping-pong shows and the thriving sex tourism industry. These things do exist, but they’re easily avoided.
The good news is that, while Thailand has its detractors, we feel that it’s a case of a minority of bad actors garnering an outsized reputation. Thailand has learned a lot from the past 50 years of tourism, and things are improving all the time. Logging is now entirely banned, and eco-lodges, sustainable travel companies and community-based tourism initiatives are popping up like daisies (or orchids, perhaps).
Also, everyone is just really friendly.
Why book through a tour operator?
If holidays to Thailand are so easy, would you bother with a tour operator? It’s a fair question – and you certainly can visit Thailand independently without much difficulty. The hard part is knowing what’s actually worth doing – knowing how to tell the truly great hotels, tours and experiences from the substandard ones. Choose poorly, and you risk contributing to exploitation and environmental degradation – but choose wisely and you’ll have the time of your life. That's why each Thailand itinerary we build is bespoke to what you want to do, and cherry picks those experiences you'll connect best with.
Is Thailand safe to travel to?
For the most part, holidays in Thailand are safe. Though political tensions have caused tourists to stay away in the past (most notably during the 2014 coup) such events are rare, and usually only felt in the capital.
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