Langkawi and Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai

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I'm planning a special holiday for my husband and I. First one without children as they are now at university.

We have flights in Jan / Feb into Kuala Lumpur and then leaving two weeks later from Bangkok. The flights are on avios and can't be changed.

I haven't been to KL since 1993 when I worked there and we went to Pankor Laut for honeymoon in 1998. We have been to Singapore a lot and we went to Vietnam two years ago. So we want to focus on Malaysia and Thailand.

We had envisaged a few days in KL (hotel sorted) and then few days in Langkawi before going to Northern Thailand / golden triangle and then Bangkok for a night before flying back.

We have never been to Thailand but beaches are not hugely important. Crowds and touristy areas are not our thing. Prefer nature / hikes / temples but with things to do. Hence why we planned to go to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. But I realise flying Langkawi to Chiang Rai is not that easy and connections not good, and it could take more than a day.

Based on the above, if you know both locations should I forget about Langkawi and just do KL and then Thailand? Or is Langkawi unmissable or is there anywhere similar in Thailand? We had booked the datai (but this can be cancelled).

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Yes, forget about Langkawi if beaches aren’t a priority for you, and spend longer than a night in Bangkok. From Bangkok you can do day trips to Ayutthaya and the Death Railway/River Kwai.

Is there any way you could coincide your Chiang Mai stay with the amazing annual flower show? It’s predicted to be 6th-8th Feb next year. I went last year and yes it’s busy, but not insanely so, and definitely worth it.

It feels like you’d spend a lot of time transferring/internal flights to do that itinerary! There is absolutely loads to do if you just go KL to Bangkok.

Like pp lots of really interesting day trips from Bangkok- I’d consider a few days out in Kanchanaburi for the National Parks there. We also just did 3 amazing days at Khao Yai National Park- we had a guide who spent 3 days driving us round spotting the most incredible wildlife including elephants and bears. Stayed at a lovely hotel but the area is scarce for tourists so a real hidden gem!

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. We are going to forget about Langkawi and focus on just Thailand.

Thank you very much for the flower festival Chiang Mai suggestions. We are definitely going to work around those dates!
Thanks again

Langkawi is really pretty but a bit dull beyond beaches. What about Cameron highlands or Malalka for a bit of interest. Temples in Penang were incredible and the giant Buddha there too.

The datai is a very nice hotel! Destination wise I'd say langkawi is nice for a beach break to relax and recover in the middle of a long holiday... but there are lots of nicer beaches in the region and I didn't find the rest of the place very interesting.

Penang and malacca definitely offer more in terms of culture and food. They should be better connected with flights as well. Oh penang is near the border with Thailand and you can hire a driver to drive you into hat yai in about 2 or 3 hours.

Never been to chiang rai but chiang mai is fabulous! Lots of culture and nature and different from phuket/krabi.

Last year we went to KL, Borneo and Langkawi. In hindsight we would have spent more time in Borneo and given Langkawi a miss.
I have been to Chang Rai and Chang Mai and loved them both but that was about 20 years ago and things change.

I was in Langkawi. Stayed with a lovely local woman and 2 lovely Palestinians who were working there.
No public transport and barely a taxi to be found....
Loved Kuala Lumpur and Tioman.

In addition to C Rai and C Mai, Audley Travel suggest the attached itinerary. This is exploring Thailand in a bit more depth but if you look on their web site you might find good ideas for this part of Thailand if you don’t want long in Bangkok - although there’s good temples to see there!

You should check weather in all those places that time of year as it may influence your decisions on how long where. We used to spend a lot of time in Thailand and were always shocked how the weather is so different same time of year in the different areas of the country.

Two weeks is not a long time in terms of visiting a whole range of places. I’ve never been to langkawi but my mother is Malaysian and I have been to Penang. If you have never been to Malaysia or Thailand I would just concentrate on one of them.

@suburberphobe Roman is incredible isn’t especially the air bat and side with no big vehicles

This is a helpful post, so thank you Doing similar, and trying to work out where I go. Maybe the only difference is I have been to Langkawi before on a 7 week long trip (spent 3 nights there, then 3 on Penang). Liked Langkawi, was not that keen on Penang. Langkawi: more natural, stayed in Pentai Cenang, which was "OK-ish" bit touristy, airport close (10 mins) Liked Kuah and the night market, liked going to waterfalls and some deserted beaches, GRAB cheap and plentiful, good job because no public transport. It is quite a confusing place, half of it is expensive resorts, and trips, half of it is down at heel. Did not love Penang, massively overpopulated, the beaches were dirty / hassly, and touristy, but did love some of the things there (Kek si LOk temple etc, the old jetties, and the graffiti (banksy style) plenty of nice hotels to be in, and to be fair, the public transport was good and GRAB were cheap. I am moving on to Thailand quicker this time, and I am wondering how soon I should go (i.e. skip them both)....will keep an eye on the thread x

Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions.

Because I lived in KL 30 years ago for a few months with work and travelled in Malaysia I am concerned that the Malaysia I remember in terms of Tioman, Panang etc will have changed and not necessarily for the better, which is why I'm thinking of just spending a few days in KL before going to to Thailand but I'd like to stay out of main tourist areas.

I am a little concerned that I will be disappointed in terms of how developed it is. I worked extensively in SE Asia 30 years ago, but have never been to Thailand. Climate wise Lombok / Indonesia is not a consideration.

My son has recently come back from travelling in SE Asia and then a separate trip to China.... he had such an incredible experience in China (as did my husband who was there for business) that, as crazy as it sounds, I am considering flying to Shanghai or Chengdu and then back to Bangkok.

I appreciate this is a lovely position to be in, but I want to make the most of the time and don't want to end up in Thailand and wishing I went somewhere else.

Why go to China and not spend all your time in China? Thailand is very developed for tourists. China does its own thing. I think China is much more interesting and has The Great Wall and other world class sites. Like elsewhere there are less visited areas but the Chinese do travel within their own country so they are the vast majority of tourists you meet.

The itinerary I posted for Thailand did give slightly more remote ideas.

I thought I would update this, as we have made a decision (after my somewhat ridiculous idea of going to China within this trip). We have decided to do;- two nights in KL, fly to Phuket, Three nights in Khao Lak. Fly to Chiang Mai, Four nights in Chiang Mai and the drive to Chiang Rai for three nights, then fly back to Bangkok for two nights and then home. Thank you to everyone who commented and made suggestions. I can now start getting excited (whilst worrying about leaving home and dogs etc and first holiday away without children in 21 years… apart from the odd weekend away)