Thailand absolutely rocks as a solo travel destination and probably ranks in the top five solo travel destinations in the World*
Solo travel went to Thailand in 2011 and visited the islands on the gulf as well as the andaman coast. Here is a brief guide to get you started in the land of smiles.
Koh Phangnan
Could this be the ultimate budget solo travel island? Every month 1000s of backpackers, many who are travelling solo, descend on the party capital island of Southeast Asia. Haad Rin is ground zero for the party crew who head there monthly for the world famous Full Moon party.
This part of the island remains busy all month with various other moon related parties (black moon, half moon, quarter moon – you get the idea!)
So we highly rate Koh Phangnan for the solo, particularly if you like to party. There are quieter parts of the island too and we’d recommend the North, around bottle beach.
Koh Samui
Samui is the big island of the Gulf of Thailand and a heavyweight of tourism. Most of the beaches, Chaweng for instance, only really cater for the package groups and couples.
If you do find yourself on Samui then we’d recommend heading to the north of the Island around the beaches of Bang Po, otherwise head for it’s little brother (see above!).
Koh Tao
Turtle Island is the northerly cousin of the above two and is heading increasingly upmarket like Samui but is a much better option if you are travelling solo.
This is largely due to the plethora of dive schools on the island which makes for a very sociable scene, if you are doing a dive course.
Fear not non-divers, Kao Tao is still a great destination for solos due in part to it’s lack of package tourism.
Getting to the Islands
Koh Samui is the only island with an airport but an alternative is to fly from Bangkok to Surat Thani and take a bus boat combo over.
Alternatively you can take a bus/train/boat combination all the way from the capital.
*Look out for our top five solo travel destinations coming soon.