Dear readers,
My best friend and I are going to Thailand for two weeks in November. We have already made a bit of a plan, but we are not sure whether it is actually feasible and whether there are things that we should replace with something else. So I'm kind of looking for some advice.
The first days in Bangkok we will book a hotel in advance, the rest of the days we actually plan to find accommodation there ourselves. I've read here that you can just enter a hotel, have a look at the room and if it's not good, you can just go to another hotel. Is this correct? Won't you get into trouble with this?
This is the plan, but can of course still be changed:
06/Nov AMS-BKK
07/Nov BKK
08/Nov BKK
09/Nov BKK
10/Nov BKK if 2 days jungle tour at Kaho Yai National Park (9+10 Nov)
11/Nov BKK – Chiang Mai (night train)
12/Nov Chiang Mai
13/Nov Chiang Mai
14/Nov Chiang Mai – Koh Samui (plane)
15/Nov Koh Samui – Koh Phangan (ferry)
16/Nov Koh Phangan – Koh Tao by (ferry)
17/Nov Koh Tao
18/Nov Koh Tao – Surat Thani -Khao Sok Nature Park (ferry + pick up)
19/Nov Khao Sok Nature Park – Phuket (bus?)
20/Nov Phuket – Ko Kaho Phing Kan (James Bond Island) (ferry)
21/Nov Phuket -Ko Phi Phi (ferry)
22/Nov Phuket – BKK – AMS (Airplane)
Please give your opinion whether this is feasible and advice is of course always welcome. For example, is it possible to do this with a large sports bag on wheels or is it better to buy a trekking backpack?
Thank you very much in advance!!
Jess
That's a lot for 2 weeks. It's a shame to be everywhere for only 1 day.
Personally I would choose to go from chiang mai or towards the gulf (samui, tao and phangan). Or to the andaman sea (phucket, krabi etc) and then just come back to thailand to do the other option
to do.
Regards Youri
Hi Jesse.
My name is Peter and I have been going to Thailand since 1998. I am also someone who arranges everything myself. I don't need a travel agency. I'm looking when I want to go and that's this year June 19, 2015 for 4 weeks. I arranged my ticket directly through China Airline in Amsterdam. I arrange my further holiday there myself. I start this year in Pattaya and I booked a hotel for 650 bath per day for a week. I pay every day because it may just be that I want something else and then I can leave. I wouldn't tell you all about my onward journey or where I'm going next. But about those hotels that's right because I do too because there are plenty where you can walk in for information and view the rooms in advance. And with that night train of about 13 hours, it is also a beautiful experience in itself. to or from Ghiang Mai. I must tell you that you are in for a lovely journey and I am afraid you will run out of time to see everything. I wish you a great journey in November.
Kind regards: Peter
@Jess,
No. Isn't realistic. Not in this timetable.
You are traveling a lot, bus, train, plane, without seeing anything of Thailand.
Only between 7-11 and 14-11 do you take the time to see Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Then you put everything in one day!
The distances are enormous and on the islands of Samui, Phangan, Phuket, PhiPhi you have just enough time to drink a coke and continue your journey. Moreover, you run the risk of spending the days in Samui, Pjangan and KohTao in the rain.
You want too much in too little time. And he never rests. Surely it should also be the case that you want to lie at a booth on one of the islands? Want to enjoy what Thailand has to offer. Eateries, massage, actually doing something. Instead of running and running more.
You will have to make realistic choices.
In two weeks time You shouldn't want to travel from North to South and from East Coast to West Coast.
Tip. Grab a map. And discover that Thailand measures over 1500 kilometers from North to South.
Also look at the seasons. The east coast (Samui) has a period of rain in November.
Typ.
* Bangkok – Kao Sok – Phuket – Bangkok
* Bangkok (and surroundings Floating Market, Ayuthhaya, Bridge on the River KWai )- ChiangMai – Bangkok (possibly a few more days Koh Samed).
Eric
Totally agree Eric. The distance from ChiangMai to Ko Samui alone is 1.500 km. Many more kilometers from north to south.
But maybe Jess wants to see Thailand through glass.
Hi Jesus,
It's a lot to do in two weeks. Been coming to Thailand for a long time so this is really too much in too short a time. Rob
The planning looks tight, but keep in mind that things can turn out differently in Thailand, 1x a miss and your entire schedule is messed up. After 2 weeks you are completely turned off, I assume you also want to enjoy it a bit. If you are staying somewhere for a longer period of time I recommend a suitcase with wheels, for short visits I would opt for a backpack. I would go for a Bkk-north (mountains/jungle) trip or for a Bkk-south (islands) trip and then what Youri says come back again. Take the time I would say so that you can relax more and absorb more (traveling in the heat takes more strength and energy) instead of starting rush hour 5. Good luck!
I agree with the previous response. You take 8 means of transport in that short time. And besides, why stay in Bangkok for so long and then only 1 day everywhere? You will want to leave Bangkok much faster. It is so busy and the smell there is really not healthy. We toured Thailand for 17 days. Spent 2 nights at each location; then you have more of a feeling of taking it easy. We only chose the south and left Chiang Mai for what it is. The Pipi Islands (Ko Phi Phi) are magnificent. And I didn't see Krabi on your list. Hint ; Take the train from Bangkok to Hua-Hin (takes 4 hours) and you will drive through beautiful landscapes. Definitely do Ko Samui and Ko Tao and drive around with a scooter.
greetings, Jan
After Chiang Mai you are almost only traveling and if you like it then that is of course okay, but if you really want to see something then the 2nd part is too busy for me.
Indeed, far too much. I think three options:
from BKK not too far away eg River Kwai, Hua Hin and Koh Samet or from BKK to the North or from BKK to the beaches in the south.
You often see good suggestions when you look at the travel program of an organized trip (and then take fewer temples).
Or take a look at our website at Tips Thailand: http://www.LaiThai.nl
Have fun
Hein
Completely agree with the statement “why so long BKK”
Think about going to the islands or to Chang Mai, Chang Rai and the surrounding area.
If you prefer beaches, choose the islands and otherwise go to CM……..
For sure you will go back to Thailand after this trip (never heard anyone say that there is no blow to it) ……. If you go back for the second time, you will take the other part of this first trip.
This schedule is just not doable in 2 weeks…
have fun in beautiful Thailand
After six Thailand trips I can also give an opinion :) that corresponds to much that has already been reported above.
Two weeks is short but young people can handle this schedule. The only question is do you want this?
If I were you I would end in Bangkok instead of starting there.
In my opinion, Chiangmai should never be missing from a Thailand trip because that city and its surroundings still reflect the real authentic Thailand culture.
I have often flown directly to Chiangmai after landing in Bangkok, this to prevent loss of time and jet lag, so you better realize it right away.
I would really plan Chiangmai 3 days in advance and do the things that interest you in and around the city.
From Chiangmai I would fly directly to Phuket. We also did and it is many times cheaper than to Koh Samui.
Then from Phuket to James Bond Island and Phi Phi.
Via Phulet to the mainland – train journey to Hua Hin and at Chumphon on the ferry to Koh Tao and possibly continue for a few days to Koh Samui, which is not much different or different from Phuket, but that is my opinion. It is mainly about Koh Tao which stands out just like Phi Phi near Phuket.
Possibly fly from Samui to Bangkok to stay there for a few more days, possibly 4 if you still want to go to Kao Yai for a full day. Or you can take the ferry from Koh Tao to Chumpon again and then take the night train to Bangkok (possibly also by taxi).
If I had to say I would spend longer in the Phuket region and spend a bit more time on Khao Sok and do the other part-Koh Samui and Tao next time. Much more relaxed. At Air Asia you can choose a multi flight from Chiangmai to Phuket and back to Bangkok.
I've done train travel twice at night but then the other way around from Chiangmai to Bangkok, it's nice but to be honest it's dark every night at a quarter to 2 so you only travel with light for a few hours. It is an experience in itself and we do it to save time and an overnight stay.
You can indeed always walk into a guesthouse or a hotel and ask for a room, but we have experienced more often in recent years that this can be more expensive than via http://www.latestays.com
Here we often book a day before arrival and so throughout the journey. If we are sure we want to stay somewhere, we book a night or 2 and often stay on site if we want to stay longer. Ideal.
Good luck making choices for this beautiful country!
Achievable in itself, but it will mainly be ′′ aside aside ′′ from Herman van Veen 😉
If you can't make your trip longer, I also advise you to take less hay on the fork and delete it.
You are sprinting for 14 days while you can easily take a month for this program. A shame really because you just want to get away from the hectic, right? Avoid that stress and take your time because in Thailand everything never goes according to plan
Have fun in advance!
NB what Jan says about renting a scooter. I would only do this if you have a motorcycle license. In Thailand, the 150 cc engines are rented for scooters and you can insure them all risk for a few euros. The only problem is that if something happens and you need to have care or worse, you have caused a lot of damage, your Dutch insurance will not cover anything and you will have to pay the thousands of euros yourself because you drove around without a driver's license. Many tourists do not know this and the Thai will be concerned because their scooter is rented insured. So they look like scooters, but they are motorcycles that you ride on and you need a motorcycle license for that. In Thailand nothing is what it seems, that makes it fun but sometimes also difficult :)
Hi everyone,
Thank you very much in advance for your responses. Obviously I need to make some adjustments. The intention of 4 days in Bangkok was to go from here to a national park which is a 2-hour drive from Bangkok. It's just a rough plan though. If somewhere it is very hard to stay, then we stay there a little longer. We only wanted to book the hotel in Bangkok in advance and the rest there ourselves.
Because of the islands I had based myself a bit on previous trips. In almost every country you can take a ferry and sail to an island for a day. Usually you have seen that island in 1 day. But you can read that in Thailand it is completely different ☺
Greetings
I ss
watch out for the ferries in the south, they usually only sail 1 time to and 1 time from the islands to Krabi, AO-nang or Phukhet. with an island time slot of two hours and otherwise the next day.
I'm afraid you won't enjoy much and will travel a lot and that with a temperature of 30 degrees plus. is not a holiday, but hard work.
All this in 2 weeks, man, then you are crazy and have risen good advice 2 days in Bangkok and you can also visit a lot, of course not everything 2 weeks is short, otherwise have a good trip.
Bangkok, Chiangmai and one beach destination, and then it's a lot of traveling in two weeks. For example, I recently had friends visiting on Samui, who later went to Koh Lanta. Departed from Samui at seven o'clock in the morning and arrived at the destination at five o'clock in the afternoon.
Indeed, traveling in Thailand usually takes longer than the stated time. I once traveled from Jomtien Beach (Pattaya) to Koh Chang, also left at 10 am in the morning and only arrived at the hotel at 17 pm. The ferry only left when it was reasonably full and that took 2 hours longer to wait. But that's what the holidays are for!
Have you ever been in a stationary train for an hour and a half, it often happens that it suddenly stops for a while on the way and nobody knows why? That is why it is always wise to never arrive in Bangkok on the day of your return flight, always plan 1 or 2 days in advance.
If you plan everything yourself, of course. If you travel with an organization and you miss your return flight, that is their responsibility and they will arrange another flight.
You come home more tired than when you left, enjoy those 2 weeks on an island, take a different holiday in Northern Thailand.
First look at a week in Bangkok and surroundings (10 things to do in Bangkok) and then a week in Krabi (40 things to do in Krabi) stay there for a week and enjoy the beach, nature and the surroundings and rest well.
Flight to Bangkok round trip from Phuket 🙂
Hi Jesse,
I usually make the same trip twice a year and take over 2 weeks for it. I notice myself that fatigue sets in during the holidays. Especially if you travel by minivan, train and ferry. My last visit to Thailand (March) I did everything flying (air asia). Must admit that traveling is a lot less tiring. But even if you fly everything off, your schedule seems very tight to me. I don't think it's recommended if you want to relax. That will be more of a race against the clock than a holiday.
I would advise visiting fewer places and sticking to the places you like for at least a day.
Furthermore, it is not really possible to determine where your interests lie, but if you also want to dive into the nightlife of Thailand, then traveling the next morning is not really good 😉 .
Options:
BKK – Chiang Mai – Phuket and surroundings (enough excursions and day trips to experience)
BKK – Chiang Mai – Koh Samui and surroundings (plenty of excursions and day trips to experience)
BKK – Koh Samui and surroundings. – Phuket and surroundings (sea/beach holiday).
However, there are plenty of trips to be made on Koh Samui and Phuket (temples, national parks, etc etc).
If you want more specific information, you can email me [email protected] .
Have fun anyway!
Gr. Richard
We stayed 4n BKK + 2n Kanchaburi River Kwai Resort + flight BKK >ChiangMai 3n Chiang Mai + Chiang Rai + flight Chiang Mai > Koh Samui 8n. + flight Koh Samui > BKK back 1n and then BKK > AMS.
Air travel instead of road transport to save time. Beautiful excursions done at every location, seen a lot. Really worth it. Until Koh Samui was the travel part. KOH Samui was the end of the holiday. Yet booked 2 unplanned day excursions on Koh Samui that we still experienced FANTASTIC. Thailand is so beautiful and there is so much to experience that you have to make choices given time constraints. So next time we will look for other locations in Thailand. Ultimately, one should not come back stressed from an overbooked trip. One should give oneself time to absorb the experiences and sights in order to enjoy them at home after the holiday. You will not complain, it is and remains a wonderful experience in a beautiful country.
I'm not 18 anymore, but even then I wouldn't want to go.
For this schedule you have to take a month, otherwise cut half.
I have lived in Thailand for 14 years if we have time we are happy to be in Hua Hin for two weeks, take 2 travel days off to and from Khon Kean where we live which some NLers cram into two weeks then you are happy you can go back to work afterwards. 🙂
I also think that when you go for 2 weeks, you should choose either north or south.
Decide with your girlfriend what is preferable, but let the final choice depend on the weather.
So keep an eye on the weather reports for TH in the weeks before departure.
I also often have alternative routes available.
Have fun!!!
Hi,
I also travel like you, I have been living in Thailand for quite some time, but visited Europe last weeks. Visited in 1 day from Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne and Geneva, and flew to Brussels in the evening.
Visited Rotterdam, Leiden, Keukenhof, and The Hague in 1 day, so depends on your travel style.
It is feasible and best not to book anything, nor is it necessary (except for flights). However, I would personally make a choice between Kao Jai OR khao sok, then you have some breathing space for 2 days.
I would only visit Kho Phangngan and Kho Tao if you want to go to the full moon (if there is one) otherwise I would spend more time in Phuket/krabi and the surrounding area.
good trip
hey jess,
I haven't read all the comments but as many say this is very tight in 2 weeks.
My opinion; skip direct bkk (not a relaxed city to start with), take the same day flight to chiang mai, airports have good connections and are cheap. Stay there for 2/3 nights then fly to the south or west side; towards Krabi, Koh Phi Phi etc or east side; Koh Toa, Koh Pangang etc. Stay at least a week in the south and spend the last 2 days in BKK.
Both southwest and southeast are both very beautiful in terms of islands and nature. Examine for yourself what attracts you the most. You can do this in advance, but also when you are in Thailand itself.
Good luck with your journey.
Gr. John
You don't see anything of Bangkok in 2 days, it takes a week. Chiang Mai and surroundings 2 weeks and Southern Thailand and islands a month. Forget that rushing through Thailand, that's complete craziness, typical of the Netherlands who think that this is how you get to see something. Not so .
If you do not visit nature parks, Thailand's most valuable heritage, you have missed the most important thing. There are plenty of NLers who have never been to a nature reserve, only Bankok and beaches, especially expats, so you know nothing about Thailand.
It is also not smart to go to expat cafes in cities, you can also do it at home, do not go to such establishments but to real Thai catering establishments, where the prices are also nicer. Why pay European prices in Thailand? (I generally like the latter more, do what the Thais do and that is not spending 75 or 80 bath for a normal glass of beer)
Hoi
We are also going in November but not on spec, I have booked everything in advance so that when I am there I can just enjoy myself and not have to worry about what I still have to arrange.
We do:
2 nights BBK
night train to Khao Sok
3 nights Khao sok
2 nights Phi Phi
and 7 nights Khao lak.
each place is an excursion in itself, take your time so that you can enjoy yourself! personally I wouldn't want to visit Phucket again, way too crowded. Koh Lanta and Krabi are great!
and just remember if you don't get around to it now you have a good excuse to go again 😉 Thailand is addictive
Thx everyone for all the tips. We are going to delete some islands, Bangkok and Chiang Mai and then head south. Does anyone have a good place to book a 2-day group tour in Kaho Yai National Park? Booking such a trip with 2 women alone does not seem wise to me. I only find “private tours”.
I would like to keep the national parks on the schedule. We are not in favor of lying on the beach for days, but we do like some adventure, cultural boat trips, snorkeling, ... so in terms of islands it is better than Krabi and Phi Phi with a day trip to James Bond Island. This is already better planning, isn't it ☺
Take a look in you tube and tip in a few places and first look at some travel reports
Krabi is only worth a week, especially if you spend the night a little north in the national park in a "tree house" with air conditioning, etc.
Do some research first and use whatever terms you like.