Thailand with a baby: Everything you need to know

So, you’re planning a trip to Thailand with a baby. Or you’re wondering if you should. You probably have questions, like is Thailand safe for families? What is it like to travel in Thailand with a family? Will I even enjoy visiting Thailand with a baby?!

I’m here to tell you that not only is Thailand a wonderful place to travel with your baby, but that you will see many others doing it too. From the two weeks we spent in Thailand with our baby, I can tell you we saw dozens of other families traveling with their babies and toddlers (not to mention older kids)! 

Read on for more information on the logistics of traveling to Thailand with a baby, a suggested itinerary for Thailand with a baby, and other important considerations as you plan your visit. 

Is Thailand safe for families?

Thailand is known as one of the most popular tourism destinations in all of Asia. Depending on where you are reading, it ranks somewhere in the top 5, often the second most popular destination on the continent.

There are a few reasons that Thailand is a very popular tourism destination. For one, it’s considered very safe. The US State Department, for example, lists Thailand as a “1”, or its lowest level of risk with “Exercise normal precautions”. 

Not only is it a very safe place to travel, but Thai people adore babies. I had read prior to our trip that Thai people will expect to hold your baby and want to play with them, and I can confirm this is exactly what happened. At restaurants and hotels in particular, Thai people showed our son so much love.

Finally, you will see that families with small children are granted priority access in airports. Yet another sign of the way that Thailand is a great destination for families.

So yes, Thailand is safe for families, and you will enjoy traveling to Thailand with your baby.

What age should my baby be to travel to Thailand?

Check with your child’s pediatrician, first of all. Ours said it would be preferable to wait until after our son got his six month shots, but we went prior to that.

When you visit Thailand with your baby will depend on various factors. These can include your own postpartum recovery timeline, how long your parental leave is or when you can take PTO, your partner’s time off situation, and how soon you feel ready to undertake a big trip with your little one.

We decided to go when our son was 5 months old (he turned six months old while we were there). This was mainly as a result of time off considerations, as my husband was approaching the end of his parental leave and I was able to take off two weeks from work. I think it was a great time though, because he was still very portable, napped a lot, was exclusively breastfeeding, and wasn’t crawling. He was very chill!

Why yes, I DID bring the wooden sign to take his six month photos while vacationing on a beach in Thailand.

Most of the other traveling families we met (all European, all on parental leave) were with babies from 8-10 months old. We didn’t encounter anyone traveling with babies younger than that, though people, like us, certainly do/did.

Getting to Thailand with a baby

So now that you’ve decided you want to go to Thailand with your family, you need to book your tickets and figure out how to survive a long haul flight with a baby. 

Taking a long haul flight with a baby can be intimidating. There are a few ways to mitigate the challenges of flying with a baby, but a lot will depend on your baby’s personality as well as his or her age. Things change rapidly with babies from one month to the next!

• Most important is to adapt your mindset about traveling. Before kids, you probably enjoyed binge watching movies, napping, snacking, and chilling on a flight. Those days are over for the foreseeable future, and you will have to be “working” on your flights. Expecting to be busy caring for your child is the start of a happier travel journey. Then, if you get any free time (baby naps well?!) you will be pleasantly surprised.
• When possible, consider booking the bulkhead seats on the plane. Oftentimes, you can get a bassinet for your baby to use in these seats. Be sure to ask about the weight and height limits for your plane’s bassinets and confirm that your baby will fit. If they do, it’s a lifesaver to have a spot for your baby to sleep or simply hang out for a bit.

Note: Booking a seat for your baby may be the best option of all because you can keep your baby in his/her carseat for portions of the flight. However, as a budget traveler you will see us traveling with a “lap infant” as long as we can!

The bassinets for us were really amazing and made our long travel days easier.

• Prepare for a long day of travel with adequate supplies. I recommend bringing a couple of changes of clothing for your baby, a change of clothing for yourself (in case baby spits up or poops on you), a bag of toys you know your baby enjoys, a pillow for nursing if you are breastfeeding, diapers and wipes, a soft baby wrap for contact naps, and if your baby has started solids, snacks.
• Utilize lounges for airport time. We have a credit card that gets us lounge access and it was so nice to get to relax in lounges prior to departing and at our layover in Japan, and then again in Bangkok prior to our internal flight. We also ate for free! You can usually bring your baby into airplane lounges for free, and your baby will have more space to move around in a comfortable environment.

Lounges are life. The food at the Bangkok Priority Pass lounge was really good.

• If you’re traveling with a partner, consider having dedicated “turns” with your baby for part of your flight journey, where one person is responsible for baby care for a set amount of time. This can allow each person to have time to rest and recharge, instead of both people focused on the baby the entire time.
• Remember that no matter how bad it gets, the day will end. You will get to your destination and leave the airplane. Even if traveling on a long haul flight with a baby sucks, it will be over in a finite amount of time and you’ll be in a beautiful new destination. The pain of a day of travel is worth the reward at the end.

I accidentally booked nice class seats for our internal flight from Surat Thani to Bangkok. They were awesome.

Getting around Thailand with a baby

I think that one of the worst parts of traveling with a baby is figuring out local transit. Taking taxis with babies and lugging around a carseat all day is not fun, and sometimes what you have to do when you’re budget travelers. 

Gonza was a carseat hero, lugging the carseat around Bangkok all day in the heat.

Car rentals are the easiest option, but they can be expensive. In Thailand, I knew I wanted to have a car so that we would have easy transit while there. While you can certainly look into buses, or do the dreaded car seat shuffle in taxis or shared vans, I wanted the ease and simplicity of having our own vehicle. For reference, at our time of travel, it cost around $650 for two weeks.

I also planned our entire itinerary with destinations half a day or less of driving from one another, to minimize the amount of car time with our baby in Thailand. I think this strategy worked well.

In order to rent a car in Thailand, make sure you get an international driving permit. You can get these are your local AAA offices. We never had to present it, but it is required to carry it alongside your driver’s license.

Gonza drove the entire trip while I sat in the back with our baby. We got to enjoy some great views from the road.

Additionally, as of 2023, Thailand started requiring children to be in carseats. So you’ll definitely have to use one (though hopefully you were planning to do so anyways). Car rental agencies can rent you carseats, or you can bring one from home. Know that there can be complicated rules about which car seats are legal, so keep that in mind. We simply brought our infant car seat without a base and strapped it in with a seatbelt.

Finally, it’s important to note that in Thailand, drivers drive on the left side of the road. So if that is intimidating to you, it’s something to consider.

Where to go in Thailand with a baby

When planning out a Thailand with a baby itinerary, most important is to consider what you want to see and do on your trip. Are you looking for cultural experiences? Art and history museums? Tropical beaches? Jungle excursions? All-inclusive resorts, unique stays, or budget condos? 

You can find endless variety in Thailand. Once you decide what your priorities are, this will inform where you go.

For us, we wanted a tropical beach vacation with some jungle adventure. For this reason, it made sense for us to focus on southern Thailand, where you can find the picturesque and famous beach destinations and dense jungle.

It’s also important to consider the types of activities you want to do in each place. While you can basically go anywhere in Thailand, the activities you can do with a baby are more limited. 

For example, we went to Khao Sok National Park, where there are many jungle excursions. However, we couldn’t do many of them. The day hike was too long and hot to do with a baby. The floating bamboo rafting experience wasn’t baby friendly. Heck, the agency even recommended against the evening walk in the jungle (which I thought would be fine due to decreased temperatures) due to bug concerns!

One of my all time favorite memories from the trip was floating down the river in Khao Sok on a canoe. It was pure magic.

For people who like to do activities while traveling as opposed to simply relaxing, this can be a challenge when traveling with a baby. Poke around and find out what types of activities you can do with a baby in Thailand and use this information to guide your itinerary.

Family friendly accommodations in Thailand

It was super easy to find family-friendly accommodations in Thailand. We used booking.com for all of our reservations and had a very positive experience overall with our stays.

When making reservations, simply include that you have a baby, and you should only see baby friendly options. 

Do note that none of the places we stayed at had baby amenities. No high chairs, no cribs, no playgrounds. But we also stayed in budget friendly places, so you can probably find these perks at more luxurious stays.

What to pack for Thailand with a baby

It can be tough to figure out what to pack for yourself, let alone another little person! Here’s my recommendations on packing for your Thai adventure.

• Muslin blankets, which can be used to cover baby from the sun, as a play area in the sand, as a towel…the possibilities are endless, and they’re super lightweight and pack up small.
• Ergo omnibreeze carrier. Don’t bother with a stroller, as many areas are not very stroller friendly. It will likely be more work than it’s worth to have a stroller.
• Quality nursing bras if you’re breastfeeding
• Pack and play and sheets. This will make it hassle-free so you won’t have to worry about seeing if your hotel(s) have cribs. Get a highly rated budget one here or buy this really nice and lightweight one I’d like to get someday.
• Sandals, if baby is walking
• Sun hat with a broad brim and a neck flap to protect baby’s sensitive skin. Get yours here.
• Sunscreen if baby is old enough
• Lightweight long sleeve rompers
• Short sleeve onesies. I love these colorful ones from Primary, which I think make for great photos.
• Swimsuit with rash guard and reusable swim diaper. Bathrooms in Thailand usually have bidets/sprayers at the toilets, which makes cleaning swim diapers super easy.
• Infant tylenol and syringe, if your doctor approves it. This can help with teething or fevers.
• Diapers, diaper bag, wipes, changing pad. But note that you can buy diapers and wipes easily at any 7-11, so you don’t need to go overboard with the packing.
• A few toys. Some our son loved were rattles, baby teething toys, and sensory toys.
• If your baby is eating solids, be sure to bring some wipeable bibs.

Our itinerary for 2 weeks in southern Thailand with a baby

Below, I’m going to share what we did each day in Thailand, alongside recommendations for things I may do differently.

Thailand with a baby itinerary overview

I wanted two main things with this trip: gorgeous tropical beaches, and to visit Khao Sok National Park and Cheow Lan Lake. I also wanted to be able to drive between all destinations once arriving in the south of the country. This is how I decided where we would stay and how to split our time between destinations. 

I picked Koh Lanta as our Thai island because we could drive onto it (and therefore keep our rental car), because a friend of mine had gone and loved it, and because everything I was reading about it being family friendly made it appealing.

I selected Ao Nang as a base because it’s close to some areas I wanted to visit, like Railay Beach, and it’s urban, which my husband tends to appreciate.

I loved our time in the Khao Sok region and would stay two nights in the overwater bungalows. I also liked Koh Lanta a lot, more than I anticipated, and would keep that portion of the itinerary.

Ao Nang was the only place I didn’t particularly like out of all the spots we stayed, as it felt like a busy tourist city. We were able to visit lovely places from Ao Nang, though, so it wasn’t a total loss by any means. If I were to redo the trip, I might instead elect to stay on a small island or two that was very peaceful and beautiful, and simply leave the rental car parked in a paid lot.

We loved our quiet mornings on beaches in Koh Lanta.

Thailand with a baby itinerary (detailed)

Day 1

Arrive in Bangkok, Thailand at night. Stay at At Residence (~$40/night for 2 adults, 1 baby) near the hotel. We loved this hotel; it was super close to the airport, but a very peaceful spot and the cafe it had was great. They even have a pool! 

Day 2

Spend the day exploring Bangkok. Visit the Grand Palace and listen to some of the audio tour to get a better understanding of the history and context behind the architectural beauty.

That’s all we did on day one, aside from eating, because we were exhausted from travel. If you have the energy, I wanted to do a floating market tour. If we had arrived during day time hours on day 1 instead of midnight, I may have pushed to visit the gorgeous Ayuthaya for a day trip.
Bangkok is HOT! Loose pants and sun protection recommended.

Day 3

Catch a morning flight to Surat Thani airport, grab your rental car, and drive to Khao Sok Village on the edge of Khao Sok National Park. Relax in the jungle and look for monkeys along the river. Stay at Khao Sok Green Valley Resort.

Day 4

Take a floating canoe ride down the river in the morning. Watch for monkeys bathing, take a dip in the water yourself, and marvel at the limestone mountains rising around you. This was one of my favorite activities we did the entire trip. And our son was happy to just relax on my lap, nursing when needed. The waters at the time we visited were very shallow and peaceful, so I was not scared at all. 

This was a definite highlight of the trip. Picture from where we stopped the canoe to get out for a swim and a coffee.

In the afternoon, take a hike in Khao Sok National Park to a swimming hole or waterfall.

We hiked into the park to this swimming area. We saw many monkeys on our way here.

Day 5

Depart in the morning for the Ratchaprapa Dam, about 1 hour away, where you will pay to park your car overnight and wait for your guide to pick you up in a boat to head to the Panvaree Resort. This was another absolute highlight of our trip: we stayed in a floating bungalow over Cheow Lan Lake.

I don’t know about you, but staying the night in a floating bungalow has been on my bucket list, and this place did not disappoint. You don’t do much there aside from swim, take in the views, and go on some scenic boat rides at sunset and sunrise. But it’s so gorgeous, the staff is welcoming, the food was robust and tasty, the bed was so comfortable, I still dream about the place. 

The most beautiful spot to spend the afternoon, we took turns holding our son and swimming right off our deck. It was perfection.

This was our big splurge in accommodations as it cost about $200 for one night (but that did include lunch and dinner on day one, and breakfast on day 2, as well as water transit to and from the bungalows and the scenic outings). I would stay here two nights instead of one, even given the relative high cost of this spot, because it was that special.

The views of the floating bungalows we stayed in, as we returned from a boat excursion.
Day 6

Make the drive to Koh Lanta Island, which will likely take you most of the day. It’s about a 4-5 hour drive, but traveling with a baby anywhere always takes longer than we think it will. You’ll also take the car ferry, a very short ride across the water, to finish the journey to the island. 

Stay at Lili’s Rooms, on the southern end of the island, and spend the late afternoon and evening relaxing on Kantiang Bay beach, a 5 minute walk down the hill. Try to catch a fire show!

Our first gorgeous night on the beach, a five minute walk from our accommodations.

Get dinner at Phad Thai Rock and Roll. Conveniently located right down the street from Lili’s Rooms, this place possibly had the best food we ate in the entire country. Beware that it is SPICY so make sure you are conservative on spice level. The chef was a rock bass player and actually came out to talk to us, he was super nice. Waitresses also adored our son. I’d go back here in a heartbeat.

Day 7

Spend the day exploring Kantiang Bay beach area. Stroll down the waterfront, grab a meal at a beachfront restaurant, and swim in the inviting waters. Grab an amazing acai bowl at Drunken Sailor’s. Even my husband, who generally prefers savory breakfast items, loved this acai bowl.

They have fun seating at the restaurant, like bean bags and hammocks!

Day 8

We took a boat tour to 4 islands near Koh Lanta, including the Emerald Cave. Note: there were a couple spots that were amazing on this tour, but if I were to do it again, I’d do it differently. In general Thai island hopping trips move very quickly and I personally would prefer only a couple of stops instead of a bunch. But if you like the idea of a fast paced tour, this is the one we did.

The best spots were Koh Ngai and the Emerald Cave. Koh Ngai was probably the most beautiful and least populated of all the beaches we visited in Thailand (and we hit up a lot of beaches). I’d probably just take a day trip to Koh Ngai, or maybe even spend a night or two there, and skip the rest of the tour. 

This was the most spectacular little island. I’d like to have stayed here longer. Look at the views!

If possible, I’d try to get a trip to the Emerald Cave as a stand-alone activity. But note you will need to swim through a cave with your baby, which you may or may not feel comfortable with. We did it with life jackets for all, and the guide pulled us on the rescue tube while I held our son in my arms.

The pool itself was gorgeous (seen here) but busy. And the cave entrance truly looks like it has emerald lights shining inside. It was such a cool experience!

Day 9

We spent the day exploring other beaches on Koh Lanta, including Phra Ae Beach and Long Beach.

Grab an amazing bacon, tomato, pesto mayo ciabatta sandwich with thai iced tea or coffee at Peak Cafe for breakfast (so good we came back twice). Peak Cafe has great seating for babies because there are cushioned benches and low tables. 

It may not look like much but the sandwich was SO GOOD.

Get lunch with a view at Jeab’s Dining (the panang curry is amazing there).

Panang curry with a view. Not pictured: the coconut juice which was a perfect accompaniment.

Be aware it can be oppressively hot in the afternoons and you may not want to be outside all day, especially in the peak hours of 12-4 pm, so consider returning to your lodgings for a nap for your little one if they crib nap well.

Day 10

Drive from Koh Lanta to Ao Nang. On our way, we took a slight detour to visit the Emerald Pool. There is NO need to book a tour here, unless you need to arrange transit. It’s a beautiful area, with a few pools to admire, with warm water and a pretty and short walking path. 

However, I recommend going on a weekday. We went on a weekend afternoon and it was really busy. We also went shortly before closing; our drive took longer than expected due to the car ferry leaving Koh Lanta having quite a line. I wished we had a bit more time to enjoy the area. I’d recommend budgeting 2-3 hours here for maximum enjoyment.

Not to be confused with the Emerald Cave, the pool is located inland and in the forest.

I’ve never seen anything quite like them. It was a unique area!

Stay: Krabi Apartments, SHA Plus. This place was in a good location, quiet but centrally located. It had a kitchen and a living room, which is really nice when you’re traveling with a baby. It also had AC (we never travel to hot destinations without AC anymore, except to rugged places where there is no other option) and a balcony.

Day 11

Have a relaxing morning in your apartment, then head over to Railay Beach for the day. You can catch a boat from Ao Nang for a quick 10-15 minute ride to Railay.

Day 12

We left Ao Nang to visit a nearby park, Khao Phanom Bencha National Park, for a waterfall hike. We were able to visit the falls, but could not complete the trail because it involved steep areas and ropes. I might have done it if I had sturdy shoes and a hard sided hiking carrier, but with an Ergo carrier and Chacos, it was a firm no for safety reasons.

Then, we drove to the Tiger Temple and attempted to climb it for golden hour/sunset. However, the monkey situation on the stairs to the Tiger Temple felt unsafe. We hiked up partway, and watched as monkeys brazenly jumped onto other tourists. We watched as one grabbed a water bottle out of a backpack, open the container, guzzle it, and throw it to the side. I couldn’t make this s*** up! 

After seeing this, and watching as an entire portion of the trail was blocked by a horde of monkeys, we turned around. I didn’t feel good about exposing my baby to monkeys, and frankly even alone I don’t know that I would have proceeded. Who knows what diseases they carry, and if they will bite or scratch you? It wasn’t worth the risk for us.

Before we attempted to climb up to the top of the Tiger Temple.

Day 13

We took a 7 island tour in the afternoon, which we organized at the last minute, and it involved swimming, beach chilling, and a bioluminescent swim at night.

If I were to do this day again, I’d probably pick the Hong Island day tour instead, which allows for a bit more time at the main destination, and also has a really cool viewpoint to hike to. Having so many stops was a bit much (should have learned my lesson in Koh Lanta), but I picked this tour because I was able to book it at the last minute as an afternoon activity after a rough night with our little one. We were also supremely over it by the time dinner came around and just wanted to get home, because we’d already done a bioluminescent swim in Colombia, but naturally we couldn’t just leave the tour early. We didn’t get to our apartment until around 10 pm.

Sunset from one of the many beaches on the tour.

Day 14

We spent the day at a beach in Ao Nang, Nopharrat Thara beach, and then returned to Bangkok in the evening to catch our flight home the following morning.

Gonza is amazing at getting N to sleep anywhere. A veritable nap-whisperer!

We stayed at Golden Jade hotel right near the airport which was cheaper but not as nice (it was right on the main road, no pool, no cafe) but honestly it was totally fine as a crash pad before our flight.

Tips for traveling to Thailand with a baby

• When you’re taking a boat tour, if there is a choice between the traditional long tail boats or speed boats, I’d recommend the speed boats. While the long tail boats are picturesque and iconic, the speed boats are significantly more comfortable, which definitely wins out for me when traveling with a baby.
• Also, be sure to note that you have an infant/baby/toddler when booking your tour. Some tours may not allow babies or toddlers.
• On the topic of tours, don’t ever book an elephant tour. I looked into this quite a bit, because who doesn’t want to see elephants?! The reality is that the vast majority of elephant tourism spots, even when they claim to be ethical/sanctuaries/rescue spots (and they all claim this) are still forcing animals to interact with tourists daily, often multiple times a day, which cannot be considered good for the elephants and often requires violence or the threat of violence. Just don’t do it. If you want to see elephants in the wild, you can head to Kui Buri National Park.
• Get a credit card that grants lounge access. I love my Capital One Venture X card, which grants access to Priority Pass lounges, Capital One lounges (only a few but they’re amazing), and Plaza Premium Lounges. It will save you a lot of money on airport food and you’ll be way more comfortable while traveling. Apply for the Venture X card now.
• Expect Thai people to want to hold your baby. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this, but it turned out to be very sweet. However, know that you can always say no if you feel uncomfortable!

If you’re looking for a top notch family vacation, traveling to Thailand with your baby is a great destination. You won’t regret booking a trip to Thailand with your little one! 

Looking for more adventurous baby travel inspiration? We also visited the Galapagos with our son when he was a baby. Read all about that here!