Hello all! The second week in sept. I will be traveling with a Thai Friend down to south Thailand area, She has never been so I am asking for advice for areas to go. Looking for not to touristy, but still have a variety to do. I have also heard there are some unsafe areas which I would like to stay far from. Romantic, not to busy nice beaches and a nice place to stay that wont break the bank. We will be renting a car so we will have more avaliable to us, but I do not want to spend all the time in the car. I was thinking satun area but open to the best overall experience, we will have 4-5 days in the area. does the weather change much from the east side to the west? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps you can be more precise in your travel plans. The south means from Chumpon and Ranong to the border. It can still be very wet in September.

I did mention Satun, but looking for thoughts from people who know the different areas of the south. Right now the plan is open, so it could be anywhere that fits my needs. I will also mention we will be flying from bkk. My thought were to fly into hat yai and drive to a destination from there.

Sorry I missed Satun reference. Beach in Songkhla is quite nice, popular with the Thais. You won't see many other tourists except maybe Malaysians. My wife has family in Hat Yai who we visit and I have never felt unsafe there. Like I said be aware of the weather in the South. In the farming forum is a sticky about the weather in Thailand.

I also want to visit that area, but have heard many boats don't run during the monsoons to the various island and many resorts/national parks are closed. I guess they open up around the beginning of December?

I have some familiarity with the area and you are picking a poor time of year due to monsoon time. The most interesting thing in the southwest part is Koh Tarutao with the old pirate dens, crocodile cave and camping. Also take the ferry from there to the further islands, notably Koh Lippe and Koh Adang. But none of those can be reached by ferry during most of monsoon season (restart mid-october). The areas around Krabi and Trang are interesting, notably the limestone karst peaks and sinkholes around Krabi. Satun itself has little merit, best being good mangrove swamps at the shore.