Surfing in Thailand is never going to match what Bali or the Ments can throw at you, but there’s a nascent scene in the Land of Smiles, and it’s a downright lovely place to be there’s no doubt about that.
An introduction to surfing in Thailand
We’re not going to beat around the bush…Thailand is hardly up there with the surf meccas of Asia. It’s no Bali. The spot is no Indo. This ain’t Sri Lanka. But there are waves in the loveable Land of Smiles and we don’t think they can legitimately be ignored much longer by the global surf community. That’s not for the quality – there’s nothing epic or barreling in these parts. It’s mainly for what you get on the side.
To put it another way, you don’t go surfing in Thailand for the ride of your life. You go surfing in Thailand because it’s an enthralling corner of the world where mystical Buddhist temples loom up against shimmering beaches, where you can eat pad Thai till you look like a balloon and stop by wondrous sites like the Grand Palace of Bangkok.
The surf scene here is really focused on two destinations: Koh Phayam in the north Andaman Sea, and Phuket in the middle of the Andaman Sea. They are among the most-exposed spots to the Indian Ocean, meaning they are much more likely to hoover up the SW swells that can pulse through during the monsoon time than just about anywhere else in the country.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
This guide is a part of our larger ultimate guide to surfing in Asia
Surfing in Thailand at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What will I find in this guide to surfing in Thailand
How to get to Thailand?
Thailand is one of the most-visited countries in the whole of Asia – nay, the world. There’s a downside there – AKA busy beaches. But there’s an upside – it’s super-easy to get to.
Most people will head to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). By some stats, it’s the busiest airport in the world. That means all sorts of ailines, from low-cost Asian fliers to big flag carriers from Europe and the US jet over.
You can – and we have done this in the past – come straight off a long-haul there and change to domestic flights to take you to the beaches (and therefore the surf). Just be sure to leave enough time to go through Thai immigration and re-check your bags. It can be quick but it can also take like 2 hours if it suddenly gets busy. All a matter of luck!
Getting around Thailand
Most travelers rely on internal flights and transfers or buses to get around the Land of Smiles. That’s always been enough for us.
There’s usually at least one major domestic airport close to beaches in specific areas. For example, you can fly to Koh Samui on Bangkok Airways from the capital to get to the gulf isles. Even better for surfers is Phuket Airport, which offers a gateway to Phuket island. Krabi Airport is also there, offering easy access to the Andaman Islands of Koh Lanta.
To be honest, there’s almost never a time when you can’t get from A to B in Thailand in a single day. We use Omio to search for taxi or bus links and it’s almost always doable. Alternatively, just rock up to one of the local tour offices and book your tickets. You’ll be given a little slip and hardly believe that someone will turn up the next morning. But, lo and behold, they ALWAYS turn up!
Renting a car has become more popular here in recent years. We still wouldn’t go that far, but you can if you really want extra freedom to explore.
The top surf spots in Thailand
There aren’t many places where you can hit the waves in Thailand. That should hardly come as a surprise, since the country is best known for its white-sand beaches lapped by light waves. ALL of the surf destinations of note in the Land of Smiles are over on the western shoreline, known as the Andaman coast. They, occasionally, can get a hit of good SW swell coming up from the Indian Ocean and come to life…
Koh Phayam
Koh…where? A long-held secret among fans of the Andaman islands, Koh Phayam is one of the northernmost of the chain. It’s about a two-hour ferry from the mainland port but connections are infrequent because it draws just a fraction of the crowds of the Phi Phis and Koh Lanta.
That said, it’s home to probably the best surfing in Thailand as a whole. The star of the show is Aow Yai, or Big Bay, which opens like a crab’s claws to look straight south west into the heart of the Indian Ocean. Bigger waves come in the monsoon season and mellow conditions (often flat) prevail in the dry months.
Stay at: Frog Beach House. This one gets some bad reviews becuase some of the bungalows need renovation. Go for one of the superior rooms and you won’t be dissapointed. Plus, it’s right on the best surf beach in Thailand!
Tempted by Koh Phayam? Check out our complete guide.
Khao Lak
The long, open stretches of sand in Khao Lak have long been a tourist mecca. They were thrust into the limelight back in 2004 when they took the brunt of the destructive Indian Ocean tsunami. However, things have recovered well, and there’s now even a surf school/surf shop making the most of the monsoon-season waves to teach beginners wave craft. It’s very much wet season stuff, and the waves are generally small and crumbly. Still, a great addition to a stay at one of the beachside hotels, no?
Stay at: Aspara Beachfront Resort, a lux resort that’s nestled between the main point and the long beach breaks of Khao Lak.
Check out our complete guide to surfing in Khao Lak
Koh Lanta
A dogleg-shaped island in the eastern Andaman Sea, Koh Lanta is a real stunner. We’ve been back here and back again since we first visited in 2016. Not to surf, mind you, but to chill, sip cocktails, and explore the jungles inland. Wave wise, there’s one spot on the northern shore of the island that does work. We tried it once but to no avail – though we were carrying a 5″8 out of Sri Lanka and it’s definitely a longboard wave or SUP spot, nothing more.
Stay at: Noble House Beach Resort SHA Extra Plus – a fantastic family hotel with a lovely pool right on Khlong Dhoa beach, the best – and only – surf spot in Lanta.
Learn more about surfing in Koh Lanta in our full guide
Phuket
Phuket is the only place that can rival Koh Phayam when it comes to the top places for surfing in Thailand. There’s an argument to say it’s superior because it’s WAY easier to get to (Phuket even has its own airport and a road connection to the Thai mainland) and has multiple surf spots that can work both wet season and dry. The downsides are the crowds and the vibe, which we can’t help but say is a little gaudy for our liking.
Still, over the last three or so years, Phuket has become the home of surfing in Thailand. It’s got the only surf camps in the country, and a proven consistency that makes it the best for wet- and dry-season trips.
Stay at: InterContinental, which sits right by a peeling right hander and has super-lush suites that claim the full five stars.
Check out our full guide to the surf in Phuket right now
Top places to stay if you’re going surfing in Thailand
Given that Thailand isn’t really set up for surfing, it should hardly be a surprise that you don’t find too much in the way of dedicated surf hotels in the Land of Smiles. However, there’s no shortage of stays close to the beaches where surf is on offer. We’ve focussed on those below…
Lazy Hut
A rainy-season stay in the Lazy Hut of Koh Phayam will put you literally steps from the breaks on this northern Andaman Island. But, even if there’s no swell, you still get that tropical cabana vibe, with a bamboo-built deck space and steps leading straight to the sand.
Hilton Garden Inn Phuket Bang Tao
Just 800 meters from the white sands of Bang Tao, the best beginner surf beach in Phuket, this Hilton hotel is a real slice of island luxury. You get modern rooms that are spacious and a pool that sits just meters from where the waves roll in.
Twinpalms Phuket
Twinpalms Phuket is a couple of steps off Surin Beach, where the Phuket waves can have a bit more power and offer rides for intermediates and beginners. It’s also a lovely hotel, with villa suites that have private pools, an on-site gym, and gardens lined with coconut palms
Surf camps in Thailand
Thailand has been a bit slow to notice the potential of planned surf camps. But as of 2023/24 wet season, they are now in business. They all operate out of the biggest isle in the country, Phuket. You can see why – it’s the most consistent part of the nation for surf, has beginner-friendly beaches, and is easy to reach.
Overall, we’d sum them up like this: Not as comprehensive as an Indoneisan surf camp but still fantastic, espeically for beginners and improvers who are dead set on experiencing everything Thailand has to offer.
Here are your best options:
- Talay Surf School: 6 Day “Learn to Surf” Surf Camp in Phuket – The best surf camp in Thailand in our mind, this one really harnesses the beginner-friendly nature of Phuket’s beach breaks and helps novices get thier feet. It’s five days of lessons coupled with use of the in-house equipment. Choose between private rooms in a beach hotel or cheap stays in a hostel.
- 3 Day Learn to Surf Surf Camp in Thalang, Phuket – Also run by Talay Surf School, this package is more of a taster option for people thinking about starting surfing but unsure about comitting to a whole week. It includes three hours’ tuition and a Thai massage to help you recover.
A note on why we partner with BookSurfCamps.com: Book Surf Camps are probably the biggest online aggregator of surf camps and surf-yoga packages in the world. We sounded out a quite a few potential partners before we affiliated with them. But, in the end, the abundance of choice for beginners, intermediates, and female-only surfing sealed it. We also love the simplicity of their booking system and the trusted brand name, along with the focus on connecting with homegrown local businesses on the ground.
Want more surfing in Thailand camp options? Search the whole shebang below right now and book in a few clicks.
Step-by-step guide to planning your surfing in Thailand trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the surfing in Thailand…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Get insuranceThis is kinda’ important. Not just for surf trips but for any trips. SafetyWing is great for nomad travelers. They offer rolling contracts that cover amateur surfing.
Step four (optional): Rent a car If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step five: Enjoy!
For paying for stuff when you’re traveling – Get a Wise borderless card/account. They charge NOTHING for POS payments in any country and have some of the best FX rates around in our humble opinion.
Surf lessons in Thailand
Becuase Thailand is largely about chilling and enjoying the culture and vibes, it makes a lot of sense to us that people might want to simply chuck in a morning or a couple of hours’ surfing during thier hols. That’s possible, so long as you base yourself in Phuket, which is home to the most accomplished surf schools in the country.
You can now reserve your place online before you even arrive, which is something we’d reccomend doing around key dates (the dry season in the Andaman from Nov-March, Christmas, and NY).
Here are the best options:
- Bang Tao Beach: Group Or Private Surf Lessons with Talay Surf – Talay are the same surf school that run the camps mentioned above. They also do 1.5-hour surf lessons that can be either private or part of a group, depending on your budget. All very beginner friendly.
- Phuket: Surfing Lessons with SSS Phuket Dive, Freedive & Surf Center – The other top option on Phuket is this lesson with the local dive school, who hook up with dedicated surf instructors and offer a meeting point on Kata Beach. It’s really well rated.
When to surf in Thailand?
The wet season in southwest Thailand (known as the Southwest Monsoon) is the best time to surf here. It lasts from April to the autumn and sees the Andaman get much rougher with wind swells that can help bulk up the waves into something rideable.
The real joy is the chance of distant groundswells coming up past the Malacca Strait from the Indian Ocean, which give the cleaner waves of the season in Phuket and Phayam. Things tail off towards October, but we won’t go as far as to say there are NO waves in Thailand during the dry season (November-March) because it does happen. It’s just rare.
What to do when you aren’t surfing in Thailand?
For us, one of the best things about planning a surf trip to Thailand is that you get to explore Thailand itself.
Okay, so the waves themselves aren’t going to be on the covers of Stab mag anytime soon, but this is the fabled Land of Smiles, where you can back up dawn patrols with trips to the Big Buddha or island hop through some of the most fantastic tropical sands on the planet.
Head to Koh Jum to chill out
We list Koh Jum as a place to head to chill out but please don’t tell all your buddies! It hides in the Andaman Sea just north of Koh Lanta and about three hours west of Phuket by boat (though they never run to schedule), so it’s a great place to escape to once you’re done surfing in Thailand. Totally untouched and largely undeveloped, it’s a little like the larger isles were 20 years back. We’ll reiterate: Please don’t tell everyone!
See Bangkok
Bangkok is a bloody awesome city. Anyone who says otherwise just isn’t thinking straight. Don’t take our word for it – a whopping 22 million people come this way every year (at least before COVID, they did!), making it the single most visited metropolis on Earth. What’s on offer? How about the gold-plated Grand Palace of the Thai Kings? How about buzzy Khaosan Road (you know, from The Beach)? How about night markets and street food and floating bazaars? It’s endless.
Go north
The north of Thailand is a whole different place to the south. Shrouded by misty karst mountains that run the whole length of the Burmese border, it gives towns like little Pai (a hippy-filled enclave of reggae bars in the jungle) and Chiang Mai (the digital nomad mecca of Asia before Canggu came into being). After or before you head to the waves, we think this part of the country is a must. It’s a place to bathe in hot springs, see elephants in the national parks, and sample traditional Lanna food.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!