Ultimate travel guide to Thailand: where to stay and what to eat

Thailand is vivid and immediate: the street food is zingy, the sand gleams white and the nightlife pulses with atmosphere. Wildlife encounters, from spontaneous elephant sightings to swinging gibbons, are part of the canvas, and trains and ferry transfers link verdant islands and national parks.

Even airport vendors sell massages and mango salad — the country gives 100% from the moment you arrive. For the driest, coolest weather, visit between November and March, though Thailand offers memorable experiences year-round, with incense-fragranced festivals and cacophonous street markets whatever the season.

The country is quieter and often cheaper from April through October; heaviest rains fall in Phuket and Bangkok from June to September and in Hua Hin and Koh Samui from October to November.

Thailand, Phuket, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Koh Samui

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