Where to Propose in Thailand: karst beaches, island viewpoints and river sunsets, by month

The month decides the coast

From about November to April the Andaman coast is dry and the sea is calm: Krabi, the Phi Phi Islands, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and Phuket. From about mid-May to mid-October it takes the southwest monsoon, wettest in September, with big surf and boats cancelled at short notice. The Gulf islands — Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao — run the other way: dependable from about January to August, driest February to April, wettest October to December with November the peak, which makes them the summer answer.

The north is best from November to January, when the mornings are cool and the air is clear; from about February to April smoke from seasonal burning hangs over the mountains. Bangkok works in any month if you plan around the heat, which peaks in April. September and October are the hard months everywhere on the coasts, and the weeks around Christmas and New Year are the busiest of the year, so book early.

Krabi: Phra Nang at first light, Railay West at sunset

Krabi is the limestone coast, and its proposal beach is Phra Nang, under the overhanging cliffs at the tip of the Railay peninsula. Railay has no road; it is reached by longtail from Ao Nang or Krabi Town, and Phra Nang only by boat or on foot from Railay. Before the first longtails from Ao Nang land, the sand is close to empty — the whole point — and sleeping on the peninsula is what puts you there before the boats. The cave shrine at one end of the beach is a place of offerings, not a backdrop: keep the moment at the other end.

For the evening, Railay West faces the sunset between limestone walls; it is busier then, so the photographer picks the end of the beach that stays clear. From about May to October the monsoon can cancel the boats, so keep a spare day. The page for a proposal in Krabi has more.

Phi Phi, Khao Lak and Koh Lanta

The viewpoint above Tonsai

On Phi Phi Don the island narrows to a strip of sand between two curved bays, and the viewpoint above Tonsai looks straight down on it. Climb at sunrise and it is nearly yours; later in the day it fills. The path from the village is steep and stepped, there are no cars on the island, and an entrance fee is collected on the way up. The photographer goes up first, in the dark, and you follow with a torch. Maya Bay is not a proposal beach: national-park rules, limited time on the sand, and a closure of about two months every year.

Khao Lak's empty sand

Khao Lak, about an hour and a half by road north of Phuket airport, is the quiet answer: kilometres of west-facing sand at Bang Niang, Nang Thong and Pakarang Cape, often with nobody near you at sunset. The only thing to plan around is the sea; when the red flags are up, the proposal stays on the sand.

Koh Lanta's west coast

On Koh Lanta, Kantiang Bay and the quieter coves further south watch the sun go down over open sea, with little between you and the horizon. At the island's southern tip, the lighthouse above the rocks sits inside Mu Ko Lanta National Park: foreign visitors pay its entrance fee, and a professional shoot there can need the park's permission, which the photographer clears in advance. Lanta has no airport; the road comes with a car-ferry crossing.

Phuket, in one paragraph

Promthep Cape is Phuket's famous sunset and the busiest place on the island to try to keep a secret: the crowd arrives well before the sun goes down. The quieter viewpoints and coves are on the page for a proposal in Phuket.

Koh Samui: west-coast sunsets and Silver Beach at sunrise

Koh Samui, with its own airport, is the easiest of the Gulf islands. On its west coast, Lipa Noi and Taling Ngam look out towards the Ang Thong islands, with the sun going down behind them, quieter than the long east-coast strands. For a sunrise proposal, Silver Beach is a small cove of white sand and granite boulders between Chaweng and Lamai, and the boulders give the photographer somewhere to wait unseen. From October to December rough seas can cancel ferries and November is usually the wettest month, so the dry months are the safer bet. See the page for a proposal on Koh Samui.

Koh Phangan and Koh Tao: a sandbar and two viewpoints

On Koh Phangan's north-west coast, the islet of Koh Ma is tied to the beach at Mae Haad by a sandbar that surfaces at low tide, so you can walk out across the water together. The tide table decides the start time, not the sunset. For an evening proposal, Haad Yao and Haad Salad on the west coast face the sun going into the sea. Keep away from Haad Rin on full-moon-party nights, when thousands of people and full ferries take over the island's south-east tip. Phangan has no airport; it is about half an hour by boat from Samui.

Koh Tao, about an hour and a half by boat from Samui, has two proposal viewpoints. The John-Suwan viewpoint on the southern tip, after a short scramble, looks over two bays on either side of the rock and catches the sunrise. Koh Nang Yuan, three small islands off the north-west coast joined by a sandbar, is seen from the viewpoint at the top of the highest one, a ten- to twenty-minute longtail ride from Sairee Beach. It is privately run: there is an entrance fee, day visitors have their own hours, and plastic bottles and cans are banned. It is quietest early in the day. More on the page for a proposal on Koh Tao.

The north in the cool months: Wat Pha Lat and Phu Chi Fa

From November to January, the north gives a proposal something the beaches cannot: cool air and mist. On the slopes of Doi Suthep, Wat Pha Lat is a forest temple with water running over the rocks and Chiang Mai opening out below; it is reached on the Monk's Trail, which takes most walkers under an hour, or by road. It is a working monastery, so the proposal belongs outside the temple walls, on the forest path, never in a hall or in front of a Buddha image. See a proposal in Chiang Mai.

In Chiang Rai province, Phu Chi Fa is a forest park on the Lao border, about two hours or more by road from Chiang Rai town, where cloud can fill the valleys at dawn from about November to February. That means leaving in the dark or staying near the mountain, a warm layer, and a second morning free: the mist is never guaranteed, and from about February to April haze hides both places.

Bangkok in any season: facing Wat Arun

Bangkok's proposal is the river at sunset. From the east bank on the Tha Tien side, Wat Arun stands across the water with the sun going down behind it, turns to a silhouette and then lights up as the sky goes blue; that is the moment to kneel, and it lasts minutes. The riverside fills before sunset, so the photographer is in place early. When it is too crowded, the park at Phra Sumen Fort, a whitewashed eighteenth-century bastion, belongs in the evening to joggers rather than tourists. In the rains, plan around the afternoon downpour.

How the photographer hides in plain sight

The photographer arrives first and becomes one more person with a camera — a traveller shooting the view, a phone held up at the sunset. You agree the spot to the metre and a signal: a cap taken off, a bag put down, a message sent. Send a photo of your partner and say what they will be wearing, then never look towards the camera. The photographer shoots from a distance with a longer lens as you walk into frame, and stays on after the yes for portraits with the ring.

A drone overhead gives the secret away, and drones are hard for a visitor anyway: registration with both NBTC and CAAT, insurance and approval before every flight. Ask whether the photographer flies a registered one. Have a cover story for the backup day; rescheduling for weather is free for both sides.

Planning a proposal photoshoot in Thailand

Book the hour, not the day: the first light at Phra Nang or Koh Tao, the last at Railay West, Samui's west coast or the river in Bangkok. A session of about an hour covers the approach, the question and the portraits after. On any plan that depends on a boat, keep a spare day before an onward flight.

Each photographer sets their own packages and shows the full price before you book, and the photographer confirms within 24 hours. See what a proposal photoshoot usually covers, check how it works, and browse photographers online.