Feedback on two-week trip to Bangkok - Chiang Mai - Phuket

Hello, I’m heading to Thailand for two weeks at the end of February with my family. I went there 20 years ago. I’d love your thoughts on a relaxed two-week trip that lets me show my kids the joys of travel while also taking time to unwind (after all, it *is* vacation! :)) I’m planning to spend 2 days in Bangkok, then take the overnight train to Chiang Mai (so my kids can experience that) and stay for 2-3 nights. After that, I’ll fly to Phuket for a few nights, then head to Koh Lanta for a few days before returning to Phuket to make my way back to Bangkok for the last two days before departure. Tons of people travel for two weeks during this time—any recommendations? So far, I only have my round-trip flight ticket to Bangkok. Thanks in advance!

Hi, Wow, that’s a really original itinerary!...

Any recommendations for hotels, dishes, beaches, temples, sites, or activities?

In the meantime, head over to the AirAsia website and book your domestic flights. Same goes for the train.

I’m reading: “chill, take it easy” and a 3,000 km itinerary in two weeks. Isn’t there a bit of a contradiction here?

I agree with Jojoone1—this trip is far from relaxing. I’m doing the trip at the same time, with this itinerary: Bangkok (4 nights, visiting Ayutthaya), Kanchanaburi—3 nights, Back to Bangkok (1 night) to catch the flight to Phuket, Koh Yao Noi—3 nights, Phuket—2 nights, then back to France. And I think my trip is far from relaxing too, but that’s the point—I want to keep moving and see a lot of things. Your itinerary has the same energy... For my bookings, I only have the ferries left to reserve—everything else is done. How far in advance do you think I should book the ferries?

Returning to Bangkok (1 night) to catch the flight to Phuket,

You’re gonna stress yourself out crossing Bkk... (and maybe dealing with its traffic jams two days in a row). I’d have done it completely differently: From Kanchanaburi, a 55-min ride on bus 81 a/c¹ to Ban Pong (every 20 mins until ~7 PM). 10-min walk to Ban Pong train station (if you’re too lazy to walk, moto-taxis are available). Overnight train (several departures) to Surat Thani. Bus ride to Phang Nga (Tha Dan port) and the 1 PM boat to Koh Yao Noi.

In your opinion, how far in advance should we book the ferries?

Apart from the flight to Phuket, I don’t see any transport you need to book ahead of time in your itinerary. For the Phuket-Koh Yao Noi ferry, you can book the day before through your accommodation.

What’s the plan (if there is one) in Mueang Kan*?

* Mueang = "city", to specify you’re talking about the city itself and not the province it’s the capital of. In other words, for a Thai person, if you say Kanchanaburi without specifying "Mueang", they’ll assume you’re talking about the province (this applies to all provinces and their capitals). That said, they’re understanding with tourists. Kan is the local nickname commonly used for the city of Kanchanaburi.

Hello,

There’s so much to do in Thailand, and to really enjoy a stop, I think it’s best to stay at least 5 days.

Your itinerary seems very ambitious and not exactly relaxing—you’ll be rushing between each destination and spending as much time in transit as actually there. When you try to see everything, you end up enjoying nothing.

I’d recommend focusing on just 2 stops in 15 days instead. If chosen well, they’ll give you a great sense of the country and a fantastic holiday.

In my opinion, the ideal options would be: - Chiang Mai + an island (Koh Tao, Koh Samui, Koh Lanta) - Bangkok + Chiang Mai - Bangkok + an island

You can add a day trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok to round out your stay.

I usually advise against Phuket for anyone visiting Thailand—mass tourism, scams, tourist traps, and some of the travelers you’ll encounter there aren’t exactly the most refined, let’s say.

Songsam, thanks for the tip, but my husband doesn’t want to take the overnight bus. For this night in Bangkok, I booked a hotel near the airport. For Kanchanaburi, I’m still undecided: either we visit on our own, in which case we’re limited on time (we can only do the waterfall and the elephants), or we take a day trip from the hotel. We don’t want to drive.

I think Sacdeneya’s itinerary is doable, but you’ve got to realize that you’ll need some rest after this trip. :) Like I said, that’s just my take, but it’s what I’m up for. And make sure to pick good hotels for getting around within each leg of the trip.

thanks for the tip, but my husband doesn’t want to take the overnight bus

It’s an overnight train I was talking about in my reply

Ah, okay, I misread. Actually, I didn’t analyze this itinerary—oh well, our Bangkok-Phuket flight tickets aren’t refundable. For booking a ferry, I saw that you can reserve the transfer from Phuket Airport to Koh Yao Noi. What’s better: booking just the boat or the full transfer (taxi + boat)? What if there’s a flight delay?

Kanchanaburi: don’t go through an agency—they’ll have you running around all day and take you to one of the many elephant camps in the area that make the animals suffer to train them for activities that mindless mass tourism loves (playing soccer, balancing on a beam, etc.—an elephant wasn’t born for that). For something more ethical, this place is better: https://www.elephantsworld.org/

As for the waterfall, if you’re talking about Erawan, it’s really easy to get there by bus round-trip in a day. If it’s Sai Yok Noi, it’s not that great, but Sai Yok Yai has a gorgeous setting—though its remoteness means you’ll need to spend a night there to really enjoy it.

Phuket Airport to Koh Yao Noi transfer—I don’t know, I haven’t done it myself. But given Phuket’s super high tourist density, it’d be surprising if there weren’t plenty of options to do this straight from the airport without needing to book in advance. You shouldn’t worry about it.

Songsam, thanks. Actually, I was thinking of visiting Erawan Falls by bus, and I’ve already emailed Elephant World to book a half-day with them. But with this schedule, I can’t fit in the Death Railway (the most interesting section of the train route) since we only have 2 nights in Kanchanaburi. That’s why I thought about switching to a hotel excursion... Is it possible to visit both the falls and the interesting part of the railway in one day using public transport?

Hi,

I think the ideal options would be: - Chiang Mai + an island (Koh Tao, Koh Samui, Koh Lanta) - Bangkok + Chiang Mai - Bangkok + an island

I vote for the second option. Or alternatively: Take the overnight train to Chiang Mai on the day of arrival (the train is part of the plan), 4 nights in Chiang Mai, direct overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Kanchanaburi, 4 nights in Kanchanaburi, return to Bangkok by bus, Bangkok until the return flight.

We only have 2 nights in Kanchanaburi.

Earlier today at 2:08 PM, you had 3...

Can we visit both the waterfall and the interesting section of the railway in one day using public transport?

The interesting section is called the Death Railway, where Wang Po Viaduct or Tham Krasae Viaduct (three names for the same place) is located. It’s not possible to visit Erawan Falls and the viaduct in one day using public transport because you’d have to go back through Kan. However, it *is* possible to visit the viaduct and Sai Yok Noi in the same day, like this: - Take the ~6 AM train toward Namtok and get off at the Tham Krasae stop* - Walk or hitchhike the 5 km to Highway 323 (it’s uphill for about two-thirds of the way), - On Highway 323, wait for a bus or public minivan going left and get off at Sai Yok Noi. - Then on Highway 323, wait for a bus or minivan back to Kan—you’ll be back around 12–1 PM without rushing. Walking route from Tham Krasae to Highway 323: Head west on the road following the tracks, turn right at the first level crossing, then it’s straight until Highway 323 intersects.

Another option from Tham Krasae: Try negotiating with someone to drive you to Sai Yok Noi (it’s not far) for a small fee. I’ve never done this here, but it’s worth a shot—Thailand makes it easy to solve transport issues just by asking around (e.g., a food stall owner at Tham Krasae).

* The only public transport to the viaduct is the train.

Route between Tham Krasae and Highway 323:



Tham Krasae Viaduct (x2):

Songsam, thanks for all the tips. I think I’ll stick with my original plan: leave from Bangkok, half a day to visit the surrounding area by taxi (we’ll decide on the spot, depending on how tired we are), a full day for Erawan Waterfall, half a day for ElephantsWorld, and then head straight back to Bangkok after the elephants.

I tend to advise against Phuket for anyone heading to Thailand: mass tourism, scams and tourist traps, and some travelers who go there aren’t exactly the most refined, let’s say.

They call them the "French Arabics"; I came across that online. By the way, Phuket is now also not recommended... because of the traffic jams! 😅

I tend to advise against Phuket for anyone heading to Thailand: mass tourism, scams, tourist traps, and some travelers who go there aren’t exactly the most refined, let’s say.

They call them the "french arabics"; I came across that online. By the way, Phuket is now also advised against... because of traffic jams!

So yeah, I tested it: stuck at night in a traffic jam in front of IKEA isn’t exactly great, nor very exotic…

You should know Phuket is *super* crowded… thousands of Russians and just as many Indians, Patong is getting worse and worse… There are still some quiet beaches, but you’ve got to deal with the traffic.

You should know that Phuket is *very* crowded... thousands of Russians and just as many Indians. Patong is getting worse and worse...

Thanks, Phuket...

Yes, grouping... that works really well! 😊

Hello, thanks for your feedback. And sorry to everyone who replied—I didn’t get any notifications and thought no one had responded. Anyway, here’s my current plan: spend my arrival day in Bangkok, sleep there, then spend a second day before taking the overnight train to Chiang Mai. I’d stay there for two days, then head back to Bangkok to fly to Koh Tao for three days, followed by three days on Koh Samui, and finally return to Bangkok by plane to spend my last two days in the city or nearby.

There’s so much to do in Thailand, and to really enjoy a stop, I think it’s best to stay at least five days.

Your itinerary seems very ambitious and not exactly relaxing—you’ll be rushing between destinations and spending as much time in transit as actually there. When you try to see everything, you end up enjoying nothing.

I’d recommend focusing on just two stops in 15 days instead. If you choose them well, they’ll be more than enough to get a great feel for the country and have an amazing vacation.

Here are my ideal options: - Chiang Mai + one island (Koh Tao, Koh Samui, Koh Lanta) - Bangkok + Chiang Mai - Bangkok + one island

You could also add a day trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok to round out your stay.

I tend to advise against Phuket for anyone visiting Thailand—it’s mass tourism, scams, and tourist traps, and let’s just say some of the travelers you’ll meet there aren’t exactly the most refined.

We're really glad our answers were helpful!

Are you discovering it or is this a confirmation? 😏 😛