A Guide to the Thai Islands

There are few more hedonistic places in the world than the southern islands of Thailand. People travelling around the world and shorter break holidaymakers alike head to the islands for the glorious beaches and electric nightlife. There are island paradises aplenty in both the western Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. While it might seem like all you need to do is sit on a beach by day and drink Samsong Whiskey from a bucket in the evening, there's a little more too to the Thai islands than that, and each has its own unique character and things to do. Here's a guide to three of the most popular.

Ko Phi Phi Don

This southwestern island was devastated in the 2003 tsunami, but has returned to become one of the most popular paradises in Thailand. When you take the ferry over, you'll be able to see why. Two huge rock formations rise out of the sea, connected by a thin strip of lowland with beaches on either side. Its surrounding islands are so idyllic that one of them (neighbouring Phi Phi Ley) was even used as the setting for 2000s The Beach starring Leonardo Di Caprio. It's certainly worth hiring a boat for a day trip here, get on the beach and even do some cliff jumping. The waters of Phi Phi are also renowned for scuba diving – it's supposed to have even more beautiful waters and reefs than the more popular Ko Tao. Nightlife is mainly focused on the Reggae Bar, where there are boxing contests between anyone who wants to fight, and then the main beach. Because it's so popular with tourists, prices on Phi Phi tend to be a little more expensive than other parts of Thailand.

Ko Phangan

This large island in the Gulf of Thailand is world famous for the Full Moon Party. Every month thousands of revelers (no one really knows exactly how many, but normal estimates are at around 10,000) descend on Haad Rin Beach in the southeast of the island for the world's biggest beach party. There's a huge range of music and bars on the beach, and plenty of activities to go with the festival atmosphere, such as fire breathing and some amusement park style rides. The build up to the Full Moon Party can be electric too, with pool parties at Coral Bungalows perhaps being the top place to go. While most of the night time action is focused around Haad Rin, Ko Phangan is a big island with many different beaches, so it's not that difficult to beat the beer swilling crowds and have a real retreat too. Hiring a motorbike for the day and taking a tour around the island is particularly recommended.

Ko Tao

This island is located just to the north of Ko Phangan, and it can take anything between forty five minutes and two hours to get there by boat. It's typical for people to go to Ko Tao after the Full Moon Party and it can be difficult to find accommodation during this time. However, a trip to Ko Tao is well worth it for natural beauty and for learning to scuba dive. Only Cairns in Australia issues more PADI Diving certificates every year, and it's certainly an affordable and beautiful place to learn. It's not a particularly large island, and most of the night time action happens along the western strip. The beachside Lotus Bar is particularly well recommended, providing you don't have an 8 AM dive class.

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