Choosing a camp
Can children train at a Thai camp?
Updated 2026-09-01
The short answer
Plenty of camps take children, and Thai kids train from a young age, so the concept is not unusual. The question that decides your trip is whether the child session runs at the same time as the adult session, because if it does not, one parent is always sitting out.
Camps handle this in three broad ways. Some run a dedicated kids class on its own schedule. Some let children join the general class, which works better for teenagers than for eight year olds. Some say yes on the website and then improvise when you arrive.
Ask for the actual timetable rather than a yes. The follow-up question worth asking is who teaches the children session, because at some camps it is a trainer with a genuine interest in coaching kids and at others it is whoever is free.
Accommodation is the second constraint. Camp rooms are usually built for one or two adults, so a family often ends up in a hotel nearby, which is fine but changes the maths.
Still deciding where to go?
Six questions, and we will tell you which camps fit and which facts about them we have not confirmed.
Choosing a camp
Asked alongside this one
What is the best Muay Thai camp in Thailand?
There is no best camp, and the reason is specific rather than diplomatic: the things you would rank on are the things Thai camps do not publish. Of the 44 camps listed here, none publish a sparring policy, one publishes anything addressed to women training there and 3 state that the coaching is in English. Rank on what is on the record instead, which is price, location, rooms and sessions a day.
Should I train in Phuket or Chiang Mai?
Phuket if this is your first trip, you want beach and nightlife around the training, and you can absorb higher costs. Chiang Mai if you are staying longer, want your money to go further, and prefer a city you can live in rather than a resort island.
Is a big camp or a small camp better?
Big camps give you structure, English, training partners at every level and a social scene. Small camps give you more trainer attention per session and a closer read on how you are actually moving. Beginners usually get more out of a big camp for a first trip, and more out of a small one on the second.