Thailand with a 4 year old

[NatMoz]

Hi there, we've decided to go on a 4 week trip to Thailand in December 2025 when our then 4 year old is still in nursery so not tied to school holidays. We've had a few family tragedies (2 relatives dying in a car crash and another dying of cancer before their time) so feel life is short and we should crack on.

No plans to backpack with a 4 year old but was hoping to get a bit of an itinerary together. In particular feel overwhelmed about which island/beach area to opt for that is family friendly so any advice from people who have been would be appreciated

Vague itinerary looks like this:

Fly into Bangkok, spend 3 days in Bangkok
Catch overnight train to Chaing Mai
Spend 4 days in Chaing Mai
Spend 3 days, 2 nights at Elephant Hills Chaing Mai camp (think it's called Bush Camp or something)
Catch a flight to Krabi
Then i was thinking possibly Khao Lak 7 days
Maybe Koh Lanta 7 days roughly?

How does this sound? Is there anything else i need to consider? Any alternative OR places that should be on my list that are must sees?

Hi I'm really sorry about your family tragedies.
I used to live in Thailand when my kids were small and it's wonderful. Very child friendly. Because of the humidity and traffic jams don't be too ambitious in your plans. The real experience is just sitting around people watching, talking to people and trying the food. You can get plain foods like rice, chicken, eggs, broccoli everywhere if you ask, and kids love the fruit like mangoes and sticky rice. Try to stay somewhere with a pool.
Public transport (buses and long distance trains) can be hard work with young kids due to delays and either no air con or too much air con. The exception is the skytrain in Bangkok which is fab and good to stay near. Flights are cheap and taxis relative good value.
One place we went to about 7 times was Dolphin Bay www.dolphinbayresort.com/ It's perfect for a four year old and we always made friends staying there. It's not on your current itinerary but you can ask the hotel for a price to send a car to your hotel in Bangkok to pick you up. It's a quiet area without masses to do but lovely pool, food, beach, local restaurants, safe cycling and day trips to water parks, nature reserves etc.
I think you'd have a wonderful trip!

Khao Lak is great with kids that age! Have fun!

Be relaxed with food and tiredness in the heat. Little kids seems to feel it more.

Hua Hin or Khao Lak are both great (Dolphin Bay is in HH) with kids. Personally I am not keen on remote islands with under 5s but that’s a personal preference due to a DC who seems to require medical attention every holiday!

Thailand is fab with kids. In Bangkok DC loved the unicorn cafe.

@cosygingerkitten @Twilightstarbright

You've both mentioned Dolphin Bay and it's made me wonder if i need to rethink things!!!

Yes i do need to consider the heat and maybe flying to Chaing Mai is the way to go

I could change it around a bit and do
Bangkok (few days)
Flight to Chaing Mai to complete plans there
Chaing Mai to Krabi for Khao Lak 7 days
Krabi to Bangkok to spend time in HH Dolphin before departing Thailand altogether

The Nana Beach Hotel in Chumphon is lovely. Great beach and nice pool. We stayed a lot longer than planned we liked it so much. It's a good stopover on the way back or to Hua Hin.

Otherwise I wasn't too keen on Krabi, too touristy and a bit downmarket.

@PrincessofWells that's also really interesting and adds a further curveball but that is the whole point of the thread at the end of the day.

Looking at maps and figuring out options.

I have heard Phuket is also not that nice although i appreciate some people rave about it. I'm looking for family friendly with nice beaches

@NatMoz air Asia do flights from Hua Hin to Chiang Mai.

Phuket is a very big developed island and some resorts are like the equivalent of Benidorm/Fuengirola for SE Asia ie very developed and built up. Nothing wrong with that if that’s what you like (I like Fuengirola personally!) but my preference is Khao Lak over Phuket with a 4 year old.

Hello ! I wondered if you did this trip and would recommend - have 4 year old

Heya, we're planning to go this December so it hasn't yet but i have now got an itinerary together and looking at flights!

How is the trip going? Im thinking of visiting next year December.

Did you do your trip? Would love to know how you got on!

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