Honeymoon Photoshoot in Thailand: the right coast for your month and one session done well

Which coast for which month

From about November to April, go to the Andaman coast. The sea is calm and clear, the sun sets straight into it from the west-facing beaches, and the boats run. The weeks around Christmas and New Year are the busiest of the year, so book early.

From about mid-May to mid-October the Andaman is in its southwest monsoon, usually wettest in September: big surf, red flags on the west-coast beaches, boat trips cancelled at short notice. Some places close outright — the Similan Islands off Khao Lak from mid-May to mid-October, and Maya Bay on Phi Phi for about two months a year (1 August to 30 September in 2025 and 2026; check the current dates). Through the middle of the year, from about May to August, go to the Gulf islands instead: they take most of their rain from the northeast monsoon later in the year.

The edges need judgement. September, the Andaman's wettest month, sits past the Gulf's most dependable stretch: build in spare evenings wherever you go. October is the hardest month — the Andaman's monsoon ends around the middle of it while the Gulf heads into its wettest weeks, from October to December with November the peak — so in the second half of October the Andaman is the better bet. February to April is the easy window: both coasts are dry, the Gulf at its driest, while the heat builds towards April, the hottest month.

The Andaman coast, November to April

Phuket holds two honeymoon sessions on one island. The west coast is a chain of bays facing the sunset — Kata, Karon, Nai Harn and the small cove at Ya Nui, with longtails pulled up on the sand — and the last hour before the sun touches the sea is the one to book. The Old Town is the island's other face: pastel Sino-Portuguese shophouses on Thalang Road and Soi Romanee, soft in the early morning before the shutters go up. Promthep Cape is the famous sunset and the most crowded; the beaches below it are quieter. See couples sessions in Phuket.

Krabi is cliffs. Railay is reached only by longtail from Ao Nang or Krabi Town, and the limestone walls over the sand are in every frame; Phra Nang beach is calmest early in the morning. See couples sessions in Krabi. On Phi Phi Don the viewpoint above the village looks down on two bays at once and is best at sunrise, before the day boats from Phuket and Krabi arrive — which means sleeping on the island rather than visiting for the day. Khao Lak, about an hour and a half by road north of Phuket airport, is the quiet one: long, west-facing beaches with room for two and nobody else, which is what many honeymooners want from a photograph.

The Gulf islands, through the middle of the year

Koh Samui has its own airport and the easiest logistics in the Gulf, and it gives a couple two directions of light: sunrise on the east coast, at Chaweng and Lamai, and sunset on the west. Coconut palms run down to the sand, granite boulders break up the headlands, and Bophut's Fisherman's Village, a row of old wooden shophouses along the beach, is at its best in the late afternoon. February to April is usually the driest stretch, November the wettest. See couples sessions on Koh Samui.

Koh Phangan, about half an hour by boat from Samui, is quiet coves: palm-backed bays in the north, sunsets on the west coast, and a sandbar out to Koh Ma that surfaces at low tide, so the tide table sets the start time. The Full Moon Party fills Haad Rin every month around the full moon, with full ferries; plan around those nights or stay far from that corner of the island. Koh Tao, about an hour and a half from Samui, is viewpoints and clear water: Koh Nang Yuan's three islets joined by a sandbar, seen from above after a short, steep climb, and the long sunset on Sairee Beach.

The north, for mountains and temples

Chiang Mai is the cool, green half of a honeymoon that ends on a beach. The best months are about November to January: fresh mornings, clear skies and the old city's temples in soft early light. From about February to April smoke from seasonal burning hangs over the mountains, usually worst in March, so a spring honeymoon is better spent on the coasts. The rains, about May to October, turn the rice fields green from about August and gold towards the harvest in late October.

A session here is a morning: temple courtyards inside the moat before the day warms up, or Wat Phra That Doi Suthep on the mountain above the city, calmest early, at the top of its long naga staircase. Temples are working religious sites — covered shoulders and knees for both of you, shoes off before a hall, never above a Buddha image or with your feet towards one, and the kiss saved for outside the walls. The mountain village of Mae Kampong, among coffee and mist, is the slower alternative. See couples sessions in Chiang Mai.

One route, one session

The route most honeymooners actually travel is Bangkok, the north, one coast: a few days in the city, a few in Chiang Mai, and a week or more by the sea, linked by short domestic flights. Inside that, one session done well beats three done in a hurry. Put it where the light and the setting are strongest for your month — a west-coast Andaman beach at sunset from November to April, a Samui beach in the middle of the year — and enjoy Bangkok and Chiang Mai without a camera following you, or add one short second session there.

Each extra session takes a morning or an evening out of the holiday, and couples who book three tend to remember the timetable more than the places. Two at most: one by the sea, and one in a city or a temple town on another day.

Where the session sits in the trip

Not on the first day: after a long-haul flight, tiredness shows in faces, and a day of sleep and food first is worth it. Not on the evening after a boat day: sunburn, salt in the hair and a sore back show in every frame. Not on the day of an onward flight or ferry: boats are cancelled in rough seas, and a session that must end by a deadline never relaxes. The best slot is the middle of the stay on one coast, with a free evening after it.

Keep that free evening in any season, and in the monsoon months keep two. Rescheduling for weather is free for both sides on the platform, which only helps if there is another evening to move to.

What to wear and pack

The good light at both ends of the day is short — the sun rises and sets between roughly six and seven o'clock all year and climbs fast — so the session starts about an hour before sunset, or at first light. Linen and cotton cope with the heat and move well in a sea breeze; soft colours sit well against green water and pale sand, and anything that shows sweat does not. Bring a cover-up for a temple stop, a light shirt over a dress or a sarong over shorts, and shoes that slip off.

Some couples bring the wedding outfit for a second outing on the sand; it works best at sunset on a quiet beach, with the hem expected to get wet. If a session goes into a national park, foreign visitors pay its entrance fee, and photography done as paid work inside a park can need the park's permission, which the photographer clears in advance. Leave your own drone at home — registration with both NBTC and CAAT, insurance and approval before each flight can take a visitor up to two weeks — and ask whether the photographer flies a registered one.

Planning a honeymoon photoshoot in Thailand

Choose the coast for your month first, then one place on it, then the evening. An hour is enough for a sunset on one beach; ninety minutes covers a viewpoint and a beach, or a beach and a village. Book as soon as the route is fixed, and early for the weeks around Christmas and New Year.

Each photographer sets their own packages and confirms within 24 hours. See what a honeymoon photoshoot usually covers, check how it works, and browse photographers online.