Our one-month family itinerary in Thailand

Hi there,

We’re planning a little month-long trip to Thailand in July-August with our family (2 adults and 2 kids aged 12 and 15). Below is our tentative itinerary with our main activities—I’d love to hear your thoughts or feedback if there’s a major issue I’ve missed!

Bangkok: 6 nights to "acclimate" and explore the city and Ayutthaya Transfer to Kanchanaburi: 3 nights to discover the area (Bridge, Death Railway, Erawan, and Huai Mae Khamin) Transfer to Kaeng Krachan National Park: 3 nights, full-day visit to the park Transfer to San Roi Yot: 5 nights (Park, Kui Buri, beach) Back to Bangkok, then flight to Chiang Rai: 3 nights (city and surroundings) Transfer to Chiang Mai: 5 nights (city and nearby parks) Return to Bangkok: 2 nights before our flight home

Happy to provide any details!

My first idea: spend 2 nights in Ayutthaya to acclimate and breathe, and plan only 4 nights in Bangkok. It’s really hot and humid there this time of year.

Same here, I’d head straight to Ayutthaya and save Bangkok for the end.

Marsyork

Thanks for your replies.

The good news is that overall, my itinerary seems to hold up. 😉

I don’t think I’ll do Bangkok at the end, but maybe that’s just an impression—I feel like after more than 20 days of traveling, the family might not have the energy to explore a city like Bangkok, which seems to take quite a bit of energy to uncover all its charms. Unfortunately, I’m not as young as I used to be... 😛

Maybe split the time allocated for Bangkok in two—instead of 6+2, do 4+4 or 5+3

What I meant was: start with 2 days in Ayutthaya, then your 4 days in Bangkok.

2 days in Bangkok at the end works fine.

Hello Dr Snuggle,

Before I comment on your itinerary, how do you plan to organize your travel between places when it’s not mentioned, and your day trips? Best regards, Manunancy

We requested a quote from a local provider for all our transfers. I actually started a discussion about this topic.

For some legs, public transport could also be an option, such as:

- Bangkok to Ayutthaya by train - Bangkok to Kanchanaburi by train - Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai by bus

For on-site visits, we still need to clarify things, but we’ll handle that with local providers.

Actually, I don’t think there are any major transfer issues. The only one that needs to be planned like clockwork is San Roi Yot to Bangkok to catch the flight to Chiang Rai on the same day, but it seems doable with a late-afternoon flight.

Dr Snuggle,

You can arrange the Kao Sam Roi Yot-Bangkok trip directly with the guesthouse or hotel to catch your flight comfortably in the afternoon. We did a day trip in February to Phraya Nakhon Cave and Kui Buri to see the elephants, having booked a car with a driver. Worth doing again—it was amazing.

For the Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai route, one option is Greenbus Thailand, which has a pretty good reputation (check out YouTube videos).

Since you’ve sorted out the logistics, the only suggestion I’d make about your itinerary is to reverse the direction of your trip: start by heading north and finish below Bangkok. For us, it’s always important to end our stay by the beach, but that’s very personal—it’s your trip after all.

Best regards, Manunancy

Hello,

We’re planning a little month-long trip in July-August to Thailand with our family (2 adults and 2 kids, ages 12 and 15). Below is our preliminary itinerary with our main activities—I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback if there’s a major issue...

Bangkok: 6 nights to "acclimate" and explore the city and Ayutthaya Transfer to Kanchanaburi: 3 nights to discover the area (Bridge, Death Railway, Erawan, and Huai Mae Khamin) Transfer to Kaeng Krachan National Park: 3 nights, one full day to visit the park Transfer to Sam Roi Yot: 5 nights (Park, Kui Buri, beach) Back to Bangkok, then flight to Chiang Rai: 3 nights (city and surroundings) Transfer to Chiang Mai: 5 nights (city and nearby parks) Return to Bangkok: 2 nights before the flight home

Happy to provide any details.

Hi,

Your itinerary’s a bit off (sorry to be so direct).

Here’s how I’d do it: In short: Ayutthaya straight after landing, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi, Kaeng Krachan, Sam Roi Yot, Bangkok.

Details: Ayutthaya with 2 nights there will be much more relaxed than Bangkok for recovering from the long flight. Access from the airport by taxi to Mo Chit bus terminal, then minivan to Ayutthaya. Avoid the train—it’d force you through central Bangkok (likely) during rush hour. Then overnight train to

Chiang Mai, then bus to

Chiang Rai, which will need more than 3 nights to explore the city and especially its surroundings. Then flight to Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK), taxi to Mo Chit bus terminal, and minivan to

Kanchanaburi. Again, 3 nights won’t be enough for the program you’ve planned—you’d need one more.

Kaeng Krachan (which I don’t know—I assume you’ve found info on how to get there from Kanchanaburi)

Sam Roi Yot (same, I’ve never been)

Bangkok.

Thanks for your honest opinion!

I’ll post a detailed review of my (slightly bumpy) itinerary 😉 on the forum after we get back. It hasn’t changed much, but I did add one night in Chiang Rai out of a total of 29 nights in the country. Seems like a good way to ease in and keep things varied for a first trip...

After that, we prioritized the area south of Bangkok at the start of the trip due to the rainy season. Kaeng Krachan closes from August onward, and this gives the northern vegetation a bit more time to green up. We’ll see if that choice was smart... but either way, we’re just excited to be there—that’s what matters!

The vegetation in the north is already green with all that rain! There’s quite a bit of varied terrain in these regions. And then around mid-May, the first monsoon hits the entire country. Here’s how it works: around mid-May, clouds come in from the ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka and India and move northeast. Heavy rains, sometimes storms. Statistically, June isn’t very wet. Once the clouds are fully loaded with water over the South China Sea, they reverse course, and that’s when the second—and major—monsoon phase kicks in, peaking in September and October. July is often still quite pleasant, while August tends to be wetter. Rain usually falls in the afternoon or evening. That’s the big picture; but every 10–15 years or so, it can turn into a downpour in July, and you’ll see boats navigating the streets of Bangkok.

Arriving in July, you always get that classic slap in the face when you step out of the airport: the mugginess. Everyone reacts differently—personally, it’s that tropical vacation feeling for me. The sky is often overcast, which isn’t great for photos, but it’s so hot that I’d say it’s not really a downside.