Choosing “the one” resort with “the one” beach on the map of Thailand – seems difficult. But actually it’s simpler when you’ve seen everything and can objectively compare what you’ve seen. In my view, there are only five top seaside resorts in Thailand: Phuket, Krabi, Samui, Pattaya, Ko Chang.
There are actually more (try choosing a resort yourself), and each one has between 10 and 40 beaches. You’d think finding the best beach would be a right nightmare. Again I’m saying – it’s not difficult.
In Thailand’s nature there’s almost no classic “Bounty advert” style with white coral sand (exceptions being some excursion islands). So first we’ll lower your expectations a touch and now we’ll start picking the best that these five resorts can offer.
For those who appreciate naturalness and fewer crowds: there are several relatively wild places with good beaches where there are few people and little civilisation. These are Ko Kood and Ko Mak (near Ko Chang), and also the distant beaches of Ko Lanta, Ko Lipe.
You need to get to all of them under your own steam, and these are separate quests for the most persistent.
