3 Prettiest Islands in Thailand: What to do & Where to Stay
- by Ari Travels
Thailand is home to many tropical paradise islands. Something straight out of the movies. It felt unreal to sit on a long tail boat while admiring the endless turquoise waters, mountains, and white beaches all at once. It’s hard for me to pick one specific island that was my favorite when I traveled to Thailand, but I would like to share my top three favorite islands and why you should visit these on your next trip to Thailand. These islands are in no particular order of which one was my favorite because I simply cannot pick!
Want to know of even more beautiful islands to visit on your trip to Thailand? Book a call with me and I can teach you everything I know about having the perfect island hopping experience, secret spots and seeing all the remarkable places here.
Before island hopping, I suggest you have Google Maps downloaded because most of these spots are not in Apple Maps. You can use Google Maps with your cell-phone data. For an affordable data plan in Thailand, consider the Airalo app. This app allows you to have affordable cell data plans all over the world without needing a physical Sim Card which is what makes using your phone without wifi extremely convenient. Use my code ARIAHN516 for $ off!
Koh Phangan
This island is absolutely incredible. This has to be one of my favorite islands because of how much we did here. I suggest you rent a motorbike for your duration of time here and explore Koh Panang because you can discover so many beautiful places along the way. This is what my friends and I did for a weekend. The motorbikes cost as little as $6/day. Even the drives themselves are so scenic and it feels like you are in a movie driving through palm tree jungles and up and down mountainsides that overlook the ocean.
I swam in some of the most surreal waters here on Koh Phangan. Beaches I would recommend you should visit here would be Haad Salad, Haad Yuan, Secret beach, and Leela Beach (this beach has a beautiful swing. It’s on a resort so be respectful of the people staying there. There is no fee to enter the resort beach).
This Island is home to my favorite hike I did in Thailand. It’s called Bottle Beach Hike. Located at the bottom of bottle beach, there is a steep path you climb up which takes you to an overlooking rock with views of the whole island. This hike is pretty treacherous so make sure to bring lots of water.
The sunsets here were unbeatable. There are many rooftop bars where you can watch the sunset for free. I would recommend Amsterdam or Top Rock Bar.
Of course, it's not a visit to Koh Phangan unless you attend one of the famous Full Moon Parties. A full moon party is a huge party right on the beach from sundown to sunrise. There is lots of different music, alcohol buckets, beach bar hopping and memories made at the parties. They cost $20 for an entree fee.
Where to stay
My friends and I stayed at Jungle Vibes Hostel. I couldn’t recommend this place more. The owner was so friendly. He gave us tons of suggestions of where we should explore. He also offered free tours of the island such as the bottle beach hike. He threw the most fun pregame before the full moon party and lastly, also rented out our motorbikes to us.
Pro tip: If you plan on coming to visit Koh Phangan specifically for the full-moon party, I suggest booking accommodation and transportation 2-3 months in advance because it fills up FAST.
Other affordable hotels on Koh Phangan
Koh Kood (Koh Kut)
Koh Kood is a beach lover's paradise. All the beaches are located on the western side. This little island has many untouched beaches to offer. Compared to other islands, this one is much less visited which makes it feel like you are in your own little paradise. My favorite beach in all of Thailand is on this island. The beach is called Ao Noi Beach located at Ao Noi Resort. There is a small $6 fee to enter the property unless you are staying there, but let me tell you it's worth it. This beach is the most breathtaking place I have ever seen. The water is crystal clear. There are hammocks to relax on as well as beach swings.
I suggest checking out Bang Bao Beach and Ao Tapao Beach as well!
If you want an adrenaline rush, check out a waterfall rope swing at Klong Chao Waterfall.
Where to stay
My friends and I booked a hostel called Eve’s House. The owners were able to rent us motorbikes for only $7/day and give us recommendations of where to go and what to see.
Other Affordable Hotels on Koh Kood
Koh Mook
This island is STUNNING. It is a much smaller island and less known to tourists. Koh Mook is extremely far south, almost to the Malaysian Border. During my stay here, my friend and I did a snorkeling and cave diving tour with our hotel. During the tour, we stopped at a deserted island to swim, hammock, and soak in the sun as well which was my favorite part of the trip. This tour was only $20 USD. Pictures don’t even do justice, but you can just look for yourself at how beautiful this place truly was. If you love the beach, this island is for you!
Where to Stay
We stayed at The Tropical Koh Mook. I loved this place because the hotel would arrange the best tours for us. They also arranged a Tuk Tuk driver for us and he was so nice and toured us around the island himself and showed us places to eat and hang out. Having a TukTuk driver on the island was very helpful because they do not do motorbike rental on Koh Mook.
If you would like to stay at a hostel, there is only one Hostel on the Island. It’s called Koh Mook Hostel
Here are some more accommodation recommendations here as well.
If you're looking for more island hopping tips and recommendations, feel free to schedule a call with me and I will be happy to tell you everything you need to know for a guaranteed wonderful adventure in southern Thailand.
I’m going to Thailand this fall!! Going to use your guide forsure