First-timer to Bangkok & Thailand HELP

[ladida76]

I really hope I'll get some advice as we're hoping to head out to Thailand mid July this year. We're flying into Bangkok, staying there for a few nights before hitting the beach in Koh Samui (we're aware that it's the monsoon season and that we might see downpours in Bangkok but understand Koh Samui should be fine).

We're fairly limited on time, unfortunately (11-12 nights), and we're not interested in a constantly on-the-go touring holiday but want to immerse ourselves and stay in one place for a good few days.

We're a family of 2 mid-teens boys and 2 adults.

Before we knew we were limited on time we were going to fit in Chiang Mai but think it will be too tight with only 11/12 nights. So, our current itinerary:

• Bangkok - 4 nights (one day with tour guide to see temples etc, half a day in a cookery class; aa full day trip to visit the temples in Ayuwatthya)
• Koh Samui - 6-7 nights at a beach resort

Bangkok - looking to do a 1/2-1-day with a tour guide, another half a day in a cookery course plus a full day travelling to see the temples in Auywatthaya).

Koh Samui - looking for advice on cookery classes or excursions potentially. But also happy to stay put and just chill!

QUESTIONS

• Would 4 nights be too long (given the above potential activities there) in Bangkok? Will we be overwhelmed?
• Any other comments on the itinerary and trips / activities worth doing?

Thanks in advance for any advice & tips!

That's good to know @Youarenotseriouspeople, because a poster up-thread described it as being 'like Spain', which had me worried! Not that there is anything wrong with the vast majority of Spain (a country I love!), but it does unfortunately have its 'Brits abroad' horror spots

Thanks very much @ItsReallyOnlyMe - that's very useful. When I put 'Kanchanaburi' into Google maps I realise it was taking me to a lake that is north of the town and much further/more inaccessible than the town itself. I'm sure it's a well-trodden tourist route that will have many options for getting there. The two hotels you mention look lovely!

I am just back from Thailand. We did one night (each way) to Koh Samui but we stayed on Koh Phangan. It's much less busy than Koh Samui, far less built up and has some beautiful beaches.

Depending on what you want, Salad Hut on Salad Beach is bliss. Low key, great food and rooms, gorgeous small beach - not much else going on but you can hire mopeds and explore or do trips to other beaches.

You have to get a boat from Koh Samui, hence staying there.

And we went to Chang Mai and loved it - DM me if you'd like details of a guide we were recommended and used.

I would say less time in Bangkok - it is large, messy and a bit smelly in parts. Koh Samui is one of my favourite spots and there is the chance there to do all kinds of things including cooking classes.

@SophieTheWonderCat Bangkok doesn't really appeal tbh. I've looked at Google Streetview and it looks dirty and rundown. I've allocated 3 nights and one of those days we plan to do a day trip to Ayutthaya - we'll have 1.5 days in Bangkok itself and I think that will be enough. Chiang Mai and Kanchanaburi look much more like the kind of places we'll enjoy. I'm hoping we'll like Ko Samui. I'm not a beach person and neither is DH, but if you're going to Thailand I feel like you have to spend a bit of time at the beach. We'll find a nice hotel with a good pool and a gym and I'll find some stuff to keep us busy, because our idea of hell is lying on a beach every day, doing nothing.

So, I started this post and had some wonderful advice, and we did end up going to Thailand mid July so have not been back long. Our first time in Thailand and we LOVED it!

Due to time limitations, and what I've heard about the weather, we did not do Chang Mai but we spent 4 nights in Bangkok followed by 7 nights in Koh Samui (50 min internal flight). For us, this was the perfect amount of time in each place (could have stayed a few more days in Samui, mind).

We chose a night flight to Bangkok which worked perfectly as we arrived local time mid/late PM, so we just chilled at our hotel that PM/eve (we opted for a riverside hotel - much calmer and some amazing choices, including with pools and roof top bars). Followed by a good night's sleep, we did not suffer from jetlag - result!

We then did a Bangkok local floating market (not the big one) tour with a local guide who was brilliant. It was not much of a floating market in terms of number of boats but absolutely amazing market and I only saw one other lot of tourists. That was the morning, we then did some shopping and chilling at roof top bar/restaurant in the evening.

After that we had one day where we did the usual temples and we were amazed at how few tourists there were (even though it was the weekend) - so no queues going into the main ones, same with the Grand Palace. Also fitted in China Town / Yaowarat Road which was great. We had been wanting the Bangkok hustle & bustle including street food.

We invested in a private tour (a/c car and local guide) to take us to Ayutthaya which was a little over an hour away for a whole-day trip. That was absolutely amazing, would really recommend that as the temple site was beautiful and, again, not busy at all. The guide also took us around to see how a local 'sweet' was made and took us to a local, inexpensive authentic restaurant (no Westerners as far as I could see) which was fab.

We used taxis, ferries and, once, the obligatory tuk tuk. For us, 4 nights was perfect which allowed a full day trip out of the city plus not a hurried pace. Some people had said 2 nights is enough but it really wouldn't have been for us.

Had been worried about Koh Samui as it was described as built up and a bit 'like Spain'. But we stayed in a fairly remote hotel in the north - or it felt that way and nearest 'bigger' town was the Fisherman's Village 15 mins away - and it was incredibly green, lush and empty and with a wonderful private beach overlooking Ko Pha Ngan(which was described btw by one of our waitresses as the party island though it is supposed to be less developed).

We did a boat trip one day which took us along the coast (where it seemed most hotels were low rise and these villa type buildings on stilts so most with sea view - and blended in beautifully so not at all like Spain there for sure. We then went to Pig Island, followed by snorkelling (basic there, not really known for it but fun) before they took us to an amazing, quiet restaurant right on the beach on mainland Samui. It was amazing.

We didn't explore really on Samui but did do a cookery class at the hotel. We loved our resort and Koh Samui.

Weather wise, we had been a bit worried but we were perhaps lucky. In Bangkok it was very hot and humid (but we're fine with 30 degree heat) but there were only 2 very short showers during the daytime whilst we were there, but so light that our raincoats stayed unpacked. Koh Samui - didn't rain once during the day but every night/late evening (same as in Bangkok). I had been worried as the weather apps had said rain before we went and it said the same whilst we were there but it just didn't materialise, not even a quick afternoon shower which we would have been OK with. Saying that I think Samui was unusually dry this year.

All-in-all a wonderful holiday and experience. We'll be back!

To clarify, on Samui it only rained very late in the evening/night so didn't impact on our enjoyment, so usually - at least this year and for us - after 10/11pm but mostly during the night when we slept.

That's wonderful @ladida76 . KS one of my favourite places.

That's great @ladida76 - I'm glad you had a wonderful time and it all worked out well for you. It's really hard isn't it, knowing how many days to allocate to each place when you have no real idea of what they'll be like when you get there and how much you'll enjoy them?

Can I ask which floating market you went to? It looks like the big one (Damnoen Saduak) is outside Bangkok and all the advice says 'Arrive early' when it starts at 7am and I'm going to have two teenage boys with me, so getting anywhere early is a massive chore! How did you find your guides for that and Ayutthaya? Did you book through your hotel? Which hotel did you stay at in Bangkok?

@cheezncrackers It's very difficult and everyone is different. We have 2 teens and my eldest was keen on a bit of 'big city' vibe. We ended up at the Avani Riverside but heard good things about the Atrium too - both Riverside. Riverside is a bit further from the centre but we kind of wanted that 'breathing space' plus it's fun going on the river ferries. The Avani has a fab roof top bar / restaurant (expensive) called SEEN. Loved that.

I think having a guide is a game changer if you have children (especially teens!), as they're much more engaged. Otherwise it would have been a case of 'in out' at some of the sights I think.

Our guide was very knowledgeable, fun and with excellent English. We booked our tours With Locals - same guide for both floating market and Ayutthaya - and opted for private tours but I've used GetYourGuide in other places where we've chosen group tours and they've been good too.

Thank you @ladida76

It's actually DS1 who wants to go to Thailand, so he'd better be up for a few early mornings!! The hotels along the river look amazing! DS2 has been eyeing up the rooftop pools and letting me know his preference already 😁

I've been to Bangkok several times, and I honestly recommend making sure the hotel is in walking distance of the metro or skyline and has a pool! The traffic is awful and even if you are central, i find using the metro massively helpful.

FWIW, I love Bangkok - and to say it's just run down and dirty is a bit simplistic - obviously,'it's not for everyone but it's a huge, sprawling place with some incredible skylines and sophisticated bars, restaurants and shopping places, amazing temples and wonderful authentic local life.

to say it's just run down and dirty is a bit simplistic

Yes, I agree and I was basing that on Chinatown (which does look like a dive), but other areas of the city look much more pleasant!

The DC have vetoed being away from home for Christmas, so the itinerary has had to be slashed to just 12 days total (inc. travel), so I've had to cut out Kanchanaburi (which I think they'll find boring, although DH and I would love it). So now we're going to do Chiang Mai (3 nights), Koh Samui (4 nights) and Bangkok (3 nights). For now, it will have to do!

@vitDsunshine since you seem to know Bangkok really well, if you only had 3 days, what would you prioritise?

Would you prioritise a day trip to Ayutthaya, for instance? TIA

I guess it depends what your teens are interested in…and as you say, you’re also fighting them wanting to get up too early, which I can relate to

I would probably look at what I did in Chang Mai and Bangkok for balance.

So, things you could could consider doing in Chang Mai – 1 and 3, you could probably do later in the day (we’ve done them very early, around 8) but it does get really hot as the day wears on…

1 – Private bike ride around some of the key temples in the city area, which takes you down some of the interesting backstreet soi (side street) and markets
2 - A day trip/trek to Doi Inthanon National Park – lovely trek, not hard, you can go to the highest point in Thailand (it’s easy)
3 – Ethical elephant sanctuary, such as Kanta, where you get to feed and bathe elephants
4 – An overnight into the hills, a trek, staying with the Karen Hill tribe – meant to be fab

Bangkok

If you’ve covered a lot in Chang Mai, then I would probably mix it up with more later day/nighttime stuff for the teens

1 – Main temples - but I probably wouldn’t prioritise Ayuttaya, to be honest, with teens. It’s fab, but are they really going to want to go?
2 – Chinatown at night – it’s just so chaotic and colourful and fun to dip in and out of (busy)
3 – Rooftop drinks – Eagle Nest bar is great and you get to see an amazing lit up wat. Moon Bar is also good, but if I recall, dressier. But you could do Mahanakhon Skywalk which my DC loved – it’s a swanky building, you go up 75 floors – amazing views – go one floor higher and there’s a protruding glass deck where you can (freak out) and walk on/lie on – 314 metres above Bangkok. It’s really fun. Highest observation deck in Thailand. Plus there’s a roof bar, music etc. You can book directly with them, twice a day, sunset is nice
4 – Foodie tour. A Chef’s Tour does Chinatown and apparently, that’s meant to be great. You walk, stop, try lots of foods. It’s a fun way to see it all
5 – Bike tours – like Chang Mai but around different parts of the city. You can also do one around ‘the green lung’ which is an artificial island on the other side of the river
6 – River trips
7 – Chatchuchak market if you’re there on Sat/Sun. One of the biggest markets you’ll ever visit – lots of clothes etc. You can find fake gear. MBK is also fab shopping for teens, apparently – several people told me but we didn’t make it this time. And as someone said upthread, IconSiam Shopping Centre which has a floating market indoors, food hall (which is amazing). The other OP said it’s very Tokyo, which I agree with
8 – I recently visited Jim Thompson’s house for the first time – he was a big figure in silk manufacturing in Thailand and he built a house in central Bangkok which is just gorgeous. It was really interesting (not sure teens would like it though).

And lots of time around the pool, rides in Tuk Tuks, eating great food! 

But don’t underestimate the traffic (use the metro), the heat and humidity (it can be full on) so don’t overplan. And also, I think there is a lot of beauty in taking tuk tuk rides (especially at night around the temples etc) and just watching, eating, drinking. The street life is great.

Also, for the teens, you could look at them doing their PADI diving intro course whilst you're in Koh Samui - they take you to places off Koh Samui but it's really fun

Wow, thank you so much @vitDsunshine! Those are awesome tips and lots that I think will interest our DC (who will be 17 and 13) and who are very into food, shopping, animals and 'experiences'.

I'd pencilled in either a day trip to Wat Phra Doi Suthep, the Hmong Doi Pui village and waterfall park OR the Doi Inthanon NP while we're in Chiang Mai. It's interesting that you mention the latter. Have you done the former? I'll get a guidebook at some point and do some more reading, but it's always great to get tips from people who've been there.

I was already leaning towards chucking out Ayutthaya, as I think the DC's tolerance for temples will be low and with only three days in Bangkok I'm unwilling to lose one now I realise how much there is to do and also how much I think the DC will enjoy. They'll love the floating/night markets, the glittering city lights from rooftop bars and all the foodie places to try new things. I'm now thinking maybe DH and I leave them to sleep on the last day and we hit a couple of museums without them. You have to take the advantages of having older DC where you can ...

Re Chang Mai and your former option - I can't really remember my reasoning but I think I found it a bit more commercialised and reviews suggested it was not that authentic. Obviously all these trips are for tourists, but I wanted to just walk and look etc without much engagement. The day trip we took included a delicious lunch at a home stay in the park and a visit to a fab waterfall.

I met a family who'd done the Chinatown A Chef's Tour foodie tour and had loved it.

i think experiences, food and the authentic, and blingy city life in Bangkok is the way to go with teens

i think experiences, food and the authentic, and blingy city life in Bangkok is the way to go with teens

Yes, I agree. And shopping! Teen DS was never into clothes or stuff at all as a small DC. If I ever took him clothes shopping in his pushchair he would scream. And now, it's me that wants to scream as I get dragged round trainer shops and we have to look for the latest pair of Nike jogging bottoms that look exactly like the pair he's currently wearing, but apparently are 'totally different'