Thailand itinerary help.

[Fantasyfootballfan]

We are going to Thailand for 12 nights over Xmas. First night is on the plane so have 11 nights to fill and have 3 DC's all school age but under 12. My original plan was 2 nights Bangkok, overnight train to Chaing Mai, 2 nights in Chaing Mai, internal flight back to Bangkok and then 6 nights in Hua Hin. Now I am concerned that it's too much travelling. Originally we were going to do 3 nights in Chaing Mai but it's £600 cheaper to come home a day earlier so I have shortened the trip by a day.

Any other suggestions? Due to cost and the extra flight we would need to do with the children I have chosen Hua Hin rather than an island.

None of us have every been to SE Asia so this really is a trip of a lifetime and I want to make it really special

We have been to thailand several times with DC and been to all places mentioned. Have always flown from bkk to chaing Mai as it it 12 hours on the train so I would seriously consider flying both ways if I was you as a further day will be taken up travelling. It depends what you like doing - we love Bangkok plenty of people hate it- it might be better to spend 4 nights in either Bangkok or literally one night there and 3 in chaing Mai before heading to hua hin (3 hours by road from Bangkok btw).

We also love hua hin- it is a good choice- more traditional and less full of 'go-go' bars ;)
The beach is also nice (not quite as idyllic as dome of the islands admittedly but still a great place). We have stayed in the hilton (very central and going back there this year), anantara and marriott- both very nice but slightly further out. Also stayed somewhere in cha-am once (can't remember the name of the hotel sorry)- but we found not much to do there.

Thailand is a fantastic place for a family holiday and you will have a fantastic time.

Have just seen that you intend to take overnight train so that would undoubtably add to the adventure factor- plus save cost of hotel for that night- but it is still quite a lot to pack in and you might feel that you have hardly had any time in either Bangkok or chaing Mai depending on how many actual full days you have in each iykwim.

We go every year. Without fail both my dc moan when we land in Bangkok and have another flight on to Phuket,Kho Sami , etc. we have also done a short hop to Vietnam and dd at the time was distraught. I find Bangkok a chore with kids.mine are 9 and 4. I'm waiting another 5 years before being adventurous. It's a big disappointment.

we've just come back from a 3 week trip (we went to Siem Reap too). My kids loved Chiang Mai and the beach (we did go to an island, but on the overnight train - I think Hua Hin would be fine though). Mine loved chiang mai - they went on a zip wire place as well as elephant sanctuary and rafting.

We went to Chiang Mai on the train - it was good. (we couldn't afford to fly, but actually if we went again, we would think about flying direct from Chiang Mai to the islands in the south - I think it is quite cheap with AsiaAir).

They were ok about bangkok.

My 2 tips - stay in a hotel with a pool in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and second tip, tablets (we had hudls) are fantastic - but not just for the games, mine got very attached to the kindle app and read loads of books!).

Lucky you - I'm very envious

You are so lucky! We went to thailand last year and had a fantastic time. Bangkok is brilliant, I really didn't think if like it but would love to go back. Make sure you use the monorail, it's cheap and so easy to get around.

We stayed at century park hotel which was lovely.

Have a fabulous time.

Thank you for your help. I have decided to do 3 nights in Chiang Mai and 5 in Hua Hin rather than 6 to break up the travelling. I have been able to book the Bangkok and Chiang Mai hotels on avios points which is a great result and have gone for the Centara Watergate Pavillion in Bangkok and the Holiday Inn in Chiang Mai, both of which have supposedly got nice pools and I thought it would be nice to take the river boats in Bangkok. I still need to book a Hua Hin hotel and was considering the Dusit Thani, do you know it?

Hi- def recommend river boat trip in bangkok- excellent way to see some of the temples as well without thr kids getting bored. Amaiing to see how people live by the river as well. Other chikd friendly places to go are the aquarium and bangkok zoo. We also love the markets esp the sunday morning one. A good trip from hua hin would be to the floating market (its equidistant from bkk and hua hin but you would have more time in hua hin).

Have been to the holiday inn in chaing mai and the pool was fine for us and pretty quiet when we went. Elephant treking is a must while you are there!

Don't know the dusit thani- looks fab but my only concern would be the distance from hua hin if you wanted to be a bit closer to the hustle and bustle. If you are just wanting to chill and can factor in taxi/tuk tuk fares then am sure it would be a good choice :)

Sorry lots of typos as on phone key pad!

flights from Chiang Mai with Air Asia are pretty cheap.
Chiang Mai is lovely - lots of wats, nice restaurants, elephants, umbrella village, gates of the walled city are still there too.
Sounds like a lovely holiday!
Royal Palace in Bangkok is a must see. Travelling around Bangkok can be a nightmare and it is worth checking out proximity to sky train stops.

Thanks so much. This is a brilliant help. We can't wait to go.

We have stayed at the holiday inn Regents Beach, Cha-am (near Hua Hin) twice and really enjoyed it. It is a bit out of town but there are lots of restaurants/minmarts/cashpoints/taxis nearby.