Foreigners can join meditation retreats at several Thai temples, taught in English, for a small fee or a donation. The three best-known options work very differently: Suan Mokkh in the south runs a silent 10-day retreat starting on the 1st of each month, Wat Ram Poeng in Chiang Mai teaches a 26-day Vipassana course, and Wat Pa Tam Wua near Mae Hong Son takes walk-in guests for a few days.
A retreat means living by temple rules: early mornings, simple vegetarian food, modest clothes and long hours of sitting and walking meditation. Many visitors expect that every retreat requires white clothes and total silence. That is not true. Each temple sets its own rules, and the comparison below helps you choose before you travel. For background on what monks do outside the meditation hall, see our article on monks in daily life.
| Suan Mokkh (Surat Thani) | Wat Ram Poeng (Chiang Mai) | Wat Pa Tam Wua (Mae Hong Son) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course | 10 days, 1st to 11th of each month | 26-day basic course; 10 days to 6 weeks possible | Stay of 3 days/2 nights up to about 10 days |
| Booking | None: register in person on the last day of the previous month, by 15:00 | E-mail, phone or walk-in, for fixed check-in dates | None: walk in any day, 06:00–16:00 |
| Cost | ฿2,000, not refundable | ฿500 plus optional donation | Free; donations welcome |
| White clothes | Not required | Required day and night | Provided |
| Silence | Complete | No talking about your practice, no reading or writing | Optional |
| Phone | Deposited for the whole retreat | Switched off and kept in the safe box | Not taken from you |
| Method | Mindfulness with breathing (Anapanasati) | Vipassana, Four Foundations of Mindfulness | Daily Dhamma talks and classes |
All details on this page are from the three retreats' own websites, checked in October 2026. Rules can change, so read the current page before you travel.
Suan Mokkh: the monthly silent retreat in the south
The International Dharma Hermitage of Wat Suan Mokkh, near Chaiya in Surat Thani province, was founded by the monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu in 1986. It says it has trained about 30,000 international participants (as of September 2023). Its 10-day retreats begin on the 1st of every month and end on the 11th. There are no shorter or longer retreats, and you cannot join part of one.
Registration is in person only, on the last day of the previous month between 07:00 and 15:00, first come, first served, after a short compulsory interview. There is no advance booking by phone, e-mail or post. The next registration days are Saturday 31 October 2026 (for November), Monday 30 November 2026 and Thursday 31 December 2026. You may arrive the day before registration and sleep at the main monastery for free.
The fee is 2,000 baht (as of October 2026), not refundable, and it covers everything for the ten days. Expect a 04:00 wake-up bell, sittings, Dhamma talks, walking meditation and yoga (the only optional item), two vegetarian meals a day plus an evening drink, and lights out at 21:30. Silence is complete apart from personal interviews and emergencies. Rooms are basic: a hard bed with a straw mat, a wooden pillow and a mosquito net, with shared toilets and mandi baths (a tank of water and a scoop).
The hermitage asks for clothes that cover you from the shoulders to below the knees, including the upper arms, and nothing see-through; white is not necessary. It also says the retreat is not suitable for people with mental disorders or drug addictions, and that everything from visa extensions to onward tickets must be arranged before you start.
Chaiya has a railway station about 6 km from the monastery. The hermitage's travel page lists trains from Krung Thep Aphiwat in Bangkok, including a morning special express that reaches Chaiya in the afternoon and several overnight trains; its table is undated, so check times on the State Railway's booking site. If you go overnight, compare berths in our sleeper train guide. The hermitage asks participants not to arrive after dark.
Miss 15:00 on the last day of the month and you wait a month. Suan Mokkh does not take bookings, and places go in order of arrival. Travel down a day early, sleep at the main monastery, and register in the morning.
Wat Ram Poeng: the 26-day Vipassana course in Chiang Mai
Wat Ram Poeng (also called Wat Tapotaram) runs the Northern Insight Meditation Center in Chiang Mai. Its official site is watrampoeng.com; look-alike addresses ending in .net and .org are unrelated spam sites. The main offer is a 26-day basic course in Vipassana (insight meditation) based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. If you do not have that long, the center accepts students for not less than 10 days and not more than six weeks without special permission. A 10-day retreat is for people who have completed the basic course.
Courses start on fixed check-in dates, with check-in in the morning. The remaining dates for 2026 are Monday 5 October, Sunday 18 October, Saturday 31 October, Friday 13 November, Thursday 26 November, Thursday 10 December and Wednesday 23 December; the 2027 dates are on the center's information page. You can book by e-mail or phone, or walk in.
The fee is 500 baht (as of October 2026), a one-time charge for bed laundry and the items for the opening and closing ceremonies. Donations are welcome on the last day. Bring a valid passport with your visa or entry stamp and one passport photo.
The rules are strict. You wear white day and night (at least two sets; the temple shop sells them, except white underwear, and women also wear a white shawl). You do not discuss your practice with others, read, write, make phone calls or touch anyone. You do not leave the monastery without the teacher's permission, and you do not sleep during the day. Electronic devices are switched off and kept in the safe box. The course is non-smoking. If you arrive a few days early, a walk around the Old City's temples makes a quiet introduction, and our Chiang Mai city page helps with somewhere to stay.
A 26-day course on a 30-day entry leaves four days to spare. Most visa-exempt nationalities get 30 days as of October 2026, and an overstay brings fines; see our page on overstaying. Arrive close to your check-in date or arrange a longer visa first, because you cannot leave the course to sort out paperwork. Our page on visa-free stays has the rules.
Wat Pa Tam Wua: a forest monastery without booking
Wat Pa Tam Wua is a forest monastery between Pai and Mae Hong Son, about 37 km from Mae Hong Son town. Its website is wattamwua.com; a similar address, watpatamwua.com, is a casino spam site. There is no booking: you walk in on any day of the year and check in between 06:00 and 16:00. Stays are normally at least three days and two nights and usually no more than ten days.
Accommodation, bedding, white clothes and vegetarian meals are free, and donations are welcome. You need your original passport with a valid visa or entry stamp; the monastery states that it accepts no overstays. Guests keep the Eight Precepts, the stricter set of rules lay Buddhists follow on retreat. Unlike the other two retreats, silence is optional and phones are not taken away, which makes Tam Wua the gentlest introduction of the three.
The day is still structured. According to the monastery's timetable, guests meditate on their own from 05:00, attend the 06:30 rice offering, eat breakfast at 07:00, join a Dhamma talk and class at 08:00, help with the 10:30 food offering, eat lunch at 11:00, attend another talk at 12:50, help with cleaning from 16:00 and join evening chanting and meditation at 18:00. Most of those sessions are compulsory.
The monastery says the journey from Pai takes about two and a half to three hours, and buses stop at its entrance on Highway 1095, about 1 km from the buildings. Our page on reaching Mae Hong Son covers buses and flights, and the Pai guide describes the town most visitors pass through on the way. The mountain road from Chiang Mai is covered in Chiang Mai to Pai.
What to pack and how to behave
Everything in our temple etiquette guide applies on a retreat too, from dress to how you sit in the hall. What a retreat adds is the house rules of each center, and a packing list that is shorter than most people expect.
- Clothes: loose, light, covering shoulders and knees. White only where required (Ram Poeng), and not needed at Suan Mokkh.
- Slippers: you take shoes off at every building.
- Mosquito repellent, a towel and toiletries: rooms are simple, and mosquito nets are not provided everywhere.
- An umbrella or raincoat in the rainy season.
- Passport with a valid stamp, plus a passport photo for Ram Poeng.
- Cash for the fee and a donation; card payments should not be assumed at a forest temple.
Food is vegetarian at all three, and you eat what is served; Suan Mokkh does not allow outside food or drink and cannot provide special diets. If you have a medical condition or need regular medication, ask the center before you register. If your stay falls on one of the Buddhist holy days, expect more Thai visitors at the temple that day.
Donations and money
Two of the three retreats charge a fixed fee, and the third is free. A donation at the end is voluntary everywhere. There is no set amount; give what the stay was worth to you and what you can afford. Use the donation box or the envelope the office gives you. If you would like to support a specific need, such as food for the monks or upkeep of the buildings, ask the office.
Frequently asked questions
Can I book Suan Mokkh online in advance?
No. The hermitage accepts no bookings by phone, e-mail or post. You register in person on the last day of the month before your retreat, between 07:00 and 15:00, in order of arrival, after a short interview.
Do I have to wear white at a Thai meditation retreat?
Not everywhere. Wat Ram Poeng requires white day and night, Wat Pa Tam Wua provides white clothes, and Suan Mokkh says white is not necessary as long as you are covered from shoulders to below the knees.
Is a meditation retreat in Thailand free?
Some are. Wat Pa Tam Wua charges nothing and welcomes donations. Wat Ram Poeng charges a one-time fee of 500 baht and Suan Mokkh 2,000 baht, both as of October 2026, and both welcome donations on top.
Which retreat is best for a beginner?
Wat Pa Tam Wua is the easiest start, with no booking, optional silence and stays from three days. Suan Mokkh suits people ready for ten silent days. Ram Poeng's 26-day course is the most demanding of the three.
Can I keep my phone during a retreat?
At Wat Pa Tam Wua, yes. Suan Mokkh asks you to deposit phones and tablets for the whole retreat, and Wat Ram Poeng asks for devices to be switched off and kept in its safe box.
Sources
- Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage – Welcome (checked October 2026)
- Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage – Registration (checked October 2026)
- Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage – Travel (checked October 2026)
- Wat Ram Poeng – Vipassana course (checked October 2026)
- Wat Ram Poeng – Course information and dates (checked October 2026)
- Wat Pa Tam Wua – Rules (checked October 2026)
- Wat Pa Tam Wua – Timetable (checked October 2026)
- Wat Pa Tam Wua – Getting here (checked October 2026)