Either/or, answered
Compare Thailand destinations
The choices that come up on every first trip, each with a verdict, the numbers behind it (cost per day, weather by month, crowds), and how to do both if you can't decide.
Which island or beach?
Opposite coasts have opposite monsoons, so most of these come down to your dates.
Island vs island · opposite coasts, opposite monsoons
Phuket or Koh Samui?
Pick by month before anything else: Phuket from November to April, Koh Samui from June to September. If your dates fall in the overlap, Phuket wins on choice and Samui on calm.
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Andaman neighbors · same season, different holidays
Phuket or Krabi?
Same coast, same season, different holidays: Phuket for resorts, nightlife and choice; Krabi for the limestone scenery, Railay and a quieter, cheaper base for island hopping.
Read the verdictGulf island vs Andaman coast · the calendar decides
Koh Samui or Krabi?
Krabi from November to April, Koh Samui from June to September. In the overlap, Krabi if scenery and day trips matter most, Samui if you want a resort island with an easy rhythm.
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Beach vs beach · the island and Bangkok's nearest sea
Phuket or Pattaya?
Phuket, unless you're short on time or money: it has the better beaches, the boat trips and the island feel. Pattaya's case is being 90 minutes from Bangkok's airport with a beach, nightlife and a family-friendly stretch at Jomtien.
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Bangkok's two beaches · opposite sides of the Gulf
Hua Hin or Pattaya?
Hua Hin for a calm, family-and-couples beach weekend with better food; Pattaya for nightlife, an island day trip and a faster pace. They're about the same distance from Bangkok in opposite directions.
Read the verdictAndaman island vs Gulf town · different coasts, different seasons
Phuket or Hua Hin?
Phuket for a real beach holiday and boat trips; Hua Hin for a calm, food-led weekend within reach of Bangkok. If your dates are June to September, Hua Hin's Gulf-side weather beats Phuket's rough Andaman.
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East-coast islands · the week and the weekend
Koh Chang or Koh Samet?
Koh Samet for a quick, dry, white-sand escape from Bangkok; Koh Chang for a bigger island with jungle, a choice of beaches and island hopping. Samet is the weekend, Chang is the week.
Read the verdictIsland vs island · the polished one and the jungle one
Koh Samui or Koh Chang?
Koh Samui for comfort, flights and a resort scene; Koh Chang for jungle, lower prices and a less developed feel. Check the month: Samui is wet October to December, Chang is rough June to September.
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Andaman neighbors · the same airport, an hour apart
Phuket or Khao Lak?
Khao Lak if you want quiet beaches, families and the Similans or Khao Sok on your doorstep; Phuket if you want choice, nightlife and Old Town. Same airport, same season, an hour apart.
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Mainland vs far-south island · scenery vs the clearest water
Krabi or Koh Lipe?
Krabi for scenery, day trips and easy logistics; Koh Lipe for the clearest water in Thailand and a car-free island where you snorkel from the beach. Lipe costs more, takes most of a day to reach, and half closes from May to October.
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Gulf neighbors · the resort island and its wilder sibling
Koh Samui or Koh Phangan?
Koh Samui for comfort and an airport; Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party at one end and yoga-retreat calm at the other. Phangan is cheaper and wilder, half an hour away, and the better island if you don't need a resort.
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Gulf neighbors · the beaches island and the diving island
Koh Phangan or Koh Tao?
Koh Tao to learn to dive, Koh Phangan for everything else: beaches with a choice of moods, the Full Moon Party, yoga at Sritanu. Both are cheap by island standards, and they're about an hour apart by boat.
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Krabi province · the greatest hits and the slow island
Krabi or Koh Lanta?
Krabi for the greatest hits and the shortest logistics; Koh Lanta for a slower, cheaper, family-friendly island with calm water and easy driving. Lanta is two hours from Krabi's airport, so many people do both.
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Base vs postcard · the big island and the boat-only one
Phuket or Phi Phi Islands?
Phuket to stay, Phi Phi to visit: the islands are the Andaman's postcard, but they're crowded, pricey and boat-only. Sleep on Phi Phi for a night or two if you want the bays after the day-trippers leave; base yourself on Phuket for everything else.
Read the verdictAndaman islands · the spectacle and the slow one
Phi Phi Islands or Koh Lanta?
Koh Lanta to stay a while; Phi Phi for the spectacle. They're about an hour apart by boat in high season, so the honest plan is two nights on Phi Phi for the bays and the rest on Lanta for the calm.
Read the verdictCity or beach?
Usually a question of how to split the days, not which to skip.
City vs beach · the two most-booked stops in Thailand
Bangkok or Phuket?
They aren't substitutes: Bangkok is the city trip and Phuket is the beach trip. If you can only do one, Bangkok for a short first visit, Phuket if the holiday is about sea and sun and your dates are November to April.
Read the verdictCity vs island · the capital and the Gulf's resort island
Bangkok or Koh Samui?
Bangkok for a short trip or a city-first traveler; Koh Samui if the holiday is a beach, especially between June and September when it's one of the driest islands Thailand has.
Read the verdictCity vs its beach · 90 minutes apart
Bangkok or Pattaya?
Bangkok, unless you specifically want a beach: Pattaya is a two-night add-on, not an alternative, and it's 90 minutes from Bangkok's airport.
Read the verdictCity vs its quiet beach · three hours south
Bangkok or Hua Hin?
Bangkok for the trip, Hua Hin for the breather: a royal beach town with the best seafood market on the coast, and no reason to choose it over the capital unless you already know the city.
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Mountains vs beach · two different holidays
Chiang Mai or Koh Samui?
Two different holidays: Chiang Mai for temples, mountains and cool nights from November to February; Koh Samui for a beach week, at its best June to September. Most two-week trips do both, and the order should follow the weather.
Read the verdictThe north
Chiang Mai and its two detours. All three share the March to May burning season.
The north · the city and its mountain detour
Chiang Mai or Pai?
Chiang Mai is the destination, Pai is the detour: base yourself in Chiang Mai, and add Pai only if you have three or more spare days and a stomach for 762 curves.
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The north · the base and the two-day add-on
Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai?
Chiang Mai as the base, Chiang Rai as the two-day add-on: the White Temple, Black House and Golden Triangle are worth the three-hour bus, but Chiang Mai has more to fill a week.
Read the verdictCities, ruins and Isan
The overland Thailand: cheap, uncrowded, and better for the food.
City vs city · the capital and the north
Bangkok or Chiang Mai?
Bangkok if you have three days and want the full-volume version of Thailand. Chiang Mai if you have longer, want mountains and temples at walking pace, and are traveling between November and February.
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Ruins vs ruins · the day trip and the two-night stop
Ayutthaya or Sukhothai?
Ayutthaya if you have a day from Bangkok; Sukhothai if you have two nights and want the ruins to yourself. On the Bangkok to Chiang Mai overland route the best answer is both, in that order.
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Isan · the food city and the sights city, an hour apart
Khon Kaen or Udon Thani?
Khon Kaen for the food and the city, Udon Thani for the sights: the Red Lotus Sea (December to February), Ban Chiang and the Laos border. They're 115 km apart on the same rail line, so do both if you're in Isan at all.
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Isan · the gateway and the destination
Korat or Khon Kaen?
Korat for Phimai and a first taste of Isan three hours from Bangkok; Khon Kaen for the food, the lake, and a base deeper into the northeast. Korat is the gateway, Khon Kaen is the destination.
Read the verdictThailand or somewhere else?
The either/or that comes before all the others, answered the same way: a verdict, then the numbers.
Thailand BaliThailand vs Bali
Thailand for a first trip to Southeast Asia, or any trip that wants more than one kind of place. Bali if you want one base, a villa with a pool, and surf or yoga most mornings. Bali wins on the single-island holiday; Thailand wins on everything you can do in two weeks.
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Thailand VietnamThailand vs Vietnam
Thailand if beaches and islands are the point, or if it's your first trip and you want everything to be easy. Vietnam if you'd rather spend your days in cities and on trains, eat better for less, and don't mind working a little harder for it. Vietnam is the cheaper and more intense trip; Thailand is the smoother one.
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Thailand The PhilippinesThailand vs The Philippines
Thailand for almost everyone: it is easier to get around, better fed, better in the wet months, and has real things to do on the days you're not on a beach. The Philippines if the beach is the whole trip and you'll trade convenience for El Nido, Coron and Siargao, which are the best in the region, or if English everywhere matters to you.
Read the verdictNot sure which question to ask?
Three guides that settle most itineraries before a single comparison is needed.