Top 10 Travel Destinations in Thailand (w/ Photos)

I’m currently typing this post from the apartment in Pattaya I’m renting on Airbnb for the weekend. It’s only $13 per night in a great location near the Big Buddha Statue. You can get $35 off your first trip on Airbnb by creating a free guest account here.

I arrived back in Pattaya where I’ve been living for just over a month during the COVID-19 crisis after staying for 3 nights on Koh Larn, a small island about 45 minutes off the coast. It’s only 30 Baht ($1 USD) one-way by ferry to reach the white sandy beaches. It was very relaxing to get away for a little while. The secluded beaches were almost entirely empty and peaceful during my visit. Thankfully, I beat the weekend party crowds coming in. This gives new meaning to the overused term “social distancing”. I’d much rather be chilling on a paradise island rather than isolated in my cramped living quarters no different than a prison without the bars. Give me liberty of give me death!

Tomorrow morning, I’m hopping on a bus back to Bangkok en route to another city further south by the name of Hua Hin. Unfortunately, the ferry boats are not currently operational due to regulations imposed by the local government during Coronavirus. I have no interest in sticking around Bangkok since I was already hostel-hopping around the capital city for nearly a full month during a very surreal moment when the majority of restaurants, bars, hotels, shopping malls, tourist attractions, etc were closed. You can read an interesting story about exploring the ghost streets of Bangkok here. Good news is the government has announced that the mandatory evening curfew is finally being lifted tomorrow on June 15th since there hasn’t been a single reported case for quite some time in the Kingdom! Phuket International Airport is fully ready to provide services to passengers today after the COVID-19 lockdown easing, according to Bangkok Post.

I’m arriving on Koh Samui on June 20th to relax and work with a few luxury resorts in exchange for accommodation just in time for Father’s Day. I didn’t get the opportunity to visit this famous paradise island a few months ago after getting my SSI diving certification in Koh Tao. I’m so grateful that I can legally stay in the “Kingdom of Thailand” for another month until July 31st due to the automatic visa extension order. There’s still a few more destinations I want to visit in this beautiful country. Afterwards, I’m planning to lock in a one-way plane ticket on Air Asia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam once the travel restrictions are lifted. Coming soon… Just waiting on a credit refund for a canceled flight to Bali and I’ll be good to go!

Did you know there’s zero reported deaths from Coronavirus in the entire county of Vietnam? Hard to believe, right? Just search Google and find out for yourself. Yet another reason to visit this beautiful country in Southeast Asia! I will make sure to continue writing in my travel blog and posting photos to inspire my readers to get out of their comfort zone and see the world after this world pandemic is over!

Without further ado, here’s my Top 10 Travel Destinations in Thailand I highly recommend checking out when you get the chance to visit “The Land of Smiles”. Listed in the order I visited them during my travels around this beautiful country for over 4 months…

1 - Phuket

Source: Hotels.com

2 - Railay Beach in Krabi

Source: Asia Package Travel

3 - Koh Lanta

Source: TripSavvy

4 - Koh Tao (“Turtle Island”)

Source: The Funky Turtle

5 - Chiang Mai

Source: Holp Photography

6 - Pai

Source: Holp Photography

7 - Bangkok City

Source: The Thaiger

8 - Pattaya

Source: Holp Photography

9 - Koh Larn (“Coral Island”)

Source: Renown Travel

10 - Khao Sok National Park

Source: Wikipedia

So, what are you waiting for? Afraid you’ll have too much fun and not want to go back home? ;) Go ahead and book your airfare to Thailand using either Google Flights, Skyscanner, or Kayak. I can guarantee you won’t regret the vacation traveling abroad! Before hopping on a one-way flight with all your luggage, don’t forget to pick up a brand-new Amazon Kindle e-reader to pass the time and learn new skills during those long layovers at the airport in a post-COVID world.

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this blog post! Let me know if you have any questions about traveling in Thailand. Would love to hear from you!