Thailand

Thailand, in a few days

From Bangkok to Phuket, by way of Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai and Krabi: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

Day by day

1

Bangkok

Days 1-2

A capital that never quite settles, with gilded roofs in the middle of the noise. The Grand Palace and the forty-six metre reclining Buddha of Wat Pho are what everyone comes to see first.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Temples and the Grand Palace, guidedHalf day · from €35
  The royal compound and Wat Pho in one morning, with the dress code explained before you reach the gate rather than at it.
• Dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya2h30 · from €45
  Two and a half hours on the river, past Wat Arun lit from below, with dinner served on board.

✦ Free to visit

• Wat Arun, from the far bank
• Chatuchak weekend market
• Khao San Road
• Chinatown

📲 Book things to do in Bangkok on GetYourGuide

2

Ayutthaya

Day 3 · 🚆 Train 1h30

Capital of Siam from 1350 until the Burmese burned it in 1767. Brick ruins across a river island, and a Buddha head held in the roots of a fig tree, UNESCO-listed.

🎟️ Worth booking

• The temple circuit by bicycle, guidedHalf day · from €25
  The ruins are spread across a flat river island. A bicycle covers in a morning what walking would not.

✦ Free to visit

• Wat Mahathat and its Buddha head in the roots
• The historical park
• The floating market

📲 Book things to do in Ayutthaya on GetYourGuide

3

Chiang Mai

Days 4-6 · ✈️ Domestic flight 1h15

Founded in 1296 and ringed by mountains. Three hundred temples, the gold stupa of Doi Suthep on the ridge above, and night markets in the old walls below.

🎟️ Worth booking

• An ethical elephant sanctuaryFull day · from €70
  A day at a camp where elephants are fed and washed but never ridden. Check that riding is absent before you book anything.
• Thai cooking classHalf day · from €30
  The market first, then four dishes and the curry paste under them, pounded by hand in a stone mortar.

✦ Free to visit

• Doi Suthep, from outside
• The old town and its temples
• The night market
• Walking out through the rice terraces

📲 Book things to do in Chiang Mai on GetYourGuide

4

Krabi & Railay

Days 7-10 · ✈️ Domestic flight 2h

The Andaman coast, cut into limestone towers. Railay can only be reached by boat, which is half the reason climbers and kayakers keep going back.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Four islands by long-tail boatFull day · from €35
  Poda, Chicken Island, Tup and Phra Nang, with a sandbar linking two of them when the tide drops.
• Beginner climbing at RailayHalf day · from €40
  Bolted limestone straight above the sand, with a guide, gear and half a day. No experience needed.

✦ Free to visit

• Railay beach
• Tonsai and its cliffs
• Sunset at Ao Nang

📲 Book things to do in Krabi & Railay on GetYourGuide

Worth sorting before you go

Domestic flights and transfers · Bangkok to Chiang Mai, or Bangkok to Krabi, takes an hour and a quarter in the air. The overnight train does the same trip slowly, and cheaply.

📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly

🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta

🚗 Car hire
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking

💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut

🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer

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Flavours & local habits

🍽️ Worth tasting

• Pad thai: fried noodles with tamarind and crushed peanuts, the street dish everyone starts on.
• Tom yum: hot and sour prawn soup, sharp with lemongrass and lime.
• Green or red curry: coconut milk poured over a paste pounded that morning.
• Mango sticky rice: sweet glutinous rice, ripe mango and coconut cream.
• Som tam: shredded green papaya pounded with chilli. Ask for it mild and mean it.

⚠️ Best avoided

• Ignore the tuk-tuk driver who tells you a temple is closed and offers to take you somewhere better.
• Agree the tuk-tuk fare before you get in, or insist on the meter in a taxi.
• Do not drink the tap water. Ice with a hole through it is factory made and fine.
• Temples ask for covered shoulders and knees. Carry something to put on at the door.

Words that help

English ↔ Thai

✈️ Flight delayed by 3 hours or more, or cancelled? You may be owed up to €600. Check your flight on AirHelp.

The practical page

Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/thailand

Packing checklist

Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.