Thailand in 2 weeks: An Itinerary

The Summer holidays are fast approaching, and maybe you're super organised and have got your plans booked! However, if not I thought I would do a little itinerary of my partner and I's 2 week trip to Thailand last summer to give you an idea of how much you can do in such a short time!

We travelled in July 2017 (because it is the UK's summer holidays), however in Thailand - it's monsoon season, which can effect your trip depending on what activities are your priority. Thailand summer time is March - June.

On our trip we spent time in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khao Sok National Park, Phuket and Phi Phi Island. For this itinerary, I have excluded flight days (usually you minus a day either side of the trip to allow for travel) and we organised our main inbound and outbound flights from the UK to Thailand from Bangkok Airport.

THE ITINERARY

Days 1-4: Bangkok

What we did:

- Day 1: A day in Bangkok Old city visiting the main attractions such as The Grand Palace, Reclining Buddah, Wat Arum, Wat Saket (also a great viewpoint), etc. To get from each place you can either walk, get a tuk tuk or make use of the boat taxi. We enjoyed walking as it meant we could taste yummy Thai street food en route so we tended to walk and then use the boat taxi for longer distances.

- Day 2: A day at the Thailand's former capital - the Ayutthaya Temples. We organised a tour directly from our hotel when we arrived to do this. Most hotels will have excursions available and you get picked up by a minivan with other people directly from the hotel. The excursion cost us approx 500 Thai Baht per person - working out around £11.50 each for the full day. I would recommend arranging this tour when you get in country as online is much more expensive.

- Day 3: Half a day at the one of Bangkok's biggest floating market - Damneon. These floating markets are located just outside of the main city. Admittedly this particular floating market was very commercialised and probably designed especially for tourists, however the markets aren't on everyday, so we went to one which fitted in our schedule. It contains wonderful photographic opportunities, plenty of food variety and an abundance of gift and clothing options. Again, we organised this excursion with our hotel costing us around 300 Thai Baht per person, so around £7 each; this included hotel pick up/drop off, fresh fruit, tour guide and a ride on a long boat around the floating market. We then spent the remainder of the day spending time in Bangkok city centre - just being a tourist and taking it easy after a busy first couple of days.

- Day 4: We arranged our flight at 13:00 to Chiang Mai, so we spent the morning in airport mode!

Bangkok Tips

- Favourite Restaurant: Ban Khun Mae (See here for more details) - It scored top marks on quality of food, affordability, service and ambience (they have traditional Thai music being played live!)

- Watch out for Tuk Tuk Scams (See here for more details). We were lucky enough not to get scammed, but we met plenty of people who had been victims throughout our trip

- Book Bangkok Excursions in Country rather than online - as they are so much cheaper!

Day 4 - 8: Chiang Mai

What we did:

- Day 4: Our flight arrived in at 14:15 and due to Chiang Mai being quite a small city, we were at the hotel ready to head out at 15:15! We booked a private transfer with our hotel which only cost 150 Thai Baht (approx. £3.50) to make the most of this day. In the afternoon and evening, we prioritised going to see Wat Phra Singh, which is a temple just outside the city but also has the most amazing viewpoint. If we had, had more time we would have rented motorbikes/scooters to drive up the mountain (this is very popular and we passed plenty of people doing it), but instead we got a taxi there. In the evening we took the time to explore Chiang Mai's night market which contains plenty of food, clothing, gifts, spices - literally everything!

- Day 5: Excursion day to Chiang Rai, White Temple, Long Neck Karen and Golden Triangle (Booked here). This was a long day, but you would never manage to do all that we saw in a day if your tried completing it by yourself - and the excursion only costs £30 per person. The itinerary for this day was as follows:

1) Pick up 7:30-45am

2) 9:00 AM : Take a short break at a natural hot spring (approximately 20 minutes)

3) 11:00 AM : Explore the White Temple in Chiang Rai (approximately 40 minutes)

4) 1:00 PM : Eat lunch at a restaurant near the Golden Triangle (approximately 45 minutes)

5) 2:00 PM : Enjoy the Golden Triangle viewpoint at the border of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (approximately 1 hour) Optional Tour : River boat tour of the Mekong River to the Don Sao Island

6) 3:30 PM : Shop in Mae Sai at the Burmese-Thai border market (approximately 40 minutes)

7) 4:45 PM : Chat with the Akha and Long Neck villages (approximately 40 minutes)

8) 6:00 PM : Depart from Chiang Rai; stopping at a petrol station along the way

9) 9:00 PM : Return to your hotel in Chiang Mai

- Day 6: A morning half day spent with the elephants! This was one of the highlights of the trip! Although this trip was a tad more expensive at £40 per person - it was so worth it. You had the opportunity to feed the elephants, give them a mud bath, bathe in the river with them and lunch was also included. We booked this excursion here. We then spent the afternoon chilling out, we did plan on looking round Chiang Mai city a little more but if I'm honest - we napped for the afternoon!! In the evening we participated in a Thai Cooking Class which was amazing and so yummy! You got to make 12 different dishes and get a recipe book to take home with you. We booked the 4:30 slot here and it costs £24 per person.

- Day 7: Excursion to Doi Inthanon National Park (Booked here for approx. £27). An itinerary of this tour is as follows:

1) 8:00-8:45: Pick up from Chiang Mai Hotel

2)10:30 AM : Arrive at the Siritarn Waterfalls (approximately 20 minutes)

3) 11:00 AM : Hill tribe village (approximately 30 minutes)

4) 11:30 AM : Wachiratarn Waterfalls (approximately 20 minutes)

5) 12:20 PM : Lunch at the local restaurant at Wachiratarn Waterfalls

6) 1:00 PM : Easy walk along a nature trail to Thailand’s highest peak (approximately 40 minutes)

7) 2:00 PM : King and Queen Pagodas (approximately 40 minutes)

8) 3:00 PM : King’s Royal Projects (approximately 30 minutes)

9) 3:30 PM : Depart from Doi Inthanon National Park

10) 5:30 PM : Return to your hotel in Chiang Mai

- Day 8: Early flight at 07:10 to Surat Thani

Chiang Mai Tips:

- For the Day 5 Excursion, if you don't want to do such a long day the must do's are: The White Temple and The Golden Triangle.

- Consider spending a full day with an elephant jungle sanctuary, rather than just a half day

- If you're a big foodie like me - a Thai Cooking Class is a must!

- Remember, Chiang Mai is a small city and most of the attractions are based outside of it, hence why our time here was so busy.

- Only go to Doi Inthanon National Park in the summer season - we didn't get the best of luck with the views when we went in monsoon season

Day 8-9: Khao Sok National Park

What we did:

- Day 8: From arriving in at 09:10 at Surat Thani Airport we got a taxi to Khao Sok National Park (this was where our tree house accommodation was situated). We shared this taxi (approx. 1hr 30 mins journey) with another travelling couple to reduce the price and because we were tight on time. Once settled in we were certain we wanted to see the 'Three brothers' Limestone Cliffs at Cheow Lan Lake (totally beautiful). To get here we got a local bus which you can catch from the entrance to Khao Sok National Park.

- Day 9: Due to the amount of rain, we didn't get much sleep in our tree house, so we were up nice and early. We therefore took advantage of this and arranged to go river tubing (arranged with our hotel) at 8am down the Sok River. Here we were able to see some wildlife and just admire being in the middle of a jungle! At midday we then caught a 4 hour bus directly from Khao Sok National Park to Phuket.

Khao Sok Tips:

- Spend more time here! It is an incredibly difficult place to get to and there are lots more to do than we were able to fit in! This includes hikes through the jungle, night safaris, elephant trekking, canoeing etc.

- During Monsoon Season, it is incredibly wet here - so make sure to bring plenty of waterproofs and maybe clothes and shoes you don't mind throwing away.

Day 9-13: Phuket/Phi Phi Island

What we did:

- Day 9: We arrived at our hotel about 4:30pm so we went a walk around Phuket Bay and the town and visited their food market and then had an early night with a couple of beers at our accomodation!

- Day 10: Phang Nga Bay Day Trip from Phuket (Booked here, costing about £60, plus 400 Thai Baht for the National Park fee). This day was also one of the highlights of the trip! You spend the day on the water either on a boat or in kayaks, visiting caves, islands, seeing plenty of monkeys, relaxing and a getting great buffet lunch.

- Day 11: We caught the ferry from Rassada Peir to Phi Phi Island. The ferry takes about 2 hours. We spent this day walking round the island, hiking up the tallest 'peak' of the island for an amazing viewpoint (a must see!) and then enjoying the nightlife scene in the evening.

- Day 12: Our Ferry back to Phuket wasn't until 14:00, so we used this time to catch up on some sunbathing and rent kayak's, so we could kayak to monkey beach (beware - the monkey's will happily steal your stuff if left unattended!). Once back in Phuket, we went out for dinner before having an early night for a busy next day!

- Day 13: We arranged a taxi transfer to enable us to get our 11:20am flight from Phuket back to Bangkok.

Phuket/ Phi Phi Island Tips:

- Don't stay in Phuket Town, instead stay on one of the towns situated with a beach - there is honestly not a lot to do or see in Phuket Town

- 1 night in Phi Phi Island is enough - you can easily walk round the whole island in half a day, so giving yourself a day and a half is plenty time

- Be aware that during monsoon season, the famous Maya Bay may be closed due to the weather. Maya Bay is a big tourist destination, which you can kayak or get a boat to from Phi Phi Island. However, it was closed when we were there.

Day 13: Bangkok

What we did:

- Day 13: Our flight back to the UK wasn't until 01:00 the next day so we then had a full day left in Bangkok. We managed to leave our bags at a hotel in the centre of the city for a small charge. We used this day to explore the new part of Bangkok a little more - such as Lumpini Park and the shopping centres. We also used this opportunity to buy any last minute gifts and to eat an incredibly yummy meal at our favourite restaurant in Bangkok (as mentioned above - yes we went twice!), before heading in a taxi to the airport.

Final Points

1) Thailand is super cheap, so this is a great place to go if you're on a budget or a student like me!

2) Organise Domestic Flights rather than long haul buses - it's more comfortable, quicker and costs about £10 extra

3) Do consider the time of year you visit - if you want guarantee sunshine then aim to travel between March to June.

Also for more inspiration, check out my video on the trip as well:

And that ladies and gentlemen is how we did Thailand in 2 weeks! As you can tell, there are some things we would do differently if we did it again, but I hope this gives you a rough outline of how you can design your trip to Thailand!

Happy Travels!

Ruth xxx