Choosing a camp
Is a big camp or a small camp better?
Updated 2026-09-01
The short answer
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.
From the records
We class 18 of the 44 camps we list as small, 24 as mid-sized and 2 as large. That is our read of the place from what it publishes rather than a figure any camp prints, which is why the question above has no answer that holds for a whole size bracket.
Every camp we listThe largest complexes run classes the way a gym at home runs classes: a timetable, streamed levels, staff whose job is to answer your questions in English. Nobody is left standing in a corner wondering what is happening. You will also always find someone your size to work with, which matters more than people expect.
A small camp is a different transaction. Five people on the pads means the trainer sees every round you throw, and by the end of a week he knows your habits. That is where technical correction actually comes from. The trade-off is that if the camp is quiet the week you are there, you may have nobody to spar and nothing to measure yourself against.
Scale also drives atmosphere in a way that is hard to undo. A very large camp can feel like a fitness resort. A very small one can feel like you have walked into someone else living room. Neither is a fault, but one of them will annoy you.
Worth knowing
Trainer-to-student ratio is the number that actually matters, and almost nobody publishes it. Ask how many people are typically on the pads in the session you would attend, not how many trainers the camp employs.
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no best camp, and the reason is specific rather than diplomatic: the things you would rank on are the things Thai camps do not publish.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.
Should I stay in on-site camp accommodation?
For a first trip of two weeks or less, yes: it removes every decision and puts you thirty seconds from the ring. Past about six weeks it usually stops making sense, because a normal apartment nearby costs less and gives you a life outside the camp.