Question about Thailand for those who know it well

[cheezncrackers]

We're thinking of going to Thailand at New Year. Our kids insist on being at home at Christmas, so the entire trip will only be 12 days in total, of which two will be travel days. This is the maximum we can do leaving on Boxing Day and returning in time for them to go back to school.

I've drawn up an itinerary which includes 3 nights in Chiang Mai, 4 nights in Koh Samui and 3 nights in Bangkok. We've never been to Thailand before and don't know if we'll ever go back, so I want us to get a nice taste of the place. However, given the short time we'll have there, would you recommend sticking to just two of our three destinations? Most of the reading I've done online recommends 5 nights in Koh Samui and around the same in Bangkok. Our kids don't like cultural stuff and won't care about visiting temples. They like nice hotels, shopping, animals and eating out. We will, of course, hit a few temples, but our focus will not be on high culture. TIA.

Phuket is sleazy and the weather will be shit in Ko Samui? Okay, so where could we go that's a nice, non-sleazy island or coastal area, which we can fly to direct from Chiang Mai? If we fly to Krabi, for instance, how easy is it to get to a nice beachy area? I don't really want to be trailing our luggage on and off planes, taxis and boats for the sake of three days somewhere.

Not all of Phuket is sleazy. Plenty of lovely places.

Phuket, like any developed destination, can be heaven or hell depending where you go and what you do. Budget does come into it. The Phuket airport gets so much tourist traffic that it now has announcements in Russian, but there are beautiful hotels (e.g. Surin or the Intercontinental Phuket resort) and places like Cape Kudu a short boat ride away on Koh Yao Noi.

The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit is not the cheapest but the location is fantastic: direct walkway into the (large) Terminal 21 mall plus direct walkway to the monorail for travelling around the rest of the city. If you can stretch to a "luxury" room, this includes endless cocktails from a menu in the gorgeous piano lounge in the evening.
Oh, and the pool is lovely, with its own bar.
It also has possibly the best freeflow Sunday brunch in the city.

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/bkklc-sheraton-grande-sukhumvit-a-luxury-collection-hotel-bangkok/overview/

Wow - that hotel looks amazing @Mikimoto! I'll start saving (this trip is now likely to be new year 2026, I think, so I'll have plenty of time )

The Anantara Riverside is like a resort in the middle of Bangkok. But a quick (free shuttle) boat ride from everything. And a short hop across the river to Asiatique night bazaar which the kids will love.

I’m a hard core shopper (and also Australian so not afraid of the heat) and Chatuchak market was one of the worst experiences of my life. Hell on earth.

Fly to Phuket but don't stay there. Its too commercial and spoiled now. You are better off going up the coast and saying at Khao Lak for that part of the stay.

Sounds good! We've now done 3-4 trips where this Sheraton has been the end-of-trip treat: it's a real stunner and total luxury. The bathrooms are covered in handmade turquoise tiles from northern Thailand, just gorgeous.

I’m a hard core shopper (and also Australian so not afraid of the heat) and Chatuchak market was one of the worst experiences of my life. Hell on earth.

Really @Lostsadandconfused? That's interesting, because everyone and I mean EVERYONE says you HAVE to go there and now amazing it is. I Googled it and thought that it looked tacky and crowded and full of junk tbh. Plus, the kids and I like to shop, but DH absolutely hates it. So tacky + crowded + full of junk + hellishly hot sounds like a recipe for a really bad day! I think maybe we'll stick to the indoor (presumably air-conditioned) shopping malls? I can imagine we'll all enjoy those.

How did you find the floating markets? Again, they seem to be a must-see for visitors to Bangkok, but are they really all that? I've seen reviewers saying it's really worth getting up early and travelling 45 mins out of the city to go to the Taling Floating Market, but is it?

It really is gorgeous. I looked at the 'Gallery' on the hotel website and was swooning. They do lovely 2-bedroom family suites too, which suit us really well.

I'll take a look at the Anantara too - I think that's one I found on an earlier search (I tend to research holidays for months or even years before we eventually go!)

Anantara is gorgeous, but definitely out of our budget.

Ok we did Christmas in Thailand on a reasonable budget in 2018/19. We did 3 weeks, so longer than you, but we stayed in an apartment hotel in Bangkok and a Mercure in Pattaya.
In Bangkok I recommend the Syama Hana Executive Apartment Thonglor which had separate bedroom/living space and even had a washing machine in the kitchen (so handy). It's not as central as some other hotels but it's in a Japanese quarter so you get great toilets in the apartment hotel, sushi bars, and great bakeries on your doorstep and it's down a very safe little cul de sac which made a perfect base for us. I didn't rate the restaurant on the same cul de sac at all (avoid) but the main road at the end had loads of fab eateries.

We got this sort of weird car bus thing to Pattaya from Bangkok bus station which took about an hour. In Pattaya (beach town) which a lot of people have a negative view of, we had a great time. If you stick to the main strip by the sea you can have a nice beach stay. The beach is gorgeous and not too busy at Christmas, the temperature and air is decent, the malls and night market are great and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for a proper Christmas dinner which we booked when we first arrived (about 3 days in advance).

In Pattaya we stayed at the Mercure Pattaya Ocean Resort which is very child friendly, does amazing cooked breakfasts, has 2 pools and is a really nice spot to base yourself for easy access to the beach. There's also a teddy bear museum in Pattaya which is this weird but cool place to visit. We were there for 7 days. I wouldn't spend more than 2-3 days there on your itinerary though as you're so pressed for time.

The weather was a solid 24 degrees every day we were there with zero rain at all. The people were lovely. Just don't use any motorcycle taxis and you'll be fine!

@cheezncrackers

just fyi, lots of great info here also

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g293915-i3686-Thailand.html

@cheezncrackers yes, we both thought it was terrible. Ditched very early for the comfort of one of the indoor malls.

Icon Siam mall is a must see, there’s an amazing rooftop bar/restaurant that’s not unreasonably priced. Several levels of shops for all budgets, and a market experience and food court on the lowest level.

We didn’t go to a floating market as we’d heard negative things, but we did do a canal tour and some vendors came alongside in their boats, which was fun. The canal tour was a highlight, so interesting.

@cheezncrackers make sure you check out https://www.asiatiquethailand.com/explore-asiatique

its only open at night. Market style shops, restaurants, rides - eg giant Ferris wheel. Free shuttle boats go there from the central pier.

You can fly back from Phuket, you dont have to fly back to Bangkok, especially if days are tight as you’d lose time with the extra travel

We are flying into Bangkok, up to Chiang mai, south to Phuket then home from Phuket - all via Singapore

But we aren’t staying on Phuket - going to Khao Lak but airport for that is Phuket then transfer

@Sotiredmjmmy it wouldn't make any sense for us to fly via Singapore, because it's further from London than Bangkok. Maybe you're coming from somewhere else? Anyway, for us it makes more sense to fly London-Bangkok-Chiang Mai-Phuket-Bangkok-London.

@Lostsadandconfused I'm in two minds about the floating market, because you're told you have to be there at 7am or it will be awful and hot and crowded, bla bla bla. But I have two teenagers and getting them up early for anything on holiday is extremely painful and almost more trouble than it's worth, so I'd rather do something a bit later and closer to our hotel! What you're saying is music to my ears

I’d shorten Bangkok, if any of the places.

Hua Hin is not remotely as nice as Koh Samui.

Although @lovelylimesoda is right that the air quality in Chiang Mai is a big problem, it's OK at the time of year you plan to go. It ramps up from the end of January and js worst in March/April. I've discouraged others from going there at that time, but you should be OK.

We are flying from London, indirect flights via Singapore which is very usual - yes not quite as convenient as direct flights but decent airline, decent flight and connection times and it saved us some money too, as well as an extra day on the beach - it’s something that may be worth considering that’s all, several companies we spoke to recommended it over direct flights and go back to Bangkok at the end, but then a lot of people like a stop back at Bangkok for some shopping at the end

See I thought Asiatique was awful in a winter wonderland tacky rip off kind of way!

Khao Lak is a good shout, Nai Harn in the south of Phuket is nice too.

In Bangkok I live to stay near Sathorn so you have the metro and the riverboats. We stayed in an apart hotel above Robinsons department store.

MBK shopping centre is great for the kind of shopping you mentioned.

Another tip is that the Novotel at BKK airport has 24 check in/out so for the 1am flight back to London we check in late the night before so we can keep the room until 9pm then head to check in. Lovely pool at the hotel.

You can fly home from Phuket. I went Manchester > bankgkok (via Doha) and then back from Phuket v Manchester (again, via Doha).
agree with comments about Phuket - large parts of it are really overcrowded and tacky now plus the Russians seem to have taken over the last couple of years.

I would spend more time on the beaches than in chiang mai unless your kids are vulture vultures