Itineraries — Southern Thailand

Southern Thailand is structured around two coasts with different seasons and atmospheres, which offers an unusual freedom in planning a trip year-round. The classic southern itinerary starts at Phuket — a natural gateway with a major international airport — before fanning out towards Krabi, the Phi Phi Islands, Koh Lanta or Koh Samui as schedules and tastes dictate. Logistics between destinations are fluid: fast ferries, shared minivans and domestic flights make combining several bases straightforward.

For a long weekend (4-5 days), focus on one destination rather than trying to combine several. Phuket option: Kata or Surin beach on the first day to settle in and recover from jet lag, a Phi Phi Islands excursion on day two (8 am departure by speedboat, snorkelling at Maya Bay and Viking Cave, return at 5 pm), a beach-and-massage day on day three, a visit to Phuket Old Town and its Sino-Portuguese houses at the end of the stay. Krabi-Railay option: arrival at Krabi airport, settle into Ao Nang, a full day at Railay Beach (swimming, climbing or snorkelling depending on tastes), a sea-kayak outing in the Phang Nga caves the next day, a four-islands tour for sunset before departure.

Over one week (7 days), the most popular itinerary combines Phuket (3 nights) and Krabi-Ao Nang (3 nights). From Phuket, take the ferry or a shared bus to Krabi (2h30-3h, 350-500 THB). Use Krabi to explore Railay, the four-islands tour and possibly an introductory dive from Ao Nang. This circuit gives an excellent overview of the karst landscapes and the Andaman coast beaches, without excessive logistics.

Gulf coast 7-day variant: arrive at Koh Samui (flight from Bangkok, 1h10), 2 nights on Samui for Chaweng and Lamai beaches, ferry to Koh Phangan (1h, 200 THB) for 2 nights — ideal outside the Full Moon Party period for the quieter beaches of Haad Thong Nai Pan — then Koh Tao (2h ferry from Phangan) for 2-3 nights of diving or snorkelling. This circuit is perfect from January to August.

With 10 to 15 days, the trip deepens considerably. The grand tour of Southern Thailand combines both coasts: Phuket (2 nights) plus Krabi-Railay (2 nights) plus Koh Lanta (2 nights, wilder beaches, marine national park) on the Andaman, then a crossing to Koh Samui via Surat Thani (bus plus ferry, 4-5h in total) and exploration of the Gulf — Koh Phangan for its quieter beaches, Koh Tao for PADI diving. This grand tour lets you compare the two coasts and grasp the exceptional diversity of Thai marine landscapes. For 12-15 day trips, add a Phuket liveaboard to the Similan Islands (3 days at sea, access to the best Andaman dive sites) or push to Koh Mak and Koh Kood, the two most preserved islands of the Gulf, near the Cambodian border, for a final stage off the beaten path.

Whatever the duration of your stay, the single most important advice is not to try to see everything: Southern Thailand is so vast and so varied that a focused trip on two or three destinations almost always yields a more memorable experience than a forced-march tour of every island.