Thailand - My 1 Month Itinerary. Help & Suggestions Please

Gazza22

Hi,

This is hopefully the first of many trips for us to SE Asia.

We're arriving in Bangkok the first week of June. This is a provisional Itinerary we have drafted. It would be much apprecited if any boardsies could give us some tips or maybe tell us if it need improving to get the best out of our time here.

Day 1 - Arrive BKK in the late evening. Taking transfer direct to Ayutthaya. Unpack and chill after 14 hours of flying!

Day 2 - Full day to visit sites of Ayutthaya.

Day 3 - Take early morning train north to Lopburi. Spend approx 5 hours there to see the town and jump back on north train to Phitsanulok . Arrive in Phitsanulok approx. 8:45 and take bus transfer to Sukhothai . Settle into Sukhothai accomodation.

Day 4 - Full day to visit sites of Sukhothai

Day 5 - 3/4 day in Sukhothai. We want to depart for Chiang Mai late that evening by taking the late train from Phitsanulok.

Day 6 - Arrive in Chiang Mai early morning. Full day Chiang Mai. Cooking class/flight of the gibbon planned.

Day 7 - Full Day Chiang Mai. Possibly Patara Elephant Farm.

Day 8 - Travel to Chiang Rai early morning and organise trekking (we will ideally have this organised before we arrive in Thailand) Explore sights of Chiang Rai

Day 9 - Trekking/overnight

Day 10 - Trekking/overnight

Day 11 - Arrive back in Chiang Rai from Trekking in afternoon. Travel back to Chiang Mai. Spend the rest of the day exploring Chiang Mai without planned activities.

Day 12 - Another free day in Chiang Mai but we'd like to ideally spend this day doing a short day trip elsewhere. Late night flight to Phuket from Chiang Mai. Arrive phuket. Check into accomodation.

Day 13 - Full day Phuket. Nothing planned so far.

Day 14 - Full day Phuket. Phang Nga Bay full day tour.

Day 15 - Early morning transfer to Phi Phi island. Check into accomodation and chill.

Day 16 - Phi Phi

Day 17 - Phi Phi. Maya Bay Camping in the evening.

Day 18 - Back track to Phuket in the late afternoon and take flight to Koh Samui. Crash in Samui for the night.

Day 19 - Transfer to Koh Phangan. Arrive at accomodation early afternoon. Booked

Day 20 - Koh Phangan

Day 21 - Koh Phangan. June full moon party!

Day 22 - Koh Phangan

Day 23 - Transfer back to Koh Samui. Check into accomodation. Booked.

Day 24 - Koh Samui

Day 25 - Koh Samui

Day 26 - Koh Samui

Day 27 - FREE

Day 28 - FREE

Day 29 - FREE

Day 30 - FREE. Late night flight from BKK home.


So that's it! What do you think? Days 27 - 30 are provisionally free as were hoping to spend that time in Bangkok. We're hoping everybody will be at peace by then. If not we don't know what to do with those days. Perhaps Kanchanaburi and surrounding areas??? Any ideas?

We do have a lot of activities planned, i only mentioned a few here and there.

This post is quite long but any replies would be really really appreciated. Thank you

yourdeadwright

Hey man,
Done a simialr trip two years back,

First off your i think u should try squeeze a rest day in between traveling up to chang mai, When you first hit thailand the heat and treks and travelling will take its tole , trust me u'll get nackered a lot quicker than here,
Also id strongly recommened ,you try hit Kao Tao its the next island after Koh Phangan, its amazingly beautiful and quite plus the day snorkelling off a boat that goes around the island is a must, one of the highlights of thailand if you get a sunny day,you swim with black tip reef sharks and so on,

Anyway enjoy ull have the time off your life,

Gazza22

Hey thanks for that! I think you're right just looking back at the plan there...there isn't much rest time at all. It's just go go go

Yeah i might try Koh Tao at the end of the trip as we're considering doing a PADI course while in Thailand. Did you go anywhere else up north apart from the places i mentioned? Is Sukhothai worth going to if we are already visiting Ayutthaya as i have read it's fairly out of the way.

PWEI

Gazza22 wrote: »

Hi,


Day 17 - Phi Phi. Maya Bay Camping in the evening.

Overnight stays on Phi Phi Ley (Maya Bay) are actually forbidden.
You would have difficulty getting to Maya Bay in June anyway. Normally you can only visit Maya Bay from November to April as large waves make the entrance dangerous for boats during the other months of the year.
I was on Phi Phi Don ten years ago in June or July and hired a bout to Phi Phi Ley.The boat made it to the island but was unable to get to Maya Bay as the waves coming from the South were too high.

Gazza22

PWEI wrote: »

Overnight stays on Phi Phi Ley (Maya Bay) are actually forbidden.
You would have difficulty getting to Maya Bay in June anyway. Normally you can only visit Maya Bay from November to April as large waves make the entrance dangerous for boats during the other months of the year.
I was on Phi Phi Don ten years ago in June or July and hired a bout to Phi Phi Ley.The boat made it to the island but was unable to get to Maya Bay as the waves coming from the South were too high.

No not anymore. It was once rampant and was banned. It is now strictly regulated and only one operator has the rights to camp in the evening on the island with strict litter/eco conditions attached. See here

Thanks for the info on the tides, i'm going to be careful everywhere on the Andaman coast as i've heard the seas can be rough alright. The operator of the Maya Bay Camping said they've only ever had to cancel 3 times though over the past 2 years due to the seas so fingers crossed!

PWEI

That doesn't surprises me. I'd say there was quite a few backhanders handed out before that operator got permission. I've also just read that they are charging an entry fee on to the island now and there are plans to build bungalows. Typical Thailand,money talks.

mconigol

was over there in feb/march...went on an organised tour type thingy though...which was a really bad idea next time i'll go it alone...anyway
that's besides the point!

seems like a really busy schedule...lots of traveling which is one of the things that i was sorry about the most, we seemed to be traveling all the time so when we got somewhere new we usually spent the first day sleeping or hanging around the accomodation too tired to do very much...my advice would be to do less places and stay longer in the places you do go...all you want to do in thailand is chill and it's really annoying moving around all the time!...saying that some places are only worth spending a day or two in tho!

Ayutthaya - Only spent half a day here on our way to Chaing Mai which to be honest was enough for me. Didn't go sight seeing though, it's pretty much just temple ruins which i'd allready seen plenty of in other places, we had day rooms in a crappy guesthouse, it had a pool though so I spent my time there :cool:. Watch out for all the stray rabies infected dogs...seriously!

Personally we went to Kanchanaburi for 2 days after leaving bangkok and went to Erawan Falls in the National Park which was one of the highlights for me...amazingly beautiful waterfalls that you could swim in, ayutthaya can't compare....

Chaing Mai - Great. Loads to do. Tiger sanctuary, snake farm, shooting range etc...went to a thai boxing match in the "stadium" which was cool. Flight of the Gibbon seems to be the thing to do but I never got a chance unfortunately...looks like fun though. The people that did the cooking class weren't that impressed...bit of a tourist gimmick I think. Some nice temples. On Sunday's there is a fantastic market, where they close off Ratchadamnoen rd. in the center of the city from 4pm, there's loads of art and craftwork for sale as well as entertainment and food, it's definitely really worth checking out...not the usual tat that's for sale in the night markets!

We did the hill tribe trek from Chaing Mai which was amazing...did the elephant riding before hand and then started our trek from just down the road...pack light! Just a note on organinsing stuff before hand (although i'm no expert since my whole trip was organised!)...but there's loads of little tour operators that will arrange trips like treking etc...can haggle prices with them to get a good deal, they're literally everywhere!

Chaing Rai - Spent a few days here....wasn't that impressed, probably there the wrong time of the year as it seemed like it could be good but there wasn't much happening for us...also there was just so much air pollution that everyone just wanted to go...I think that was due to fires though which are lit around that time of year...heard it's much better in summer.

The islands - didn't spend too much time on the islands unfortunately and the weather kinda turned bad not long after we arrived, 2 days on ko samui and 3 days on ko tao, loads of cool beach bars & parties, great to just chill and take it easy, i'm not a diver but if that's your thing then ko tao seems to be the place to go, it's much smaller than samui and there's loads of dive schools. If I were to go back I'd spend a lot longer on the islands especially after doing the north which takes it out of you.

If you get a chance to go to bangkok (and its safe) then do...i really liked it although others didn't...khao san road is the backpacker area, i stayed near here for one night...loads going on, i also stayed in a hostel on the other side of the city, Sukhumvit for two nights too, which was great.

Anyway have a good trip...remember 7-eleven is your friend and be wary of the many scams! Also haggle for everything, knock at least 70% off prices in the markets :cool:

Gazza22

Thanks for the feedback mconigol, some good info there for us to take on board! Yeah we have a busy enough trip planned alright, mainly up north though so we'll relax on the islands!

We're doing a lot of our travel with internal flights aswel so it will minimise our transit times. Was this the shooting range you visited in Chiang Mai by the way? http://www.asiatradingonline.com/shooting.htm

Lollymcd

mconigol wrote: »

seems like a really busy schedule...lots of traveling which is one of the things that i was sorry about the most, we seemed to be traveling all the time so when we got somewhere new we usually spent the first day sleeping or hanging around the accomodation too tired to do very much...my advice would be to do less places and stay longer in the places you do go...all you want to do in thailand is chill and it's really annoying moving around all the time!...saying that some places are only worth spending a day or two in tho!

Can't underestimate how much I agree. I felt lured into switching off and relaxing at every turn and my schedule was nowhere as busy as yours!!!

Not sure if I mentioned this before (made so many comments on so many pages I lose track!) if your budget allows stay in a really nice hotel in Bangkok on your final night, it really finishes the holiday off in style! We have stayed in both the Oriental and the Shangri La and can recommend both. The Shangri La does a great all inclusive deal in its Krungthep Wing. You get breakfast, evening tea, cocktails and canapés (this was our dinner and very substantial at that!!) included in the price you pay. Lots of other extra's too which I can't remember. WELL WORTH IT!

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/bangkok/shangrila/rooms/aboutthekrungthepwing

Just worth nothing that both of these hotels are near but not very close to the area which where the riots/troubles where and was subjected to a curfew of 9pm. Check before you book if it is still in place!

Good luck!

Pepe LeFrits

Lengthen your stay in Phi Phi, reduce or even leave out Koh Samui and avoid Phuket altogether would be my advice. I'd echo the guys who say all you'll want to do is chill... my mates and I planned to stay in Phi Phi for three or four days, we got a nice (if pricey, for the Thai islands) place to stay on the beach and stayed for 10. Similarly we got a dirt cheap but idyllic place on the beach on Koh Phangan at the end of the holiday and I seriously contemplated passing on my flight home.

If you're in Koh Phangan for a while I'd suggest heading up to Koh Tao too, it's a cool spot and it isn't far. Just er, watch the weather. We got on the fast boat during some choppy weather last year and it was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life.

Oh, and don't bring any valuables, and if you have to, keep them on you at all times. There's rampant pick-pocketing of drunk tourists and we even had our phones and such stolen from our bags when we put them underneath a tour bus - they had guys hidden underneath and went through them en route to the port, would you believe!

jimmay

Lollymcd wrote: »

Can't underestimate how much I agree. I felt lured into switching off and relaxing at every turn and my schedule was nowhere as busy as yours!!!

Not sure if I mentioned this before (made so many comments on so many pages I lose track!) if your budget allows stay in a really nice hotel in Bangkok on your final night, it really finishes the holiday off in style! We have stayed in both the Oriental and the Shangri La and can recommend both. The Shangri La does a great all inclusive deal in its Krungthep Wing. You get breakfast, evening tea, cocktails and canapés (this was our dinner and very substantial at that!!) included in the price you pay. Lots of other extra's too which I can't remember. WELL WORTH IT!

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/bangkok/shangrila/rooms/aboutthekrungthepwing

Just worth nothing that both of these hotels are near but not very close to the area which where the riots/troubles where and was subjected to a curfew of 9pm. Check before you book if it is still in place!

Good luck!

€216 per night? Is this close to how much you paid? Seems expensive to me.

mconigol

We're doing a lot of our travel with internal flights aswel so it will minimise our transit times. Was this the shooting range you visited in Chiang Mai by the way? http://www.asiatradingonline.com/shooting.htm

never got to the shooting range sorry...drove past it when we were out at the tiger sanctuary...there's a few of them from what i remember though

Lollymcd

jimmay wrote: »

€216 per night? Is this close to how much you paid? Seems expensive to me.

I think we paid about €200. I never said it was for nothing!!! Where else in the world can you stay in a 5* hotel with breakfast, afternoon tea, evening canapés and unlimited cocktails/alcoholic beverages for two hours included in the cost of the room? Certain things from the mini bar where free too, not to mention the chocolates and little cakes, fruit, flowers, ironing and the services of the butler!

As I said, it's a treat and well worth it if you can afford it, the perfect way to end your trip to Thailand IMO.

NJo where but Thailand would you get such an amazing offer for a 5*. It nearly costs the same to stay in Jury's Inn in Dublin on certain nights!!!

Naid23

Unlimited Cocktails for 2 hours... Mmmm that sounds like a challenge Id be willing to Accept.