Travels in Thailand
Reasons to visit Thailand with your family
Why Thailand is a brilliant destination for your next family trip… in my opinion ;)
We travelled to Thailand to see family and I was blown away with how family friendly it was. Here are some of the reasons I think it is one of the best long-haul destinations for families.
The Sea
Personally, a good beach and swimmable sea is a dealbreaker for me especially with kids who can play for hours in the sand and sea. We picked the East side of Koh Phangan (an island East of mainland Thailand known for the full moon party) as it was the best area to go at Easter to avoid the rainy season.
Our favourite beach was Thong Nai Pan Noi as it has deep enough water to swim but great sand and a very chilled vibe. From this area we travelled to Bottle Beach by wooden boat (featured in the final two pictures above) which was perhaps the best beach on the island with turquoise waters and white sand.
We found that most of the beaches were child friendly and clean and we heard from friends that other islands on the west of Thailand the beaches were stunning too.
The food and drink
With fussy eaters and difficult meal times, Thailand was a dream. Thai food is particularly adaptable for kids so we found the ours liked plain rice, chicken and stir-fried veg or fresh salad. They tried mild curries and seemed to enjoy it too. Our favourite on Kho Pagnan was Luna Restaurant.
On days they just fancied chips or pizza it was on most menus. We did find a delicious wood fired pizzeria on Koh Samui called Coco Tams with beautiful beach view. There are also a ton of world food options so we tried Indian, Mexican & French too. Alcove (last two pics above) is this ridiculously cool beach restaurant serving french cheeses and wine and has amazing evening music and theatre shows while the sun sets.
There was a very funky coconut ice cream and desert shop in Koh Phangan called Coco Loco (first two photos) their specialty is a coconut filled with fresh coconut ice-cream and mango, but they also had all the brownies and cakes we could ever wish for.
We also powered through the drinks list at our hotel. The kid’s favourite was fresh watermelon with crushed ice. I loved the iced lattes in the day and Piña Colada’s at night. Wine is expensive so we had our yearly intake of sugar drinking cocktails! 2C Bar in Koh Phangan had epic views over the bay and lush service with a smile.
Most beach front restaurants have super funky decor, chilled vibe and a lovely view and you can definitely plan your entire trip in Thailand based around which good restaurants to go to.
The resorts & hotels
One of the greatest thing about Thailand is the sheer amount of hotels and resorts available to suit your budgets and needs! The higher end resorts were comparably cheaper to what you would get in Europe or the UK, so if you feel you can splash out, your money goes much further!
Higher End Resorts
For one night we tried a high end resort called Garrya Tongsai Bay Samui which was ridiculously beautiful, eco friendly with a huge pool and stony beach. It was our first night in Thailand and we needed a little luxury! We paid £200 for a night but it was one of the best hotels I ever stayed at so worth spending that money to get over jet lag!
Budget Resorts
We tried a budget resort for a few nights- I think rooms were £60 a night for a lovely villa with a shared pool. The only issue at that time of year was it was set back from a beach (only 10 mins) and walking any distance to a beach is really too tricky with kids. I would say being near the sea is really key especially if you want to stay cool. Also a lot of the roads are not buggy friendly at all so not ideal for strolls.
Middle range
We were really happy with the upper/ middle range hotel we found. Perfect beaches and pool combos without any of the super luxury overly expensive extras. Our favourite was the Anavana Beach Resort in Koh Samui which is around £120 per night. The villa is spacious and beautiful and the grounds are like a tropical jungle. The sea was a bit too shallow to swim in but absolutely perfect for little ones. A bonus was that a lot of family friendly hotels have entertainment like music or fire poi in the evening which my kids just loved.
The People & Culture
Thailand is known as the land of smiles, and it really is true! The Thai people we met were friendly, approachable and accommodating to children. Our children loved exploring the Buddhist temples and speaking to the locals.
I particularly loved the Thai Massages. I mainly went to the hotel’s massage parlour but for around £15-£30 you could get an hour massage which was especially good after a long trip.
We felt safe traveling around and walking along the beach in the evening.
Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai)
Nature
There is so much nature to see and explore with national parks and beautiful boat trips. Because of the heat we kept everything to a minimum but had we gone in the cooler season, we would have definitely done more trekking and exploring. When the kids are older we will go back one Christmas and do just that.
Sunrise & Sunsets
I became a bit obsessed with capturing the sunrises and sunsets in Thailand. You could always guarantee they would be beautiful and I made sure I used my jet lag to photograph the view.
Tips
If you are travelling at Easter, it is the start of the rainy season. We have heard that the rainy season starts first on the West of Thailand so consider looking at islands on the East. Also that time of year is extremely hot, so potentially not ideal for children. We travelled at that time of year and made it work by staying close to the pool or sea. Air con at your hotel is a must.
If you are drinking cocktails, double check it is fresh juice and not syrup, otherwise it can be a bit sickly!
If you are on a budget, you can stay at a cheaper hotel but go and visit a super luxury hotel on a daypass. We did this one day and it was so much fun playing in the infinity pool, eating all the buffet food and using the kid’s club.
It is hot! Stay near the sea. We found the east of the islands weirdly cooler than the west as it had a bit of a breeze. Not sure if that is always the case though. We avoided Bangkok as it can be 32+ at Easter time, but some friends went and had great times in the air conditioned shopping malls.
Avoid straws. We found so much pollution on certain beaches that were not cleaned (mainly ones that didn’t have resorts or hotels) discarded straws & plastic were a big issue!
Book directly with hotels: Booking.com is fantastic for ease of use, but I found the times I went directly with the hotel I got a much better deal.
Both our children got a bit overheated at one point or other- seek out shade from a tree rather than an umbrella. If in doubt go indoors at peak sun- for this reason it is good to find a room with plenty of space so you don’t feel penned in if you go indoors for a couple of hours each day.
Sad reality of many beaches around the world is the plastic pollution. We only found it this bad at one beach, but you can be certain to find some plastic wherever you go.
Summary
We absolutely loved our experience. Flights were expensive but once we were there it was affordable and has become a trip of a lifetime. We felt safe to travel with our children and had enough time over Easter to explore the islands while also lazing about on some days. The children got to experience another culture and play endlessly in the water. As someone who loves beach holidays, but needs culture and a vibe, Thailand really did tick all the boxes as you could do both really easily. The range of food options really was the cherry on top.
Hope you found this information useful and do let me know if you visit Thailand for a holiday soon!