Thailand has 1,430 islands and more than 40,000 temples. Which means you can forget about seeing all of it before you even land, and that is weirdly freeing once you accept it. You are going to choose. The only question is what you choose on.
A handful of experiences turn up on almost every backpacking route through this country. Not because they are on a list, but because each of them does something the rest does not: they change how you travelled that week. Not a place where you snap a photo and move on, but a day you will still be grinning about on another continent.
These are the five we would pick. Not the most famous ones, but the ones that give you the most for the time they take.
1. Diving on Koh Tao
Koh Tao is where people in Thailand go underwater for the first time, and most backpackers who turn up for a few beaches leave with a dive certificate. There are twenty-five dive sites around the island, with coral, schools of tropical fish, turtles and barracuda, and between February and August you can see thirty metres ahead of you.
You do not need any experience. Start with a half-day try dive to see if you like it, or go straight for your Open Water: that certificate costs around ฿11,000 here, about €290, and is valid worldwide afterwards. How the course days fit into your stay is on our Koh Tao page, and if you want small groups, Below Zero Divers is our pick.
The one thing to make sure of: get in the water at least once while you are on Koh Tao. The gap between this island from a sunbed and this island from below is bigger here than anywhere else in Thailand.
Our verdict: the best investment of your whole trip, because you take that certificate with you to every country after this
Our own pick
Diving with Below Zero Divers
Small groups, and instructors who take the safety briefing seriously instead of reciting it. You can go from a first try dive all the way to divemaster with the same school, which means the people teaching you actually know how you dive.
Reader discount with the code REBELSONTHEROAD. Mention it when you book, because they will not apply it for you.
See Below Zero DiversOur partner on Koh Tao
2. A night in the jungle of Khao Sok
Thailand is known for islands and hammocks between palm trees, but Khao Sok National Park shows you a completely different side. Limestone mountains rising straight out of the water, thick jungle, and the huge Cheow Lan Lake in between.
The experience you do not want to miss here is a night on the lake itself. Floating bungalows sit on Cheow Lan Lake between the mountains, and swinging your door open onto a view straight across the water is one of those moments your travel stories are built on. No scooters, no traffic, no dorm mate emptying his entire backpack at four in the morning. We have a separate page on it: overnight on Cheow Lan Lake.
During the day you explore the lake by boat, go kayaking and head into the jungle looking for wildlife. But the real magic only starts when the last day boats leave and everything goes quiet.
Our verdict: the biggest contrast with the rest of your route, and exactly why this is the night that stays with you
Our own pick
Overnight on Cheow Lan Lake
Two days on the lake with Rungfah Farm Stay: longtail boat out, a jungle trek, and a night in a floating raft house. You go out on safari twice, at dusk and again just after dawn, while the day-trip boats are still two hours away.
See the two day tripOur partner in Khao Sok
3. The mountains around Pai by scooter
Helmet on, start it up, go. The countryside around Pai was made to be explored like this. As soon as the village disappears behind you, green mountains, rice fields, tiny villages and winding roads come at you one after another, and a scooter costs you €4 a day here.
The best part is that you decide where to stop. A viewpoint: pull over. A little coffee place looking out over the valley: obviously you stop. A road with no idea where it ends up: perfect excuse to get lost. That feeling of having no schedule is what most people remember afterwards, more than any one place. Why everyone ends up staying longer in Pai is on our Pai page.
One important thing: this is not the place to get on a scooter for the first time. The roads are steep, the route between Chiang Mai and Pai has 762 bends, and the graze on your leg even has its own name here. Make sure you have an international driving permit, always wear a helmet, and only ride if you have enough experience.
Our verdict: the best day in northern Thailand, and at its best if you already know your way around a scooter
4. The Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan
From a slow ride through the hills to the complete opposite. Every month at full moon, Haad Rin Beach on Koh Phangan turns into one giant beach party: thousands of backpackers, music along the whole shoreline, neon paint, buckets and fire shows until the sun comes back up over the sea.
Touristy? Definitely. Over the top? That too. But that is exactly the point, and it has been the backpacker party of Southeast Asia for years. If you happen to be in Thailand around a full moon, do it once. Go with a group from your hostel, wear something you do not mind covering in neon paint and leave your expectations at home. Everything you need to know beforehand is on our Koh Phangan page.
Once is plenty, and keep your head. Leave anything expensive behind, never leave your drink unattended and never get on a scooter afterwards. The burning skipping ropes are best admired from a distance: after a few buckets your coordination is not what you think it is. And book early, because around the full moon the island fills up and a lot of places set a minimum number of nights.
Our verdict: do it once, then carry on with your route
5. A Muay Thai night in Bangkok
For the last one you head back to Bangkok, and not for another temple. Muay Thai is Thailand’s national combat sport, also called the art of eight limbs because fighters use their fists, elbows, knees and shins. Seeing it live is something else entirely from watching a clip on your phone.
Go to Rajadamnern Stadium, one of the best known and most historic stadiums in the country. What you see here is not a tourist show fight but real bouts. What makes the night is everything around it: the traditional Wai Kru Ram Muay beforehand, where the fighters pay respect to their trainer, the music that follows the fight, the coaches shouting from the corner and a crowd that gets louder with every round.
You do not need an expensive seat next to the ring. From a bit higher up in the stands you see the whole thing better and you are right in the middle of the atmosphere. And do not stroll in just before the main event: a night has several fights on the card, and it is the build-up that gives you the full picture.
Our verdict: the best night in Bangkok that has nothing to do with temples or bars
Got time to spare?
Two islands that are genuinely different. With 1,430 islands you will never run out, so pick two that give you something different: Koh Tao for underwater and Koh Phangan for the party, or Koh Lanta if you are after peace and quiet. Use the days you have left to stay somewhere longer.
Picking the best temples. Do the big ones in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, because they are the most impressive in the country. Walk past another temple afterwards that catches your eye? Go on in: the small ones are often the calmest.
Booking as you go. Thailand is so well set up for backpackers that almost everywhere you can still sort a bed and a bus the day before, which gives you all the room you need to change your route. The exception is the full moon on Koh Phangan: book that one ahead.
Our top five in Thailand
- Diving on Koh Tao, for that first breath underwater and a certificate you take with you
- A night on Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok, for waking up between jungle, mountains and water
- Riding a scooter through the mountains around Pai, for a day with no schedule
- The Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, for the backpacker party you have to do once
- Muay Thai at Rajadamnern Stadium, for a night of Thai sport and tradition
Which of these five should you really do?
If you only pick one: get in the water on Koh Tao. Not because it has the most spectacular marine life in Asia, because it does not, but because with a dive certificate you travel differently for the rest of your trip and the rest of your life. For about €290 and three to four days, that is the best trade on this list.
If you can do two, add Khao Sok. It is the biggest contrast with everything else you see in Thailand, and it is the night people talk about most afterwards.
And do not let the lists get to you, this one included. You really do not have to tick off every temple, every island and every viewpoint. Do three things properly rather than five by halves, and leave time for the day you had nothing planned. That is usually the one you remember best.
