Scenic Beaches

Well established as one of the world's most rewarding travel destinations, Thailand owes its popularity to the remarkable variety of its attractions from deep blue seas to lush green forests. With more than 2,500 kilometers of coastline,Thailand is generously provided with sandy beaches, sheltered bays and idyllic islands.

From busy fishing villages to near-deserted expanses of powdery white sand, the sights and sounds vary depending on location, as does as the style of seaside vacations. What remains constant is the tropical climate and the year-round sunshine. Many of the beaches in the Gulf of Thailand have blossomed into fully fledged resorts. Each has its own distinct character, like the fun-packed Pattaya Beach and the more typically classic resort of Hua Hin. Travel beyond these spots into the eastern provinces of Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, and you'll discover near pristine coastal and island environments.

Different again is the Far South where Trang and the islands of Phuket and Samui are internationally renowned resorts with some of the world's finest beaches and scuba diving potentials.

PATTAYA

Pattaya is one of the best known of beach resorts in Thailand and features a wonderful natural bay. To the south lies a long sandy beach known as Jomtien which has become a residential area all of its own. Offshore there are more than a dozen islands which have become extremely popular with day trippers. Pattaya itself has grown dramatically over the past 25 years from a quiet fishing village into a mature international beach resort, with a comprehensive range of entertainment and sporting attractions.

Indeed, few holiday destinations in Asia can match the variety of pastimes to be found at Pattaya and its suburb of Jomtien. These include all kinds of water sports, archery, bowling, horse riding, go-karting, tennis and scuba diving and micro light flying. Also within easy reach of Pattaya is a score of international quality golf courses. The resort's nightlife is legendary and caters for people of all ages and inclinations including young children. A wide range of accommodation is available from simple rooms to five-star hotels and just about everything else in between.

RAYONG

This is a rapidly growing province to the east of Pattaya which is far less developed but has some extremely fine beaches. The best known of these is Mae Rampueng, a long and largely empty stretch with only a handful of small hotels and bungalow complexes. Apart from its beautiful coastline and offshore islands, Rayong is also renowned for its scenic hinterland, full of forests, hills and national parks.

CHANTABURI

A short distance further to the east, Chantaburi is one of the most interesting and attractive towns in this region of Thailand. Set admist a series of hills in which small lanes wind their way around local markets and even a large Catholic church, Chantaburi is Thailand's leading gems center. This is a mecca for miners and buyers from all over the world. This region is also famous for its bountiful fruit supplies which are featured in an annual fair held in Chantaburi town.

TRAT

Close to the border with Cambodia, the town of Trat serves as an overnight destination for travelers wishing to visit many islands dotted along this part of the Eastern Seaboard. Of these, Ko Chang is the most popular and it is also Thailand's second largest island after Phuket. This island features some of the most pristine scenery and here one finds virgin tropical jungle that sweeps majestically over the steep cliffs to sandy beaches.

Sports and Pastimes

If ever there could be a sporting paradise on earth, it would undoubtedly be on Thailand's majestic shores!

Everything from the simplest of passive pursuits like bird watching or lazing on a sun drenched beach, to the most energetic of activities such as surf boarding, rock climbing and river rafting - Thailand has them all!

How is it that this tropical paradise is able to provide such a vast array of activities and pursuits for visitors of all ages and from all over the world?

Probably the biggest contributory factor is the continuous sunshine and blue skies which even in the monsoon season are never absent for more than an hour or two under normal circumstances. Far from being last and certainly not least is the psychological effect derived from the smiling faces that are everywhere. A factor that must come into focus also is the matter of cost effectiveness as applies to holidays and the pursuit of leisure activities . In this respect too, Thailand offers more value for money than most other countries in the world today!
Continuous fine weather, wholly cooperative happy local people, high quality and relatively low financial outlay! These are undoubtedly the most significant reasons why Thailand is able to offer such attractive venues for all manner of sports and pastimes to meet all tastes and requirements.

GOLFING IN THAILAND
As local golfers all know full well, there are plenty of excellent golf courses right on their door steps, here in Thailand. The availability of golf courses is so significant that reservations for tee-off times are usually unnecessary at the majority of golf clubs. Moreover, so widespread are the courses that no matter where you travel in Thailand, a club or links is never far from your accomodation or hotel.

Every golfer has a favorite golf course and the reason for liking a particular facility can vary enormously. It may be due to a particularly memorable performance there, a competition-wining round, a hole-in-one or a best-ever score.

It may also have something to do with the surroundings, the scenery or that indefinable quality, ambiance. Thus, it's rare to find total agreement on which course in Thailand is the best overall.

The best way to sum it up is to say that "as long as one can pay the fee, one can take one's pick".

ROCK CLIMBING
Phra Nang and Railay Beach are located on a peninsular which juts out from the mainland. They are only accessible by boat from the provincial town of Krabi in the South of Thailand. The entire area is covered with fabulous towering cliffs of limestone and dense unspoilt jungle which conceals fantastic caves full of stalactites and stalagmites.

This makes Railay Beach the beginning point for great climbing and exploring adventures. This location is suitble for beginners, intermediate level climbers, and advanced experts right up to celebrities such as Todd Skinner, Lyn Hill, Francois Legrand and Ben Moon to mention but a few.

When one is tired of climbing what better than to relax on the almost snow white beaches which melt into an aquamarine sea underneath a perpetually shining sun. If too much warmth becomes a problem, there is an abundance of palm fronds and billowing foliage to provide shade before being tempted to plunge into the crystal clear waters of the azure blue sea.

TREKKING
In the mountainous region of Northern Thailand, the spectacular scenery is awe-inspiring, the mountains seem to be constantly shrouded in mist and yet the the valleys are so colorful that it seems one is in some kind of a time warped "Shangri -La" mosaic. The people that inhabit the hills of Northern Thailand have long been a curiosity for visitors to the Kingdom. Most of them made long treks from Tibet, Myanmar, Yunnan, Lao PDR and Vietnam to settle in the relative calm of Thailand, bringing with them different languages, costumes and cultures. What better a place toundertake an "eco" trek combined with the adreneline rushes that are acquired through river rafting?

To whet the appetite even further, cast your eyes over the extract that follows from a typical Tour Company's Web Site, "After breakfast, depart from Chiang Mai by road for a Shan Tribe Village. A stop will be made en route at a local market before continuing on to the staggeringly beautiful Mokfha Waterfall where a lunchbox will be provided. After arriving at Ban Mae Sae, a three hour trek will begins which will end at a Lisu hill tribe village. Dinner and an overnight stop at this village completes the day's activities. Immediately after breakfast on the next day, another three-hour trek ends up at the Elephant Camp. Following a rest for lunch, experience an elephant ride for one or two hours through the jungle amidst beautiful scenery to the rafting camp at a Karen hill tribe village for dinner and an overnight stopover. Next day to the landing pier at the river for the first leg of a river rafting experience of a lifetime ........."
Thailand has it all!

DIVING IN THAILAND'S CRYSTAL CLEAR SEAS
Scuba diving is Thailand’s most popular water sport, and it’s an experience you will never forget. Explore the brilliantly colored coral reefs and be dazzled by fish of a thousand hues. Expect close encounters with giant barracuda, manta rays, sea cows and even sharks!

Thailand is the central focus for scuba diving in South East Asia. Thousands of people come here either to dive or to learn to dive and get a certification which allows them to dive all over the world. The reasons for this are very simple, diving in Thailand is competitively priced and there are world-class locations for every level of expertise and scores of professional instructors.

All over Thailand you can expect modern amenities, dive boats having international standards of safety and associated professional facilities.

Sightseeing Suggestions

If you fly into Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, in the early morning and look through the windows of the aircraft, you will be enchanted at the sight of the shimmering roof tops of countless temples and the sparkling waters of the immense Chao Phraya - the veritable River of Kings!

Once settled into this huge 'City of Angels', as it has often been called, the sights and sounds of the city are irresistible. Pay a visit to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and you will be tongue tied for words to describe its magnificence. If you want another mind-boggling experience, take a very early morning boat ride to the landing stage opposite the Temple of Dawn, which is called Wat Arun, and watch the effect of the rising sun on the millions of pieces of mosaic, colored glass and gold leaf covered pinnacles! These are sights that live forever in memory.

Yet again for the early riser, a ride in a "long-tailed boat" on a canal (called khlongs) to the famous floating market will provide a talking point with your friends forever and a day.

Spoil yourself with an evening cruise on the Chao Phraya River and observe the life of the people who live on the banks of this mighty river. The sights to be seen are so interesting you will never want to stop.

Outside of Bangkok, a bus tour to the Rose Garden and an afternoon spent viewing the displays at the Crocodile Farm and the Elephant Village in miniature will yet again fill you with wonder at this paradise on earth that is called Thailand or Siam as it used to be called - land of the free!

The sights and sounds of Thailand will bring you back again and again to this fairytale land, as it has done for the thousands of visitors who return year after year.

Diving in Thailand

Diving — the most popular water sport

Scuba diving is Thailand's most popular water sport, and it's an experience you cannot forget. With magical apparatus allowing you to breathe underwater, a whole new universe opens up to you. Some of the most extravagantly beautiful creatures in creation await you in this weightless, watery world. Explore brilliantly-coloured coral reefs and be dazzled by fish of a thousand hues. Expect close encounters with giant barracuda, manta rays, sea cows and even sharks!

Thailand is the central focus for scuba diving in Southeast Asia. Thousands of people learn to dive in Thailand every year and become avid divers for life. There are world-class locations for every level of expertise and scores of professional. Well-established dive shops are located all over the southern peninsula. Diving in Thailand is competitively priced, and once you have achieved your certification in Thailand, you can use it to go scuba diving all over the world.

Diving is available at all times of the year, although visibility changes according to the season. In the Andaman Sea the best time to dive is from October to April, and in the Gulf of Thailand from May to September — in other words, first-class diving all year round!

All reputable dive shops are affiliated with PADI or other international dive bodies, and most hold courses in multiple languages. All over Thailand, you can expect modern amenities, international-standard boats and professional facilities.