Here’s all the nitty gritty details of our full itinerary to Thailand. This covers a 16-day trip to Thailand, including travel days. Any gaps in flight days are due to layovers.

We used a mix of private drivers, domestic flights, guided tours, and rented motorized scooters to get around – and in one case, a songthaew (budget-friendly shared taxi).

For a packing list, check out my last post.

Trip Snapshot:

• Total days: 16
• Cities visited: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khao Sok National Park, Krabi
• Flights: 9
• Hotels: 5
• Tours: 7
• Scooter rental days: 4

We did our best to maximize every second! Hopefully you can benefit from this information.

Trip Itinerary

Day 1: Flight to Thailand

• 4:55 PM Flight from SLC to LAX – 2 hrs
• 11:40 PM Flight from LAX to Singapore – 17 hrs 10 min
  • We sit in the emergency seating for more leg room that’s affordable – Chris spent the majority of the time standing
  • Nicest flight and nicest flight crew I’ve ever experienced – all the women wore the most beautiful clothing and shoes

Day 2: Still in flight to Thailand

• IN FLIGHT – DAY LOST

Day 3: Arrival in Bangkok

• 9:30 AM Flight from Singapore to Bangkok – 2 hrs 30 min
  • 13 HOURS INTO THE FUTURE – ANOTHER DAY LOST
  • We exchanged money into Thai Baht once we got off the plane – went to the furthest corner of the airport for the best rate – NOT WORTH IT
  • We attempted to buy new sim cards so we could use our phones locally, but our phones rejected it as our phones were locked to our carrier.
• 11:00 AM Private vehicle transfer to hotel
• WHERE WE STAYED
  • 2-night stay at U Sathorn Bangkok
  • Due to severe jet lag, we fell asleep right away and didn’t wake up until 2 AM

Day 4: Full day tours in Bangkok

• 8:00 AM 4 HR TOUR – HALF DAY GRAND PALACE & WAT PHO
  • Tour included the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
• 12:00 PM Lunch at The Sixth 6th
• 1:00 PM 4 HR TOUR – HALF DAY KLONGS WITH TEMPLE OF DAWN & ROYAL BARGE MUSEUM
  • Tour included a longtail boat ride through the Chao Phraya River, the Royal Barges National Museum, and Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)
• 5:00 PM Tour guide dropped us off at Health Land Asoke for Thai massage

Day 5: Arrival in Chiang Mai

• 10:35 AM Private vehicle transfer to airport
• 1:35 PM Flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai – 1 hr 15 min
• 2:55 PM Private vehicle transfer to hotel
• WHERE WE STAYED
  • 5-night stay at U Chiang Mai

Day 6: Exploring Chiang Mai

• Spent the morning and afternoon on our own exploring Old Town Chiang Mai
• 5:00 PM 4 HR TOUR – CHIANG MAI NIGHT DISCOVERY WITH DINNER
  • Tour included the Silver Temple, dinner at 137 Pillars House, and walking through Warorot Market

Day 7: Full Day Tour in Chiang Mai

• 8:30 AM 8.5 HR TOUR FULL DAY DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK TREK AND KAREN HILLTRIBE
  • Tour included transportation to Doi Inthanon National Park, the Pha Dok Siew Nature Trail, Pha Dok Siew Waterfall, Lunch, visiting the Karen hill tribe, and the Wachirathan Waterfall

Day 8: Full Day Tour with Elephants

• 7:30 AM FULL DAY ELEPHANTS AS NATURE INTENDED
  • Tour included transportation to the Elephant Nature Park, lunch, and a full day spent with elephants

Day 9: Samoeung Loop

• Rented a motorized scooter from POP Big Bike Rental
• 10:00 AM Mae Sa and Mok Fa Waterfalls
• 11:00 AM Drove through Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden
• 12:00 PM Stopped at Hoo Coffee for cold fruit drinks and a spontaneous hike accessible through Hoo Coffee
• Continued through Samoeng forest
• 4:00 PM Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
  • Climbed 300 stairs up the “Naga” handrails to the temple at the top
• 5:30 PM Continued driving higher up Doi Suthep to a scenic viewpoint and got souvenirs from a Hmong tribe
• 7:00 PM Went to the Chiang Mai market
  • Got dinner from a street vendor and shopped for souvenirs
• 8:00 PM Visited Wat Chedi Luang while it was lit up at night

Day 10: Travel to Khao Sok National Park

• 6:00 AM Private vehicle transfer from hotel to airport
• 8:00 AM Flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok – 1 hr 20 min
• 2:45 PM Flight from Bangkok to Krabi – 1 hr 25 min
• 4:10 PM Private vehicle transfer from airport to hotel
• WHERE WE STAYED
  • 2-night stay at Anurak Community Lodge

Day 11: Full Day Tour at Khao Sok National Park

• 8:00 AM Group transfer from Anurak Community Lodge to Khao Sok National Park
  • Tour included transportation, guide through Klong Ka Swamp Forest Nature Trail, Pra Kai Petch Cave, lunch and swimming at Panvaree Resort

Day 12: Arrival in Krabi

• 9:00 AM Private vehicle transfer to Krabi
• 11:00 AM Arrival in Krabi
• WHERE WE STAYED
  • 3-night stay at Krabi Resort
• 2:00 PM Rented a motorized scooter from Mr. Kord Car & Bike Rental
• 3:00 PM Arrival at Wat Tham Suea (Tiger Cave Temple) and started climbing the 1,260 stairs to the temple at the top
• 4:00 PM Made it to the top of the Tiger Cave Temple
• 5:00 PM Short exploration through Wonderland Stairs and caves

Day 13: Full Day Tour to James Bond Island

• 8:00 AM FULL DAY JAMES BOND BY LONGTAIL BOAT & SEA CANOE
  • Tour included transportation, Wat Suwan Khuha (Monkey Cave), longtail boat ride through Phang Nga Bay, sea canoe ride through Lod Cave, exploring James Bond Island and Ko Tapu, lunch at Panyi Restaurant and floating Muslim village
  • Tour guide also found us some fresh durian to try before dropping us off at our hotel
• 5:15 PM Monkey Trail, Ao Nang on our own

Day 14: Exploring Krabi on our own

• 10:30 AM Arrival at Wat Kaeo Korawaram
• 11:30 AM Longtail boat ride to Khao Khanab Nam
• 1:00 PM Return to Tiger Caves
  • Viewed the tiger display inside the cave
  • Explored more of the Wonderland Stairs and Caves – went further than our first visit
• 6:00 PM Took a longtail boat ride to swim with bioluminescent plankton in the Phra Nang area of Railay

Day 15: Started journey home

• 8:00 AM Took one last drive around on the motorized scooter before turning it in
• 10:00 AM Took one last photo at Ao Nang Beach
• 10:30 AM Private vehicle transfer to airport
• 1:55 PM Flight from Krabi to Singapore – 1 hr 25 min
• 8:45 PM Flight from Singapore to LAX – 15 hr 55 min
• WHERE WE STAYED
  • 1-night stay at Hilton Los Angeles Airport

Day 16: Last flight home

• 6:30 AM Shuttle from hotel to airport
• 9:05 AM Flight from LAX to SLC – 2 hours
  • This time we went back in time, we ended up getting back some of the time we lost flying to Thailand

Up Next: Thailand was one of the most incredible experiences we have ever had, and we would love to make a return trip one day. The next post will detail what changes we’d make to our itinerary now that we know better.

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