9 days in Bangkok and Phuket: city then beach itinerary
Fly BKK to HKT in about 80 minutes and sleep Kata, Kamala, or Bang Tao. Book one boat day, not two, and leave Samui for a different trip.
Bangkok plus a Phuket west-coast beach is the first Andaman trip from November to April. Sleep three nights on Sukhumvit so the 80-minute hop to Phuket Airport is a morning flight. This suits people who want one sea after the capital and will leave Samui for another calendar.
Walk the old-city river temples on day 1, then a market on day 2 and a buffer on day 3. A 2026 BTS tap is 17 to 62 THB. Fly Bangkok to Phuket in about 80 minutes. Sleep five nights in Kata or Karon or Kamala and Surin. See Phuket where to stay. Add one Phang Nga boat or a Phi Phi day (Maya Bay 400 THB, no swim). Season notes sit on when to go. Read the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) page at visas and TDAC.
Day by day
1 Bangkok tickets
Palace 500 THB, Wat Pho 300 THB, Wat Arun 200 THB plus 5 THB ferry.
2 Market night
Chatuchak or Or Tor Kor, then Yaowarat.
3 City buffer
Siam hour or Jim Thompson. Pack for an 80-minute HKT hop.
4 Fly HKT, west-coast base
No boat on landing day. Sleep Kata, Kamala, or Bang Tao.
5 Old Town and a swim
Thalang Road in the cooler hours. Beach afternoon.
6 Phang Nga or rest
Sunrise bay boat or a second swim day. Do not book Phi Phi on the same morning.
7 Phi Phi day or buffer
Maya Bay park 400 THB, no swim. Or stay on the west coast if swell rises.
8 South peninsula hour
Rawai and Nai Harn if you want a quieter swim.
9 Exit HKT
Airport car. Same-day long-haul from HKT is tight after a boat day.
One capital, one Andaman island
Keep the Gulf off this nine-day page. May to October is the wrong Andaman window; use a Gulf first-timer week instead.
| Block | Sleep | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Nights 1 to 3 | Sukhumvit or Siam | BTS 17 to 62 THB |
| Hop | HKT | About 80 minutes |
| Nights 4 to 8 | Kata, Kamala, or Bang Tao | One boat day, not two |
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- Can you add Samui after Phuket?
- Not on nine days. The two seas do not share one dry season. Pick Andaman or Gulf.
- Maya Bay swim?
- No. The conservation rule bans swimming in Maya Bay. The park fee is 400 THB.
- Which Phuket beach for a first stay?
- Kata, Kamala, or Bang Tao. Patong is the nightlife strip, not a first swim base.