Looking at these pictures I have compiled of beaches in Thailand (the world is still in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis as I write these lines, in case you are reading this in a – hopefully – better future), I am humbled by the vastness that it all seems to represent.

That's geographically correct, although I'm currently only a few hours' flight away in Taiwan. There are no flights at the moment; it would take months to swim or row to Thailand, assuming one could even survive such a journey.

Certainly, part of it is looking back on the captured moments and remembering how free I felt back then. How I assumed I would always be like that, something I never could have foreseen.

I hope you'll see these pictures of Thailand after the borders reopen, and perhaps even after a cure or vaccine for the coronavirus is available. As hard as it is to believe right now, I know that Thailand (and the world) will one day return to normal – the old normal, not the new one we're all trapped in.

Before the full extent of the pandemic became clear and virtually every country closed its borders, I planned another trip through Thailand's islands for early October 2020. The idea was to start in Koh Samui, where I had ended my trip in March, and then travel on to Koh Pha Ngan and then Koh Tao before returning to the mainland.

As I write this (it's mid-June), Thailand's military government remains tight-lipped about reopening the country—neither for tourists like us nor for people who live there and have families. It doesn't look like my trip will be able to go ahead as planned in October—it's hard to see even a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel.

I hope these pictures of beaches in Thailand are a preview of a better future (or at least one that is as rosy as the past now seems to us in retrospect), and not postcards of an era that none of us knew was already over.

More frequently asked questions about beaches in Thailand

Which is the most beautiful beach in Thailand?

It's difficult to name just one "most beautiful beach in Thailand," but I have many favorites. Railay Beach in Krabi is probably my favorite easily accessible beach in Thailand, while the intriguing island of Koh Nang Yuan, off the coast of Koh Tao in Chumphon province, boasts what is arguably the most unique beach in the country. I also really like many of the islands in the Andaman Sea, such as Koh Poda, just off the coast of Krabi.

Which part of Thailand has the most beautiful beaches?

In general, I prefer the beaches of the Andaman Sea (which includes Phuket and Krabi as well as Koh Lipe and the Trang archipelago) to the Gulf of Thailand side, where Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and the Trat Islands are located.

Does Thailand have beautiful beaches?

Thailand boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. This is especially true of the Andaman Sea off the country's west coast, where the limestone cliffs rising above the fluorescent waters give Thailand's beaches an almost otherworldly appearance.