Thailand - 4 wk family trip in August

[Denialsheaven]

Hi all – any well-seasoned Thailand travellers around?
I am planning a 4-week trip to Thailand with my family (2 children age 11 and 9) in August. Here are our plans / itinerary so far and I’d love your thoughts…
Day and a half in Bangkok
Train from BK to Kanchanaburi then two days around there before heading back to BK overnight and flying up to Chiang Mai.
Five days in and around Chiang Mai then fly to Surat Thani. Stay overnight there and get the ferry to Koh Samui the next morning for four days - probably stay on KS and do a day trip to KPN rather than try to fit in staying on KPN as well.
Ferry back to Surat Thani and get a bus to Krabi for the last four/five days. I'd really like to fit in a night or two at the Khao Sok National Park but wasn't sure whether to try to travel there between Koh Samui and Krabi, or arrange a day trip there from Krabi. It could be too much travelling with children to try to stay there as well?
Fly back to Bangkok from Krabi for a final day in the city before flying home.

At the moment we only have the flights to Bangkok booked, but I want to book the internal flights as soon as possible to get good prices.
Any thoughts on whether we are trying to fit too much in? I am hoping for a good balance of Thailand highlights and seeing different types of places but not travelling around too much!
Thanks in advance

I would probably do a day trip to Kanchanaburi and spend the extra nights in Bangkok to avoid moving around too much. Also, try and get a hotel with pool in Bangkok so children can have some downtime - the heat is a bit of a shock!

The rest sounds great. I'd really recommend Flight of the Gibbon in Chiang Mai as it's a great day out.

Thanks Hey - good idea and pool seems a must in Bangkok!
We are definitely planning to check out Flight of the Gibbon in Chiang Mai - thank you!

Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai you get to feed the rescued elephants children love it.

Ayutthaya is a great day trip from Bangkok. Agree with pp that Kanchanaburi is better as a day trip.
I like Chiang Mai - but it will be pretty wet in August.

Thank you Zara & Diva! We’re planning to stay a bit longer in Bangkok now to see those places as day trips and give us more flexibility.
I know Chiang Mai will be very rainy but we are stuck with August unfortunately - we will have waterproofs tho and we spend a lot of time in Wales so are used to rain
Elephants are a must on everyone’s list Zara so thank you for the recommendation!

Nancy Chandler's maps of Bangkok and Chang Mai are worth investing in. They are beautifully drawn and have some great restaurants, shopping, activities listed.

Elephant Nature Park is really popular you need to book a few weeks before arriving. I love CM it's my favourite part of Thailand.

If you stay in Kanchanaburi have a look at Oriental Kwai, it’s a lovely little hotel and the owners are really nice.
Krabi will be really wet in August and a lot of the Khao Sok trails will be closed because of the rain.
Bangkok Airways fly direct from Chiang Mai to Ko Samui, pricy but cuts a lot of fuss out of your itinerary.
Elephant Nature Park is superb, they also have a park outside Kanchanaburi which is smaller but also excellent. Lek, who founded the place, is an inspiration.
Personally I probably wouldn’t bother going over to Krabi in August and would either spend more time on the Samui/KPN side or do more up in the north. We went to Luang Prabang in August, it was wet but utterly lovely. You can fly there from CNX too!
If you fancy a splurge in BKK the Shangri La is a lovely place.