Country
Thailand
587 beaches surveyed and measured. Ten chosen by fame. All ten rated.
10 judged · 587 surveyed · See on the Atlas →
The 10 best beaches in Thailand
Ordered by fame: how often Lonely Planet, Condé Nast Traveler, World's 50 Best Beaches and Thailand Wanderlust name them, plus measured size. The order is theirs. The rating is ours. Every number is measured or sourced.
- 1
Railay Beach
WORTH A DETOURThree of four lists agree, and so does every longtail in Ao Nang.
The factThere is no road to Railay: you get there by longtail boat only.
611 m long · 22.4 m wide · Photo: Wendy Harman, CC BY 2.0
- 2
Bottle Beach
WORTH A DETOURGet there by boat or a jungle trail. Stay the night and the beach goes quiet.
The factBottle Beach has no road: you arrive by longtail from Chaloklum or on a jungle trail of 60 to 90 minutes.
518 m long · 23 m wide · Photo: Renek78, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3
Sunrise Beach (Ko Lipe)
WORTH A DETOURKo Lipe's long beach: big enough to share, inside a park that charges for it.
The factForeign visitors to Sunrise Beach pay a Tarutao National Park fee of ฿200 for adults, and rangers check the ticket on snorkel trips.
1,492 m long · 24.4 m wide · Photo: travelourplanet.com, CC BY 2.0
- 4
Freedom Beach
OVERRATEDClosed after its third drowning in 15 months. When it reopens, mind the flags.
The factFreedom Beach charges 100 baht a head to get in, then a long jungle path and stairs lead down to the sand.
329 m long · 30.6 m wide
- 5
Maya Bay
OVERRATEDThailand's postcard bay, now strictly look but do not swim.
The factSwimming is banned inside Maya Bay, and rangers enforce it.
265 m long · 25.3 m wide · Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
- 6
Donald Duck Bay
OVERRATEDHalf the year you cannot go, and the other half you get an hour.
The factDonald Duck Bay was ranked 10th in the World's 50 Best Beaches 2026.
239 m long · 27.9 m wide · Photo: Mathias Krumbholz, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7
Sunset Beach (Ko Lipe)
ONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERERocky, quiet and west-facing, until sunset brings the whole island.
The factSunset Beach faces directly west, which makes it one of the most popular spots on Ko Lipe for watching the sun go down.
360 m long · 11.9 m wide
- 8
Patong Beach
ONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THEREPhuket's loudest beach. The sea has its own red flags from May.
The factPatong is Phuket's busiest stretch of coast, three kilometers of white sand with a wall of restaurants, shops and bars behind it.
2,578 m long · 51.5 m wide · Photo: Wolfgang Holzem, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 9
Lamai Beach
ONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERESamui's sunrise beach. Leave the mask at home.
The factLamai faces east, so come for the sunrise rather than the sunset.
3,356 m long · 25.2 m wide · Photo: Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10
Bang Tao Beach
ONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY THERESeven kilometres where the price of shade depends on whose shade it is.
The factA sunbed on Bang Tao costs about 100 baht from a smaller vendor and about 2,000 baht at one of the big beach clubs.
5,230 m long · 43.1 m wide
How we rate: we have not stood on these beaches, so the sources decide. A beach starts in the middle. It moves up for something no other beach has, or for a top-three place on the fame list. It moves down when someone has been hurt there, when it is closed or banned, or when a source calls the water dangerous. Ordinary cautions are printed on each beach’s page and leave the rating alone.
Asked about beaches in Thailand
- What is the best beach in Thailand?
- By how often the lists we read name it, Railay Beach in Krabi: three of the four name it. We rate it Worth a detour, along with Bottle Beach on Ko Pha Ngan and Sunrise Beach on Ko Lipe.
- Can you swim at Maya Bay?
- No. Swimming inside the bay is banned and rangers enforce it. The bay also closes every year from 1 August to 30 September.
- When are Thailand's island beaches closed?
- Several close seasonally. Maya Bay shuts from 1 August to 30 September; the Similan Islands National Park, home of Donald Duck Bay, from mid-May to mid-October; and Ko Lipe is generally only reachable from mid-October to mid-May.
- How warm is the sea in Thailand?
- Very. In 2025 the coolest monthly average at any of the ten was 27.5 °C (January, Bottle Beach) and the warmest 31.4 °C (May, Lamai).
From the blog, on Thailand
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