Forget Rayong, Hua Hin or Pattaya. Chanthaburi should be on your bucket list as the next destination when traveling through Thailand. Located about 250 km Southeast from Bangkok, this province fringes on the Gulf of Thailand and is known for its beautiful coastal roads, lush green forests, waterfalls, gem markets and a charming little city.

It is a province not frequented by foreign tourists but seems to be a big hit with the Thais. Hopefully that is about to change as we truly fell in love with it and hope that this guide through Chanthaburi will make you want to visit and love it too.

Getting there

It’s a good idea to leave for Chanthaburi very early in the morning so you can make the most out of your trip. To get there you can take a bus from Bangkok (Ekkamai, MoChit or Victory Monument), which will take you about 3-4 hours. We drove on the long weekend so it took us close to 4 hours because of traffic. There are also buses that leave from Pattaya and Rayong.

Alternatively, you can also take a flight to Trat and find your way to Chanthaburi, but we wouldn’t recommend that as it would take you as long or even longer. You can use Rome2Rio to find out the best way to travel there.

Accommodation

Since Chanthaburi province is divided into different types of areas – the coast, the forest, and the city, it depends on where you want to stay. There are dozens of accommodation available from cheap guesthouses, Chantaburi houses, and hostels to luxurious resorts.

We opted to stay in the coastal area at the Sand Dunes Resort next to Chaolao Beach, which is lined with many several other accommodations, both luxurious and backpacker style. We noticed a lot of the Caribbean or international island influenced resorts around with names like Maldives Resort and St. Tropez resort.

The Sand Dunes is a very modern and beautiful beach resort with a minimalistic design concept. What stands out most about this place is the large outdoor infinity pool that overlooks the beach. In addition there is another pool accessible by a limited number of rooms (pool access and premier pool access). The rooms were spacious and the staff was very on point with everything from check-in to check-out. We loved staying here and would recommend everyone to do the same.

The city and forest side of Chanthaburi provides a different ambiance and lifestyle so it is worth doing a bit of research beforehand as to what kind of style you prefer to stay in. Keep in mind that Chaolao beach is about 40 minutes from the city so choose where you want to stay wisely. It all depends on what you want to see or do and how long you have to explore it all.

We were really attracted by the beautiful coastal roads and stunning views of the beach so that’s why we decided to stay in that side.

We’ll be explaining what we did in the 2 nights and 3 days we were there so hopefully this guide through Chanthaburi will help you decide.

Day 1 – Mangrove trails, aquarium and city at night

After checking in at noon, we quickly got ready to start exploring and hit the nearest set of attractions. Just a few kilometers away, we drove to the Khun Krabaen Mangrove Trail. Here we explored through a network of trails via raised wooden platforms that weaves through thick mangroves and dense forest on either side.

As we walked, we would hear loud clicking and popping sounds as if large water droplets were falling from the trees high up above. Looking around we could not see or feel any droplets. This raised our confusion and interest. After investigating for a while, we realized it was coming from the mangroves below. A closer look told the story – it was because of tiny crabs that were digging holes in the soil, which opened air sockets causing it to make the popping sounds.

After spending about an hour here, we went to the nearby Khun Krabaen Aquarium where we saw a huge variety of tropical fish. There was an even glass-roofed walkway that featured some larger species like sharks and manta rays. Not bad for a free attraction.

Although not part of our itinerary, while trying to find the two above mentioned places, we accidentally made our way into a Shrimp farming and agricultural site. It’s also worth exploring if you have the time. We didn’t see any shrimps because we were in the car and frantically trying to find the mangrove trail. We tried to look for them in the water tanks but couldn’t see any.

We then went back to our resort to get some R&R as we relaxed in the pool and got dressed for the night. We decided to drive into the city to see how it looks.

40 minutes later, driving through dense forest and dark roads, we finally reached. Now we found Chanthaburi city quite confusing. The roads reminded us of China Town in Bangkok with many dead ends and one-ways. We could not even find the restaurant we were looking for, which is considered as #1 on TripAdvisor – Chanthorn. Supposedly it . So instead we stopped our car at the first sight of a decent restaurant/cafe – Garage. Food here was pretty good and they have everything from Thai food to Italian to Intercontinental.

It was getting late and after driving around town for a bit we decided to return back to the resort.

Day 2 – coastal roads, beaches, national parks and Chanthaburi old town during the day

The next day we decided to drive through the coastal rural road as we would make our way up to the Namtok Phlio National Park and then finally back to the town again to experience the eclectic and charming culture during the day.

As we drove we saw beautiful roads, scenic routes and quaint little villages. Each time we crossed over a bridge (total of 2) that went over a bed of sea, we noticed the town or villages would have their unique look. It’s hard to put it into words as those differences were subtle. We’ve put those words into a video and you can see what we mean.

National Parks

After about an hour and a half we finally reached the national park. Here we were met with thousands of Thai tourists picnicking and frolicking about near the waterfall. It was an amusing sight as they would share the pool of water with giant fish. If you want to avoid the crowd, go during weekdays.

I managed to angle the camera to get a nice shot of the waterfall.

The waterfall itself is pretty decent and a sight worth seeing but the main attraction that excited us was the green, moss-covered Chedi. This is significant to Thais because it was built by King Rama V as a symbol to mark the spot where he and the queen courted.

We didn’t have a lot of time (since we had plans to go to the city as well) so we didn’t get to go see another, more revered national park called Khao Khitchakut. We highly recommend you go to this one as well. On the way there, there are plenty of temples and shrines are possibly worth checking out. Again, we didn’t have the time but have marked it on the map for you at the bottom of this post.

Chanthaburi City

The city is known to have a lot of history and culture as it is home to many Chinese, Khmer and Vietnamese communities and was also once ruled by the people of Shan from Burma as well as the French. You can see the influence in the form of architecture and design of many shrines, buildings and other points of interest. Do a bit of exploration (rent a bike or car) and you can find most of these temples around around town or on the way to the national parks.

The most notable, non-Thai cultural site in the city is the Cathedral of Immaculate Inception, which is the largest Catholic cathedral in Thailand – a beauty in all its splendor.

Another interesting place to see and experience in Chanthaburi city is the old town or otherwise known as Chanthaboon Waterfront Community. The community is located right across from the temple and you will have to cross over the river via a narrow bridge. The communal district is lined against the bank river and is home to restored shophouses, vintage cafes and intricate old-style design and architectures. It is definitely a place worth visiting to learn a bit about history, culture and of course, some cool pictures for your Instagram.

You can read more about our crazy adventure in more detail about how we enjoyed the beautiful roads and scenic views before getting lost in the city.

The latter part of our day was spent walking on our hotel beach and lazying in the pool before going to dinner at a nearby restaurant. If you are pressed for time and have a lot of energy, we recommend hitting the other spots in town such as:

• Gems and jewellery center
• Gem shops and market across town
• Temples and shrines
• Visit the local markets – Chatuchak market (yes they have one too)

Day 3 – viewpoints and beaches

Depending on how long you have before leave, there is a lot you can do on day 3. We had the comfort of our car so we had time after checkout. In the morning we swam and had breakfast and then proceeded to the viewpoint I kept seeing on the #chanthaburi Instagram feed.

It was about a 15 minute drive west from our resort to the Noen Nang Phaya viewpoint. As we came down the road to a T-junction, we took a left to go to the viewpoint. There were several others bu Non Nang Phaya was the most visited and for good reasons!

We were fighting amongst hundreds of other Thai tourists in line to take the picture. It was a tourist trap but definitely worth the trip because the view is spectacular. The image does not do justice to how amazing it really is.

On the other side of the viewpoint, the view is no less impressive, however. There are also less people here so don’t miss out on it. It’s a beautiful sight as the land juts into the sea like a thick needle. To the left a road leads to another viewpoint called Phra Yuen. Follow it as not many people go this way and you’ll notice some homes along the banks, nice beaches and also some other interesting sights.

So that was our 3-day trip. We tried to get as much done while still enjoy a bit of R&R. Your trip might be completely different either more cultural or more adventurous but there is plenty to do here. You could even take an extended trip and head over to Koh Chang (an island) not too far from here.

We’ll leave you here with a map of Chanthaburi and we’ve highlighted some interesting spots, restaurants and things to see. Hope you get to visit and let us know how it goes. We’d love to hear from you!