Travel Thailand
Temples, beaches, smiling faces, world-class cuisine, shopping, stunning scenery...the list goes on.
Thailand is a well established holiday destination and deservedly so. Within a two week vacation you can relax on world class beaches, visit inspiring historical sites, trek through glorious mountain and jungle landscapes, eat some of the most delicious food on the planet, do a yoga or meditation course and, if you still have the energy, engage in some serious shopping.
The Thais have a reputation of being welcoming and warm, because of this Thailand is an easy and stress-free country to travel in and the perfect place to enjoy by bike. The country has an excellent transport network and some truly gorgeous accommodation. And to top it all off it is still great value by western standards.
So, what are you waiting for?
QUICK FACTS
CURRENCY
Thai Baht
CAPITAL CITY
Bangkok
POPULATION
Approx. Approx. 67 million
TIME ZONE
GMT +7
LANGUAGE
Thai
RELIGION
Buddhism
MAIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Bangkok (BKK) - Chiang Mai (CNX) - Phuket (HKT) - Koh Samui (USM)
Highlights for Visitors
Bangkok
The 'City of Angels' is one of the world’s iconic mega cities. It is a city of contracts between the modern and ancient. From the sleepy residential canals to the fast paced shopping district, from the ornate Royal Palace to the gleaming skyscrapers. In Bangkok it's all wrapped up into one.
It goes without saying that in a city of this size you can find everything. But two things which Bangkok has that few places can compete with are food and shopping. Thai food is world renowned and shopping in Bangkok encompasses everything from the street vendors and the back alley markets, to huge world class shopping centers - often located all in a row.
Highlights for Visitors
Chiang Mai
Situated at the foot of forested hills, Chiang Mai is a 700 year old city with an old walled town surrounded by a modern city. The historic center of the city is quaint and beautiful with its many ancient temples. Chiang Mai has a vast array of activities, and you can find just about anything you want to fill your time including outdoor recreation, cultural sightseeing, yoga, spas and meditation retreats. This is a great place to relax after the chaos of Bangkok, where you can recharge your batteries with fabulous food, leisurely wandering or active outdoor recreation.
Highlights for Visitors
Ancient Cities
The course of history has left its mark on Thailand with the remnants and ruins of several kingdoms and a couple of empires waiting to be admired.
Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site was once a cosmopolitan city and was the first capital that the Europeans came to know. Today it is a small provincial town with the ruins of a once grand city in its midst. You can wander and wonder amongst the ruins today that make up the Ayutthaya Historical Park.
Sukhothai was one of the first centers of Thai civilization. Patterned after the cities of the Khmer Empire in neighboring Cambodia, Sukhothai must have been an impressive place in its heyday. Today the ruins of this cradle of civilization are well preserved in the UNESCO listed Sukhothai Historical Park.
Around the northeast and across central Thailand are the ruins of several outposts of the Khmer and Mon Empires. Among these the most famous are Phnom Rung, Pimai, Lopburi and Muang Sing.
Highlights for Visitors
Fields and Forest
Thailand abounds in national parks, forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. The Western Forest Complex is one of the largest corridors of protected forest in Southeast Asia with wild elephants, tigers and a type of wild cattle called the guar still to be found there.
The Thai countryside is charming and astounding at the same time with rice paddies stretching off to the horizon or fruits orchards offering up their delicious delicacies.
Highlights for Visitors
Sun and Sand
With three long coastlines, plus forested islands set in a tropical blue sea, Thailand is a world renowned destination for the hedonist and the beachcomber, the jet setter and the backpacker. Choose your island paradise: the little known Koh Phayam, the protected Koh Surin, the glitz and glamor of Phuket, diving in the Tarutao Islands, a lazy beach holiday on the Andaman Coast, the full moon party on Koh Phangan, James Bond 007 cliff scaling in Krabi or a yoga bliss out on Koh Samui. This is where you come to meet the sea.
Weather & Climate
Most regions of Thailand have a humid tropical climate for the majority of the year. The area of Thailand north of Bangkok has a climate determined by three seasons while the southern peninsular region of Thailand has only two.
In northern Thailand the seasons are the cold season, the hot season and the rainy season. The months from November to February are the coolest and sometimes referred to as the cold season, during which time it can actually get quite chilly in the far north. The hot season starts in March and lasts until May.
The rainy season is from May to November and is dominated by the southwest monsoon, during which time rainfall in the north is at its heaviest.
The southern region of Thailand really has only two seasons - the wet and the dry. These seasons run at opposite times on the east and west side of the peninsula, with the west coast receiving heavy rains and sometimes storms from April to October, while on the east coast most rain falls between September and December.
Overall the southern parts of Thailand get by far the most rain, with around 2,400 millimetres every year, compared with the central and northern regions of Thailand, both of which get around 1,400 millimetres.
When is the best time to visit Thailand?
Generally speaking, the best time to visit Thailand is from November to February when the northeast monsoon is blowing cool, dry air that serves as a respite from the heat. During this cool season, the temperature ranges from 18°C to 32°C in Bangkok, while in northern and northeast Thailand, temperatures can get quite cool with morning temperatures as low as 8°C to 12°C, and the occasional 20°C day. Nights can be particularly chilly and at high altitudes the temperatures can and do drop below freezing.
The summer period, or hot and dry season, is from March to May. At this time temperatures in Bangkok average around 34°C, but can often reach 40°C with humidity levels of 75%. Bring an extra T-shirt if you won't make it back to the hotel before dinner!
Try and avoid April, unless you plan to be permanently submerged in the ocean or are coming specifically for the Songkran festival, because this is the hottest month across the country.
The monsoon falls from July to October, when most of Thailand's annual rainfall is accumulated and flooding can ravage the country. The humidity averages just under 90%, with temperatures averaging around 29°C in a steamy Bangkok. Still, it rarely rains all day long as it does in many temperate places; the tropical rains tend to dump fast and heavy before clearing up.
The monsoon finishes when the wind direction changes, bringing dry weather from the northeast. At best this season can be described as unpredictable and not the constant downpour of rain that you may expect. The middle months of this season may hold particularly heavy rains for the north of the country.
Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Surat Thani
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