Places to Visit in Thailand with Family
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Calm Beaches, Short Journeys and What to Avoid
Here is the list of 13 Places to Visit in Thailand with Family
1. Bangkok
Known For : Grand Palace Wat Pho Bangkok Wat Arun
Two nights is right with children, not five. The river is the answer to the traffic: the Chao Phraya express boats are cheap, cool and interesting from a child's point of view, and they reach Wat Pho and the palace. Lumpini Park in the early morning has monitor lizards the size of a dog, which beats any temple for a six year old. Museum Siam is the one museum built for children. Plan around the heat, which peaks from eleven to four and defeats small children faster than adults.
Best Time: November to February
2. Phuket
Known For : Big Buddha Patong Beach Phuket Old Town
The biggest island, with the widest choice of hotels and a direct flight from most places, but the beach you pick matters more here than anywhere. Kata Noi and Nai Harn are calmer and quieter than Patong, which is loud and not built for families. The Phuket Aquarium at Cape Panwa is a decent hour, and Old Town is a good half day. Between May and October the west coast gets serious rip currents; the red flags are not decorative and drownings happen every year.
Best Time: November to April
3. Phi Phi Islands
Known For : Nightlife in Phi Phi Island Maya Bay Koh Phi Phi Leh
Beautiful and not really a family base. Tonsai, where the boats arrive, is a late-night drinking village, and the quiet end of the island at Laem Tong is a separate boat ride again. The sensible way to see Phi Phi with children is a day trip from Krabi or Phuket, timed early to beat the crowds, and even then the crossing is ninety minutes and rough outside the calm season. Choose a big boat over a longtail if anyone gets seasick.
Best Time: November - April
4. Chiang Mai
Known For : Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Wat Chedi Luang Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan
The best base in Thailand for a family with older children: cooler than the coast, walkable inside the old moat, and full of things that are actually activities rather than sights. Cooking classes take children, Doi Suthep is a short drive, and Huay Tung Tao lake is where local families go. On elephants, be careful: the venues around Chiang Mai vary enormously and many still offer riding. If riding is on the menu, it is not a sanctuary.
Best Time: November to February
Thailand Travel Packages
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4 Nights / 5 Days Thailand Getaway with flights
Krabi (2N) → Phuket (2N)
Sold By:
Right To Fly Tourism(4.9
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Bangkok – Pattaya
Pattaya(2N) → Bangkok(2N)
Amazing Thailand Escape – 4N/5D
Krabi(2N) → Phuket(2N)
6-Night Thailand Highlights: Phuket, Phi Phi Island and Krabi Journey
Phuket(3N) → Phi Phi Islands(2N) → Krabi(1N)
5-Night Thailand Highlights: Phuket Beaches, Phi Phi Islands, and Bangkok Wonders
Phuket(3N) → Bangkok(2N)
Fabulous Thailand 9N/10D Tour Package
Phuket(3N) → Krabi(2N) → Pattaya(2N) → Bangkok(2N)
5. Krabi
Known For : Ao Nang Beach Railay Beach Phi Phi Islands
The mainland alternative to Phuket and easier with young children. Ao Nang is the base, and Nopparat Thara next to it is shallow and calm at the right tide, which Ao Nang itself is not always. Railay is a fifteen minute longtail ride and worth doing once. Inland, the Emerald Pool and the hot springs at Klong Thom make a good half day out of the sun. November to April is the calm season here, and boats are cancelled in bad weather rather than reluctantly run.
Best Time: November to April
6. Hua Hin
Known For : Hua Hin Beach Cicada Market Hua Hin Night Market
This is where Bangkok families go, which tells you most of what you need to know. Around three hours from the city by road or train, with a long gently shelving beach, no significant surf, and a railway station that children like more than any temple. The night market and Cicada Market are both easy evenings, and there is a large water park if the beach palls. It is not spectacular and it is not meant to be; it is the low effort option and it works.
Best Time: November - April
7. Pai
Known For : Pai Canyon Nam Lod Cave Tubing in Pai
Worth being blunt about. Pai is lovely and the road to it from Chiang Mai has several hundred tight curves through the mountains, which takes three hours and makes a lot of children violently carsick. The town itself is a backpacker centre rather than a family one, and several elephant camps near it offer riding, which is not something to take a child to. If your children are teenagers and travel well, go. With anyone under about eight, skip it.
Best Time: November to February
8. Chiang Rai
Known For : Wat Rong Khun Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple) Baan Dam Museum
A day trip or one night from Chiang Mai, three hours north, and the reason to bring children is that the temples here do not look like temples. Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, is a contemporary artwork with a mirrored surface and a strange bridge, and the Blue Temple nearby is as vivid. Both hold a child's attention in a way that a fourth traditional wat will not. The Golden Triangle viewpoint over the Mekong is another hour on.
Best Time: November to February
9. Koh Samui
Known For : Chaweng Beach Fisherman's Village Ang Thong National Marine Park
The easiest island in Thailand with a baby or a toddler, because it has its own airport and you can be at the hotel forty minutes after landing rather than after a ferry. Choeng Mon and Bophut are the calm shallow bays; Chaweng is the busy one. Samui sits on the Gulf side, so its calm season runs roughly February to September, which is the opposite of Phuket and Krabi. That makes it the right answer for a summer trip.
Best Time: January to September
10. Kanchanaburi
Known For : Wat Wang Wiwekaram Bridge On The River Kwai (Death Railway bridge) Wat Tham Suea (Tha Muang)
Two hours west of Bangkok, and a place with two quite different halves. Erawan Falls is the family highlight: seven tiers of limestone pools you can swim in, with a marked path between them, and it takes most of a day. The other half is the Death Railway and the war cemetery, built by prisoners and forced labourers, which older children can handle with preparation and younger ones cannot. Avoid the tiger and elephant venues here entirely.
Best Time: November to February
11. Khao Lak
Known For : Khao Lak Lam Ru National Park Khao Lak Beach Nang Thong Beach
An hour north of Phuket airport and much quieter, with long flat beaches and almost no nightlife, which is precisely why families use it. In season the water is calm and shallow a long way out. It is the jumping off point for the Similan Islands, and worth knowing that the marine park closes for the monsoon each year from around mid May to mid October. The 2004 tsunami memorial and museum are here, and are worth explaining before rather than on arrival.
Best Time: November to April
12. Ayutthaya
Known For : Ayutthaya Historical Park Wat Mahathat Wat Phra Si Sanphet
A day trip from Bangkok by train, an hour and a bit each way, and the ruined capital works well with children because it is outdoors, spread out and climbable in parts rather than being a series of rooms. Rent bicycles or take a tuk tuk between the main temples and do it early, because there is very little shade. Elephant rides are offered at the historical park and around the town. Do not take them, and be ready for children to ask.
Best Time: November to February
13. Koh Lanta
Known For : Kayaking in Koh Lanta Khao Mai Kaew Cave Mu Ko Lanta National Park
If the goal is a beach and nothing else, this is the island. Long flat sand on the west coast, water that stays shallow well out, very little in the way of nightlife, and a pace that suits small children. It is reached through Krabi by minibus and ferry, which is a couple of hours of faff, and that is the filter that keeps it calm. Much of the island shuts down in the monsoon from roughly May to October, so check the hotel is open.
Best Time: November-February
Thailand works well with children for three reasons: the food is easy to feed a fussy eater, medical care in the main tourist areas is good, and Thai attitudes to children in restaurants and on transport are relaxed. What goes wrong is usually logistics. Internal distances are large, the road from Chiang Mai to Pai has hundreds of curves, and a family that tries to combine north, Bangkok and two islands in two weeks spends most of it in transit. Pick one region and one island. On the coast, the seasons run opposite: the Andaman side, meaning Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and Phi Phi, is calmest from November to April, while the Gulf side, meaning Koh Samui, is at its best from roughly February to September. The other thing to settle in advance is animals. Elephant riding, tiger photo venues and animal shows are sold hard to families in Thailand. The test is simple: if riding is on the menu, it is not a sanctuary.
This post was published by Harshitha
FAQs on Places to Visit in Thailand with Family
Is Thailand good for a family holiday?
Yes, and for practical reasons rather than scenic ones: the food is easy for fussy eaters, private hospitals in the tourist areas are good and used to foreign patients, and children are welcome almost everywhere including in restaurants late in the evening. What catches families out is distance. Pick one region and one island rather than trying to combine the north, Bangkok and two coasts.
Which part of Thailand is best with young children?
Koh Lanta or Hua Hin if you want a beach and no logistics, Koh Samui if you are flying with a baby because there is no ferry, and Krabi if you want a beach plus things to do nearby. Chiang Mai is the best base for children over about eight because it offers activities rather than sights. Bangkok is worth two nights, not five.
When should we go?
The two coasts run on opposite seasons, which is the single most useful thing to know. The Andaman side, Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and Phi Phi, is calmest from November to April. The Gulf side, essentially Koh Samui, is at its best from roughly February to September. Inland and in the north, November to February is cooler and much more comfortable with children than March to May.
Should we do an elephant experience?
Only at a place that does not offer riding, and the difference matters. Riding causes real harm to the animals, and venues that offer it, along with tiger photo attractions and animal shows, are marketed hard to families across Thailand. The test is simple: if riding is on the menu, it is not a sanctuary. Several camps near Pai and around Ayutthaya still offer rides, so check before booking anything.
How safe are the beaches?
Vary a great deal, and this is the one safety point worth planning around. Phuket's west coast beaches get strong rip currents between May and October and there are drownings every year; the red flags mean do not enter the water, not swim carefully. Koh Lanta, Hua Hin, Nopparat Thara near Ao Nang and the northern Samui bays are gentle by comparison and shallow a long way out.
How long do we need?
Ten days to two weeks for one region plus one island, without rushing. A week is enough for Bangkok plus one beach. Two weeks is not enough for the north, Bangkok and two islands, however it looks on a map, because internal flights and transfers eat a day each time. If you have only a week and young children, fly into Phuket or Krabi and do not go anywhere else.
