Things to do in Thailand

24 places worth the trip in Thailand, grouped by what they are. Every guide explains what to see, the best time to go and the practical details, checked against official sources. Best time to visit Thailand: Nov–Mar.

Islands (5)
Heritage (4)
Mosques & temples (4)
National parks (4)
Cities (2)
Markets (2)
Landmarks (1)
Nature (1)
Beaches (1)

Islands in Thailand

Drone view of boats on the turquoise water of Maya Bay, Phi Phi Island, between limestone cliffs.

Ao Nang Subdistrict, Mueang Krabi District, Krabi Province

Phi Phi Islands

A group of six limestone islands roughly midway between Phuket and Krabi, protected within Hat Noppharat Thara–Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. Ko Phi Phi Don holds the villages and hotels, while uninhabited Ko Phi Phi Le surrounds Maya Bay and a string of sheltered lagoons.

A white sand beach curving towards a forested headland, with clear turquoise water and overhanging leaves

Phang Nga Province, Andaman Sea

Similan Islands

An archipelago of 11 granite islands in the Andaman Sea, protected as Mu Ko Similan National Park since 1982. Known for clear water, huge rounded boulders and some of Thailand's best diving, the park opens to visitors only from mid-October to mid-May.

Long-tail and fishing boats moored in shallow turquoise water off a sandy beach, with a wooded island behind

Ko Samui District, Surat Thani Province

Koh Samui

Koh Samui is a 229 square kilometre island in the Gulf of Thailand, about 35 kilometres off the Surat Thani coast. Once a quiet coconut-growing island with no roads, it is now the main resort island of the Gulf, with a string of beaches, a forested hilly interior and direct flights from Bangkok and several regional cities.

Aerial view of a wooded headland dotted with bungalows above a clear turquoise bay

Ko Pha-ngan District, Surat Thani Province

Koh Tao

Koh Tao, 'Turtle Island', is a 21 square kilometre island north of Ko Pha-ngan whose economy revolves around diving. Clear, warm water, coral reefs close to shore and a large number of dive schools make it one of the most popular places in the region to learn to dive.

View from a hillside over turquoise water to a small wooded islet with a sandy spit, under a blue sky with clouds

Ko Chang District, Trat Province

Koh Chang

Koh Chang, 'Elephant Island', is Thailand's third-largest island, lying in the eastern Gulf of Thailand close to the Cambodian border. Most of the island is protected within Mu Ko Chang National Park, giving it a steep, forested interior with waterfalls, while beaches and small resorts line the west coast and stilt fishing villages sit in the south.

Heritage in Thailand

Ancient brick temple ruins and pagodas of Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya under a clear sky.

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Central Thailand

Ayutthaya Historical Park

The ruins of Ayutthaya, the Siamese capital from the mid-14th century until a Burmese army sacked it in 1767. Tall reliquary towers, monastery halls and weathered Buddha images stand among lawns and canals on the old island city, and the core of the park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site managed by Thailand's Fine Arts Department.

The chedis and seated Buddha of a large temple complex framed by big trees, with hills on the horizon under a pale sky

Mueang Kao, Mueang Sukhothai District, Sukhothai Province

Sukhothai Historical Park

The ruins of Sukhothai, capital of the first Siamese kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, spread across some 70 square kilometres of lawns, ponds and wooded hills. Its temples, Buddha images and stone inscriptions are counted among the foundations of Thai art, script and statehood, and the park is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The black steel railway bridge on concrete piers spanning a calm river under a clear blue sky

Mueang Kanchanaburi District, Kanchanaburi Province, Western Thailand

Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai

The riverside town of Kanchanaburi is the main place to remember the Thailand-Burma Railway, built by Allied prisoners of war and Asian labourers under Japanese occupation in 1942-43 at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Its bridge, war cemeteries and museums sit close together, and forested national parks with waterfalls lie in the hills beyond.

A row of pastel blue, pink and white Sino-Portuguese shophouses with arched windows and shuttered balconies

Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket Province

Phuket Old Town

The historic centre of Phuket Town, built on the wealth of the tin-mining boom, with streets of pastel Sino-Portuguese shophouses, Chinese shrines and grand mansions. It is also the heart of Phuket's Peranakan food culture, which helped the city become a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2015.

Mosques & temples in Thailand

The brown brick chedi of Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai under a blue sky in daytime.

Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand

Temples of Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, the old capital of the Lanna kingdom, has dozens of temples inside and around its moated old city. The essential trio is the massive ruined chedi of Wat Chedi Luang, the elegant Lanna halls of Wat Phra Singh, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, whose golden chedi looks down on the city from the mountain to the west.

A courtyard of tall, tiled chedis with slender spires and red-roofed halls behind them under a pale sky

Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok

Wat Pho

A large royal monastery just south of the Grand Palace, best known for its gilded reclining Buddha, about 46 metres long. Its grounds hold more than a thousand Buddha images, four great chedis for the early Chakri kings and a long-established school of traditional medicine and massage.

The pale central prang of Wat Arun and its smaller corner towers seen across the Chao Phraya under a cloudy sky

Bangkok Yai District, Bangkok

Wat Arun

A royal temple on the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya, almost opposite Wat Pho, known for its tall central prang encrusted with fragments of Chinese porcelain. It once sheltered the Emerald Buddha and is one of the defining sights of the Bangkok riverfront.

The white ornate temple and its bridge reflected in a pool under a cloudy blue sky

Pa O Don Chai, Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province

Wat Rong Khun (White Temple), Chiang Rai

A privately owned art project in the form of a Buddhist temple, designed and funded by the Chiang Rai-born artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and opened to visitors in 1997. Its white buildings, set with fragments of mirrored glass, shimmer in the sun, and the work is expected to continue for decades.

National parks in Thailand

Aerial view of two chedis on a forested ridge with layers of mountains under an orange sunset sky

Chom Thong and Mae Chaem Districts, Chiang Mai Province

Doi Inthanon National Park

A mountain park of about 482 square kilometres south-west of Chiang Mai, rising to 2,565 metres at the summit of Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. A paved road climbs past waterfalls, Karen and Hmong villages and royal agricultural projects to mossy cloud forest, and the park is one of the best birdwatching areas in the country.

Aerial view of turquoise lake channels winding between forested islands and misty limestone peaks

Phanom and Ban Ta Khun districts, Surat Thani Province

Khao Sok National Park

Around 739 square kilometres of evergreen rainforest and limestone mountains in Surat Thani, including the large Cheow Lan reservoir. Established in 1980 and named an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2021, it is one of southern Thailand's largest remaining areas of old forest.

View from a forested hillside over a palm-lined white beach, a jetty and turquoise water towards steep wooded islands

Ko Samui District, Surat Thani Province

Ang Thong National Marine Park

Mu Ko Ang Thong, the 'bowl of gold' islands, is a marine national park of 42 mostly uninhabited limestone islands in the Gulf of Thailand, about 30 kilometres west of Koh Samui. Visitors come on boat trips to kayak, snorkel, climb to viewpoints and see the enclosed saltwater lake on Ko Mae Ko.

Forested green hills under a blue sky with white clouds, seen across dense shrubs and trees

Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Prachin Buri and Saraburi provinces

Khao Yai National Park

Khao Yai, established in 1962 as Thailand's first national park, protects more than 2,000 square kilometres of forested hills about three hours north-east of Bangkok. It is part of the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage Site and one of the best places in the country to see wild elephants, gibbons and hornbills.

Cities in Thailand

Old riverside buildings on the Chao Phraya with modern towers rising behind them under a blue sky

Bangkok Metropolis, Central Thailand

Bangkok

The capital and largest city of Thailand, spread across the delta of the Chao Phraya River and home to around nine million people. It combines the royal temples of Rattanakosin Island with markets, canals, malls, rooftop bars and one of the world's great street-food cultures.

Aerial view of a green, scrub-covered headland with pale rocks meeting turquoise sea

Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Hua Hin

Hua Hin is a seaside city on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand, about 200 kilometres south of Bangkok by road. Popular with the Thai royal family since the 1920s, it combines long beaches, a historic railway station, seafood restaurants and markets with an easy, family-friendly atmosphere.

Markets in Thailand

The red and white Chatuchak Weekend Market sign above an entrance gate, framed by greenery and overhead wires

Chatuchak District, Bangkok

Chatuchak Weekend Market

One of the largest markets in Southeast Asia, covering about 35 acres beside Chatuchak Park in north Bangkok. On Saturdays and Sundays more than 200,000 people browse its thousands of stalls, which sell almost everything from vintage clothing and ceramics to plants, pets and street food.

A narrow canal packed with wooden boats and colourful umbrellas between rows of covered stalls

Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

A busy canal market about 100 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, where traders paddle wooden boats loaded with fruit, vegetables and cooked food along narrow waterways. It is now aimed largely at tourists, but its boats, colours and canal-side life remain a popular morning trip from the capital.

Landmarks in Thailand

Gold and red temple buildings of Wat Phra Kaew at the Grand Palace under a blue sky.

Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok

Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

A walled complex of throne halls, royal residences and temples on the east bank of the Chao Phraya, built from 1782 when Bangkok became the capital. Its royal temple, Wat Phra Kaew, enshrines the Emerald Buddha and is the spiritual heart of the Thai monarchy.

Nature in Thailand

Rounded, forested limestone islands scattered across a calm blue-green bay under a cloudy sky

Phang Nga Province, Andaman coast

Phang Nga Bay

A shallow bay of around 400 square kilometres between Phuket and the mainland, scattered with dozens of sheer limestone islands, sea caves and mangrove channels. Much of it is protected as Ao Phang Nga National Park and as a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

Beaches in Thailand

Long-tail boats in turquoise shallows off a sandy beach backed by jungle-covered limestone towers

Ao Nang, Mueang Krabi District, Krabi Province

Railay Beach

A small peninsula between Krabi town and Ao Nang, cut off from the mainland by limestone cliffs so that it can only be reached by boat. It has four distinct beach areas, a shrine-filled cave, short jungle trails and some of Thailand's best-known climbing walls.

Thailand holiday packages

Drone view of boats on the turquoise water of Maya Bay, Phi Phi Island, between limestone cliffs.

BeachCulture

Thailand · 10 nights4★ Resort

Bangkok, Chiang Mai & Phuket

Grand Palace
Doi Suthep temple
Phi Phi Islands by speedboat

Includes accommodation · daily breakfast · domestic flights · private transfers

Indicative from

$2,138 pp

Gold and red temple buildings of Wat Phra Kaew at the Grand Palace under a blue sky.

BeachHoneymoon

Thailand · 7 nights4★ Resort

Bangkok & Krabi Beaches

Bangkok canals by longtail boat
Railay Beach
Four-island tour

Includes accommodation · daily breakfast · bangkok–krabi flight · private transfers

Indicative from

$1,439 pp

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