Thailand 2 weeks - First time

[disorderedeating333]

Hi there,

Me and my partner (no kids, young) are going to Thailand for two weeks in April 2022. Thinking of staying 4-5 nights in each place, so staying in around 3 places.

Which 3 places would you suggest? In what order? Top things to do?

Any help appreciated!

Koh Samui (beaches, diving, relaxing).
Bangkok (temples, street food, shopping etc)
Golden Triangle (Chiang Mai etc, Thai cookery class, elephant sanctuary, hill tribes)

Trailfinders are excellent for organising tours, hotels and connections. Would highly recommend.

Maybe leave beaches to the end of the holiday.

Ko Phi Phi and Krabi were lovely about 20 years ago.
I have been to Ko Tao more recently and liked that too, though the waters are not as beautifully shallow and clear as in Ko Phi Phi.
I think the only way to get to Ko Tao is by boat from Ko Samui. I didn’t rate Ko Samui tbh but I think that was partly because wherever we stayed was fill of very loud and rich Russians. Nothing against Russians but there were a lot of them. I prefer a mix of nationalities!

Oh and Bangkok is good fun for 2-3 days but I’m not sure I’d want to spend much more than that there. Very noisy and polluted.

Bangkok. Cabbages & Condoms is a fun restaurant. Oasis Spa (Sukhumvit 31). Shangri-la for Sunday brunch. Markets. Street food. The reclining Buddha is worth a visit.

I used to just pop there for the weekend when I lived in Asia. My family lived near Nana station.

Beach: I loved the Sheraton at Krabi. I didn’t rate Pattaya.

Avoid the full moon parties and anything marketed at tourists. I swear there was a weekly newspaper report on tourists getting fleeced and going missing.

You'll most likely fly to Bangkok so worth spending a few days there check out the temples and the palace and go on a boat ride. Chiang Mai is lovely and has a nice chilled vibe. We also did Chiang Rai but wouldn't spend more than a couple of days there. Then you must do some beaches. We did Krabi (Railay beach is lovely), Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. All gorgeous!

We went through Premier Holidays and it was very reasonable and well organised.

We did Bangkok, Phuket and Dubai.

We've booked Bangkok for two days, then Phuket for 4 days, where should we stay last?

No Samet! Just my most favourite place in Thailand ever and easy to get to from Bangkok!

We did Thailand two years ago. Had lots of help from lovely people on here on itinerary. Best holiday ever! We did :

4 days in Bangkok -river cruise, temples, tuk tuk tour, street food tour
4 days in Chiang Mai - temples, elephant sanctuary, markets
5 days in Koh Samui - stayed in the most fabulous hotel on a private island. Google Cape Fahn.

We did plan to go to Sri Lanka with Trailfinders last year but obviously had to cancel. Fully refunded immediately with absolutely no quibble.

One of the best holidays we’ve had, we did it at Christmas time

Not many tips as we went to a wellness retreat (utter luxury) but enjoy.

We loved Ko Samet

I’d miss Pattaya, very seedy feel to the place and not pleasant.
Bangkok well worth a trip for a few days.
Phuket, Patong beach was great fun.
Islands are great.
Chiang Mai is lovely and cooler after the heat of the cities.
I’d really advise you to do your due diligence on elephant/tiger/animal sanctuaries, there are definitely good ones but there are others that are tourist traps. Watch out for kids giving away free bracelets made of melon/fruit seeds, when I went over there it was a scam where you could become a target for pickpocketing.

Avoid Pattaya like the plague. Bangkok is fab, def do the grand palace, I second cabbages and condoms, and Sala Rim Naam at the orient is good. There’s a great trip to the “bridge over the river Kwai” (which isn’t the bridge over the river Kwai) that involves staying overnight on a raft, well worth it. In Phuket you can do James Bond island, phi phi, and monkey island is fun too. And no trip to Thailand would be complete without checking out the lady boys.

Krabi is nice, Railey beach is brilliant, worth a visit.

MarshaBradyo would you mind sharing details of the wellness retreat? That's something I'd like to do. Thank you :)

@StellaAndCrow

MarshaBradyo would you mind sharing details of the wellness retreat? That's something I'd like to do. Thank you :)

Sure thing it was here

www.amataraphuket.com/

Just looked at tripadvisor and it’s got good reviews so I’m glad others agree

It’s really nice, good food, healthy slant even though we still had wine etc at meals, not too many children. Only slightly sad thing was rubbish that kept washing up but maybe a problem for a few beaches. We picked up what we could just to help

I loved it and would go back in a jiffy. I know travel is exciting but we had a 1 year old that hated car seats and screamed so this was nice. Also as a place it’s good for couples / single travellers as there were more than families

Will you be there for Songkran? It is heaps of fun. Wherever you are for that do join in. If it is during your last bit I think Ko Pha Ngan was my favourite place for that. I bloody love Thailand.

Thank you Marsha that looks like an amazing place to spend a few days!

Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket/Koh Samui.

Songkran is usually mid April so should fall in with Easter.