Thailand is endlessly intriguing, effortlessly friendly. If you learn just one word of Thai, make it “sanuk”: fun. It starts in Bangkok, a sensorial overload of color, steamy heat, punchy street-food scent and flavor, floating flower markets, golden temples.

In the cool north are the jungles and rivers of the Golden Triangle, the temples of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. To the south, the verdant islands are the stuff of castaway fantasy, with their white-sand beaches and tropical jungle. Off the east coast, Koh Samui (setting for the 2025 series of The White Lotus) keeps upping its game with smart, wellness-focused hotels. Over on the west coast, Phuket is all glamor and five-star beach resorts. In Krabi, kayaking is the best way to get around, paddling off the sands of Railay Beach; offshore lies striking Phang Nga Bay, with its limestone pillars rising from the turquoise waters, immortalized in James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).