Thailand - Our Three Week Itinerary
An overview of our 3 weeks in Bangkok, Krabi (Railay), Koh Lanta, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Pai
Setting off from Vietnam on April 24th, we headed to Bangkok to begin our three-week journey through Thailand. We have decided to condense our three-week adventure into one succinct post as many Thailand travel blogs and itineraries share very similar experiences and places, considering it has to be one of the most trodden paths for the average backpacker today. In our case, we spent most of our time in air conditioning or relaxing on beaches, but we’ll share our best bits and recommendations below with a collage of photos to pair.
The Highlight Reel
Bangkok
Bangkok was HOT! The humidity was close to 40 degrees most days, which Andy described as ‘like breathing in hot soup’. This meant it was challenging to sightsee during the day, and even the nighttime temperatures were relentless.
We did have an excellent tuk-tuk tour through Airbnb, which we recommend, as it was a quick, 2-hour tour of the main attractions in the central city where we got to chat with a tour guide and also jump out at some spots to walk around and hear some interesting facts. Another day, we took the water taxis down the Chao Phraya River, which was easy enough to do from one of the piers, and it took us to the ICONSIAM shopping mall, which had great street-not-on-the-street food on the lower floor market. A highlight of our trip was visiting the Rajadamnern Stadium to watch a Saturday night Muay Thai fight. With the courage of free beer, the lively crowd cheered on their favourite fighters, although not for the faint-hearted, as many fights ended in a knockout or some quite brutal injuries.
Other highlights from our trip were the Chatuchak Weekend Market and Chinatown (at night), where we ate lots of delicious street food and enjoyed a cocktail at a hidden speakeasy bar.
However, there are many Bangkok travel blogs out there that we think would be more helpful if you are looking for a few-day itinerary. We can, however, give great recommendations on the best air-conditioned shopping mall!
Recommendations:
Stay within the city's centre, near the main attractions, or close enough to the river so you can use the water taxis. If not, you MUST be near a BTS or metro station as the traffic is too bad to use taxis, even if these aren’t very expensive. For this reason, we would not recommend our hotel near CentralWorld Mall.
We advise visiting not during their peak summer as we missed out on several attractions simply because we could not walk around for long and usually took refuge within air-conditioned shopping malls instead. This being said, the shopping malls were all incredible.
Railay
We absolutely loved our time in Railay. A small peninsula between Ao Nang and Krabi, Railay is only accessible by boat due to the high limestone cliffs. It is perfect for anyone searching for a quiet getaway in a tiny town; you can walk from East to West in about 10 minutes. If you want something more lively with nightlife, I recommend staying in Ao Nang or elsewhere in Krabi.
We stayed at Railay Phutawan Resort, which we definitely recommend. It was a small walk away from walking street, with your path up the small hill inhabited by local monkeys swinging around, which made the resort quiet and peaceful with beautiful views from their swimming pool and pool bar.
We didn’t do much in Railay, as you’re there for the classic, picturesque Thai beach experience. We did book the ‘Four Island Tour’ around Koh Phi Phi as we wanted to see the island. The tour was a great way to quickly see the other islands nearby, although it was more touristy, and some islands we visited were horrendously busy, with sometimes one single path in and out of the dock. I would pay extra for a private or quieter tailboat if possible. We did some great snorkelling and saw many typical coral fish like Nemo & Dory (not jellyfish, luckily). One day, we ventured to Phra Nang Beach, where we enjoyed relaxing on the sandy beaches, but we had to avoid the water because it was also jellyfish season! We accidentally got caught on an isolated section of the beach during high tide and enjoyed having to wade through the water after the tide came in to return to our hotel whilst avoiding the humungous jellyfish around our feet.
Railay is a perfect location if you are looking for a quiet few days to read your book and enjoy the beach. The restaurants are nothing to write about, but enjoying a cold beer on the beach at sunset was the most beautiful view we have seen on our whole travels! If you stay elsewhere, take the time to visit; it is only a 20-minute boat ride across.
Recommendations:
You must get a long-tail boat from Ao Nang Pier or Ao Nam Mao to reach Railay. It doesn’t make a huge difference which one you arrive on, so choose the one closer to your departure location. Ao Nam Mao was more accessible, as we got a taxi from Krabi Airport.
Wildlife in Railay: The monkeys were completely harmless, but we always kept our belongings tucked away when we walked past them. Mosquito spray is essential. Watch out for jellyfish season, which meant we couldn't enter the sea.
Koh Lanta
We decided to head to Koh Lanta as we were both keen to gain our PADI for scuba diving. We were recommended Koh Lanta as an island with great diving centres that are less crowded than places like Koh Tao. We got a minibus as the low season meant many boats were not running. This took a little longer than we wanted, around 4 hours, but it was a relief that we could still complete our journey without hiring a private taxi.
In the end, we found a fantastic dive school called Andaman Dive Adventures, where we spent three days learning to Scuba Dive and had the opportunity for four open-water dives, too. This has been one of our favourite things we have done during our travels! Our instructors were fantastic and spoke excellent English, and we completed our training with another German duo, whom we ended up meeting for drinks at the end of our Koh Lanta trip.
In Koh Lanta we treated ourselves to a stay at Twin Lotus Resort after being recommended by a friend. The resort was paradise! An incredible buffet breakfast every morning, three swimming pools, and located right on the beach. As it was low season, Koh Lanta was another tranquil island and many of the bars and restaurants were in the last week of business before shutting down for a few months. We arrived at the perfect time to enjoy quieter bars and restaurants with few crowds. It would have been nice to have some lively bars during some evenings but we made the most of the privacy as we knew it would get busier as we headed North.
One day, we rented a scooter and spent the day exploring the island. We drove across to the Old Town, where we enjoyed lunch on their pier, and also down to the South of the island to check out ‘Why Not Bar’, which turns out was also very quiet at this time of year. I would definitely recommend renting a scooter and enjoying more of the island for the day.
Recommendations:
The best mojitos and food at Majestic Bar, Khlong Dao Beach.
Andaman Dive Adventures was a great centre where we learned to dive. Although the course cost us around £300 each, we felt the higher price matched the quality of the training we received with it feeling closer to completely personal, private training.
In low season, it can be too quiet, and many bars and restaurants are closed. On our last day, we also experienced the very beginning of the rainy season, and it would be difficult to enjoy your stay to the fullest during this time, so check carefully what the weather will be like when you are going. The beginning of May was touch and go!
Phuket
Phuket was not our first choice of destination, as we had heard it has become very overcrowded in recent years. We decided to stay here as it was a more straightforward journey from Koh Lanta, and Andy also needed to visit a hospital (for routine blood tests).
First of all, a word of warning for the speedboat journey. Oh my goodness! As we boarded our boat, the heavens opened, and rain poured along with thunder and lightning. Nevertheless, the journey continued, and we endured 1.5 hours of thunder, lightning, rain, and crashing waves. Thankfully we both took sickness tablets before the trip (essential), but to say we were soaked was an understatement. We arrived in Phuket very wet!
We stayed in a cheap and cheerful hotel called ‘The Tint’, which had a small pool and was walkable to the main streets of the Old Town. We enjoyed strolling around, searching for postcards in the picturesque buildings, and treating ourselves to a lazy cinema night at the Central Phuket Mall (we watched 'The Fall Guy’, which was pretty good, 7/10).
We enjoyed our short whistle-stop tour around Phuket. We can’t say much about the touristy beach sides, but the old town is definitely worth a short visit if you are staying nearby. Despite the sheer amount of tourism the area receives, it has maintained its personality and character in the shops and cafes.
Recommendations:
Staying near the old town means you are close to the port when coming from islands like Koh Lanta. Our taxi ride was a very quick 10 minutes. However, the airport is very far North, far away from both the beaches and the old town
If you need a hospital for whatever reason, it just so happens that we needed one and found Bangkok Hospital Phuket (confusing name) provided great service for foreigners, with all prices very transparent.
Chiang Mai
We loved our time in Chaing Mai and only wish the temperature was cooler so we could have enjoyed it more! Firstly, the airport is incredibly close to the centre, and our taxi only took around 20 minutes. We LOVED our hotel, too, which I found on a boutique website but got cheaper by booking directly with the hotel. Booking directly also meant we got a room upgrade and a glass of champagne on arrival! The hotel was called Hotel Ping Silhouette and cost just £40 a night with breakfast. They also have a great rooftop pool, which was well-needed when pitstopping back at the hotel during the hottest parts of the day.
We enjoyed walking around and visiting the temples on our first full day. The temples were beautiful and many were free to enter. Remember to cover up, especially if you are a woman. We stopped between temples at coffee shops/ bakeries, our favourite being the ‘Fern Forest Cafe’, a little pricier but well worth it for the beautiful garden you can sit in and enjoy your iced coffee. We even tried our first iced orange coffee here… delicious!
Our favourite day was our trip to the ‘Elephant Nature Park’ (ENP). I extensively researched to find a sanctuary that felt the most ethical. ENP is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation centre providing a caring home for over 100 elephants. Many of the elephants living in the sanctuary of ENP have been rescued by the Save Elephant Foundation from street begging, elephant riding, and circus shows, where they often sustained both physical and psychological injuries. We chose to do the full-day tour, where we visited both of their locations, including the Skywalk, where we got up close to many different elephants displaying natural behaviours. One interesting note about this sanctuary is that they no longer allow you to bathe with the elephants, but we really don’t think this is needed, and it makes sense that humans do not interact with them during this time. We 100% recommend this trip, either a whole or half day! It was a special experience walking through the large reserve with huge elephants all around you, eating, swimming and washing. The tour will also pick you up from your hotel, making it an easy day for you to enjoy.
One evening we took a class at ‘Zabb E Lee Thai Cooking School’, one of many cooking classes you can do in Chiang Mai. I love cooking classes and had been waiting to do one whilst in Thailand, and I was glad we waited until Chiang Mai as there were so many to choose from. We got to choose what we wanted to cook from their menu and could choose separately from each other. We got the chance to make fresh or fried spring rolls, a rice dish, a curry dish and sticky mango rice. There was lots of food to enjoy and take home; our host was hilarious!
Another evening, we went to the Chiang Mai Cabaret Show, a great, fun, light-hearted way to end the day. You arrive for showtime and pay for your ticket at the door, which gives you a free drink. The show has two halves and lasts around 1.5 hours. The performers were excellent, talented, and very funny. We won’t give much away, but hold onto your husbands tightly; Andy won’t forget the experience, for sure.
On our final day, we went to the ‘Grand Canyon Water Park’ where you can unleash your inner child on the inflatable obstacle courses, slides and zip line. This was so much and we had endless fun slipping and sliding around the course. We were lucky it wasn’t too busy, although we were very knackered after an hour or two, so bring some energy. It felt very touristy but we actually think it is well worth it for an afternoon of fun! We took a taxi there, which was a little longer than expected, but we easily booked one back on our apps, too (Bolt or Uber).
Chiang Mai is definitely worth a visit. There are many nice cafes, restaurants, shops, bars, and a night market to explore. You can spend many lazy days here. The elephant sanctuary is the star of the show and provides an unforgettable experience. We wish the temperature were a little cooler so we could have had more energy for exploring. However, after weeks of travelling, some downtime reading by the pool was honestly quite welcome.
Recommendations:
Great coffee shops and bakeries at ‘Fern Forest Cafe’, ‘Forest Bake’ and ‘Yelloo’.
Playworks Shop and Cafe is a great shop selling clothes and other gifts made by local artists. Andy and I really struggled not to buy most of the items in the shop!
Elephant Nature Park is definitely our recommendation for visiting an ethical elephant sanctuary and we recommend making the time to do the whole day trip.
The Sunday Night Market was a great way to sit, try some street food, and buy a few nik-naks but the streets get very busy, so be prepared to come earlier if you want to avoid the crowds.
Pai
Pai was our final stop on our Thailand adventures, so it was time to relax and chill, as we knew our next leg of travels would get a little full-on again, given we had done a full itinerary switch and were now heading to Seoul, South Korea. We stayed at the Pai Village Boutique Resort in one of their garden villas and had a fantastic breakfast included. The hotel also had a lovely pool to sit around and enjoy during the hot days, and the hotel staff were all very kind and accommodating. Overall, there was not much to complain about; it was a great stay in a great location, quite mosquito-heavy given the type of accommodation, but you are provided with a mosquito net for the bed.
We were warned about the windy 3.5-hour bus journey from Chiang Mai to Pai, so we took motion sickness tablets beforehand and didn't find it too bad. The return journey was a little worse, but we blamed ourselves for eating right before. Don't let the journey discourage you from visiting, but definitely take motion sickness tablets. If possible, avoid sitting at the back, where you feel the bumps from the wheels quite a bit more!
Pai is a small town with not too much to offer beyond the cafes and bars, and ideally, you would need to rent a scooter to enjoy the sights nearby. We chose not to in the end but booked a group bus journey to watch the sunset at the ‘Two Huts’ one evening. The sunset was lovely but it would have been better to enjoy it over an hour rather than the 2 hours we had to fill. This would definitely be worth visiting with a scooter, but it isn’t worth the journey alone. Others also recommended visiting Pai Canyon, and younger travellers looking for more of a party atmosphere took part in tipsy tubing.
I believe Pai is great for young backpackers who want to socialize, enjoy drinks, and take a break from a hectic travel schedule. However, it has become quite crowded with tourists, making it feel too busy for us. It takes away from the feeling of exploration when Westerners surround you and see so few locals going about their daily lives. But, if you're seeking a place to unwind with a few coffee shops and restaurants in a rural setting, Pai offers just that. However, after spending three nights there, we felt ready to move on, especially as a couple who no longer fit in with the younger backpacker crowd.
Recommendations:
In their beginner yoga class, I had an amazing experience at ‘Bodhi Tree Yoga’. The cost of the class was £6 and was enjoyable for even a beginner yogi like me
We had some great dinners here, ‘Charlie & Lek’, ‘Blue Ox’ and ‘Pai Siam Bar & Bistro’
Bring mosquito spray! Especially in the Garden Villa, we had to be on mosquito watch and sleep with the net they provided
Stay tuned for our next posts following our adventures through South Korea and Japan in our new, revised travel itinerary to shake things up!
Loved it! But I’m dying to know what happened to Andrew in the cabaret🤣
Anna and I need to travel more ! Fab read , keep it up guys x