Forget the beach for a moment. Here are 25 unique things to do in Thailand that you will not find in the usual guidebook: a waterfall you climb barefoot, a café where you lie down in a coffin, and a temple with David Beckham in the wall.
In short
• Most unusual: the coffin café Kid Mai, David Beckham in the temple wall at Wat Pariwat and a chocolate buffet on the 57th floor.
• Nature: Buatong Waterfall you climb barefoot, floating huts on Cheow Lan and kayaking in crystal-clear water at Klong Root.
• For families: the Harbor Island water park on a mall rooftop and the fairy-tale park Dantewada outside Chiang Mai.
• Best tip: if you want to see the Yi Peng lantern festival in Chiang Mai, book your accommodation early.
Most of these 25 experiences come from places travellers in the Travel Outenza community have saved and shared. We have also added five classics that deserve a spot on any Thailand list.
Save time: All 20 community places are gathered in the Travel Outenza collection Thailand off the beaten path, together with five bonus tips. Tap “Add to Trip” once, and the whole list is in your itinerary.
Our top 5:
Buatong Waterfall in Chiang Mai.
Kid Mai Death Awareness Cafe in Bangkok.
Wat Pariwat and the David Beckham figure.
Erawan Museum and the three-headed elephant.
Kayaking on Klong Root in Krabi.
Limestone deposits from the spring water make the rocks at Buatong Waterfall rough and grippy, hence the nickname Sticky Waterfall. You can walk straight up the falls barefoot without slipping. The waterfall is about 60 km north of Chiang Mai, with the turquoise spring Nam Phu Chet Si right next to it.
Dantewada in Mae Taeng, just over 40 km north of Chiang Mai, is a fairy-tale park with flower gardens, artificial waterfalls, caves and a “mist forest”. You can feed rabbits and goats and take a break at the café. Perfect for families and anyone after photos that are a little out of the ordinary.
River Rock Cafe in Mae Rim is built on a large rock in the river, and you reach it across a swaying suspension bridge. Order an iced coffee and listen to the water rushing past. Combine it with the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, a quarter of an hour away.
In Mae Wang, less than two hours from Chiang Mai, treks lead through the forest to Karen villages where you can see coffee being roasted the traditional way. The day ends calmly on the river, on a raft made of bamboo. Choose a local operator that works with the villages.
Yi Peng is celebrated at the full moon of the second Lanna month, usually in November, at the same time as Loy Krathong. Thousands of lanterns rise over Chiang Mai. According to Asia Lifestyle Magazine, Yi Peng in 2026 takes place on 23–25 November. Book your accommodation early.
Releasing lanterns inside the city itself is not allowed. The big mass releases take place at ticketed events outside the centre, and they sell out fast.
Chocolate Ville in Khan Na Yao is a whole European-style village with colourful houses, a lake and a lighthouse. Arrive before sunset to get both daylight and the lights that come on afterwards. It is some distance from the BTS and MRT, so take a taxi or Grab.
Kid Mai, one minute from BTS Ari, is a themed café and exhibition about the stages of life and the relationship between life and death. Lie down in the traditional Thai coffin and you get 5 baht off your drink. Strange, thought-provoking and completely unique.
Sanctuary is on the 34th floor of InterContinental Bangkok Sukhumvit in Thonglor. The curved timber roof, the bamboo and all the greenery make it one of the city’s most beautiful rooftop bars. Come for the atmosphere rather than the panorama, as a neighbouring tower blocks much of the sunset.
TRIBE on the 5th floor of EmSphere calls itself Bangkok’s only “sky beach club”. A large pool faces the skyline, with daybeds and a bar you can swim right up to. A good break in the middle of a shopping day on Sukhumvit.
CocoaXO is a sky bar on the 57th floor of Centara Grand at CentralWorld. The chocolate buffet has almost 50 dishes, including chocolate fondue and truffles, plus 360-degree views over the city. Check the current price and menu before you go.
NAMA on the 24th floor of the same hotel is an upscale Japanese seafood buffet. Think crab, oysters and sushi in calm surroundings. Combine it with CocoaXO for dessert if you have room.
SEKI in EmSphere specialises in hand rolls and sushi made with Hokkaido rice, from salmon to caviar. Sit at the counter and eat each roll right away, while the seaweed is still crisp.
LV The Place Bangkok at Gaysorn Amarin arrived in 2024, according to Gaysorn Village. It combines a café, a store, an exhibition and a restaurant by chef Gaggan Anand. The façade with giant diamond shapes lights up in the evening. Even if you are not shopping, the coffee and pastries are an experience.
Baan Suan Sathon is a garden restaurant and café tucked away in a side street in Sathorn. Orchids, small waterfalls, koi ponds and parrots make it easy to forget you are in the middle of the city. The menu has both Thai and European food.
Collect the places that inspire you, build a day-by-day itinerary and keep every ticket, booking and note in one place.
Free to start. Save the places from this article to a trip, plan your days and share the trip with your travel companions.
Wat Pariwat on Rama 3 Road mixes traditional temple art with pop culture. Look for a small golden figure of David Beckham holding up a Buddha image, and keep an eye out for Batman, Superman and Popeye. Still, remember that this is an active temple.
On top of Erawan Museum stands a 29-metre-tall, three-headed bronze elephant weighing 250 tonnes. Inside you will find colourful stained glass and a staircase that takes you up into the elephant itself. The museum was built by the same man behind the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya.
Space & Time Cube+ is in the basement of Seacon Bangkae and has more than 20 rooms of light, mirrors and 3D projections, with an LED tunnel as the centrepiece. The themes change, so it can be worth coming back. The nearest station is MRT Phasi Charoen.
Mega Harborland at The Mall Lifestore Bangkapi is a huge play centre, and on the roof sits the water park Harbor Island. It has a tower with 18 water slides, a 200-metre lazy river and a zipline. A sure hit for families on a hot day.
Little Den Cafe is an indoor animal café with fennec foxes, prairie dogs and chinchillas, among others. It is an unusual experience, but animal cafés in Bangkok have been criticised over animal welfare, so look at the conditions yourself before deciding.
Mega Plaza is almost all toys and collectibles, spread across hundreds of small shops. You will find anime figures, Gundam models, Labubu and Pokémon cards. Free entry, a five-minute walk from MRT Sam Yot.
At Maeklong Railway Market in Samut Songkhram, the stalls stand right on the railway tracks. When the whistle blows, vendors have about three minutes to fold away awnings and umbrellas before the train creeps past. It happens six times a day, so check the train times before you go.
Ayutthaya was the capital of Siam from 1350 to 1767 and is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The park is flat and compact, and a bike costs around 50–100 baht for the day. Start early, before the heat and the tour buses.
Cheow Lan is a reservoir of around 185 km² inside Khao Sok National Park, surrounded by limestone cliffs and rainforest. You can sleep in floating huts and jump straight into the water in the morning. One of the most atmospheric stays in Thailand.
Klong Root in Krabi is a spring-fed canal with water so clear you can see the bottom from your kayak. The paddling trip is run by the local community in Nong Thale and takes about an hour and a half. Go early in the morning for the calmest water and the fewest people.
Railay can only be reached by boat, and the cliffs around the peninsula have around 700 climbing routes. Beginners can take a half-day course with a guide and gear. The view over the Andaman Sea from the wall is the reward.
The whole list is ready as a collection in Travel Outenza. Tap “Add to Trip”, and all the places land in your itinerary and on your map. There you can sort them by day and see what is close together.
See the collection “Thailand off the beaten path” →
November to February is the driest and least hot season in most of the country. If you want to experience the Yi Peng lantern festival in Chiang Mai, travel in November.
Try a themed café like Kid Mai, have a drink at a rooftop bar in Thonglor, eat a chocolate buffet on the 57th floor or explore the light rooms at Space & Time Cube+.
Buatong Waterfall, a jungle trek with bamboo rafting, River Rock Cafe and the fairy-tale park Dantewada are all less than two hours from the city.
The Harbor Island water park on a mall rooftop in Bangkok, the animals at Dantewada and Erawan Museum with its giant elephant are good choices for the whole family.
Find the collection “Thailand off the beaten path” in Travel Outenza and tap “Add to Trip”. The places land in your trip, and you can spread them across the days of your plan.
Found a hidden gem in Thailand yourself? Share it with the Travel Outenza community, and it could end up in our next article.
Collect the places that inspire you, build a day-by-day itinerary and keep every ticket, booking and note in one place.
Free to start. Save the places from this article to a trip, plan your days and share the trip with your travel companions.
Thailand, Thailand
More inspiration for the same part of the world.
DestinationsPrison cocktails, a glass floor over the Thames and a 178 m slide: 24 unusual things to do in London, picked by real travellers.
Travel InspirationAI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity can suggest destinations, build a day-by-day plan and write your packing list in minutes. But AI has never stood on a mountain top or eaten at a restaurant, and it can invent places that don't exist. Here are ten tips for better answers, six warnings you should know about, and how we use AI in Travel Outenza ourselves.
Travel InspirationYou do not need a ticket to stand on a summit in Lofoten, walk the Wicklow Way in Ireland or hike in Finland’s national parks. Here are 25 countries with free hiking, plus the exceptions to know in 2026: new fees on Madeira, Teide and in US national parks, parking, and trails you must book in advance.
