Thailand Itinerary: 2 Weeks

Hi All,

It's my first time in Thailand and would greatly appreciate some itinerary assistance! I'll be traveling from June 23-July 7. I am a 26-year-old guy and looking to relax and have fun before starting a new job. I'm not looking to penny pinch but I'm not comfortable spending hundreds per night at luxury resorts. I am less interested in the nightlife and more interested in the food, culture, beaches, and natural beauty.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions about where to go, how to long to stay, and what I should do. Thank you in advance!

Here are a few places I think you should look into:

Koh Tao - diving, snorkeling, beaches. It can be social, very quiet, expensive, or really pretty reasonable, depending on where you go. I love cheap, snorkeling, hiking, and quiet, so I always go to View Rock Resort on the back side of the island, but there's something for everyone.

Sukhothai (sp?) - I liked it. It was easy to get to, relatively cheap, and a nice place to break up the journey on the way to Chiang Mai. It's a nice example of old temples and ruins.

Chiang Mai - lots of temples, a fantastic falafel restaurant , and access to surrounding hills and all the things that go with them. A relatively cheap city overall.

Krabi - Not the cheapest of places, but get out on a tour and see some of the islands and rock formations in the area.

Have a great trip!

Oh! And I really enjoyed Kanchanaburi too. Stay on a floating cabin with a hammock.... ahhhhh....

Bideshi wrote:Oh! And I really enjoyed Kanchanaburi too. Stay on a floating cabin with a hammock.... ahhhhh....

I'll second Kanchanaburi, make sure to go out to Hell Fire Pass.

Dan B. wrote:Hi All,

It's my first time in Thailand and would greatly appreciate some itinerary assistance! I'll be traveling from June 23-July 7. I am a 26-year-old guy and looking to relax and have fun before starting a new job. I'm not looking to penny pinch but I'm not comfortable spending hundreds per night at luxury resorts. I am less interested in the nightlife and more interested in the food, culture, beaches, and natural beauty.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions about where to go, how to long to stay, and what I should do. Thank you in advance!

I think you ought to start with the basics - like how to get from the airport to your hotel. Choosing an area to stay in and where. My suggestion is the Sukhumvit Road area. Wait until you get to Thailand to change any currency over to Thai baht. There are bank money changers available at the airport 24 hours a day. Bring newer currency that is not all torn or dirty. Stick to larger denominations so you don't need a box to carry your money in. Travelers checks are easy to cash in Thailand, one of the easiest places in Asia. There is a fee of 33 baht to cash a travelers check so don't waste money on small amounts, stick to large denominations. You can also use ATMs with your debit or credit card for cash. There is a fee of 150 baht per ATM use so take out the maximum you can at one time. Don't forget to notify your bank that you will be overseas or your withdrawal could be denied because they think it is a fraudulent withdrawal.

At the airport you have several ways to get into the city providing you arrive a before midnight. After midnight your best option is a meter taxi. During the day and early evening you also have an Airport Express Bus and you also have the new Airport Rail Link. Meter taxi sign up desk is on the first floor, out at the curb area, in 2 places. Have a good address for your hotel. Meter fare starts at 35 baht. You are responsible for the meter fare at your hotel plus a surcharge of 50 baht. During the ride you must pay one or 2 toll charges. That price comes to around 70 baht. Most of the meter fares from airport to hotels come to around 350 baht - for everything together! (Have small bills and change for paying a taxi. Even a 500 baht note may be too high.)
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/55
http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/52
http://airportraillink.railway.co.th/en ... ine_a.html

My recommendation is to get a hotel in the city on or near the Skytrain route (like Sukhumvit Road.) The Skytrain can take you to many areas of Bangkok like Chatuchak, MBK, Patpong, Ekamai bus terminal, subway and connect with the new Rail Link at Phaya Thai.
http://www.urbanrail.net/as/bang/bangkok.htm

In Bangkok you can find hotels starting around the 600 baht range that has air, hot water, private toilet, TV and maid service. A room around 1000 baht isn't that bad. When you want a hotel recommendation mention a price range. My advice is to get a hotel in the Sukhumvit Road area, not far from the Nana Skytrain. In this area you can walk to malls, street vendors, restaurants, nightlife (you can ignore any bars like the many thousands who pass by each day) and best of all an easy walk to the Skytrain stop.

In Thailand you can get tours through local travel agencies. Check out their list of tours, pay up, they pick you up the following morning and take you in a van with other tourists.

While in Bangkok you can get your transportation to other places. You could visit Chiang Mai for 4 days, fly to Phuket or bus or train to some other beach and end up in Bangkok for a final night before you fly home.

Cheapest and nearest beach to Bangkok is Pattaya. Beach is not too good for swimming but many hotels have pools. Hotels will be cheaper than Phuket and Bangkok. Transportation is cheap at only 10 baht - beach sucks for anything other than sunbathing, shopping, malls and restaurants. You can ignore the nightlife and pretty girls, no one will force you into a cheap beer bar against your will!

Hua Hin is a beach area you can reach from Bangkok by train and bus. Chiang Mai you can get to by train if you want (overnight sleeper is popular but get the tickets as soon as you get to Bangkok.) Pattaya will cost 113 baht for the 2 hour ride from Ekamai. In Chiang Mai you will see some of Thailand may be more representative than just hitting a few beaches.

Read up on Thailand and see what interests you and plan your moves. Even Google checks will give you some basic info on "things to see and do" in various cities. Also "how to get from Bangkok to (fill in the blank)" for other directions.

Good luck.

We really enjoyed our 3 day hill trek we did from Chiang Mai (organised through Trekker Camp where we stayed - google it if you like). Would do a longer one next time.

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions! I feel a lot better positioned to start planning my trip. Hope to return the favor sometime!