50 Best beaches in Southeast Asia

Maenam is the best beach in Samui island of Thailand, and one of the best beaches in the world. The abundance of palm trees and sand, as well as a small number of people, - all of the components of ideal tropical converged here in perfect proportions. It is possible to find cheap bungalow (600 baht) right on the beach, - best value for money! The best part of the beach - near the cafe Shangrilah Bungalows. / read more » /

White beach is the best beach in Boracay island in Philippines. In high season, there are a lot of people here, but a beach holiday is excellent anyway. The beach is conventionality divided into three zones - Station 1, Station 2 and Station 3. It absolutely doesn't matter where to live, since you can easily go anywhere during the day time. / read more » /

Soneva Kiri south is an abandoned secondary beach of the Soneva Kiri hotel in the Koh Kood island of Thailand. Now anybody may access the best beach of the island, - moreover it's secluded, as there are no hotels or restaurants nearby. Small islet of Ko Raet is located 300 meters off the coast. / read more » /

Pasir Panjang is the best beach in Kai Kecil island in Indonesia. However, almost each village in the west of the island has a nice beach. Unfortunately, there is not always a good hotel. / read more » /

Ngapali - is the most luxury beach in Myanmar, as well as one of the best beaches in Southeast Asia. Many hotels are under construction now. However, it's still not so crowded as in popular resorts of Thailand. / read more » /

Klong Chao is the most popular beach in the west of Koh Kood island of Thailand. Tropical scenery with palms, as well as well-known hotels attract many package tourists. It is also the best place in the island for the sunset. Sandspit looks great from the air, and it's for those who like to swim in a shallow water. / read more » /

Blue Lagoon is the best beach in Perhentian islands in Malaysia. Clear water, white sand, lush tropical vegetation and a small number of people - almost all the components of the perfect beach. The only disadvantage is the lack of palm trees. Also the beach is known as Turtle Bay, because sometimes turtles come here. / read more » /

Maya Bay - a legendary beach in Phi Phi Ley island, became famous after "The Beach" movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. The place is really beautiful, but there are too many people here in the daytime. / read more » /

Siloso-Palawan-Tanjong - three different beaches along the south-west coast of Sentosa Island. It is possible to visit all of them during one day. Beaches are artificial, but made excellent (enough to see the photos). Anyway, you should understand that these are the city beaches, though very good. / read more » /

Hoi An is a beach resort town to the south of Da Nang, Vietnam. The beaches are probably the best in the country - with a lot of palms, white sand and smooth entry into the water. The north coast (An Bang) is more popular - with hotels, bars and sunbeds rental (free if you order something in the bar). On the other hand Cua Dai in the south coast is even more beautiful, but suffers from coastal erosion, so sandbags are almost everywhere. The Old Town is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, thus being an excellent addition to the beaches. / read more » /

Dumaluan is one of the best beaches on the island of Panglao, Philippines. In a contrast to the famous Alona Beach, it is more beautiful and not so overcrowded. It is worth to note palms with hammocks - looking superb! The coastline is a private property of expensive resorts, so you'll have to pay the entrance fee of 25 pesos. However, it is possible to get for free if walking from the north (from Libaong beach), but in this case you won't be able to use the amenities. By the way, Libaong is good as well, but it is not cleaned very often, and the view is not so picturesque. / read more » /

Lagoi (Bintan Resorts) - beaches in the north of Indonesian island of Bintan. The coast is beautiful and is focused mainly on high budget citizens of Singapore. Sometimes, there are black stains from oil on the beach, due to the high Singapore shipping activity. / read more » /

Chaweng - the most popular beach in Samui island. However, the reason of that popularity is not that it is the best, but the fact that it's built up with hotels. So on the one hand we get a strong crowd, on the other hand - the almost complete lack of lush vegetation. Also the beach is very shallow with strong waves, which are very good to jump. / read more » /

Alona is the most popular beach in Panglao island, Philippines. This is a beautiful place, but overdeveloped. There are a lot of cafes with music and smells of food. There are also many boats in the water offering snorkeling and diving tours. And after all of that, for unclear reason, locals made a lot of concrete stairs ashore. However, this is still a great place with a positive atmosphere. / read more » /

Sokha is a great private beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. If you are not a hotel's guest, then just buy something at the bar, and walk to the sun loungers. Needless to say, that the coast is cleaned few times a day, and it looks more like the Maldivian island resort. The beauty of this place is amazing. Just look at the photo shots, and you will understand everything. / read more » /

Otres is a superb beach in the southern suburbs of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. It is common to talk about Otres 1 and Otres 2. But in reality this is just a single beach. Most hotels and cafes are located in the north and in the south. As for the central coastal area, it is wild and uncrowded. Everywhere, there are some trees and even palms. However, it is better to rent a sunbed with parasol (you may just buy something at the bar). The beach is clean with some amenities. But Sokha is a better choice, if you want an upscale resort. Anyway, Otres is just a village. When the tide is high, the water comes close to the trees. While during the low tide, you'll have to walk far to the depth. But this is not a real problem. / read more » /

Tanjung Aan is an excellent beach on the island of Lombok in Indonesia. It has no problem of strong waves, nor problem of low tides. So if you are tired of the "surfer" beaches of Bali, - this is just where you should go. Different areas of Tanjung Aan have two kinds of sand - white and yellow, while the water is azure and clear everywhere. There is no coastal development now, but the plans are great. So hurry up, until this paradise was not spoiled by business. / read more » /

Nangyuan is a famous beach near the island of Koh Tao in Thailand. In reality it is just two sandspits. The place is really nice with good snorkeling. However, during the daytime there are always too many people. Sunbeds are not free, while it is prohibited to lie on the sand. The beach looks great from the top, however as for sandspit there are more spectacular places in the world. / read more » /

Nha Trang is a major coastal town being some kind of Miami in Vietnam. Long coastline features a lot of tall palms, while spectacular skyscrapers were built just next to the road, thus making a shadow on the beach in the afternoon. Of course, the city has a bustling night life, as well as in the evening. Unfortunately, too bustling, so it becomes extremely overcrowded everywhere - on the beach, in bars, and even on the streets. It is not clear what all these people do in the daytime, as they appear in the evening only. Anyway, the beach is superb, and, probably, it is even better than iconic Miami Beach. You may also take tours to the neighboring islands, including transportation by the cable road. / read more » /

Da Nang is the largest city in Central Vietnam. There are two major beach areas. The northern bay is not very popular among tourists. While the east coast features great beaches of Pham Van Dong, My Khe and Non Nuoc. It is believed, that Danang has the best beaches in Vietnam. However, the real palm paradise is only near expensive beachfront resorts. So it is best to stay at one of these hotels. Or try to get to its beach, which is often possible for non-guests. / read more » /

PIR - beach of the Perhentian Island Resort hotel in Perhentian Islands. The beach is nice, but nothing special. There is often a lot of people here in the afternoon. / read more » /

Pink Beach is a beach with pink sand on Lombok island, Indonesia. In fact, these are three beaches located not far from each other. By the way, sand becomes pink only at a certain time and even not every day. Amenities include food sellers and a decent toilet. / read more » /

Ao Phrao is a beach in the south of Koh Kood island in Thailand. Many years ago it was the best one in Koh Kood - long and deserted with lots of palms. However, developers started to build hotels, so now Ao Prao has lost its former uniqueness. / read more » /

Lamai - popular beach in the west of Samui island. Among the advantages we can note that as a rule water is pretty clear here. Otherwise as in the nearby Chaweng it's featured by many people, many beach cafes, many beach hotels and as a result relatively few beach vegetation. / read more » /

Victory Beach is a small beach near the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Most expats believe, that this place is not good enough. There is no sunbeds rental, nor any regular clean up. As well as the port is not the best neighbor. But on the other hand, there are superb palms, comparable to those on the upscale Maldivian islands. There are also trees everywhere with a lot of shadow. In addition, there are many restaurants around. So it is worth to come here to make your own opinion and to understand, why so many international travelers stay here for years. / read more » /

White Sand is the northernmost beach in the Koh Chang island of Thailand. Thus it's located not far from ferries arriving from the mainland. The beach is beautiful, and it's one of the most popular among the tourists. / read more » /

Ao Prao - is one of the best beaches in the island of Ko Samet near Pattaya. Palms and trees form a near perfect tropical landscape, and there are usually no many people here. / read more » /

Sai Nuan is a small laid back beach with palms on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand. There are no strong waves due to the location in a protected bay. The beach features good entry into the water, no problem of low tides, no crowd of tourists, comfortable swimming and good snorkeling. There are hiking trails along the coast to some other nice beaches. / read more » /

Gili Layar is a small island to the east of Lombok in Indonesia. The hotel ground is a private area, while the rest of the coast is open for free access. However, there are never many people anyway. The snorkeling is excellent near the island, but swimming can be hard due to the strong currents. / read more » /

Mui Ne is a popular beach resort town in the southeast of Vietnam. The miles long coastline (Ganh Beach, Suoi Nuoc Beach & Rang Beach) is great both for a beach holiday, as well as for kitesurfing. It is almost always choppy in the ocean due to the strong wind, but there are also occasional periods of a calm water being suitable for swimming. Not far from Mui Ne, there are high sand dunes attracting many tourists to the region. / read more » /

Prek Treng is a great beach in the northern suburbs of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. This is a beautiful place, and absolutely secluded most of time. The tourist crowd doesn't come here from the city, as there are no cafes, nor other attractions. Nevertheless, the beach is always cleaned up, and even has few decent huts. So, now you know, that you don't have to visit the islands to find a pretty secluded spot by the sea. / read more » /

Jansom Bay is a small hotel's beach on the west of Koh Tao island in Thailand. There are palms and cozy area with sun loungers ashore, while the beautiful bay features funky bamboo rafts. It is the most picturesque beach of Koh Tao, and many canonical island's photos were made here. The swimming and snorkeling are very comfortable as well. Entrance fee is 200 baht. / read more » /

Long Beach is the most remote beach in the Koh Chang island of Thailand. It's almost as beautiful as famous White Sand Beach, but without the crowd. There is also the best rastaman bar in the whole of Chang. / read more » /

Mai Khao - is the best beach in Phuket island in Thailand. This is the most beautiful place without crowd. You may also watch the planes landing in the southern end of the beach, - almost like on St. Martin island in the Caribbean. / read more » /

Ngwe Saung - is a great beach in Burma, which began to develop only in 2000. In comparison with neighboring Chaung Tha beach, it's more beautiful here, cleaner and less people. The northern part of the beach is expensive with luxury hotels. The southern part of the beach is much cheaper, and focused mainly on backpackers. / read more » /

Freedom Beach is a small beach in the south of Koh Tao island in Thailand. There are palms, huge boulders, good entry into the water and nice snorkeling. But the key feature are the trees, that come into water during the high tide, creating an unusual landscape. Last years, the hotel applies 50 bahts entrance fee to the beach. / read more » /

Bai Sao - the best beach in Phu Quoc island. Tourist infrastructure is relatively undeveloped in the beach area, so the nature is still wild here. / read more » /

Gili Nanggu is a private island near Lombok in Indonesia. This is a real tropical paradise with white sand, clear water and excellent snorkeling. Many snokelling boats arrive at 10-11 am for a day trip, so complete seclusion is possible only in the morning or in the evening. / read more » /

Tulai is a small "paradise island" located 4 km to the north-west of Tioman island, Malaysia. There are almost no palms ashore, but a lot of trees. The sand is perfectly white, while the water is clear. So there are many excellent dive spots around the island. The snorkeling from the shore is good as well. / read more » /

Burau Bay is an excellent beach in the west of Langkawi island in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the best parts of the beach are dedicated to the expensive hotels. So you may meet some difficulties to get there. / read more » /

June Juea is a small beach in Koh Tao island of Thailand with funky rocks scattered on the sand. This secluded spot is ideal for swimming and snorkeling, but anyway it looks mediorce in comparison with some best beaches of Koh Tao. / read more » /

Sai Kaew - is the most popular beach in Samet island. The coast itself is beautiful, but the crowd spoils everything. Last time the beach received clusters of umbrellas completely covering the sun, - ugly "know how" from Pattaya. / read more » /

Nipah is a beautiful white sand beach in the east of Lombok Island, Indonesia. There are many cheap fish restaurants (so called warungs), which are very popular among locals. There are many trees and palms ashore, while the water is usually calm without strong waves. / read more » /

Ao Leuk is a picturesque beach on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand. There are palms, white sand, no problem of low tide, good entry into the water in the center of the beach and excellent snorkeling on the beach edges. Entrance fee is 100 bahts per person, and it is worth to spend here a day, but no more. / read more » /

Mawun is a white sand beach on Lombok island, Indonesia. Despite the location in an enclosed bay, there are often strong waves. There are also underwater rocks at the left and at the right side of the bay, which can be dangerous for swimmers. However, this is a great place both for sunbathing, as well as for swimming. It is better to rent sunbeds with umbrellas, as there are not many trees ashore. But the main problem are active beach vendors, which can be very annoying. You may just ignore them, but sometimes it is worth to buy a coconut or bottle of water. / read more » /

Diniwid - small beach in Boracay island in the Philippines. Sometimes referred as the best beach in Boracay, however, it can not compete any way with the canonical beauty of the White Beach. / read more » /

Kata - is a beach in the south-west of Phuket island in Thailand. There is also (just to the south) another beach called Kata Noi, which was not much affected by the 2004 tsunami. The coast is beautiful, and the water is comfortable for swimming. Unfortunately there is always a lot of people at the beach (Kata Noi beach is less crowded). / read more » /

Tanote is a perfect snorkeling beach in the east of Koh Tao island, Thailand. The bottom is mostly coral, but there are also occasional areas suitable for swiming. In the south end of the bay there is a famous huge rock with funky jumpers into the water. The beach has no a lot of trees, but on the other hand it doesn't suffer from low tides. / read more » /

Setangi is a beautiful beach with palms on the island of Lombok in Indonesia. The sand is black mixed with the white sand. As the waves are strong most of time, the coast is more suitable for surfing, and not so good for swimming. The place is wild, so there are usually just a few people. / read more » /

Sairee is the longest and most popular beach on Koh Tao island in Thailand, with bars and discos. There are palms and comfortable entry into the water, as well as good snorkeling at some distance from the coast. During the low tide the water becomes very shallow. Probably, the beach is too developed with a lot of boats, but still it is very good. This is also a great place to meet sunset. / read more » /