The best two-week route through Thailand, and why we build it this way
There is one two-week Thailand route that works better than the alternatives for most first visits, and we are going to argue for it properly rather than list it. It is Bangkok, the north, and one coast, in that order, with two internal flights and four hotel changes.
That is not an original answer. What matters is the reasoning, because the reasoning is what tells you when to deviate.
The shape, before the days
Two weeks in Thailand contains three good components and you can have all three: a city, a cultural region and a beach. What it does not contain is four components. Every additional region costs a domestic flight, and a domestic flight consumes five to seven hours of daylight once you count the transfer, the check-in window, the bags and the road or ferry at the far end.
So the route below has two flights, and it spends the days it saves on doing less.
Bangkok, 3 nights. Chiang Mai and the north, 4 nights. The Andaman coast, 6 nights. One night back in Bangkok or a direct flight out from the south.
Why Bangkok first, and why three nights
Bangkok goes first because of jet lag. If you are arriving from Europe or North America, your first day is largely gone, and it is better spent recovering in a city that rewards a slow morning than on a domestic connection to a beach.
Three nights, not one. This is the change we make most often to a client’s own draft and it is the one people thank us for. Bangkok wants: the old city early, before the heat and before the tour groups arrive at the Grand Palace; the river as transport rather than as a photograph, which means the public express boats; Chinatown after dark; and one neighbourhood that is not Sukhumvit. Three nights makes that a comfortable two full days plus the arrival afternoon.
We would take one guided day here, in the old city, and leave the rest independent.
Why the north second
Two reasons, one practical and one about pacing.
Practical: Bangkok to Chiang Mai is about 430 miles (690 km) and there is one form of transport in Thailand that is genuinely better than flying, which is the overnight sleeper on exactly this route. Around thirteen hours, clean second-class air-conditioned berths, a curtain, and breakfast as the train climbs into the north at dawn. It saves a hotel night and it is a real experience rather than a hardship. Book the lower bunks, which are wider.
Pacing: the north is the part of this trip with the most walking, the most temples and the most heat management. Doing it in the middle, while you still have energy, and finishing on a beach, is a better arc than the reverse. Nobody has ever complained that they ended a holiday lying down.
Four nights buys Chiang Mai’s old city, a market morning, a day in the mountains towards Doi Inthanon or Mae Rim, and a night outside the city in the hills or at Chiang Dao. The fourth night outside Chiang Mai is the one people cut and the one they should keep.
Why the coast last, and six nights
Six nights on one coast, not three nights on two.
Three nights on a beach is two days, because the arrival and departure days are transfer days. Six nights is four full days, which is enough to do one boat day, one diving or climbing day, one day of nothing at all and still have a day left for the weather to take.
Which coast depends entirely on your month, and this is the decision that determines whether the fortnight works. The Andaman side in the west is reliable from November to March. The Gulf side in the east works from roughly February to September and takes its heaviest rain in November. They are about 200 miles (320 km) apart and on opposite calendars. We set that out in full in Thailand’s two coasts have opposite seasons.
Our default within the Andaman coast is not Phuket. It is Krabi province or Koh Yao Noi, which give you the same limestone landscape with less of the built environment, and Koh Lanta if you want long shallow beaches and a slower pace.
The route, day by day
| Days | Where | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangkok | Arrive, recover, an early dinner in Chinatown |
| 2 | Bangkok | Old city guided in the morning, river boats in the afternoon |
| 3 | Bangkok | Independent. A market, Thonburi, a neighbourhood walk |
| 4 | Overnight train | Evening departure to Chiang Mai |
| 5 | Chiang Mai | Arrive at dawn, hotel, a slow first day and the old city temples |
| 6 | Chiang Mai | Market morning, cooking class or craft workshops at San Kamphaeng |
| 7 | The hills | Drive out, one observation-led elephant project or a proper walk |
| 8 | The hills | A night outside the city, a village walk, nothing scheduled |
| 9 | Fly south | Chiang Mai to Krabi direct, arrive early afternoon |
| 10 | Coast | Private long-tail day in Phang Nga bay or the Hong islands |
| 11 | Coast | Nothing scheduled |
| 12 | Coast | Diving, climbing at Railay, or a second island |
| 13 | Coast | Nothing scheduled |
| 14 | Fly home | Direct from Krabi or Phuket, or via Bangkok with a buffer |
That is four hotel changes over fourteen days, which is inside our working ratio of one move every two and a half days. Classic Thailand in 14 days is this route written out properly, with the drive times and the ferry departures.
The direct Chiang Mai to south flight is the trick
Most self-planned Thailand itineraries route back through Bangkok between the north and the beach, which costs a connection and often half a day. Direct flights run from Chiang Mai to Phuket, Krabi and Surat Thani, and using one saves you a full afternoon and a hotel night. It is the single most useful piece of routing knowledge in Thai domestic aviation and it is not obvious from a map.
Three variations we build often
If you are travelling between February and mid-April. Move the north earlier in the year or take it out. That window is the burning season, when agricultural and forest fires fill the northern valleys with smoke and Chiang Mai’s air quality is regularly among the worst of any city in the world. In March we would replace the four northern nights with Sukhothai and Kanchanaburi, or with more coast.
If you are travelling between May and October. Swap the Andaman coast for the Gulf. Same route, same length, same budget, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan instead of Krabi. This reshuffle costs nothing and it is the most valuable change we make to a Thailand file.
If you want rainforest rather than a second beach. Replace two coastal nights with Khao Sok and Cheow Lan lake, on a floating raft house with no road access. Northern hills and Khao Sok, 14 days is that version, and it is our own favourite of the eight.
The alternatives, named honestly
Bangkok, Gulf, Andaman. Both coasts in a fortnight. It works in February, March and April when both are functioning, and outside those months you are deliberately spending days on a coast in its wrong season. It also adds a flight. We would usually talk you out of it.
Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, coast. The full historical route. It is a genuinely good trip for a second visit or for anyone who cares about the ruins, and it is too many moves for a first two weeks unless you drop the beach to four nights.
Thailand and Laos. Cross the northern border and spend two days down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. This is our favourite two-country pairing and it fits fourteen days if you accept a shorter beach or none at all. See Thailand and Laos, 14 days.
Thailand and Cambodia. Angkor adds five days and a flight. Better at eighteen days than at fourteen.
Plan this trip
Send us your dates and we will tell you which version of this route your month actually supports, and where we would spend the extra night. Free first proposal, no obligation.
Keep reading
- Thailand: the complete guide to planning your trip
- How many days do you need in Thailand?
- Thailand’s two coasts have opposite seasons
- Classic Thailand in 14 days
- Northern hills and Khao Sok, 14 days
- All our Thailand trips
Frequently asked questions
Should we finish in Bangkok or fly out from the south?
Is the overnight train really better than flying?
Can we do this route in twelve days?
Which island would you choose on the Andaman coast?
How far ahead should we book this?
Plan a trip to Thailand has two coasts, and they have opposite seasons All Thailand has two coasts, and they have opposite seasons trips
