Thailand With Kids Recommendations

[Brycare]

Hi. I’m looking for a recommendation of nice beach towns in Thailand (islands or mainland) to stay in for 2 adults and 2 young kids (2 and 4 at the moment).
Not sure when this trip will
happen now obviously with the ongoing COVID situation but no harm in dreaming and thinking ahead I guess :-)

We would be going for two weeks and possibly may do one week each in 2 places (not planning on doing much moving around other than that as the kids are young).

I guess what we are looking for is somewhere with a nice beach that has a good selection of restaurants within walking distance but is not tacky in any way. Not bothered about nightlife as wont get a chance to partake anyway :-)
Since the kids have come along we have holidayed in Port de Pollenca in Mallorca which has been ideal for us in that it has a nice beach with loads of eating options & a nice atmosphere in general.

I’m finding it hard to sift through information on Thailand on the internet (never been before). Places I have seen recommended that sound like they may be nice are Koh Lipe island (I know it is awkward to get to) and Bophut area on Koh Samui.
Anyone have experience of these places or care to recommend anywhere else that might fit the bill?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

What time of year are you planning to travel? You probably want to check which area has the best weather. I’d definitely recommend the slate in Nai yang, Phuket. Beautiful hotel, plenty of local beach restaurants and great for adults and children.

I went to Thailand last year we went in August so Koh Samui was our only option due the weather. However it was lovely, I'd recommend going to the more quiet side of the island though!

Boput is lovely! The fisherman's village is amazing and if you want a more lively day you can get a taxi to the busy side of the island for shopping!

Koh Lipe is lovely but not sure there is much for kids to do there and it’s a trek to get there.

Krabi and Koh lantra are nice with more to do in the local area and easy to get to. If you can spend a couple of days in Bangkok that’s an amazing place.

Not sure when they will open up to holiday visitors though. They closed all the borders and restricting internal travel at the start of this Covid thing and have done a great job of keeping their infection rates down.

I think we will have to wait and see what it’s going to be like when they reopen with regards to travel in region

Koh Samui is great for families. Lots of safe beaches and decent accommodation. You could always do a week on Samui and then a week in Koh Pangan, a simple ferry ride away. Had Yao is nice. This place is v family friendly in south Samui:
abnb.me/lYrddTrTAbb

We stayed here in a 2 bedroom villa with our 2 dc a few years ago in Koh Samui, www.samuismilehouse.com location and cost of the villa was amazing. Lots to do and see nearby, would recommend. Villa included breakfasts overlooking the beach, ah memories, take me back there now!

Just to add it's at the Fishermans village that a pp mentioned, lots of high end hotels there but as a family we preferred the space of having 2 bedrooms/bathrooms. The village has a great food and shopping market on Fridays, we jumped on buses to explore to the big buddah etc, had massages every day and had all our laundry done for a few £ a bag!

We stayed in Bangkok on the way there and back, eye opener for our dc but lots of fun! Our hotel had a rooftop pool.

Hope that helps.

We did Thailand when DS was 18m old. Khao Lak and Nai Harn in Phuket were both good. Job Samui is lovely too.

We have stayed at the Amari hotel on Chewang beach, Koh Samui. It was fab. You are at the quiet end of Chewang, and in the evening there are restaurants every few yards along the beach. Just perfect :)
Recommend booking through Trailfinders as they often have good deals

Depends on the time of year you are planning to visit. Best time to visit Thailand is late November to April for most resorts as these months have the lowest rainfall. Koh samui is best visited in our summer as it's on a different coast. We've reschedule our 2021 holiday to 2022 to Bangkok, Krabi, Elephant Hills Tented Camp and Khoa Lak. Most visitors that Thailand do some form of multi centre holiday to experience the different sights and culture.

We stayed in the Dewa hotel on Phuket, ten mins from airport on Nai Yang beach. Very quiet. Beautiful. Not much in the way of kid specific stuff so depends on whether you are happy with two pools and the beach over the road. Dewa has two bedroom suites which was just perfect. Though if we go again I like the look of the sun wing hotel on Bangtao beach! We combined with a few days in Singapore that was absolutely wonderful as well. Mine were just off four and six when we went and had a great time!