SouthernThailand

Snapshot

Jessica visited Bangkok, Ko Samui, Krabi, Ko Yao Yai, and Phuket on her final pre-Covid trip in February 2020. In total, this trip was just over 2 weeks long.

Highlights

Get to know Bangkok on a local foodie tour
Check into a villa and enjoy beautiful beaches in Ko Samui
Go sightseeing to Railay Beach, Hong Island, and many other beautiful places from Krabi
Swim in Thailand’s largest pool
Take a speedboat ride through stunning Phang Nga Bay
Stay at a Thai style luxury resort on a tiny scenic island, enjoying swims in an epic infinity pool

“This is the trip turned out to be very special for us. It the final trip we would take before Covid turned the world upside down, and we didn’t travel internationally for a full 2 years afterwards. But more importantly, my husband proposed to me on this trip!
For those reasons, Thailand will always be in our hearts. It is a destination that I intend on visiting many more times. ”

— Jessica

Bangkok, 3 nights

Our first stop was Bangkok, after a long flight from Toronto (via South Korea).

Bangkok is so full of life and activity, it is a fascinating city.

I wrote a detailed separate Itinerary on Bangkok - available here - so I’ll just give a quick rundown of this part of our trip.

We stayed at a lovely boutique hotel with a speakeasy vibe, multiple restaurants, and a gorgeous rooftop infinity pool with skyscraper views. It was located near Langsuan Park, which is a nice area that I would recommend.

On our first day, we took a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River. It is cheap and so much fun! You get to see a lot of the city, especcially the stunning modern architecture contrasted with traditional-looking temples, and the ‘khlongs’ - small houses on stilts, right on the river. We stopped by Wat Arun, a beautifully decorated white temple that’s worth a visit, before the heat and jet-lag got to us.

In the evening, we did a **private food & culture tuk tuk tour** with a local guide, through ***Urban Adventures***.

We got to sample a lot of street food, explore the city and the Chinatown neighborhood from the back of a tuk tuk, and did a few fun things that we wouldn’t have known to do on our own.
My favourite part was when we visited with a monk inside the Wat Pho monk’s residence, where he gave us a meditation lesson in the courtyard.

The next day, we met another local private guide & driver who took us to The Grand Palace, which was absolutely spectacular. We spent quite a few hours walking around the massive palace complex, and were able to see the great majority of it, learening fascinating stories and legends along the way. We also stopped by the giant Reclining Budha.

Next, on to Ko Samui!

Ko Samui, 4 nights

Now, this place felt like we were really on vacation.

This is a tropical island located in the Gulf of Thailand, just a quick flight about 1 hour south from Bangkok. Nearby are Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan, two other lesser-inhabited islands known for excellent scuba diving. We didn’t get a chance to visit them, but hear they’re also nice.

Ko Samui for us was all about relaxing and enjoying the beach. The island has many nice beaches and a handful of small towns that you can get to by tuk tuk or taxi.

We stayed at Royal Muang Samui Villas, located on Choeng Mon Beach (pictured, right) - this spot was absolute heaven! I would definitely recommend it, for couples or families.

The boutique hotel has very spacious, all-villa accommodations with modern Thai design. The grounds and pools are beautiful, featuring cascading waterfalls and lots of lush vegetation that make you feel like you’re in a private jungle, yet you are still only steps away from the most beautiful - and quiet - sandy beach.

We did just one day trip while in Ko Samui, it was (once again) a private driver who took us around to all of the top sites on the island. We got to see the ‘Big Buddha’, some of the small towns & coastline, and the ‘Grandmother and Grandfather’ rocks. We also stopped off at a waterfall that you could swim in, which was a nice break from the heat!

We were offered ‘elephant rides’ several tiems, but always declined - it is a controversial issue in Thailland, aand unless you can be 100% sure that the elephants are ethically treated, I would recommend avoiding. No elephants were ridden on our entire trip, but we saw quite a few. You don’t need to sit on them to appreciate them!

Krabi, 4 nights

After a few wonderful days in Ko Samui, we took another short flight over to the other coast along the Andaman Sea.

It is quite easy and inexpensive to fly around Thailand, as long as you book in advance. Both the Ko Samui and Krabi airports were very pleasant and smooth - the same cannot be said for Toronto’s Pearson Airport, unfortunately…

Krabi is the perfect jumping-off point to visit other islands and beaches.

We stayed at the **Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort,** near Klong Muang Beach.
I chose it because it was in a good location*, had the most amazing breakfast buffet EVER, and the pool was fantastic (it is apparently the largest in Thailand, we were told several times). I found the rooms to be dated, but may have been spoiled from the past few stays. Other than that, it was great!

The Sofitel in Krabi was fairly pricey in terms of food & drinks at the resort, other than the included breakfast buffet (which was incredible - I still think about it to this day). That can only be expected at hotel restaurants in Thailand, which is why it is important to also visit local restaurants.

This meal pictured right was one that we enjoyed at the hotel, and it was delicious! Crab curry with 3 types of rice - yum.

Right across the street and down the road from the resort, about 5-10 minutes’ walk, is a phenomenal little area where local Thai restaurants and bars set up on the beach every night, and serve up thee day’s fresh catch of seafood and fish under string lights. We would order a whole fish, rice, a few sides & some beer and watch the tide go out as the sun set, with a sprinkling of small emerald islands in the sea beyond. It was so beautiful, fresh, delicious, and inexpensive.

Another reason to love this resort is the hotel shuttle for just 200 THB per person to get to and from Ao Nang, the main port from which you’ll depart to other islands & beaches. Ao Nang didn’t appeal to me to stay in because it is quite touristy, busy, and loud. But it is the spot from which you would visit many other islands.

We went to Hong Island and its nearby lagoon, Railay Beach (only accessible by boat), and we also did a day trip to the Phi Phi islands, where we snorkelled and saw monkeys. It was wonderful.

There are so many gorgeous islands all around this area, and many fun things to do. One top activity is hiking, and my husband loved golfing at the Sofitel’s on-site golf course.

Ko Yao Yai, 3 nights

Next up, we hopped on a small boat towards our next destination: Ko Yao Yai. This is a tiny island located in Pha Nang Bay, which is known for the famous James Bond Island.

We were staying in the small beach town of Carvoeiro, at another very special hotel that I had been looking forward to for months:

Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort (4*) - Can you guess why I fell in love?

We spent the day lounging by the pool, which had service to bring us drinks and snacks. The samosa trio is amazing.

We also took a walk along the coastal trail along the water in front of our hotel, which from this picture (above left) extends in both directions for a scenic but not overly challenging hike.

We walked along a short way, and stumbled across a very cool area that we later learned was called Algar Seco. This is a natural area of rocky oceanfront coastline with rock formations, pathways and caves, with different areas connected by boardwalks. It was just beautiful! We grabbed some beers and enjoyed them in a secluded spot as the sun set. It was glorious.

We took the hotel’s complimentary shuttle into Carvoeiro town, full of cobblestone streets lined with little shops & restaurants.

We picked up some drinks, and then hit Carvoeiro beach (pictured right, and below) where we basically spent the entire day. It is a beautiful golden-sand sand beach next to Carvoeiro town, surrounded by whitewashed buildings and towering cliffs on both sides.

We got a nice spot, but note that there is very little shade at all for the majority of the day; most locals know this, and bring their own sun umbrella.

The water is a beautiful clear blue, but was freezing cold (at least to me) so I didn’t fully go in. But my husband did, as well as many Portugese people did - including young kids!

It was definitely refreshing to dip your feet in the cold water, since it did get very hot without any shade.

I am not a very strong kayaker, or athlete in general, but I had no problem doing this activity. I shared the kayak with my husband (who is athletic) and our group of about 10 people was guided along the coast. A few of us had never kayaked before. We stopped at Benagil cave first, which was a fairly easy paddle from the beach since the water wasn’t too rough that day; but we got soaking wet and the sun was just starting to rise, so it was pretty cold.

We stopped off and got to actually explore inside the Benagil sea cave, which was just so amazing to see in real life! I loved it.

After Benagil, the guide took us to several other smaller sea caves in the area, and to some scenic spots like Praia da Marinha, another one of the famous beaches of the Algarve (pictured below, left).

After that, the guide took us to several other smaller sea caves in the area, and to some scenic spots, like Praia da Marinha - another one of the famous beaches of the Algarve, pictured above.

It was really beautiful, and overall such a fun, unique experience in nature.

When the tour wrapped up it was only about 9am or so, and upon heading back to the beach we could see how packed it was getting already - there were cars parked for miles back from the beach! So many tours were just starting out at that time, heading to the same place, instead of about 1 other group when we left. I can’t imagine how busy it would get throughout the day.

We went back to the resort to have breakfast and relax.

In the afternoon we walked around Carvoeiro more. I loved checking out the local’s houses, which were Portugese style in light colours with orange roofs, and often abundant with palm trees, cactuses, and other plants. I like to think that we were scoping out a future home!

Phuket, 2 nights

Our final stop before heading into Spain was Quarteira, which I chose largely for its proximity to the airport, where we were picking up our rental car. It was still a lovely spot that offered a completely different side of the Algarve to see.

This part of the area had long, flat beaches that stretch on for miles, instead of the dramatic cliffs and smaller beaches of the Western Algarve. It was an interesting comparison to have, in such a short distance.

Quarteira has a long beachfront promenade that is lined with restaurants, shops, and bars facing the beach. Many are touristy, but some are quite nice (more on that later) and the promenade is nice to walk along.

We stayed for one night at Dom Jose Boutique Hotel (3.5*) located right on the main promenade and across from the nicest stretch of beach in town, Dom Jose beach.

This simple little hotel had a nice outdoor pool and sun terrace, and of course that sealed the deal for me.

We spent the remainder of the day, and the following morning on the beach. The water was somehow a bit warmer than in Carvoeiro, a nice surprise!

For or final dinner in Portugal, we found this wonderful seafood restaurant right on the promenade, just a short walk from our hotel that was very highly recommended. Tico Tico turned out to be one of the other best meals of the trip! It was a chic & modern beachside restaurant with exceptional fresh seafood, and the server we had was amazing - so fun, engaging, and just the best guy ever! He really made the night special, but also the food was delicious.

We ordered a bottle of local Portuguese wine (Lacru sauvignon blanc, pictured below), tomato salad, and fresh-caught garlic shrimps by the pound. Then, we shared a fantastic stew with rice, a saucy tomato broth, and tons of seafood - lobster, clams, fish, mussels, prawns... It was all quite amazing.