A collection of the most beautiful secret spots in Thailand. Hidden beaches and bays wrapped in surreal rock formations and surrounded by crystalline waters.

Maya Beach

Best For: White Sands
Nearest To: Krabi & Phucket

The picture-perfect sand and sea of Maya Beach is draw-droopingly beautiful.  It makes perfect sense as the setting of The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, in which the landscape is edited to create the illusion of an enclosed bay; standing to speak of the undeniably private and secret feel of the paradise island. A real hidden treasure, Maya Beach is a must for any Thailand bucket list. The sun dances on the calm waters; fallen stars delicately hugging the waves. While the sand feels like flour on your toes, perfect for sieving through your fingers. Oh, it’s bliss for sure. Colourful longboats guard the shore and larger than life rocks frame the sea. A mystic view, perfectly enjoyed with a coconut in hand and waves lapping at your legs. Oh, and head to near-by Monkey Beach on your return trip to meet a few new curious and furry friends. You’ll catch them clumsily shimmying down the tangled branches to ogle straight back at you. An unforgettable experience.

Koh Nang Yuan

Best For: Crystal Waters
Nearest To: Koh Tao & Koh Samui

The beautiful island of Koh Nang Yuan is made up of three small island connected by a submerging stretch of beach. Wrapped in larger than life white rocks the three mountain peaks jilt out of the turquoise ocean as if they’ve just risen briefly out of the depths to welcome the sun and could submerge again any minute. The island is privately owned and only houses one resort and one restaurant. A truly unique place, the huge rocks and tiny beach carve a surreal landscape that makes you feel as if you’re stranded on the only island in the whole ocean. Washed in crystalline waters, the waves are truly jewel tone turquoise at their finest. A popular snorkelling spot, dip under the rolling sea to catch a glimpse of the vibrant fish or climb to the view point for fairy-tale visions of the three peaks. Curiosity led me to follow the board walk twisting around the island edge, but after one too many shaky steps and a few too many broken planks for my liking, I retreated in favour of the white sand beach.

Phang Nga Bay

Best For: Caves and Rock Formations
Nearest To: Krabi & Phucket

If you’ve been to Southern Thailand you will know that the emerald waters are sprinkled with islets; an infinite palette of blue and green as far as the eye can reach. One of the most spectacular natural structures can be found just off the coast of bustling Phucket, where the small island of Khao Phing Kan in Phang Nga Bay quietly lays, or as it’s often referred to; ‘James Bond Island.’ A setting for the iconic James Bond ‘The Man with the Golden Gun,’ the small secluded island draws in travellers from all edges of the world. The uninhabited island, and primary mangrove forest in all of Thailand provides accommodation only to the spectrum of wildlife that fly, swim and crawl around the prehistoric landscape. A unique tropical backdrop, the island’s identity lies in its unusual and surreal natural architecture. Just 40 metres from the shores of Phang Nga Bay, quietly sits a 20 metre tall islet; Ko Tapu. It’s this surreal limestone rock dusted in wild greenery sitting in the shallow waters that makes Phang Nga Bay another one of Thailand’s most beautiful hidden treasures. Now a protected national marine park, the islet can no longer be approached by curious boats in a move to prevent erosion which could lead to its collapse. It’s seems obscure that the islet can sit so confidently in the water with its unusual triangular shape – it almost looks too heavy to perch so delicately on the calm waters.

Do you know of any other secret beaches in Thailand? Do you think you’ll be adding any of the above to your bucket list?

Over New Year’s I spent three weeks discovering Thailand; island hopping and exploring the mainland. Thailand is endless contrasts of sky high rooftop bars against local market stands, budget versus luxury eats and stays, sandy toes and dusty roads, and most scenes in between. Although many spend endless months exploring the beautiful country it is possible to experience the vast culture of Thailand in just three weeks.

Thailand at a glance

Language Thai

Currency Baht (affordability level: very affordable)

Value of the Baht 1 pound equates to 49.76 thai baht

Season & weather Thailand has two seasons:

Dry season, also known as high season, is between November and May

Wet season (monsoon season) makes up the rest of the year

How to pronounce popular phrases

Hello sa-wa dee kah for a girl and sa-wa dee krap for a boy

Thank you for a girl; kap kon ka and kap khun krap for a boy

It is polite to put your palms together and bow your head when greeting or thanking a Thai local.

What to plan in advance

Three weeks may be a quick island ‘hop’ but nonetheless with a rough plan and an openness and willingness to a busy schedule (and some early mornings) you can cover ground and experience the vibrant culture and beauty that Thailand has do offer. Before we headed off for Bangkok I felt like I needed to plan every detail of the trip out of fear of coming home having missed out on something unforgivable. It turns out flexibility is key– and actually nearly everything can be arranged when you’re out there. Plan your basics and be prepared but allow for wiggle room.

Your route

It makes sense to plan your route so that you don’t waste time figuring it out on poor wi-fi or potentially taking a very time-inefficient journey.  Figure out if you want to spend your time between the islands or dabbling in some mainland exploring too. Most international flights enter Thailand from Bangkok so it makes sense to spend a few days in the city. We flew to Bangkok (via Dubai) before heading to Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, Phuket, Chaing Mai and then back to Bangkok; (‘koh’ means island in Thai if you hadn’t guessed). It turns out we got to experience Phi Phi and Koh Nang Yuan (oh, my favourite place), and a few others unexpectedly by heading out on boat trips when we checked into our hotels on Koh Samui and Phuket– completely unplanned and equally unforgettable.

Your Accommodation

Once you’ve planned your route I would advise arranging accommodation prior to heading out (even if only by a few hours). We actually booked one of our rooms when we landed on Koh Samui with nowhere to go using a laptop in the airport. Ideally book before you go as 1) you will want to plan your journey and accommodation to suit, 2) you will be able to compare rooms and deals much more easily and book the best option for your budget as opposed to turning up and hoping to strike lucky, and 3) you don’t want to be wasting time (sitting in airports) booking rooms. If you can plan your route and book your stay beforehand you can have peace of mind knowing you will always have somewhere to go at the end of the day.

Your Transportation

Your travel arrangements between locations are another element I would recommended prior planning for, especially if it involves flights (this is especially true if you are planning on attending a popular event such as a Full Moon Party where flights get booked up). During our time in Thailand we flew, ferried, canoed, elephant-rode, speed-boated, snorkelled, swam and walked our way from the highest point in Chaing Mai to the southern island beaches. From experience and talking with other travellers, arranging flights and catching ferries seem to be the best options for covering distance. Although night trains are a popular choice we had been warned that you barely get any sleep and then end up losing an extra day catching up on ‘z’s. Flights across Thailand take one or two hours and the check-in process is very speedy. Flights are best booked in advance however ferries and taxis can be booked there and then. I’d suggest asking around as in most airports and busy areas there are multiple locals offering your prices for transport – so shop around (and haggle).

A side note: the roads are dangerous; I learnt upon returning that Thailand is home to the second most dangerous roads in the world, so I wouldn’t advise renting a motorbike unless you are confident on one. Safety is cool, kids.

How much to budget

Thailand is very affordable. You can book rooms for as little as £4.50 and travel by tuck tuck for loose change. Market stalls sell clothing, trinkets, and authentic food for very little and haggling is part of the culture. If you want to travel on a budget, Thailand is more than accommodating. Depending on your budget and your to-do wishlist, you can get by on anywhere from £10-£15 a day. We spent more money on days in which was went on excursions, however these included food and transport and worked out more than worth it. I would highly recommend booking day trips through your hotel (or a local business) if you have budgeted for extra travel outside of your area.

As another side note: Thailand cash points dispense your notes first and then the card (this is backwards and oh so unfamiliar for us Brits) so check before walking off and losing a debit card (like we did).

What to pack

You could honestly turn up with an empty backpack bar your essentials, and just the clothes on your back and be able to get by your whole trip. I may have indulged in a bigger than I plan to admit if asked Asos haul in the weeks before heading off to Bangkok, but (cover your ears Asos dresses) the markets in Thailand have everything you could need. Locally crafted items for prices as low as £1-£2 all over Thailand – you could honestly go day to day picking up what you need when you need it. My advice here is leave space in your backpack for a market haul, because it would be rude not to.

Backpack essentials

Essentials to pack are; suncream, insect repellent, international adapters, a camera, and of course, you passport. Oh, and ensure than you have a cover up if you plan to visit temples so that you don’t end up sporting a towel on your shoulders – if you don’t have anything suitable, of course, head to a market when you arrive and pick from the haze of colour and prints that take your fancy.

Buy when your land

A simcard is very affordable in Thailand, and worth it to ensure you can always contact someone if you need to. We bought one each in Bangkok (look out for a Seven Eleven) purely for the Full Moon Party in case we got separated as, well, they were going to be cheaper than emergency flares.

Travel to discover

In term of day plans I would advise hitting Pinterest and coming up with a bucket list or wish list of places you want to go in each area you stay however that’s all you need to do. Wait until you arrive to plan as there are so many experiences that you can arrange when you get there and many more you may not have considered. We ended up at a coconut farm, canoeing down rivers and climbing phallic shaded rocks that (for better or worse) we wouldn’t have discovered if we had a strict schedule to abide to. Anyway, travelling’s all about exploring, and unanticipated discovery, isn’t it?

Explore Next: Thailand Photo Diary

In December last year I became the proud owner of my first (ever) passport stamp. Feeling pretty late to the party here but I’ve not got too much of a history of long haul flights. Travel has always been something that I’ve wanted to experience, and after graduating university it become something that my boyfriend Lee and I wanted to delve into. One day last year we decided to write down where we wanted to travel and wrote the locations on bright green post it notes that we stuck to the wall above our bed. They don’t look the best (not sure why they’re so green) but they are still happily stuck as I’m writing this. I am so glad that we came up with this because it did force a reality check, looking at the 20 plus notes messily clinging to the wall (and that barely covered the ‘must do’s’); we had the wakeup call of trying to plan the when’s and how’s. We calculated that if we successfully ticked two trips of the list a year we’d be well into our forties before we cleared the wall. I don’t know about Lee but I had envisioned being care free and in my twenties skipping around with a coconut during all of these trips… Of course, there can always be coconuts but the point is we needed to start. We decided to begin with three weeks in Thailand over New Year’s. We wanted to do something different to celebrate the New Year and we managed to stretch out our work holiday thanks to Christmas, allowing us to take three weeks exploring the mainland and islands. So come the 27^th we were taking down the tree and heading to Bangkok in search of coconuts…