10 days in classic Thailand
This is the classic first trip: city, north, one beach. Use the monsoon to pick Phuket and Krabi or Samui and Tao. Do not stack both seas.
The classic first trip is Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and one south coast. Ten nights is enough for that. It is not enough for two seas. Sleep three nights in Bangkok, three in Chiang Mai, then four on the coast the monsoon allows. Book hotel bases, not a new room every night.
Fly the long legs. Bangkok to Chiang Mai is about 70 minutes. The useful night train is SRT 9 northbound (Krung Thep Aphiwat to Chiang Mai, about 18:40 to 07:15) and SRT 10 southbound (Chiang Mai to Krung Thep Aphiwat, about 18:20 to 06:30), about 12 hours, if you want to save a day-room. The south hop is a second flight: CNX or BKK to HKT or KBV in winter, USM in the Gulf summer. A 2026 BTS tap is 17 to 62 THB. Grand Palace is 500 THB. Wat Pho is 300 THB.
Day by day
1 Bangkok arrival
Land BKK or DMK. ARL to Phaya Thai, then two BTS stops to Siam, or a booked airport car to Sukhumvit. Walk a soi. Sleep.
2 Rattanakosin morning
Grand Palace at opening (500 THB), Wat Pho next (300 THB), Wat Arun by ferry. Dinner back on Sukhumvit or Charoenkrung.
3 City buffer
Chinatown lunch, a river walk, or Siam malls if the heat wins. Night train 9 if you skip the morning CNX flight.
4 Chiang Mai
Fly about 70 minutes to CNX, or wake on train 9. Sleep inside the moat. The loop is about 6.5 km and 75 to 90 minutes on foot.
5 Old City wats
Dawn at Wat Phra Singh and Chedi Luang. Temple booths often ask 20 to 50 THB cash. Cooking class or Sunday Walking Street if the calendar lines up.
6 Nimman or a half-day
Cafes west of the moat. Doi Inthanon only if you accept a full day and skip a rest. Do not add Pai here.
7 Fly south
November to April: HKT or KBV, then Kata, Kamala, or Ao Nang. May to September: USM, then Chaweng or a north-coast bay. No boat on landing day.
8 Beach base
Swim and learn the Grab or songthaew pattern. Andaman: Railay longtail 100 to 200 THB. Gulf: keep Tao for tomorrow, not today.
9 One boat or one dive
Andaman: Phi Phi or a west-coast hop. Gulf: Lomprayah to Tao if diving is the point, or stay put and swim.
10 Buffer and out
Weather buffer. Fly to BKK only if the long-haul needs it. Same-day international from a south airport is a gamble.
Hotel bases, not a suitcase relay
Bangkok: Sukhumvit for the BTS, riverside if you want boats, Old City only if the palace is the whole stay. Chiang Mai: inside the moat for dawn wats, Nimman for later dinners. South: one beach name. Kata or Ao Nang on the Andaman. Chaweng if you want lights on Samui; Maenam or Bophut if you do not.
| Block | Sleep | Transport |
|---|---|---|
| Bangkok, 3 nights | Sukhumvit or riverside | ARL, BTS 17 to 62 THB, river boat |
| Chiang Mai, 3 nights | Old City or Nimman | BKK-CNX flight or SRT 9/10 |
| Andaman, 4 nights | Phuket west coast or Ao Nang / Railay | HKT or KBV, then car or longtail |
| Gulf, 4 nights | Samui plus an optional Tao night | USM, then Lomprayah |
Keep going
Book
Common questions
- Phuket or Samui on this plan?
- Phuket or Krabi from November to April. Samui and Tao from May to September. Overlap exists in January to April; pick one sea anyway.
- Fly or take the sleeper to Chiang Mai?
- Fly if you land at noon and want dinner inside the moat. Take SRT 9 if you want to turn a night into a transfer. Do not do both.
- Can you add Pai?
- Not on this spine. Use the 7-day northern loop if the ridge road is the point.