Classic Thailand in 14 days: Bangkok, the north and the Andaman coast
The first-visit route, and the one we build more often than all the others combined. Three places in fourteen days: the capital, the north, and one island group. Three hotel changes, one overnight train, one internal flight, and five nights at the end where the only decision is which beach.
- Duration
- 14 days
- Pace
- Moderate
- Hotel changes
- 3
- Best months
- Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar
- From
- $2,380 per person
We run this route on the Andaman coast, which means it belongs in the months from November to March. If your dates fall in the middle of the year we flip the ending to the Gulf and send you to Koh Samui or Koh Phangan instead, because those islands have the opposite season. Same trip, different sea.
Who it suits: first-time visitors to Thailand and to Asia, couples and independent travellers who want the country done properly rather than ticked off.
Day by day
Day 1: Arrive in Bangkok. Private transfer from Suvarnabhumi, which is 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on traffic. A hotel by the river rather than in the shopping district, so the boats are your transport from the first morning. Nothing scheduled beyond dinner within walking distance.
Day 2: Bangkok, the old city. Out at eight, while it is bearable. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew first, because by ten there is a queue at the gate and no shade in the courtyards. Shoulders and knees covered, which is enforced. Then Wat Pho and its reclining Buddha, a river crossing to Wat Arun, and lunch out of the heat. The afternoon is free. Chinatown in the evening on foot, eating as you go.
Day 3: Bangkok, the other city. A longtail boat through the Thonburi canals in the morning, where Bangkok is still houses on stilts and monitor lizards, then the flower market. Afternoon free for Jim Thompson’s house, a rooftop, or a massage that will hurt more than you expect. Chatuchak market if it is a weekend, because it only runs on weekends.
Day 4: Ayutthaya, then the night train. North by road after breakfast to the former capital, 50 miles (80 km) away, for the brick temples of a city sacked in 1767. We use a guide here, because without one it is a field of ruins. Back to Bangkok in the late afternoon, dinner near the station, and the overnight sleeper to Chiang Mai. Second-class air-conditioned lower berths, curtains, clean sheets, and about 13 hours. It is comfortable and it saves you a hotel night and a day. If you would rather not, we replace it with a morning flight on day 5 and add a Bangkok night.
Day 5: Arrive Chiang Mai. In around dawn, with breakfast as the train climbs. Check in, sleep if you need it, and spend the afternoon walking the old walled city, which is small enough to cross in twenty minutes. Sunday walking street if the day lands right.
Day 6: Chiang Mai, temples and food. A guided morning through the old city temples and the market at Warorot, then a cooking session that starts by buying the ingredients. Late afternoon up to Doi Suthep, the temple on the mountain above the city, when the light is good and the coach groups have gone.
Day 7: The elephant day. A full day at an observation-led project outside the city. You walk with a herd at a distance, you carry their food, you watch them behave like elephants, and you do not ride, wash or perform with them. We name the exact project in your proposal so you can check it before you agree. This is the day people write to us about afterwards.
Day 8: Chiang Mai, your choice. Three options in your document and you pick on the day: Doi Inthanon national park for the waterfalls and the highest point in Thailand, a day out to Chiang Rai for the white temple, or a craft day in San Kamphaeng with a lacquer and silversmith workshop. Or nothing, which is a real option after a week.
Day 9: Chiang Mai to Krabi. A direct flight south, around two hours, so the day is not lost changing planes in Bangkok. Then an hour by road to Ao Nang or forty minutes to the pier and a longtail to Railay, depending on which hotel we have chosen with you. In the water by four o’clock.
Day 10: Krabi, the water. A private longtail through the Hong islands: sea caves, a lagoon you enter through a gap in the rock, and two beaches. Private rather than shared, and we start at eight, which changes the day completely. Back by early afternoon.
Day 11: Free. Nothing scheduled. Kayaking through the mangroves at Ao Thalane, rock climbing at Railay if you have never done it, or a book and a beach.
Day 12: Free. As above. If you want Phi Phi, this is the day for it, and we will book a small boat that leaves at seven so you see Maya Bay before the fleet arrives. Be clear that you cannot swim in the bay, that numbers are capped and that it is still busy. We think one early morning is worth it and a night there is not.
Day 13: Free, or the quiet island. Most people stay put. If you would rather move, this is where we add a night on Koh Yao Noi, which is 45 minutes by boat and a different pace entirely.
Day 14: Departure. Morning flight from Krabi to Bangkok and your connection home, or a late release and an evening flight if your schedule allows.
What is included
Accommodation with breakfast throughout, the overnight train in reserved second-class air-conditioned lower berths, the Chiang Mai to Krabi flight with a real baggage allowance, a private air-conditioned car with English-speaking driver on every transfer day, licensed local guides on four days, the Ayutthaya, Bangkok and Chiang Mai entrance fees on guided days, the cooking session, the full-day elephant project, the private Hong islands longtail, a day-by-day document with drive times, train and flight numbers, and a WhatsApp group with your consultant and our representatives in Thailand for the whole trip.
What we would change, and when
- Travelling between May and October? The Andaman coast is in the monsoon. We keep days 1 to 8 exactly as they are and finish on the Gulf instead, flying Chiang Mai to Koh Samui, which is dry when Krabi is not.
- Travelling in March? We would move the north out of the trip. The burning season fills the Chiang Mai valley with smoke and the mountain views are gone. Sukhothai and Kanchanaburi replace it and we keep the beach.
- Short on time? Twelve days works: cut one Bangkok day and one free beach day. We would not cut the elephant day or the second Chiang Mai night.
- Want more depth? Add three days for Khao Sok between the north and the coast. It is the single best addition to this route.
Honest notes
Day 4 is long: a morning of ruins in the heat, a drive back into Bangkok traffic and a train at night. It buys you a full extra day in Chiang Mai and we think that is the right trade, but if you would rather not do it, say so and we will fly you.
Bangkok is hotter, louder and more spread out than most first-time visitors expect, and the first 24 hours can feel like a lot. That is why day 1 has nothing in it and day 2 starts early and finishes at lunchtime.
Two weeks does not carry both coasts. People ask us for Chiang Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui in fourteen days, and the answer is that the two island groups have opposite seasons, so one of them will be wet. We would rather give you five nights on the right coast than two nights on each of the wrong ones.
Built by Osnat Angerman, our Southeast Asia specialist, and checked by our partner team in Bangkok before it goes out.
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