Thailand is a lot closer to the equator than a lot of places, especially anywhere in the United States. Even the southernmost point of Florida is still almost three-times as far from the equator as that point of Thailand. The heat and humidity is no joke! Luckily, I looked into this a bit before buying and packing clothing for this trip. Here’s everything I learned about how to dress in Thailand.
Choosing the Right Clothing for a Thailand Trip
Thailand is just over 1,000 miles north of the equator, which is way closer than it sounds. Trust me, the weather can confirm! The average low every day was 80 degrees. The high was always around 88 degrees, so there isn’t a huge temperature disparity, which makes packing for day-to-night very simple, actually.
While there, I wore light linen and cotton fabrics almost exclusively. You’ll see a few athletic dresses also, on days I needed more functional clothing. But for the most part, when we were just bopping around the resort or the nearby mall, I was in light linen attire.
How to Dress in Thailand: Exploring Old Town Phuket
There’s so much to see in Old Town Phuket. This is where you’ll find open air markets with all kinds of clothing, food vendors, souvenirs and anything else you could imagine. It’s essentially the ‘downtown’ area of Phuket and a great place to visit for a busier, city-paced vibe.
Sure, it’s hot in Thailand, so you don’t want to overdress, but at the same time, you need to be comfortable, especially for a day of exploring a new city. My black scallop back athletic dress was a fantastic choice with a good balance of support while being lightweight and sleeveless. We did re-apply sunscreen a TON while there, too!
A front-facing sling bag was also an incredible choice for this trip. Your belongings are right where you can monitor them which is invaluable when traveling abroad! The one I used was very sizeable with just a few different pockets to make organization possible, but not overwhelming.
How to Dress in Thailand: At the Resort
A majority of our time was spent at our resort. We were there on a celebratory work trip for Kevin so they had several on-site events we needed to attend. Shopping for and styling resort chic – the dress code they specifically gave us – was a lot of fun!
This may have been my favorite outfit of the trip!
I adore this white skort from Amazon. I wore it both at the resort and then during our 8-hour layover in Singapore (pictured later, with the sunflowers) on the way home. It’s incredibly versatile and comfortable, styling well both with a linen top and a ribbed casual tank, respectively. I’ll be packing it for both of our Florida vacations this summer as well.
Technically speaking, athletic attire is not in most resort’s dress codes. However, in reality, no one at the resort you’re paying to be at is going to reprimand you for an athletic dress as long as you’re polished. Maybe skip the gym shoes and tube socks, and instead pair it with a cute hat or bag instead!
My light green athletic dress was great for slow mornings at the resort because it was comfortable and still looked very ‘resort chic’ because of the lighter coloring. This is a perfect example of making your wardrobe go farther – don’t buy new if you don’t want to, just re-accessorize!
How to Dress in Thailand: Dinner & Date Night Outfits
Most of our dinners were either on-site at the resort or walkable down the beach to another establishment. So, most of what we wore was still resort chic or even casual at some of the beachfront restaurants.
If you’re taking a warm weather vacation, these palazzo pants are a MUST! I love these so much I also got them in blue. Pair them with a simple linen top for a light and breezy tropical outfit.
When we walked down the beach for dinner at a local authentic Thai restaurant I wore this simple shift dress. It was hard to get a good photo with the sunset in the background, but the dress is very vibrant and perfect for the climate. It was surely the right outfit choice for a big Thai dinner where we ordered a bunch of plates and sampled everything!
Completely unintentionally, Kev and I were very matchy-matchy for his company’s gala dinner. My dress felt a bit more Mediterranean but I fell in love with the print and decided to own it. It really fit in quite well, even still. Bold and colorful is the resort chic way, apparently!
How to Dress in Thailand: Swimwear
I’ll preface this saying there’s no need to wear specific swimwear for a Thailand resort stay. We didn’t do any water sports or activities that required any sort of special swimwear. But for the sake of a comprehensive article, I’ve included my swimwear here.
I don’t have photos in every suit I packed because we were just busy enjoying life, but as a guideline, I did pack at least one swimsuit per day we’d be there. We had a private pool off of our room and we knew we’d be out there every day and/or night (and we sure were)!
The pink swim top in this photo is my all-time favorite every-occasion swim top. I’ve owned a coral one and a light blue one now for several years, but needed to get a few new ones this year as I’ve lost some weight postpartum. I was so glad to see Target was still making this top, and in SO many colors!
Okay, so I may have misspoke a little. We did in fact visit an elephant sanctuary, where we had a chance to swim with elephants. So for that I did pack a more sensible, supportive swimsuit. By no means was it an athletic swimsuit or anything, just one that had more coverage and support since we were going to be moving around a bit more!
Comfortable Travel Outfit for U.S. to Asia
For anyone wondering, it was almost a full 24 hours of in-air flight time to get to the other side of the world. As such, I needed to be comfortable (who wouldn’t?). At first, I was going to go with one of my beloved Alo matching sets, but started to wonder if I’d be too warm. That’s when I landed on this bamboo set!
This was absolutely the right call. First of all, I only wore shorts for the way home since we had lay down seats on United Polaris (separate post for the coming soon). When I ordered the outfit I got the long sleeve shirt, the joggers and the shorts, knowing I’d want the joggers for the flight there and the shorts to sleep in for the flight home. Can’t recommend this setup enough!
Clothing & Skincare Mistakes to Avoid
Overall, I packed and dressed really well for our week-long Asian adventure. However, there was room for improvement. Let me share a few mistakes you can easily make.
- Not wearing enough clothing – my athletic dress was cut in a way that caused armpit chaffing. I could’ve worn a sports bra underneath to prevent it, as hindsight is 20/20. But my poor underarms were irritated for a while even after getting home!
- Similarly, not using an anti-chaffing stick or balm can be a downfall. If you’re going to be fairly active in the heat – walking the town or any other dry land activity – you’ll want to balm up to prevent chaffing.
- Under packing – it’s not a contest! No one wants to overpack, but with how hot it is in Thailand you will SWEAT. You may want a change of clothes for the evening, so don’t bank on just one outfit per day, even on slow days. If you have laundry service where you’re staying, you can leverage that to pack more lightly. But if you can fit extra outfits in your luggage, I say go for it!
- Wearing shapewear – yes or no? I packed it… but never wore it. It’s just too hot! Bring it, but don’t be shocked if you don’t feel like wearing it. My anti-chaffing balm will really be your bestie!
- Not wearing (and re-applying SPF) is a huge no-no! I’m a sunscreen queen and still had a burn slip in. Whether you burn regularly or not, please pack (and use) SPF. We packed two full-sized bottles plus a travel size one for my crossbody and went through almost every last drop. And I promise you, we still had incredible tans when we left. I also love this very lightweight formula for my face, specially!
My Number One Tip for Traveling to Thailand
While not related to style, this is so important that I’ll be putting it in every Thailand article I write. Be careful about drinking the water! This applies to almost everywhere in southeast Asia, apparently. Kevin’s coworker whose family lives in Asia heeded us this warning.
There is a bacteria in the water that we are not accustomed to in America, so your body will not react well to it and you’ll be sick for days. Stick to bottled water or check with your hotel before consuming anything from a fountain or tap! Luckily, most restaurants know to only provide tourists bottled water, but it’s still good to know this information and be on the lookout for yourself.
While the water may be considered “unsafe” for tourists, locals may have built up a tolerance to some of the contaminants, according to WorldTrips Travel Insurance. However, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and avoid drinking tap water if you are not used to it. I suggest drinking bottled water only, to be safe.
Will you be traveling to Asia soon? Or maybe you’ve been there before? Share your tips about how to dress in Thailand and other experiences with us in the comments. The more information we can share with one another the easier it’ll be for future travelers!
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