Thailand

I have been to Thailand three times now. Thailand really is the tourist hub of South East Asia, from my time there three years ago to this year the tourism has significantly increased. Thailand is filled with natural beauty, amazing nightlife, grand golden temples, hikes, boat rides, not to mention their amazingly tasty street food- you name it, Thailand has it all.

Most people start their backpacking journey in Bangkok, however I preferred my route starting in Phuket and working my way up!

Phuket

When you think of Phuket, you probably think of Bangla rd and an influencers paradise.

Koh Phi Phi

As you arrive at the pier in Koh Phi Phi, you’ll immediately be in awe of this postcard-perfect island, with its towering limestone cliffs and sparkling turquoise waters. From the moment you step off the boat, you’re greeted by bustling pathways filled with travellers making their way to their accommodation, luggage in hand. The narrow streets are lined with restaurants, boutiques, bars, and tour offices, creating a lively and welcoming atmosphere.

Amid the murmur of people chatting, you’ll also notice an unusual kind of quiet — there are no motorised vehicles on the island. Instead, locals move goods using hand carts, often gently calling out “beep beep” as they pass by to alert pedestrians.

During the day, Koh Phi Phi feels relatively calm and relaxed, but by night the island transforms. Restaurants fill with long queues, bars come alive with music, and the once-quiet walkways buzz with energy and nightlife.

I spent two days in Koh Phi Phi both times I was there, although it would have been so easy for me to extend my stay.

While you are here you have to do one of the island tours that are advertised throughout the island. I opted for a “Plankton Sunset Tour” which included Monkey beach, Snorkeling at Pileh Bay, a stop off outside the Viking Caves, Maya Bay and after sunset swimming with plankton.

The boat tour provided us with water and fresh fruit. Monkey Beach as the name suggests is a beach filled with monkeys, who are often cheeky and will chase you if you bring food with you. Make sure you don’t smile when around these guys as it is a sign of aggression and don’t get too close for comfort!

The Viking Caves are protected by the national park rangers and you are not allowed to enter them. Inside the limestone caves are wall paintings and it is used as a site to harvest birds nests for traditional Chinese soup. The rangers have permission to shoot anyone who enters without permission!

There are different opportunities to snorkel along the boat journey, but Pileh Bay is especially exciting as here I spotted black tip reef sharks swimming along the edge of the beautiful limestone sea cliffs.

Maya Bay is one of the most famous places in Thailand due to Leonardo Di Caprios movie “The Beach” being filmed here. It is truly a breathtaking location, although it does attract mass amounts of tourism. The famous beach is nestled amongst tall emerald green, limestone sea cliffs towering above transparent, turquoise waters.

After visiting Maya Bay, we watched the sunset over the sea, before heading to our final stop to see the plankton. We were not allowed to video here as this would disturb the visuals of the blue glowing plankton in the water. As the lights to the boat were switched off 100’s of fish began jumping out of the water, startling us all. We submerged our heads in the sea, snorkels on and agitated the water to see the plankton glow. It wasn’t as vibrant and bright as I though it would be, but reminded me more so of looking into a starry night.

Another activity I did in Phi Phi, was do the short hike to Viewpoint 2 for sunset. It offers you a birds eye view of the entire island and is absolutely breathtaking. There is a little cafe on top where you can buy drinks and smoothies to rehydrate after your climb.

At night, as I said Koh Phi Phi becomes alive – from the famous Reggae bar, where tourists challenge each other to a Muay Thai fight for a free bucket, to the array of fire shows that take place along the beach front.

Places to Eat:

You will not be short of places to eat on Phi Phi. Some of my recommendations are as follows:

The rock
Garlic 1992
Tom Yam
Thai Street Food

Krabi (2 days)

Where I stayed: Base by Nomads hostel, Ao Nang Krabi https://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/p/322541/base-ao-nang-beachfront-by-nomads/?utm_source=shared_property&utm_medium=clipboard&utm_campaign=322541

Krabi is a beautiful coastal town surrounded by towering limestone karsts bordering the Andaman Sea, bustling streets and beautiful turquoise waters lined with longtail boats.

The main place for backpackers to stay is Ao Nang. The streets are lined with restaurants, small shops and bars.

During my stay in Krabi I visited a number of sites. My favourite place was the famous Railay beach. It is the small landlocked area, only accessible by boat from Ao Nang for a total price of 200 baht for a roundtrip. The boat drops you off at Railay beach where you wade in water to the shore before exploring the streets. All boats return back to Krabi at 6pm, so I would recommend getting their earlier.

On Railay make sure you walk to the far side of this village to Phrang Nang. The beach is beautiful, nestled amongst the limestone karsts with an interesting cave called the princess cave. Here you can also visit the bat cave and get a gorgeous birds eye view of the beach below. It is also famous for rock climbing. I would highly recommend renting a kayak for the day and exploring what this place has to offer.

If you wanted to stay on Railay, you could stay in Blanco hostel. I visited it while on my trip and WOW the views from here are insane.

When you get back from your day trip, I would recommend heading to the Ao Nang landmark night market for some food. There are plenty of options to choose from and they often have live music and carnival games here!

For your second day in Krabi I would recommend visiting the Tiger Cave Temple and the blue pool. The Tiger Cave temple is a beaitiful, but tough 1200 step hike to see 360 degree views of Krabi. As there is a temple on top you must have your shoulders covered. This hike nearly killed me, but it was worth the hike. Beware of the monkeys and make sure to hide all your snacks- they can be vicious!

The blue pools are about an hours drive from the tiger cave temple. There is 400 baht entrance fee on the way in. A short walk leads you to the beautiful Emerald pool which you can cool off by swimming in and a short walk from there you can visit the blue pools!

I would recommend heading into Krabi town and heading to the night market there. It is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It is such a hidden gem which doesn’t seem to be hit by an influx of tourists yet. I managed to get a pad ka prow for 25 baht!

Where to eat in Krabi:

Mom’s kitchen, Railay
Ao Nang Landmark nightmarket
Krabi town night market
Taste of Railay, Railay

Koh Lanta (3 days)

Situated about a 3 hour drive from Krabi, Koh Lanta had to be my favourite place in Thailand. This is where I learned how to ride a moped for the first time. The roads are wide and super quiet making it a great place for a first time learner.

Day 1- Driving around this island and just getting lost was one of my favourite things to do. I would recommend spending one day going to Koh Lanta National park and using your bike ride back as an opportunity to beach hop! Some of the best beaches to visit include Bamboo beach, Nui Bay and Relax Bay. The main beach is called Long Beach. There are so many beautiful spots you can stop along the way, so take your time and see as many places as possible.

Day 2- On my second day, myself and some people I met hired a longtail boat for the day and did a 4 island tour with a stop off at the emerald cave. The price was about 8,000 baht and included a tour guide and meals. Our tour guide was amazing. We stopped off a different places for snorkelling and some beautiful white sand beaches.

The stop at the Emerald cave was one of the most insane experiences. I had no idea what to expect, but we stopped of in rough waters and with the help of our tour guide we swam toward this cave, lifejackets on. We swam towards this small cave opening. The tide was high and we quickly had to swim through this opening when the tide would go down. When the tide would come in the whole cave would fill up with water and the suction would cause sea water to spray all over us. We only had one guide, with one torch guiding our way. I was absolutely terrified on this swim , but luckily one of the guys I was with was able to help me swim on through. When I saw light again, I breathed a sigh of relief thinking my swim was over. We had arrived at the most beautiful beach surrounded by greenery and sea cliffs. We had about 45 minutes to relax in the beach area, before making the treacherous journey back. Although this experience was amazing I couldn’t wait to be back on the safety of our longtail boat!

Koh Lanta is a really chill area with an abundance of bars and restaurants along the main road. While you are here make sure to visit Yawee for food. It is a family owned restaurant serving the most amazing Thai food- my favourite dish here was the khao soi. Make sure to get here before 6pm as it can get extremely busy!

Day 3- For your final day in Koh Lanta, I would recommend spending your time exploring Koh Lanta Old town. The Old Town is pretty much a fishing village with markets lining the main street, selling unique souvenirs, 2nd hand clothing and restaurants galore.

Koh Samui(2 days)

Koh Samui is a party lovers haven. It is a tourist hotspot with its most popular area being Chaweng. I have stayed in Koh Samui twice and stayed in both Chaweng and Lamaii. For me Lamaii was my favourite. Although Chaweng is fun and home to my favourite hostel I ever stayed in (Lub D), I much preferred the chill vibes in Lamaii.

Lamaii is located in a tranquil, quiet part of Koh Samui along the beach front. Here I stayed in beach front bungalows. I hired a bike and went beach hopping, visited Hin Ta Hin Yai(the grandmother and grandfather rocks), the Overlapping stones and the Fishermans evening market. When visiting the overlapping stones make sure you don’t go to the first one you see- this is a tourist trap! If you travel 100m further you will land at the Overlap Stones 2. There is a 30 baht entrance fee, compared to a 200 baht fee you would pay at the other one.

Another popular thing to do in Koh Samui is the ziplining trails through the forested areas. These trails are beautiful and can be booked through any information booths along the streets. I chose to go with Awk Adventures and had an amazing time. They organised pick up and drop off and we were ziplining for about 3 hours I believe.

Another thing you could do is a boat tour to Pig Island. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this place, I felt it to be cruel and felt I was on the island for way too long. I would recommend skipping and putting your money toward something else.

Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan, home to the famous Full Moon Party. A monthly party which attracts 10’s of 1000’s of people to this beach front party with multiple different stages playing different music, fire ropes and alcohol buckets. The Full moon party is something you have to experience at least once in your life

Although the full moon party was an experience, I would be much more inclined to recommend partying at the Eden Part instead. A secret party, hosted every Saturday night. The whole experience is a lot of fun from beginning to end. You are picked up by a taxi and dropped off to a beach about 25 minutes away, where you must find a hut to buy your party tickets before being taxied onto a longtail boat and being brough to an island 10 minutes away. The party is located in a wooden hut where you are not allowed to use your phones and must take off your shoes prior to entering. The whole experience is surreal and I loved this party.

Apart from the parties, Koh Phangan can become a bit of a ghost town, but I would still recommend visiting local restaurants, beaches and the Amsterdam Bar for sunset.