It was recently been reported that thirty false killer whales swam ashore in Thailand on the isle of Phuket. With fast help from local residents and hotel staff all but one was saved. The whales, upto 4.2m in length, came ashore on one of the tourist Thailand beaches on Racha Island in the Andaman Sea were the residents and hotel staff acted quickly and together to carry them back to the rough seas.

It was decided that for the safety of people ten of the whales would be loaded onto trucks and transferred to another beach about a mile away, where calmer waters made it easier to return them to sea. Unfortunately during this transfer one of the whales died from shock.

Staff at the Phuket Marine Biological Center are not sure why the whales ran aground but have said “They may have done so because of the strong waves, or they could have been misled by their leader’s sonar signal.”(src) This is not the first time false killer whales have ran aground on Thailand beaches but this was a very large number to be beached together. Scientifically classified as dolphins these social creatures and are well known for stranding themselves.

Many travellers to Thailand often do so independently, booking hotels, tours and even flights when they arrive in Thailand. For some people this is not something they would dream of doing and need to plan their Thailand holiday. Planning is something you should do if you have never been before or want to explore a new area but booking internal flights or hotels is possible when you arrive.

If you are really adventurous you can even arrive in a location without anything booked. Airports, bus stations and train terminals all have tour desks that will offer you every type of hotel, hostel, tour and onward travel arrangements. These travel operators get a real hard time from some tourists because they feel they are being over sold on what it is they really want. Quick news flash: you get over sold on everything you buy, home or on holiday. Ever went to the supermarket for 1 item and went home with 5? It’s the same thing but only a little more in your face with these tour operators.

Well before you ignore all these sales pitches just think that maybe joining one of these tours in Thailand would be a practical and convenient way to explore the  country’s best attractions. Independent travel is a great way to travel Thailand but you must have an open mind when you do and be prepared to change your travel plans when something better comes along. When booking your hotel with the agent in the airport have a listen what else they are trying to sell you, hell it may be better than what you had planned for the location. If it’s not better then thank them for the information decline the service and move on.

You can look at the Internet for highly regarded travel agents in Thailand but if they don’t have an online booking function or you are traveling independently then these tour operators become an invaluable resource. Many  of the operators will have prices listed on message boards in their offices but don’t assume that it is the price. If you book  a few tours or include some tour with your hotel booking tour companies won’t offer it but you should make sure to ask for a discount remember haggling in Thailand is the typical thing to do.

Thailand has many different sightseeing tours on offer and it may become a little daunting separating the the good from the bad. I have attempted to list a few of the excursions here that should be considered when you travel to Thailand , cooking course, city excursions, cruises, diving, eco-adventure tours, treks and tribes.

Thailand Scuba diving

• Similan Liveaboards
• Surin and Similan Islands
• Diving Burm
• Diving Phi Phi Isslands
• Diving Phuket
• Diving Koh Samui
• Diving Koh Tao

Bangkok tours

• Grand Palace Tours
• Half Day Temple Tours
• Ayutthaya Temples
• Loy Nava Dinner Cruises
• Bangkok Floating Market
• Klong (canal) Tours

North Thailand Tours

• Mae Hong Son
• Chiang Mai city Discovery
• Chiang Rai Tours
• Hmong and Hilltribe Adventure
• Golden Triangle
• Chiang Dao trekking
• 4×4 Safari and Rafting

South Thailand Tours

• Kayaking in Phang Nga
• Khao Sok National Park
• Island and Beach tours

Other Thailand Sightseeing Tours

• River Kwai Tour
• Thailand Trails and Treks
• Khao Yai National Park
• Khon Kaen Tour

This is only a short list of the things I’ve done when traveling Thailand, and yes I booked everyone only after I arrived in the country. My personal holiday plans for Thailand only every involve booking my first 2 nights hotel in Bangkok

but I do have a general plan of where I want to go after this. I use my time in Bangkok to plan my travel, book my internal flights or train travel and maybe my accommodation if I see something I like.

This all takes time, conversation and questions so after a few hours in the tour operators office I know they are glad to get rid of me and often I’ve got myself some nice discounts but more importantly I’ve just planned the rest of my travel in Thailand.

Millions of people arrive at Thailand’s International Airport every year with the aim to Travel Thailand and see as much as possible. Many will head North for lush tropical rainforests or West to Kanchanaburi for the Bridge over the River Kwai but a great deal many more will head south to the soft, tropical, whiter than white sands of Thailand Beaches.

Many of these travelers will be searching out for that elusive beach, you know the one, its deserted, its palm tree fringed and soft white sand as far as the eye can see. It’s a place were we can feel, for a moment or two, marooned on an uninhabited island. That you don’t really have to go back to work or the rat race or even the mountain of material possessions you have accumulated over the years. Or is that just me 

The reality however is that we will most probably end up on a beach paying for our lounger and shade umbrella. Sitting cheek to jowl with those on the lounger next to you, listening in on their lives they’re that close. Relaxing your holiday may be private and exclusive it’s not.

In the southern parts of Thailand beaches are a plenty yet most people all head for the same ones. If we had taken a few minutes during our holiday planning and thought maybe those jaw dropping beach scenes could be our holiday.

Holiday planning is the most essential part of any holiday, would you agree? Then why let someone else plan it for you? Most travel agents who sell you a holiday will have never been to the location they are selling. They only know the Thailand beaches that everyone else heads for because that is what they are given to sell you. What do you think makes these places popular? In my opinion nice beaches and exclusivity are not really that high on the scale of importance but high commission rates from hotels night be. Yes I am cynical about the travel industry.

So how do we get the best of Thailand beaches as we travel Thailand on our treasured break? Simple, research should be the start to any holiday planning and the research should include more that looking for the telephone number of the local travel agent.

I have outlined 7 points that I undertake when looking for my next break, not necessarily to Thailand beaches. You found this page so you know how to use the internet so what you will be doing isn’t rocket science and the list is by no means complete but it may give you an idea into what you can do.

7 Points To Great Holiday Research

1. Decided on what type of holiday you want, beach, city or forest break. If you want a combination of these then do the following 6 steps for each destination.
2. Note down 5 phrases or words that come to mind when you think about your chosen destination.
3. Put these phrases into Google or any other search engine you may use and have a look at the first page results, then ignore them.
4. Move to page 2 and 3 and working your way down ignore hotel booking services and visit the web sites that seem like information pages and have some relevance to your searched term or phrase.
5. Look for locations on these web pages that maybe you have never heard about or read about and take a note of the name.
6. Search for this unknown location and take note of the number of pages with the term.
7. The location with the least number of pages should now be your focus for your next holiday destination.

Here is how it all works:

I love Thailand beaches when I’m on holiday, I think of white sand, palm trees, blue waters, cool breeze and deserted beaches. So now I have my 5 terms I’ll put them into Google one at a time.

White sand Thailand returns 2.35 million results I skip the 1st page and go to page 2 and skip anything that looks like a hotel booking service. Bingo about half way down I see Amazing-Thailand.com – Tropicals Islands in Thailand a quick scan of this page shows me 2 locations I’m not familiar with and have not seen anywhere else, Koh Larn and Koh Turatao.

I search for Koh Turatao which returns 1,380 results and Koh Larn which returns 55,400 pages. So my first holiday research place would be Koh Turatao.

This type of holiday research may not work every time but it will open your eyes to the other destinations at your chosen location. Finding deserted Thailand beaches is not impossible today but a word of warning. The locations of these deserted beaches will be, by there very nature, far from any commercial outlets, medical centers or English speaking locals so it may not all be paradise. Finally, I would like to ask that if anyone does come across any Thailand beaches that may not be know yet as they travel Thailand then please keep it to yourself, after letting me know ofc