Rosa Writes

As someone who had never left Europe before this trip, Thailand was a whole new kettle of fish to me. The easy three-hour flights I’m used to getting, turned into long-haul plane journeys, freezing my toes off in Beijing at 6am and surrounded by other travellers throwing up on a boat en route to an island. Luckily, I went with my boyfriend who had done the South East Asia travelling ordeal already, so I was in good hands.

I’m not sure whether I can call two weeks in the South of Thailand travelling, but it felt like it. I soon realised my eagerness to see everything was unrealistic, so the refined itinerary included Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Krabi, Koh Samui, and Koh Tao. For two weeks, this was a lot. If I were to do two weeks in the South again, I would keep the list minimal. I think the boat rides between the islands killed me off, especially the one to Koa Tao.

We travelled in mid-November and unfortunately experienced a lot of rain and storms, which made the boat rides choppy and unpleasant. However, if you have a strong stomach, you’d be fine! Nonetheless, we still got to enjoy the hot conditions and beautiful landscapes. Waking up and feeling the heat on your skin is something I could never complain about.

Flights and Accommodation

We flew to Phuket from London Gatwick, a £412 return flight. It was cheap, but the total travel time was 17 hours for the way there, and 22 for the way back. Despite this, our layovers in Beijing were only 1 hour and then 6 hours on the way back – it all went pretty quickly for me because I’m a big sleeper. For the entire trip, we stayed in hotels and Airbnbs due to affordable prices. Across the two weeks, including flights, accommodation and three meals a day every day, my total spend came to just under £1000. We switched it up from £1 pad thais in the market to cool jungle dinners and did not limit our spending. I found the South to be very affordable, but I have heard through the grapevine that it is extortionate compared to the North.

Phuket

One of the first things we did here was walk up Monkey Hill. It’s an easy walk, but with the weather, it gets you sweaty! There were so many monkeys, it did not disappoint. There were markings on the path, and it is approximately 5km up and down, so it doesn’t take too long. Despite the warning signs explaining all of the diseases you could catch from monkeys, it was a fun experience.

In Phuket Old Town, there is a place called SiToa Studio where you can paint your own magnets. There are so many options to choose from, and they glaze them in around 20 minutes. Our total for four magnets and two coffees came to £8.16 – such a good price!

Whilst we were were waiting for our magnets to be glazed, we took a stroll down the Sunday Night Market and grabbed a £1.81 pad thai for dinner, and it was packed with flavour and aromas. There was so much food at this large market, the air was full of complex flavours – so warm and inviting.

Looking back, we didn’t research where to stay in Phuket and soon discovered we were not near the centre at all. We stayed in an Airbnb in Thalang, which was only a cheap Grab away from the town. There was a beautiful beach nearby that had myriad restaurants.

Koh Phi Phi

Our next island stop was Phi Phi. I was excited for this island but it ended up being one of my least favourites. Although, I think it would be the perfect island for backpackers and solo travellers due to the high number of beach clubs and backpacker locations. My boyfriend and I found ourselves chilling on the beach for most of our time here as we weren’t big drinkers – we were so tired from walking around in the sun every day we were in bed by 10pm most nights. 

We booked a sunrise boat tour which started at 6am, it was so overcast we couldn’t see it but it was nice to be out on a boat without anyone else on the water yet. We booked the tour through Booking.com but it ended up being quite a bit more expensive than just booking in person. We stopped at Maya Bay and various other snorkelling locations – the water was beautifully blue. 

After the tour, we grabbed breakfast at Cafe 8.98. The food was delicious, but definitely on the pricier side for Thailand. A matcha smoothie and French toast came to around £10.

We spent most of our time here chilling on the beach, watching fire shows and drinking cocktails, or chilling at the hotel that had a pool.

Krabi / Ao Nang

We stayed at The Pineapple Hotel in Krabi, which was lovely and had a pool – definitely one of the more expensive locations though. It was £50 for two nights, but we booked it the day before. We did this for pretty much all of our locations, I would definitely try and pre-plan if I were to go again. We made the mistake of staying in Krabi town, but just down the road is Ao Nang, which carries a lot more life. We got Grabs down to Ao Nang, mainly to visit the market, which was one of my favourite things there. I noticed that a lot of the markets in the South were selling the same sort of thing, but Ao Nang markets were full of original jewellery, clothing stands and food! I bought three gold rings for 150 Baht, equalling £3.40 – and they have not tarnished 5 months later!

Another favourite from Ao Nang was the short boat ride to Railay Beach, costing about £3 to get there. It was beautiful, and not too busy. There were a variety of places to get food or drink and what seemed like a beach club also. I loved how placid it was, the perfect place if you fancy a chill day.

Koh Samui

Without a doubt, Koh Samui was my favourite place and had so much to explore. We rented a bike here so we could get around the island easier, which I would definitely recommend. We stayed at Tango Luxe Beach villa which came with free breakfast brought to you every morning, a private pool and a stunning room. The facilities at the villa further included free kayaking, another pool, a restaurant, spa services, laundry and bike rental. Everyone there was truly amazing.

We took a boat over to Pig Island, which ended up being a very tourist-dense area. It’s a small island with many cute pigs and piglets, but there were so many people there that ended up spending most of our time swimming rather than looking at the pigs. I particularly loved how the pigs are not restrained and are able to roam freely at their own leisure, and they are not shy at all!

Another favourite from Koh Samui was taking the bike up to the Mountain Jungle Restaurant viewpoint. It was a very bumpy, but fun, road up to the top with amazing views – and delicious food at the top! 

We ate pizza sitting on beanbags at the beach at Coco Tam’s beach bar, infront of the fire show, which was absolutely delicious – such a relaxed vibe to end our long day of exploring. 

The Jungle Club is another cool spot for dinner in Koh Samui, but I would definitely recommend making a reservation. We didn’t do this and still managed to get a table, but it was after the sun had set. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience getting to eat on beanbags sitting in the jungle. 

Koa Toa

Unfortunately for us, there was a rainstorm pretty much entire time we were at Koa Toa. Regardless, we tried to make the most of it. This began with a boat tour with the most incredible staff, who truly made our rainy time a lot better! We had free food, a slide on the boat and stopped off to snorkel at some cool places. We also walked up to a beautiful viewpoint, which humbled my fitness abilities a little bit.

In the evening, we stumbled upon a drag show which was full of vibrancy, music and life – we had so much fun watching, I wish we had gone to more.

And that takes us to the end of the South of Thailand travels, we swiftly travelled our way back up to Phuket, stopping at Krabi inbetween, and got our flight back to London. The trip was an amazing experience, it created an itch to explore more…if you ever have the chance to visit, I cannot recommend enough!