What Are the Best Islands in Thailand?

There are a total of 1,430 islands in Thailand. That’s a lot of islands to explore!

After five years of living in Thailand I have only been to about 50 islands. If you’ve only got a few weeks in Thailand, you probably won’t visit more than 4 or 5 of them.

It would take years to visit them all!

There are a total of 1430 islands in Thailand. Here I have covered 25 islands with in-depth guides to help plan your trip.

With so many options out there, the next natural question is, what are the best islands in Thailand?

Here I have covered 25 Thai islands which I’ve visited and written guides on. This post itself is an overview which will direct you to far more in-depth articles on each island.

For ease of use, and to assist with your travel planning, I have broken the islands down into five distinct (and self-defined) regions; the east, the far south, the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and islands near Bangkok.

Island Regions Covered

Islands in Eastern Thailand (Trat Province)

I’m always surprised by how many people do not know about the islands in Trat Province. There are actually 51 islands in this region covered by the Mo Koh Chang Marine National Park. Many of the smaller islands can be visited as a day trip but are uninhabited. Here are some of the larger islands you might consider visiting.

Islands in the Andaman Sea (Trang to Phuket)

Phuket is a major tourist hub, and the largest Thai island. Many of the islands in the region have become quite developed for tourism, including regular boats and plenty of budget to luxury hotels to choose from.

Islands in Southern Thailand (Satun and Trang Province)

These islands in Southern Thailand are still in the Andaman Sea (I mentioned I loosely defined these regions myself). However, they are located much further south of Phuket off the provinces of Satun and Trang. I find the water here is generally clearer and there are typically fewer tourists.

Islands in the Gulf of Thailand

The islands in the Gulf of Thailand are where many travelers end up on their firs trip to this country. These were some of the early islands to be developed with tourist infrastructure. Koh Phangan’s Full Moon party has been well-known by backpackers for many years, while Koh Samui even has it’s own airport.

Islands Near Bangkok

Even if you only have a couple of days in Bangkok, you can still make a quick day or weekend trip down to the ocean. The following islands are within just a couple of hours travel of the city.

• Koh Laan
• Koh Kamae San
• Koh Samet

What are your favorite Thai islands? Let us know in the comments section below!

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