Reasons you should visit Thailand this year:

Thailand has become one of the best budget travel destinations around the world and it is easy to see why every traveler should visit Thailand on their next travel adventure. Cheap flight tickets to Thailand, cheap hotels in Thailand, delicious Thai street food and beautiful beaches are just a few reasons why you should add ‘visit Thailand’ on your bucket list.

When planning for a great holiday people usually take out ten days, maybe two weeks. The lucky ones (teachers and employees with a lot of holiday in their contract) may even be able to leave for three weeks. Either way, each one of them should be looking at why they should visit Thailand this year. For starters, Thailand is still a tropical country, the euro has gained over 10% to the Thai baht the last couple of months, and there are tons of little islands, ethnic tribes and back road jungles to explore in this exciting country.

Cheap Flight tickets to Thailand

If you book now, you are guaranteed make some great deals, as the TAT (Tourist Authority of Thailand) has contracted several upcoming airlines like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. These are the carriers that will bring in additional visitors from both the States and from Europe at very affordable rates. Of course you will use travel metasearch engines like skyscanner, Momondo or Expedia to search for cheap flight tickets to Thailand, but chances are you’ll end up buying tickets from the carriers mentioned earlier anyway.

Cheap Hotels in Thailand

For travelers who have never been to Thailand, the hotels are the biggest surprise. Five stars hotels cost a fraction of what you would pay for a similar accommodation in the western world. There are many cheap places to stay in Thailand, hostels are next to nothing and cheap last minute hotels are a great option. The cost of visiting Thailand is much cheaper than most European destinations and once you find a cheap flight and a cheap place to stay in Thailand, eating out is not a problem.

Another reason to visit Thailand is that not a single country in the region offers this unique combination of arriving in a high-end urban environment, only to transfer a few days later towards an island, the cooler north or a jungle adventure somewhere outside of the cities. The choice really is yours. And while most first-timers can’t wait to get to the beach, Thailand is so much more than that.

Where to visit in Thailand:

Culture vultures stay in Bangkok

With an exploding middle-class, comes a new wave of Thai creativity. Boutique fashion brands, vintage markets, artist districts and renowned street artists all call Bangkok their home. To find any of them, simply do your research and learn about the different districts in the city and what happens where. Like any megacity, new places open up every week, and others close down as well, so Bangkok is constantly in motion.

A lot of travelers finance their trips to Thailand by buying goods in bulk and bringing them back home. As Thailand is a serious manufacturer of all kinds of products, it is not uncommon for upstarting brands to buy their first collections in Bangkok before they get creative themselves. After all, places like JJ-market do not enforce copyrights or intellectual property, and most of the young designers working there are very happy when someone is interested enough to buy their entire stock.

Explorers go Umphang

There are a variety of remote areas in Thailand, but most of them are conveniently mapped out by tour operators. What this means is that you will not be the only one trekking in the area. At the hostel, there will still be that one person playing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ on their traveler guitar. Plus, you won’t be able to help notice that most menus are laminated and neatly written out in English as well as Thai.

Umphang is a more off the beaten path destination for travelers visiting Thailand. Home of the biggest waterfall in the country, there is only one single tour operator active and trekking in the area, making Umphang a good choice for travelers visiting Thailand, to experience solitude, serious jungle trials and the occasional rural village without the tourists.

Digital Nomads go Chiang Mai

With a fast growing micro-economy of creatives, developers and copywriters up north, the environment in- and around Chiang Mai is getting more and more entrepreneurial by the day. There are meet-ups about crypto currency, SEO workshops and very few real advertising agencies to compete with.

A lot of newcomers start out with translations or remote English lessons per webcam, and gradually ease into content writing, website optimization and/or coding. Whatever project you are working on, Chiang Mai has photographers, drone operators and editors who can help you out and there are several networking events every week.

Beach bums should go elsewhere

If you are looking for a popular tourist destination in Thailand and want to experience paradise, to walk on white sandy beaches while sipping on a fresh coconut, with a few home comforts, then head to Phuket or Koh Samui. These places are becoming more popular with tourists so are gradually becoming more expensive, but you still get to experience the beauty that Thailand has to offer.

For those who have decided to visit Thailand and want to experience somewhere less touristy where you can absorb real local culture, then head to Koh Chang. This is one of the larger islands and is home to Mu Ko Chang National Park which has a select number of beaches and villages where you can hang out. There are hiking trails and waterfalls in the National Park where you can admire the natural beauty of Thailand and Koh Chang has a waterfront party scene that attracts backpackers.

For people who are looking for even more solitude or a honeymoon destination then head to Koh Mak and Koh Kood. For smart travelers who know that an island usually has inflated prices, there are interesting alternatives underneath Hua Hin. Chumpon Province is very affordable compared to some of the other destinations, and from sleepy resorts to exciting glamping setups, there are many options to choose from and with westerners running the operation, you can easily communicate in advance and make sure your Thailand dream holiday works out exactly the way you planned it.

All in all, Thailand is unique in the sense that it is affordable, but unlike its neighbors where you get even more ‘bang for your buck’, there is a solid infrastructure in place. Burma, Cambodia and Laos each have their unique advantages and disadvantages but there is something about Thailand that keeps attracting more tourists and backpackers every year.

Author Bio:
We collaborated with Sacha Albarda to come up with these top reasons why every traveler shoud visit Thailand and where they should consider visiting. Sacha Albarda has lived in South-east Asia for almost a decade, keeping himself busy with online marketing, vintage Toyotas and laughing at Pokemon fans. He also thinks Fallout III is the best game ever.

Like these ‘top reasons to visit Thailand’? Pin it!