8 days in Bangkok and Chiang Mai: first-timer itinerary
Ticket the royal river, fly BKK or DMK to CNX, then walk the moat and leave at 07:00 for Doi Suthep. Keep Phuket and Samui off this week.
Bangkok temples and Chiang Mai moat wats share one first-timer week, with both Thai seas left off. Sleep three nights near a Sukhumvit BTS exit (where to stay) so the 70 to 75 minute hop is a morning flight, not an 08:30 palace scramble on departure day. This fits people who fly into Bangkok and leave from Chiang Mai Airport.
Walk Rattanakosin on the first daylight block: Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and the Tha Tien ferry to Wat Arun. Day 2 is Chatuchak or Or Tor Kor. Day 3 is a buffer or Ayutthaya only if you skip a late dinner. Fly Bangkok to Chiang Mai in about 70 to 75 minutes. Sleep four nights in the Old City or Nimman. Leave at 07:00 for Doi Suthep. Book an ethical elephant half-day. Stay notes sit on Chiang Mai where to stay. Do not add Phuket on this week. File the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) on visas and TDAC before you fly.
Day by day
1 Bangkok royal river
Palace 500 THB, Wat Pho 300 THB, Wat Arun 200 THB plus 5 THB ferry. Sleep Sukhumvit.
2 Market night
Chatuchak Sat-Sun or Or Tor Kor. Yaowarat after 18:00.
3 City buffer
Jim Thompson House or a canal hour. Pack for a morning CNX flight.
4 Fly Chiang Mai
About 70 to 75 minutes. Sleep inside the moat or Nimman. Wat Chedi Luang walk.
5 Doi Suthep at 07:00
30 THB plus songthaew 60 to 100 THB. Lunch khao soi 55 to 90 THB Mon-Sat.
6 Elephant half-day
Named sanctuary, no riding. Nimman or a walking street after.
7 Mae Rim or Inthanon
Rice-terrace hour in Mae Rim or a cooler Doi Inthanon day.
8 Exit CNX or BKK
Fly out of CNX, or hop back to BKK. Same-day long-haul from CNX is tight.
Three Bangkok nights, four Chiang Mai nights
Keep one sea off this spine. For a beach fork after the north, use 12 days first-timer and pick Andaman or Gulf, not both.
| Block | Sleep | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Nights 1 to 3 | Sukhumvit or Siam | BTS 17 to 62 THB; palace morning |
| Hop | CNX | About 70 to 75 minutes |
| Nights 4 to 7 | Old City or Nimman | Doi Suthep 07:00; sanctuary half-day |
Keep going
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- Add a beach on day 8?
- No. Eight days already spend a day in the air. Use 12 days if you want one coast after Chiang Mai.
- BKK or DMK for the north hop?
- Both fly to CNX. Match the airport to your Bangkok hotel side.
- Doi Suthep ticket?
- 30 THB at the wat. Songthaew 60 to 100 THB each way. Leave at 07:00 for thinner queues.