While Thailand has become one of the most popular destinations for tourists from all over the world, there are still some of us who may not be fully aware of all that this tropical land of smiles has to offer. Here we will have a look at the reasons why you should visit Thailand.
1. The Charm of Thai Food
One of the best parts of traveling to Thailand for a lot of people is the food. The variety of foods from the most famous Thai dish, pad Thai, to different curries, seafood, soups, salads, and noodles makes sure that there will always be something to suit your taste.
As you travel to different parts of the country, you will see that the cuisine will vary, although the food is still as delicious as it used to be. There is no difference if you are having the food in a restaurant or a street food stall, the dishes are remarkably inexpensive.
2. Prices
Prices in Thailand are unbelievably low. Hotels and guesthouses, transportation fees, food, and almost everything else are so affordable that the prices are almost incomparable with other destinations in the world. You can easily manage to have all three meals in a day for less than 15 USD.
These differences in costs have made Thailand an ideal place to host both low-budget and luxurious travelers, as well as shopping lovers looking for a bargain to hunt.
3. Festivals
With numerous festivals that are held in the country, it seems that the people of Thailand are in love with joy and fun. They have different festivals all over the country which have one thing in common, they are all entertaining. Try to participate in one of them as you visit Thailand and have a blast.
These festivals are usually based on the lunar calendar or religious traditions and offer a great experience to tourists who decide to participate in them. Songkran (Water Festival), Phi Ta Khon (Ghost Festival), Yi Peng (Lantern Festival), Boon Bang Fai (Rocket Festival), and Wing Kwai (Buffalo Racing Festival) are some of the most popular festivals held in Thailand.
4. Temples
The statues of Buddha, which can be easily found almost everywhere in the country, are not the only symbols of the predominant religion of Thailand. The more artistic aspect of Buddhism is the colorful temples (Wats) with impressive architecture, different from each other as they belong to different dynasties and a different part of history. Fortunately, with more than 40,000 temples across the country, in every part of Thailand, you can have a visit to a number of these magnificent structures.
Among the most famous temples of Thailand are Wat Pho in Bangkok (where you can find a 46-meter-long, gold-covered statue called the Reclining Buddha), Sukhothai, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet and Wat Mahathat both in Ayutthaya, as well as Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai.
5. Beaches
As the main reason for a lot of travelers to visit Thailand, it is obvious that the country is home to some of the best beaches in the world. Whether a part of the mainland or on one of the islands, the weather is rarely unclear, and water is almost everywhere.
All this combined with some delicious seafood is all you need to have the best experience of your life in a tropical paradise. Locals often hold festivals or have beach football matches at night, so the beaches will neither get empty nor boring.
6. Shopping
Thailand is a paradise for shopping, and that is one of the main reasons why numerous people travel to Thailand. With countless shopping malls as well as various local markets, everything from luxurious antiques to secondhand items can easily be found at a reasonable price. Although there are some famous shopping centers like Chatuchak in Bangkok and Chiang Mai’s Night Bazaar, there are a lot more places to shop that bring an incomparable experience of shopping to the visitors of the beautiful country.
7. The Wildlife
Almost 4,000 kilograms of fruit as a gift to thank monkeys for bringing tourists, in the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province show the magnificent role of the wildlife as an attraction for tourists in Thailand.
With elephants in the King’s Cup polo tournament, tigers and boars walking freely in Khao Yai National Park, and Monkey Beach on Koh Phi Phi filled with monkeys, Thailand is home to a wide variety of animals. In order to have a quality experience with elephants, instead of riding them which has led to a lot of abuse, you can try and help with washing and feeding them in places like Elephant Hills in Khao Sok.
8. History and Culture
Thailand is so rich in history that although it is being modernized at a quick pace, you still can notice clues to its ancient culture everywhere. There are countless ancient ruins remaining from Siamese, Khmer, Burmese, and local Thai kingdoms in cities like Sukhothai, and some arts like Thai traditional dancing and puppetry are still reflecting the history of Thailand in their performances.
If you are fond of history and culture, Thailand can offer you numerous temples, palaces, and ancient ruins as well as lots of traditions and customs to help you make the best of your time there.
9. People
Meeting Thais is undoubtedly one of the best parts of the travel for those who visit Thailand. All people in Thailand have one thing in common, everyone is smiling, and that is the reason why the country is known as “The Land of Smiles”. Generally, Thais are kind, open, and friendly towards tourists.
You probably will not meet an angry or worried Thai, as everything is tried to be solved peacefully. They believe that their fate has already been decided so they enjoy their lives, smiling.
10. Tropical Jungles
Whether you are willing to try some adventure as an explorer in nature or just looking for some time far from the hustle and bustle of civilization, the tropical jungles of northern Thailand are the right place for you. Magnificent scenery together with astonishing wildlife has created an atmosphere that can be found almost nowhere else in the world. The best trekking paths can be found in Khao Yai Park and Khao Sok.
You can also spend time with various hill tribes in the mountainous northern and western parts of Thailand, to live an unrivaled experience. The most famous of these tribes are The Akha, The Lahu. the Mien or Yao, the Karen, the Hmong, the Lisu, and the Palaung.
11. Nightlife
While you visit Thailand, you will find out that the country never sleeps. As the sun goes down, the beaches start to show more and more of their beauty. The local fairs and traditional festivals are also fascinating. Meanwhile, in the cities, local markets and restaurants are always there for the night owls to have their share of the captivating nights of Thailand.
12. Weather
It is not strange that the sun always smiles in a country called the “land of smiles”. Even if it is the middle of the monsoon season (which starts on June 15 and ends on September 30), the sun is not out of sight.
However, as a tropical land, the heavy rains of the monsoon season are inevitable, but they will come and go quickly, so the days are mostly clear and suitable for spending your whole vacation on the sunny beaches with no worries, although in this season Bangkok and northern Thailand are typically more favorable destinations.
13. Nature
Despite all the civilization and history that the country has gone through, there is still space for nature and its beauty in Thailand. High mountains, jungles with different animal species, and rivers filled with bamboo rafts are all just a part of the natural side of Thailand.
Also make sure you visit sights like Pink Lake, which is unknown to most tourists, a lake filled with lilies in bloom that create a spectacular landscape by making the water look pink. 
14. Restaurants
Fancy restaurants and crowded food markets offering almost everything are quite common in Thailand, while there are also restaurants offering treetop dining in the middle of a jungle. Imagine having a meal inside an enormous bird nest while you are 5 meters above the ground. It surely is a new definition of a restaurant.
It seems that besides the colorful foods themselves, even the place where these dishes are served is different from the rest of the world. Make sure you spend enough time in restaurants and food markets while you visit Thailand so that you will experience the different world of Thai food.
15. The Capital
With more than 13 percent of the country’s population residing in it, Bangkok has a lot to offer as a small replica of the whole country. It is said that if someone stays in this city for a while, they will never want to leave it. Maybe this is the reason why the population of foreigners in the city is very high. While there are lots of good things about Bangkok, a lot of tourists who visit Thailand are not particularly fond of it, as it is way too noisy, polluted, and crowded for their taste. However, the city is so attractive that everyone should have a visit to get a taste of the inner layers of Thailand.
There is also a quieter rival to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, offering a more relaxing, slow-paced stay in northern Thailand with the same taste of culture and history.
16. Bangkok Floating Markets
Many tourists go to the floating markets of Bangkok to get to know how the people of Bangkok shopped in the distant years. The canals of the city are filled with sellers and buyers in such a way that today they are considered to be one of the top attractions in Thailand rather than a market for shopping, but they are still very noisy and all kinds of delicious food can be found. Most tourists prefer the Damnoen Saduak Market while many locals choose the Amphawa Floating Market.
17. The Death Railway
A two-hour train journey along this railway departs from Kanchanaburi, crosses the bridge over the River Kwai, and reaches one of Thailand’s most popular rail routes, Nam Tok. Although the surrounding scenery is lovely, it’s the history of the road that makes it such a special ride. During World War II, Japan built a railway to connect Yangon (the then capital of Burma) to Bangkok, and Asian laborers were used to build it, many of whom lost their lives. Today, a small part of the old routes is still used.
18. Phi Phi Islands
Phi Phi is a beautiful archipelago located in Krabi Province, not far from Phuket. Ko Phi Phi Don is the only island that has people living on permanently, while the smaller island of Phi Phi Leh became famous for being the location for the 2000 film “The Beach”.
Travelers come here and enjoy the beaches and participate in a variety of water recreational activities such as scuba diving, diving, and sailing. As a result of the large number of tourists, the beauty of the island is at risk but it still has a lot to offer to tourists from all over the world.
Final Word
Thailand is the most popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia and for good reasons too. You can find almost anything you want in this country: crystal blue beaches, dense forests, great food, and relatively cheap beach hotels as well as some of the best luxury hotels in the world.
There is enough for every taste and budget to choose this place as their destination. This is the only country in the region that was never fully colonized by a foreign country and has spectacular historical and cultural sights to offer. Despite the high number of tourists, Thais still adhere to their culture and traditions, and it is not without reason that the country of Thailand is called the Land of Smiles. In this guide, we gave you 18 reasons why you should visit Thailand.