The Simple Thailand Itinerary Strategy Every First-Timer Must Know

Make a List of Categories for Your Travel Happiness

Number one, make a list of categories that are important for your travel happiness. Beaches, street food, parks, temples, museums, mountains, cafes, malls, markets, live music, clubs.

Then fill each category with five spots you heard about and want to visit. Number three, open Google Maps and find out if these places really are in the area or if social media lied to you. If you’re lucky, you will have three spots per category. Save them in Google Maps.

Save Places in Google Maps

For example, you saw on Instagram that the Grand Palace in Bangkok is super good. Save it. You heard about Ancient Siam. You thought a fight night at the Rajadamnern Muay Thai Stadium would be good. Maybe you heard that Lumpini Park is quite nice, and you wanted to go to a Go-Go lady at least once. You thought that Nana Plaza maybe should be on your list.

You might have heard about Damnoen Saduak. Now we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven places.

Ancient Siam is so far away. Maybe it is not priority number one anymore.

Number five. Now you look at the map and see how far each of these points is from the others. These are the must-sees in the area. Three here, two there.

Look for a Hotel in the Area

Number six, look for a hotel in the area that is surrounded by most of the pinned locations. Tip: never book a hotel that is too close to the action. Look for the trigger word noise in the review section.

There are more pins, and then you see a lot of hotels, hundreds to check, but you do not need to check.

Plan Your Days in Thirds

Number seven, look at these saved places and divide them into morning and evening activities. Check opening times. Then you know which is more for morning, which is for afternoon, which is more for evening, and maybe which is closed on a Monday. Good to know beforehand.

Plan your days in thirds. Mornings and evenings are for activities. Afternoons are for siestas or the pool.

Find Logical Loops in Bangkok Old Town

Number nine. Always try to find logical loops, like in Bangkok Old Town. The most important sightseeing hotspots are all next to each other. The Flower Market, the Museum, Wat Pho, the Grand Palace, and Wat Arun are all here.

You can do it in one hour. The National Museum, the amulet market, the Royal Barge Museum, and the Giant Swing are nearby.

That’s it: a culture sightseeing bucket list. It’s easy. One morning. It’s a perfect example of why a map is so important to look at up front.

Know exactly where you can put everything together in one bucket, and then do not spend too many days travelling there again and again. Go there once, look at everything, and, of course, if you’re there, look at snack stations between points.

Big Transport Days and Three-Day Stays

Number 10. Generally speaking, do not do big transport days on day two or three. Day one is okay. Your body is crushed from the flight anyway, but your soul travels a little bit slower. Adjust.

Recommendation two: stay for three days at one location. Do not jump every day or two between north and south and west and east and everything. That’s not travelling. That’s like window shopping.

Recommendation three: an itinerary with 20 locations in 20 days is not a masterpiece. It’s a sign of delusion. It’s a ticket to exhaustion, frustration, and regret.

Recommendation four: do not visit places because society expects you to go there. If you’re not interested in temples, skip them. Not a beach guy? Skip them. Be true to yourself. Do only what you love and do not care what other people think.

Don’t Overplan Your Thailand Trip

Recommendation five: do not overplan. For decades, people arrived in Thailand without a hotel booking, without any travel plan. And they had fun, too. You can do everything on the go, from plane, train, and bus tickets to accommodation and tours. But if you want to plan, use sites like GetYourGuide for tours, 12Go Asia for ferries, trains, buses, vans, and domestic flights.

Return to Bangkok Before Your Flight Back Home

Recommendation 15, last but not least: return for at least two days to Bangkok before your flight back home. This gives you a mini break before the crushing flight back home.