Avoid This Thailand Itinerary Mistake

The worst mistake that people make when booking their trip to Thailand leaves people feeling more worn out than when they started the trip, spending most of their time in airports and bus stations and never getting to experience all the things that make Thailand great. The worst part is, it’s easily avoidable by sticking to a few simple rules when planning your trip.

Two nights in Bangkok, fly to Chiang Mai, spend two nights in Chiang Mai, two nights in Chiang Rai, back to Chiang Mai for one night, make the three-hour drive to Pai, spend one night in Pai, head back to Chiang Mai for one night, fly to Phuket, spend two nights on Kata Beach, sail to Koh Phi Phi, spend one night on the island before heading to Krabi, spend two nights in Ao Nang and one on Railay Beach, catch a bus to the other side of the country, hop on a boat to Koh Samui, spend three nights there before hopping on another boat to Koh Phangan for two nights, hop on another boat back to the mainland before catching a bus to Bangkok, where they’ll spend one final night before catching a flight back home.

Of course, it’s trying to see and do too much on your trip to Thailand and not actually enjoying the trip.

This is a real itinerary that I saw someone post. I’m in a lot of Thailand travel groups, and I see this mistake all the time.

I understand the compulsion to try and do this. Each of these places on that list has a lot to offer, and they’re definitely worth visiting. However, it’s impossible to try and do it all on one trip unless you’re staying here for months and months at a time. You just kind of have to accept it and enjoy what you can from the places you do visit. Otherwise, you’re just going to become an expert in the airports and bus stations of Thailand.

I’ve got six tips to help you avoid this kind of itinerary, and then I’ll give you a sample itinerary of my own at the end.

Tip One: Spend at Least Two Full Days in One Place

Make sure to spend at least two full days in one place. Otherwise, the trip is unlikely to be worth it.

If you’re planning on visiting places like Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai, these places take quite a long time to get to, and if you’re not spending at least two full days there, it’s just not really going to be worth it.

The person in this itinerary spent two nights in some places, but that means it’s just one full day because they were having to get up the next morning or the next midday and go to the next place.

I would try and spend at least two full nights. That might mean three nights in a hotel there, but it could just mean two nights if you arrive in the early morning or leave in the late evening, but definitely try and spend at least two full days in one place.

Tip Two: Know Why You Are Traveling to a Certain Place

Know why you are traveling to a certain place.

If a journey requires you to take all your luggage to a certain place, this is a lot of hassle, and if you don’t know why you’re doing it, then there seems to be no point in doing it.

For example, if you want to visit Chiang Rai and you really want to see the temples of Chiang Rai, and they can’t be visited elsewhere, that makes sense to me. You can go and do that. However, if you’re going to do it to go visit an elephant sanctuary, that could be done in Chiang Mai and you don’t actually need to go there just to visit that elephant sanctuary.

Tip Three: Use Chiang Mai as a Base to Explore the North

Use Chiang Mai as a base to explore the north. This is especially true if this is your first trip to Thailand.

When most people talk about visiting Northern Thailand, they’re really talking about visiting Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the biggest city in Northern Thailand, and this is a great place to explore the region from.

There are other places that you can’t get to from Chiang Mai very easily, like Lampang Province or Lamphun Province. However, most people will only visit these on their third or fourth visit to Thailand, and most people are mainly talking about Chiang Mai.

Why not stay in Chiang Mai, spend five or six nights there, but use it as a base to explore other places? There are plenty of places to explore. For example, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Dao and Doi Inthanon are places all within driving distance for one day of Chiang Mai, so you can stay in the hotel in Chiang Mai yet visit these other places to explore from.

Tip Four: Choose the Andaman or the Gulf of Thailand

Choose the Andaman side: Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, or the Gulf of Thailand: Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. Do not try to visit both.

This is the one that confuses me the most. It really confuses me how people can be sat on a beautiful tropical paradise like a beach and then think, Wow, I wonder what the beaches are like 300 miles away from here. It’s all sand and sea, so you may as well enjoy it where you are.

I don’t understand the need to get on a bus to go to the other side of the country to see what the beaches are like there. There’s also a lot to discover on either side you choose. For example, if you’re on the Andaman side, that’s four places. Phuket is a huge island; you can move around Phuket and could spend weeks in Phuket. Koh Lanta and Krabi are all fascinating places to explore. You don’t need to go further. Alternatively, if you’re on the other side, Koh Samui is a huge island, Koh Phangan is a huge island, and Koh Tao is a smaller island. However, that’s still three places you can explore. You can spend weeks there.

Tip Five: Find a New Part of the City

If you do want to change your scenery, finding a new part of the city you’re in can completely change your experience.

For example, if you’re staying in Chiang Mai Old Town but you feel like you want to freshen things up, why not stay somewhere just a little bit outside the city? This is much better than getting on a bus for two or three hours to go to another city. Why not just go somewhere else in that city? It’ll be a completely different experience.

Similarly, if you’re somewhere like Phuket and you’re staying on Kata Beach and you think it’s a bit too touristy, there are many, many other beaches to explore in Phuket. Why not go to one of those beaches and see what it’s like there? You’ll get a completely different experience. You do not need to get on a bus or a plane.

Tip Six: Sometimes You Don’t Even Need to Leave the Hotel

Sometimes you don’t even need to leave the hotel.

Thailand has some very, very, very nice hotels. Most of these hotels you would not be able to afford in your home country, so why not splash out a little bit and spend some time in the hotel there?

There are some amazing hotels with private beaches. There are some hotels with private swimming pools, jacuzzis, all with amazing views and amazing nature. Why not take advantage of this and just stay in the hotel? You’ll have a great time, and you don’t need to move around.

If you would like help trying to find some of these amazing hotels, get in touch with me. We can help you find them.

A More Realistic Thailand Itinerary

Let’s start with three days in Bangkok. You can definitely spend a lot longer in Bangkok. I’ve been living here for about five years, and I’m still exploring and finding new things. However, that’s the whole point of this video: you don’t need to spend five years in Bangkok.

Three days is enough to see the best of the temples, eat some of the best street food in the world, take a cruise on the Chao Phraya River, whatever you want to get from your trip to Bangkok, which is a huge city. You can do the main things that you want to do in Bangkok in three days.

After three days in Bangkok, I would fly to Chiang Mai and spend about five days in Chiang Mai. Like I said earlier, I would use it as a base to explore other places. I would spend one day exploring the Old Town in the center of Chiang Mai and maybe some of the markets. I’d go to Doi Suthep to see some of the temples up on the mountain. I would do a day trip to Doi Inthanon, where you’d explore some of the nature and get to see some of the biggest mountains in Thailand.

I would spend another day exploring the town and the river area, and I would maybe do one more day trip, perhaps to Chiang Dao or Mae Hong Son.

Then I’d fly to Phuket for five days, where I’d spend a lot of time on the beach just chilling. I’d try and get a nice hotel so that I wouldn’t have to leave it too often. I’d also see the Big Buddha, eat some of the street food in the Old Town, and explore the island to see what the best beaches were.

Then, if I had time, I would spend three nights in Krabi, where I would spend a day exploring Ao Nang. I would maybe explore Railay Beach, do a boat trip, but also just spend some time relaxing on the beach. So overall, this itinerary lasts 16 days: three days in Bangkok, five days in Chiang Mai, five days in Phuket and three days in Krabi. This itinerary should allow you plenty of time to actually enjoy Thailand. You will get to see some of the highlights. Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi are great places to explore. However, you’re not going to be worn out and run down from traveling around the country.