Thailand has two coasts, and they have opposite seasons
Thailand is the easiest country in Southeast Asia to travel and one of the easiest to book badly. The reason is a single fact most itineraries skate over: the Andaman coast in the west and the Gulf coast in the east have opposite wet seasons. Book Phuket in July, or Koh Samui in November, and you ha
Plan my Thailand trip Read the complete guide
- Best time to go
- Nov to Mar, Andaman. Feb to Sep, Gulf
- How many days
- 12 to 16
- Entry
- Visa exemption on arrival, commonly 60 days
- Getting around
- Flights, private car, one good train
Every Thailand trip we build is written from scratch by a named person: Osnat Angerman or Paz Prosianoy, our Southeast and Central Asia specialists, with Mai Est, our Head of Consulting.
Why plan Thailand with us
A long-standing local partner, and we will be straight about that. Our own offices are in Japan, Vietnam, India and the Philippines. Thailand is not one of them. We run it through a Thai partner we have worked with for years, whose staff meet you, drive you and answer the phone at two in the morning. We would rather name who is on the ground than imply an office we do not have.
A named specialist, not a queue. One person owns your file from the first email until you are home.
The first proposal is free and it is not a template. The actual hotels, the actual flights, and the reasoning behind the order of the days.
A WhatsApp group while you travel. Opened the day you fly, with your consultant and our representatives in Thailand. Our rating is 4.9 from 93 reviews.
We say no to things. No elephant riding, no shows, no tiger attractions, no villages sold as photo stops.
The short answers
| Question | Short answer | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Best time to go | Nov to Mar, Andaman. Feb to Sep, Gulf | No month suits both coasts. Your dates choose your beach. |
| How many days | 12 to 16 | Ten days is Bangkok, one region, one island group. Three weeks reaches Khao Sok. |
| Entry | Visa exemption on arrival, commonly 60 days | Guidance for most Western passports. We confirm yours before quoting. |
| Getting around | Flights, private car, one good train | Bangkok to Chiang Mai is about 430 miles (690 km). |
| Typical budget | $100 to $520 per person per day | Land only. Where you sleep decides the total. |
The full breakdown is in our complete guide →
Eight ways to travel Thailand
Every route below is one we build, published day by day. Start from one and we rebuild it around you.
- Classic Thailand in 14 days: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, the Andaman coast
- Thailand with children, 12 days: three hotel changes, five beach nights
- Northern hills and Khao Sok, 14 days: a real trek, a rainforest lake
- Romantic Thailand, 11 days: three hotels and a quiet bay
- Food and culture, 13 days: four regional kitchens
- Boutique Thailand, 12 days: the hotels worth their rate
- Thailand and Laos, 14 days: two days down the Mekong
- Deep Thailand, 21 days: what a third week reaches
Thailand in the magazine
What two weeks in Thailand really costs · Andaman or Gulf: which coast, which month · Elephants in Thailand, honestly · Is Phi Phi still worth a day? · Chiang Mai’s burning season · What to eat in Bangkok · Which Thai island suits you
Thailand itineraries
Every one of these is a starting point, not a fixed departure. We change the length, the pace and the hotels to fit you.
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,…
Thailand with children: 12 days that work for everyone
Thailand is one of the easiest countries in Asia to travel with children. Thai people are genuinely warm towards them, the food is mild…
Northern hills and Khao Sok: 14 days walking Thailand
Thailand is not thought of as a walking country, which is why the walking is so quiet. This route puts two nights in the…
Romantic Thailand in 11 days: three places, three hotel changes
Honeymoons get ruined by ambition. Eleven days is enough for three places if you choose three good ones and stay long enough to unpack,…
Food and culture in Thailand: 13 days, four kitchens
Thai food is not one cuisine. It is four, and they disagree with each other. The centre gives you the dishes that travelled abroad.…
Boutique Thailand in 12 days: four hotels, no fillers
Thailand has more good hotels than any country in Asia and a great many expensive ones that are not good. The gap is mostly…
Thailand and Laos in 14 days: north to the Mekong
Most second Thailand trips add another island. This one adds a country, and it does it by land, which is the part that makes…
Deep Thailand in 21 days: the country a third week reaches
Two weeks in Thailand gives you Bangkok, the north and a beach. The third week is where the country stops being a highlights route:…
What is in every Thailand trip we build
- A day-by-day document with drive times, ferry departures and flight numbers
- Hotels chosen by beach and neighbourhood, with the trade-offs written down
- A private air-conditioned car and English-speaking driver on transfer days
- Licensed guides where context changes what you see, independent days where it does not
- Our partner team on WhatsApp throughout, and a weather plan for the days most likely to move
Planning Thailand, in detail
What we would skip in Thailand, and what we book instead
This article costs us bookings and we write it anyway, because the alternative is selling you a day you will resent.
What to eat in Thailand, and where
The first thing to understand about what to eat in Thailand is that Thai food is not one cuisine. It is at…
How much does two weeks in Thailand really cost?
The cost of two weeks in Thailand has a wider range than almost any country we work in. The same fortnight, the…
Thailand for the first time: what surprises people, and what we would change
Thailand is the easiest country in Southeast Asia to travel in and one of the easiest to book badly. First-time visitors rarely…
Thailand’s two coasts have opposite seasons. Here is how to plan around it
Almost every difficult conversation we have about Thailand comes down to one fact that nobody puts on the front page of a…
Thailand with children: what works, what does not, and what we change
Thailand is the country we recommend most often to families travelling in Asia for the first time, and the reason is not…
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a visa for Thailand?
Which coast should we choose?
Is Phi Phi worth it?
Can we ride an elephant?
Is two weeks enough for the whole country?
Can we combine Thailand with another country?
Tell us roughly what you want. We will tell you honestly what works.
A named consultant in Tel Aviv, our own people on the ground, and a written plan you can argue with before you commit to anything.