A Beach Holiday with an Exotic Thai Twist

Southern Thailand extends southward along a narrow peninsula lying between the Andaman Sea on its west side and the South China Sea on the east. Visit the South if you are looking for a beach holiday with an exotic Thai twist. The east coast on the Gulf of Thailand always seems to be more relaxed, with long, wide bays and calm seas; the Andaman Sea coast tends to be more rugged and exhilarating, with its unique limestone rock formations and cliffs. Popular destinations include Ko Samui on the gulf coast and Phuket, Phang-nga, and Krabi on the Andaman coast.

Phuket – The Pearl of Andaman

Phuket is Thailand’s largest and most visited island. It also blends extraordinary natural beauty with superb tourism facilities to ensure the perfect vacation in the sun just an hour’s flight from Bangkok.

Located 540 miles south of Bangkok, Phuket is blessed with a whole string of magnificent beaches and coves bathed by the clear blue waters of the Andaman Sea. Popular beaches include Patong, the most developed beach on the island with the most vibrant nightlife, Mai Khao, Phuket’s longest beach where giant sea turtles struggle ashore to lay their eggs each year from November to February, and Rawai, home to the sea-gypsies village. Water sports, yachting, scuba diving, sea canoeing, world-class golf, spa treatments, and exquisite dining are among the top things to do. From Phuket, you can also enjoy a trip to Mu Ko Similan National Park in the nearby province of Phang-nga.

Phuket is not just an island in the sun. Sino-Portuguese style mansions built in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the fabulous annual Vegetarian Festival, attest to a multi-cultural history. This lovely island is also a shopping paradise for the cultivated pearls, batiks, and pewter ware lovers.

Phang-nga – Thailand’s Best Scuba-Diving Spots

Located 490 miles south of Bangkok, Phang-nga is a province with two characters – land and sea – and packed with national parks that guard magnificent scenery with immensely different attractions. Here are more than 100 islands with geology varying from low, gently sloping hills to the sheer-sided limestone sea karsts that rise vertically out of the water to stunning heights. One is particularly famous; known as “James Bond Island”, it was the location for the movie The Man with the Golden Gun.

While the Phang-nga bay itself is not large, the numbers of islands, inlets, mangrove channels and sea caves to be explored ensures that no matter how long you spend here; new experiences will always be around the corner. The most popular way to visit is a boat ride to various islands, which include Ko Panyi, where there is a fishing village built on stilts, Khao Khian, where prehistoric rock paintings can be seen on the cliffs, and Tham Lot, where you will find a beautiful sight of the mangrove forest beyond the giant hollow of a lofty limestone cave.

The island groups of Similan and Surin are renowned for their beautiful unspoilt beaches and spectacular underwater scenery, attracting divers from around the world. Similan is one of the world’s best dive sites. In addition to remarkable visibility, scuba divers can expect a fascinatingly varied underwater scene, with coral reefs, huge sea fans and barrel sponges, cliffs, and stone piles, as well as an abundance of marine life. Surin offers excellent condition for scuba diving and snorkeling. There are also a number of hiking trails, especially on the northern island, while the southern island has the added attraction of a village of sea gypsies.

Krabi – Best Kept Secrets

The stunning sea mountains scenery of Phang-nga Bay extends down to Krabi, reaching south into deeper, crystal clear water. Located 508 miles south of Bangkok, Krabi is one of Thailand’s best kept secrets and is undergoing an awakening. Yet the area retains the flavor traditionalists have always loved – for example, the fabulous beaches to the south of Ao Nang, tucked below towering rock walls, are still accessible by boat only.

South of Krabi, and east of Phuket you discover the Phi Phi Islands. Spectacular vertical cliffs rising from clear seas, beautiful lagoons enclosed by rock walls and idyllic tropical beaches have rightly made these islands amongst the most famous in the world. In 1998, the southernmost of the two islands, Phi Phi Le, was chosen as the location for filming ‘The Beach’, starring Leonardo Di Caprio.

Krabi can keep you busy as you like. Canoeing and kayaking are two ways to enjoy the spectacular seascape, limestone cliffs and caves in Krabi’s waters. Rock Climbing is popular here. Lines of sheer limestone cliffs along Tham Phranang and Rai Le beaches have challenged thousands of climbers from all over the world every year. The levels of difficulty vary, so even the most inexperienced climbers can experiment and enjoy.

Ko Samui – The Gulf Paradise

With soft sandy beaches shaded by towering palms, delicious fresh seafood and a vibrant nightlife, Ko Samui has a magical formula that seems to cast its spell on everyone. Located 52 miles east of Surat Thani province or 437 miles south of Bangkok, Ko Samui sits snugly in the Gulf of Thailand, surrounded by other island gems like Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao.

Many visitors are content to laze their days away on the beach, soaking up the sun and cooling off in the turquoise waters. An excursion into Chaweng beach will bring you to a tasteful mélange of international and local restaurants, supermarkets, shops and nightlife. For action enthusiasts there are plenty of choices like diving and snorkeling, windsurfing, paragliding, beach volleyball, off-road driving, and others.

Once you have exhausted the relative civilization of Ko Samui, a wonderland of outlying islands awaits discovery. Sailing north 25 miles brings you to Ko Tao, the Gulf of Thailand’s diving capital. Enjoy the sparkling clear waters, bounded by and a boulder-rock shoreline before moving on to the Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park. Twelve miles away from Ko Samui is Ko Pha-ngan, famed worldwide for its full moon parties, but better described as a wonder of mountains, jungle and waterfalls.

For a unique and unforgettable experience, travel to Wat Suan Mokkh on the mainland of Surat Thani. This forest temple offers meditation courses, which begin on the first day of every month and last for ten days. If time permits, visit Chaiya, one of southern Thailand’s oldest towns and Khao Sok National Park, home to the world’s largest flower, the Raffiesia Kerrii, which can grow up to 2.3 feet wide when it blooms in December or January.