Thailand

Thailand is the easiest big trip an Indian passport can take — visa-free for up to 60 days, a short flight away, and split neatly into two acts: Bangkok's gold-spired temples, mega-markets and street food, then the limestone-karst beaches of the Andaman coast at Phuket, Krabi and the Phi Phi islands.

Best time to visit

November to February for Bangkok and November to March for the Andaman beaches — dry, sunny and around 27°C; the islands' monsoon runs roughly May to October.

Worth your days

Top attractions in Thailand

Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok

The royal complex founded in 1782, housing the Emerald Buddha — carved from a single block of green stone and re-robed seasonally by royal hands. Strict dress code applies.

Wat Arun

The 'Temple of Dawn' on the Chao Phraya river, its central spire studded with porcelain shards — best photographed at sunset from the opposite bank.

Wat Pho

Home to the 46-metre gold-plated Reclining Buddha and Thailand's traditional massage school — get an authentic Thai massage where it was codified.

Phi Phi Islands & Maya Bay

The Andaman's poster archipelago of sheer limestone karsts — Maya Bay reopened after a four-year reef-recovery closure and now runs on capped visitor numbers with no swimming in the bay itself.

Phang Nga Bay

Sea-canoe country: hidden lagoon caves and the needle rock of Khao Phing Kan, 'James Bond Island' since 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun.

Railay, Krabi

A beach peninsula sealed off by cliffs and reachable only by longtail boat — world-famous rock climbing above some of Thailand's finest sand.

Do it properly

Activities & experiences

• Chao Phraya temple day — Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun by river boat
• Bangkok street-food night walk, from pad thai to mango sticky rice
• Treasure-hunting Chatuchak's 15,000-stall weekend market
• Floating market and railway market day trip
• Speedboat island-hopping around Phi Phi
• Sea-canoeing the caves of Phang Nga Bay
• Longtail ride to Railay's cliff-framed beaches
• Thai cooking class or a traditional massage afternoon
• Ethical elephant sanctuary visit (observation, no riding)