Thailand - travel alone as a woman

Dream of thailand

Travelling to Thailand alone, just setting off with a rucksack

I decided to travel to Thailand in the middle of last year. So many people were enthusiastic about Thailand, I was curious. I like warm weather, spicy food, the sea, beaches...

I got to the point of when, how long, with whom....

When googling for information about Thailand, I came across pages where women reported how they travelled to Thailand alone

alone

all alone to Thailand

to a country I have never been to

yes, phew

but then, why not?

Well, I had a bit of time to get used to the idea, I even googled for tips for solo travellers - travelling to Thailand alone as woman

Over time, I actually got more and more comfortable with the idea.

I got more and more into it and then just started to think about where I actually wanted to go in Thailand.

My list was quite long, but I also had a lot of time.

At least that's what I thought

It didn't take long for me to realise that I didn't have that much time after all. After all, I wanted to spend a few days on one or two of the islands. As I'm a total TikTok junkie, I naturally watched loads of videos with travel tips. It didn't take long for me to find the majority of my destinations.

Chang Mai, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lipe, Koh Samui, many more islands and of course I really wanted to spend a few days in Bangkok.

And as I said, I thought I could easily manage that in 4 weeks.

But it wasn't

I wanted to start in the north in Chiang Mai and then move south and see Bangkok at the end.

My first island was going to be Koh Phi Phi, then I wanted to stay on Koh Lipe for a few days and head back north to Krabi to visit the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Pha-ngan.

So I set about planning my trip in detail. Flight tickets, hotels, sights... how long do I stay where, how much is there to see, how much and what do I want to see? Questions upon questions. Where do I start?

So first I booked the flight tickets. As I wanted to go straight on to Chiang Mai, I booked a hotel near the airport for one night so that I could get to my next destination in Chiang Mai the next day. Here I realised that I was relatively late in planning and booking hotels. I booked during the peak season, right after Christmas until the end of January. I bravely opted for a hostel in Chiang Mai. There were great reviews, an unbeatable price and the perfect location. So, I booked! I found it difficult to estimate how long I wanted to stay where. Yes I know, many will say why I booked in advance in the first place. Quite simply, it was too stressful for me to look for something on site every time. As I was already late with the booking and saw how much was already fully booked, I really didn't want to get involved in any nerve-wracking hotel searches. I decided to stay in Chiang Mai for 4 days.

Then came the booking for the next destination

Koh Phi Phi

I had seen various tiktoks that the island is more of a party island, but it is supposed to have a special vibe. Vibe... Mochi's vibe...

The best or even only way to get there is of course by water. Various ferry connections, but since I came from Chiang Mai, the best option was Phuket. It wasn't on my plan, but it was a good way to get there. And while I was there... so I planned 2 nights. I found a very nice hotel on the ‘quiet’ side of the island. Not too far from the harbour, so I could travel on easily.

On Koh Phi Phi, a lot of places were already fully booked, but I found a relatively cheap room in the quieter part of the island.

Next, I wanted to go to Koh Lipe. I wanted to be there for my birthday, spend a few days on the ‘Maldives’ of Thailand and unwind. I treated myself to a great room with a sea view right on the beach. I was curious to see if it really looked like the pictures. I planned 7 days. There's not that much to see here, but I wanted to relax. And believe me, I never get bored and I have an incredible stamina for lying on a beach.

Then I wanted to go back to Ao Nang/Krabi to fly to Koh Samui and finally Bangkok. And now I was running out of days. After some back and forth, I decided to cut the trip short. I didn't want any stress.

And then my travel plan looked like this

Landing in Bangkok, onward flight to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta, Ao Nang, Bangkok, return flight to Germany

I hadn't planned to go to Koh Lanta, but it was an obvious choice as it was on my way back to Krabi. What's more, my mother had already been on holiday there several times and was really impressed.

I decided on a really nice hotel there with a great room and my own jacuzzi. You can't treat yourself to anything else

I had only planned a short stopover in Ao Nang, as my main aim was actually to get back to Bangkok from there. I found a really small hotel, relatively cheap. It was for adults only... I wasn't sure what I had let myself in for. But what the heck... two nights... I'll be fine

Finding a hotel for my last stay, Bangkok, wasn't that easy. There are so many great hotels. I couldn't make up my mind. Then I found an incredible tiktok with a sunset and rooftop pool... that was going to be it. I had booked all my hotels through the same portal and was now a premium customer... which paid off for the booking. I got a huge discount for this room high above Bangkok. In the end, I just hoped that the view in this Tiktok was really like that!

I was relieved when everything was finally finalised, now I could relax and look forward to it.

I decided to backpack to Thailand as I had a few islands planned, some short stays and a lot of travelling on ferries and speedboats. Suitcases seemed too impractical for this. But that's a decision everyone has to make for themselves.

Buying the rucksack was my next challenge. Everyone on the internet recommended a great rucksack with at least 40 litres. However, as I didn't know whether I would ever go on a trip like this again or whether I would even use this rucksack again, I decided to choose a much cheaper one. Of course, I realised how important a well-fitting backpack is. But to be honest, I also realised that I wouldn't be going on any hikes with this backpack. I won't be carrying it on my back for endless hours. Most of the time I'll be on a plane, bus and boat.

I found a suitable model at a good price on Amazon.

They also recommended buying cubes to store your clothes in, instead of carrying everything loose in your rucksack. I also found these on Amazon at a favourable price.

I also found an AirTag and a lock to secure the rucksack useful. I also got myself a small, very light rucksack.

Time was running and running, Christmas was just around the corner and I wanted to set off straight after the holidays.

I did some trial packing, looked at all the clothes I wanted to take with me and, above all, what would fit in! It was quite a challenge to limit myself to the bare essentials. But to start with... I didn't miss anything in Thailand in the end! So it's wonderful to be travelling with small luggage.

Yes, and then came the day of departure...